Repository logo
 

Beyond the Garden of Eden: deep teacher professional development.

Thumbnail Image

Date

2009

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Taylor & Francis.

Abstract

Becoming a professional teacher is falsely understood to be a simple process: usually consisting of a transference of skills to execute classroom pedagogy or classroom management. This article begins by exploring the many forces which influence the curriculum of teacher education in higher education, signaling the complexity of the practice of teaching and the expected roles of teachers within a charged socio-political, ideological as well as educational research arena. It offers a definition of the scope of deep teacher professional development which embraces the complexities of these forces. It particularly addresses the theoretical underpinning that could inform the design and delivery of Initial Professional Education of Teacher (IPET) higher education curricula. The article draws on the experiences of enacting a reconceptualized teacher education curriculum at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Faculty of Education showing the translation of these theoretical conceptions within a curriculum geared towards deep professional learning.

Description

Keywords

Citation

Samuel, M. 2009. Beyond the Garden of Eden: deep teacher professional development. SAJHE, 23(4) 737-759.

DOI