A Reflection on Preparing PGCE English Pre-Service Teachers for Effective Teaching Practices

A Reflection on Preparing PGCE English Pre-Service Teachers for Effective Teaching Practices

Peter Oluwaseun Merisi , Sindisiwe Msani and Favour Mba

Issue: Vol.4 No.10 Article 1 pp.1174-1183
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20234101 | Published online 9th October, 2023
© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

108 Downloads

DOWNLOAD PDF

ABSTRACT

This paper argued that Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students in South Africa, as well as other nations of the globe, deserve more attention than their undergraduate counterparts in terms of the training and support they receive at the teacher education programmes. The paper is a reflection journal of a PGCE English grammar lesson, and the observation revealed that the PGCE students had certain knowledge expectations before they enrolled in the teaching profession. It further indicated that such expectation was a function of their prior learning experiences and current experiences of learning in the teacher education programme. The findings from the observation revealed the knowledge gap in their training which the students themselves deem a powerful force in the formation of their professional identity as teachers in training. It is therefore argued in this paper that such a gap, if not well addressed, may leave educationists in a situation where they continue to produce graduate teachers who are not just ill-prepared but who also lack confidence in themselves as well as the institutions that trained them. The paper thus has two implications for practice: implications for PGCE curriculum development and implications for a reflexive pedagogy in PGCE classes in the teacher education programmes in South Africa and globally.

Keywords: PGCE Pre-service Teachers, Teacher Education, Curriculation, Pedagogic Practices, Reflexive Pedagogy

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ananda, Rusydi, and Fitri Hayati. “Influence Of Learning Strategy And Independence Learning On The Learning Outcomes of Islamic Education.” Journal Of Education And Teaching Learning (JETL) 4, no. 2 (June 19, 2022): 140–49. https://doi.org/10.51178/jetl.v4i2.599.

Botha, Carolina S, and Julialet Rens. “Are They Really ‘Ready, Willing and Able’? Exploring Reality Shock in Beginner Teachers in South Africa.” South African Journal of Education 38, no. 3 (2018).

Buhagiar, Michael A, and Michelle Attard Tonna. “School-Based Mentoring in Initial Teacher Education: The Exploratory Phase.” University of Malta. Faculty for Education, 2015.

Chehade, Hanadi Mohammed, and Said Taan EL Hajjar. “An Empirical Study to Examine the Effect of Realistic Job Preview on Expectancies, Personal Goals and Performance.” International Journal of Business and Management 11, no. 2 (January 25, 2016): 164. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v11n2p164.

Cogill, Julie Antionette. “Primary Teachers’ Interactive Whiteboard Practice across One Year: Changes in Pedagogy and Influencing Factors.” King’s College London (University of London), 2008.

Escriva-Boulley, Géraldine, Damien Tessier, Nikos Ntoumanis, and Philippe Sarrazin. “Need-Supportive Professional Development in Elementary School Physical Education: Effects of a Cluster-Randomized Control Trial on Teachers’ Motivating Style and Student Physical Activity.” Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology 7, no. 2 (2018): 218.

Fokkens-Bruinsma, Marjon, and Esther T. Canrinus. “Motivation for Becoming a Teacher and Engagement with the Profession: Evidence from Different Contexts.” International Journal of Educational Research 65 (2014): 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2013.09.012.

Fray, Leanne, and Jennifer Gore. “Why People Choose Teaching: A Scoping Review of Empirical Studies, 2007–2016.” Teaching and Teacher Education 75 (October 2018): 153–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.06.009.

Heinz, Manuela. “Why Choose Teaching? An International Review of Empirical Studies Exploring Student Teachers’ Career Motivations and Levels of Commitment to Teaching.” Educational Research and Evaluation 21, no. 3 (2015): 258–97.

Herzberg, F, B Mausner, and B B Snyderman. The Motivation to Work. Organization and Business. Transaction Publishers, 2011. https://books.google.com.gh/books?id=KYhB-B6kfSMC.

Merisi, Peter Oluwaseun, and Ansurie Pillay. “Exploring Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching and Learning Grammar: Implications for Teacher Education.” Journal of Education (University of KwaZulu-Natal), no. 79 (2020): 31–46.

———. “Understanding What Shapes English Education Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of Preparedness to Teach Grammar.” English in Education 54, no. 4 (2020): 346–57.

Merisi, Peter, Ansurie Pillay, and Emmanuel Mfanafuthi Mgqwashu. “Beliefs Acceptance Model (BAM): A Tokenistic Approach to Reconceptualising Knowledge in Teacher Education Programmes (TEPs).” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 3, no. 9 (September 8, 2022): 382–92. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2022392.

Moses, Ikupa, Amanda Berry, Nadira Saab, and Wilfried Admiraal. “Who Wants to Become a Teacher? Typology of Student-Teachers’ Commitment to Teaching.” Journal of Education for TEaching 43, no. 4 (2017): 444–57.

Nesje, Katrine, Christian Brandmo, and Jean-Louis Berger. “Motivation to Become a Teacher: A Norwegian Validation of the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice Scale.” Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 62, no. 6 (2018): 813–31.

Richardson, Paul W., and Helen M. G. Watt. “Who Chooses Teaching and Why? Profiling Characteristics and Motivations Across Three Australian Universities.” Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education 34, no. 1 (March 2006): 27–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598660500480290.

Samuel, Michael. “Accountability to Whom? For What? Teacher Identity and the Force Field Model of Teacher Development.” Perspectives in Education 26, no. 2 (2008).

Shirrell, Matthew, and Michelle Reininger. “School Working Conditions and Changes in Student Teachers’ Planned Persistence in Teaching.” Teacher Education Quarterly 44, no. 2 (2017): 49–78.

Valeni, Zuljan, and V. Janez. Facilitating Effective Student Learning through Teacher Research and Innovation. Slovenia: Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, 2010.

ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Dr. Peter Oluwaseun Merisi is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Languages, Literacies and Literatures, School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Prior to his arrival at Wits in January 2023, Dr. Merisi had lectured for close to a decade at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Durban University of Technology. Thereafter, he was appointed as the postgraduate research advising specialist and academic developer on the Mafikeng campus of the North-West University (February 2021- December 2023). Dr. Merisi has published several articles and book chapters in reputable and accredited local and international journals. He has also supervised several postgraduate students. His research areas include Academic literacy, grammar teaching, multilingualism, teacher education, teaching English as a second language, digital humanities, language and assessments, language policies, etc. He is currently coordinating the bachelor of honours degree programme in the English Education Unit of Wits School of Education.

Sindisiwe Msani is currently completing her PhD at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. She has a Bachelor of Education from the University of KwaZulu-Natal; an Honours Bachelor of Education from the same university specialising in isiZulu; and a Master in Education in Language and Arts, specialising in isiZulu. She is a former educator (2010-218). Since December 2018, she has been working as a lecturer at higher education institutions (private and public). She has participated in many programs to promote African languages. She is currently working as an associate lecturer at Wits School of Education for isiZulu FAL and Home Language. Her research interests include code-switching, multilingualism, multiculturalisms, teaching pedagogies, inclusive education and language policies.

Favour Mba is currently a research assistant at the University of the Witwatersrand, School of Education, South Africa under the mentorship of Dr Peter Merisi. She has a master’s degree from the Vaal University of Technology. She is passionate about research and currently researches the link between digital technologies and pedagogic practices in teacher education programmes. She is an emerging scholar, very dedicated and passionate about research writing.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Merisi, Peter O., Msani, Sindisiwe and Mba, Favour. “A Reflection On Preparing PGCE English Pre-Service Teachers For Effective Teaching Practices.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 4, no.10 (2023): 1174-1183. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20234101