Possibilities for playful pedagogy: a creative arts teacher-educator’s self-study = Amathuba okufundisa ngendlela esamdlalo: ukuzifundisa kukathisha wezobuciko

Abstract

I am an emerging female academic at the School of Education in a research-intensive university in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. When I assumed the teacher-educator role, I assumed I would excel due to my prior experience as a freelance artist and highschool teacher. However, I had never reflected on the skills and understanding needed to teach preservice teachers about teaching. I soon realised that my experience was insufficient for my current role. Suddenly, how I taught Creative Arts became as crucial as what I taught. I became motivated to focus this research on teaching Creative Arts through playful pedagogy due to self-reflection and observation of the preservice teachers I taught. What I noticed was that they lacked demonstration in their Creative Arts teaching. This observation inspired me to improve my teaching practice and learn about integrating playful pedagogy into my practice. The theoretical perspective of becoming guided this doctoral study, and assisted me in weaving the pedagogical threads of my becoming a teacher-educator. The research questions necessitated transparent reflections through memory-work and arts-based methods. In my initial reflections, I identified the salient idea of play and how it had been evident throughout my life. This approach provoked the concept of teaching through playful pedagogy. I explored the impact of play on my life and from my memories, identified ways in which I could teach more effectively. I also sought to understand the possibilities of playful pedagogy in my teaching practice, and learnt about practical ways of integrating playful pedagogy into my practice. My learnings translated into lessons that I integrated into my teaching practice; these benefitted me as a teacher-educator, the students I taught and will continue to teach and, by extension, the learners they will teach one day. This thesis details the methodological and theoretical explorations of my learning and experiences as they were employed to support my doctoral journey. In this quest to integrate playful pedagogy into my teaching practice, my most valuable highlight was the self-discovery and confidence I gained through the process of reimagining and becoming a teacher-educator.

Iqoqa. Ngingumfundisi wesifazane osafufusa eSikoleni Sezemfundo enyuvesi egxile kwezocwaningo esifundazweni saKwaZulu-Natali, eNingizimu Afrika. Ngenkathi ngithatha indima yokufundisa othisha, ngangicabanga ukuthi ngizophumelela ngenxa yesipiliyoni enginaso sokuba nguthisha wezobuciko ongaqashiwe ngokuphelele wasesikoleni samabanga aphakeme. Nokho, ngangingakaze ngicabange ngamakhono nokuqonda okudingekayo ukuze ngifundise othisha abasaqeqeshwa indlela yokufundisa. Ngokushesha, ngabona ukuthi ulwazi lwami lwalunganele endimeni okwase kumele ngiyidlale. Kungazelelwe, indlela engangifundisa ngayo ezobuciko yabaluleka njengalokho engangikufundisa. Ngagqugquzeleka ukuba ngenze ucwaningo olugxile ekufundiseni ngezoBuciko ngendlela yokufundisa esamdlalo ngenxa yokuzihlola engakwenza nokubuka othisha abasaqeqeshwa engangibafundisa. Engakuqaphela ukuthi babentula ikhono lokwenza izibonelo lapho befundisa ezobuciko. Engakuqaphela kwangikhuthaza ukuba ngithuthukise indlela yami yokufundisa futhi ngifunde ukuthi ngingayifaka kanjani indlela yokufundisa esamdlalo lapho ngifundisa. Inkolelombono yokuba uthisha yiyo ebe ngumhlahlandlela walolu cwaningo lweziqu zobudokotela, futhi ingisize ngakuhlomela ukufundisa othisha. Imibuzo yocwaningo yenze kwadingeka ukusebenzisa ingqondo nezinqubo ezisekelwe kwezobuciko. Ekucabangeni kabanzi kwami kokuqala, ngathola umbono omuhle wokudlala nokuthi bekubonakala kanjani kukho konke ukuphila kwami. Le ndlela iyona eyavusa umqondo wokufundisa ngendlela esamdlalo. Ngacabanga ngegalelo ukudlala okwaba nalo empilweni yami nasekukhumbuleni kwami, ngathola izindlela engingafundisa ngazo ngempumelelo. Ngazama nokuqonda ukuthi kungenzeka yini ukuba kutholakale izindlela zokufundisa ezisamdlalo, futhi ngafunda ngezindlela ezingokoqobo zokuhlanganisa indlela yokufundisa esamdlalo emsebenzini wami. Engakuthola ngakusebenzisela ukuklama izifundo engizifake emsebenzini wami wokufundisa; lokhu kwangizuzisa mina njengomqeqeshi wothisha, kwazuzisa abafundi engibafundisayo nabafundi engisazobafundisa, futhi ngaphezu kwalokho, abafundi abayobafundisa nabo ngelinye ilanga. Le thisisi ichaza inqubo nenkolelombono yendlela engifunde ngayo ngengihlangabezane nakho njengoba ngisebenzise zona lezi zinto kulezi zifundo zami zeziqu zobudokotela. Emzamweni wokuhlanganisa indlela yokufundisa esamdlalo emsebenzini wami wokufundisa, into evelele kakhulu kube ukubona izinto ngeso elihlukile, ngathola nokuzethemba ngenqubo yokucabanga ngendlela ehlukile njengoba ngiba umqeqeshi wothisha.