Interrogating Teachers’ Competencies in Teaching Social Science: The Social Realist Perspective
Karabo Molapo 
& Khashane Stephen Malatji
Issue: Vol.5 No.16 Issue Article 18 pp.2911 -2922
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451618 | Published online 19th December, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Teachers’ competency is one of the significant skills in the teaching profession and it relies more on pedagogical and content knowledge that teachers portray when delivering a lesson. However, the competency of teachers in Social Science teaching does not match well with the seven roles of an educator. The culture of teaching Social Science in schools has however changed. Hence, the study interrogates the teacher’s competencies in Social Science teaching using the social realist perspective. The study followed a qualitative approach placed within the interpretivism paradigm where case study design was used. Purposive sampling was used to select ten Social Science teachers from secondary schools in the Capricorn District in South Africa. Individual semi-structured interviews and document analysis were used to collect data. The data was analysed through a thematic approach. From Archer’s Social Realist Theory, the concepts of Structure, Culture and Agency were used to interpret professional competencies of Social Science teachers. The study revealed that teaching skills can only be improved by frequent or continuous workshops that incorporate both pedagogical and professional competencies. The study concluded that there is a need to ground teaching pedagogy of Social Science and embed it within the seven roles of an educator. The study recommends that the social realist theoretical lenses of Structure, Culture, and Agency be embedded in teaching to regain the competency of teachers in teaching Social Science.
Keywords: Competency, Perspective, Social Realist, Social Science Teaching
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Dr. Karabo Molapo is an emerging researcher in Curriculum and instructional studies. She holds a Phd in Education: Curriculum and Instructional Studies. Her research interests cover Teaching and Learning, Geography Curriculum, Educational Policy, Curriculum Development and Implementation. The publication status of her written articles varies from national to International under DHET accredited Journals.
Prof. Khashane Stephen Malatji holds a PhD in Education: Curriculum and Instructional Studies from the University of Fort Hare. After his Doctoral degree, he studied Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education for Academic Developers at Rhodes University. He is the author of 86 articles in accredited journals. Prof Malatji has successfully supervised 27 Masters’ and 22 Doctoral students. In 2015, he was awarded the Certificate for Excellence in Research at the University of Venda. In 2018, he was awarded Young Researcher of the Year by Tshwane University of Technology. In the 2020 academic year, he received an award as Emerging Researcher of the Year awarded by the Education Association of South Africa (EASA). In 2021 he received a research award as Research Capacity Builder of the Year at Tshwane University of Technology. Prof Malatji hosted three Postdoctoral fellows in the past. He is currently supervising 7 Doctoral and 4 Masters students. His research interest covers teaching and learning; evaluation of teaching, curriculum development; assessment; quality assurance, and teacher development in higher education.
Molapo, Karabo & Khashane Stephen Malatji . “Interrogating Teachers’ Competencies in Teaching Social Science: The Social Realist Perspective ,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.16 (2024):2911 -2922. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451618
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
