Bachelor of Education in Foundation Phase Teaching

Purpose

The purpose of the Bachelor of Education in Foundation Phase Teaching [BEd (Foundation Phase Teaching) qualification is to enable a teacher to develop the necessary competences to be a classroom teacher who can demonstrate focused knowledge and skills in teaching specialist school subjects at the Foundation Phase of schooling. The qualification provides a well-rounded education that equips the teachers with requisite subject content knowledge, educational theory, pedagogical learning, practical learning, fundamental learning and situational learning.

This qualification will provide teachers with an educational experience that will provide them with the knowledge and practical competence required to function as a professionally qualified teacher in a primary school. Teachers will develop academic and contextually grounded knowledge in education, specialist subject content and pedagogy enabling the learners to take up a teaching career in South Africa and beyond its borders, taking cognisance of the contextual realities of schooling and the nature of learners. Teachers will also develop competence that will enable them to further their studies in Education academically through post-graduate studies in Education, and/or professionally through alternate qualifications for professional growth.

Rationale

The Bachelor of Education in Foundation Phase Teaching [B.Ed (Foundation Phase Teaching)] qualification is one of two pathways for developing professional teachers to teach within the South African school system. The qualification is needed to produce qualified teachers who would be able to take up a teaching post in a primary school to teach Foundation Phase learners. The B.Ed (Foundation Phase Teaching) is a minimum qualification to qualify and professionalise as a Foundation Phase teacher and is regulated by the National Teacher Education Framework as gazetted in 2007 and more recently by the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ) gazetted in 2015.

The teacher supply has been a major concern in the current context of providing quality education, especially in the foundation phase of schooling. This qualification is responding to this concern by producing qualified teachers who would be able to contribute towards a quality school education system.

This B.Ed (Foundation Phase Teaching) qualification is a complete re-conceptualisation of an existing programme which has been developed to meet the standards as presented by the newly gazetted Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education qualifications.

The current context of teacher supply and demand in South Africa suggests a shortage of well and appropriately qualified teachers to meet its demands as a result of teacher attrition and the growth of the school education system. The supply of teachers through this qualification will contribute to the pool of well and appropriately newly qualified teachers available for employment in the identified area of need and in locations where there is a scarcity of qualified teachers. The production of newly qualified and appropriately qualified teachers will address this concern of on-going appointment of un-and under-qualified teachers. Foundation Phase teachers who are skilled in their African languages are in short supply. This B.Ed. (Foundation Phase Teaching) is designed to produce teachers who would be qualified to teach in their African mother tongue language and would then meet the demands of foundation phase teaching in the rest of the country.

The B.Ed. (Foundation Phase Teaching) qualification is also needed to produce teachers who would be able to pursue Postgraduate studies in Education leading to research and knowledge production in Education.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

RPL will be applied in terms of the RPL policy of the institution and the College of Humanities. Prospective. Candidates will be assessed through relevant documentation to determine admission competence. Further assessments may be required to establish literacy levels and specialist subject knowledge required for the study of their chosen teaching specialisation.

RPL criteria will be based on specific components. These components are

Workplace learning (teaching experience).

Criteria: Appropriateness and level of knowledge related to

> Schooling gained through teaching experience.

> Subject knowledge competence.

> Pedagogical content knowledge.

Teaching subject competence

Criteria: Appropriateness and level of knowledge gained through prior studies in

• Subject content knowledge.
• Pedagogical knowledge (generic).
• Pedagogical content knowledge.

Communication competence Criteria

• Ability to communicate in the language of instruction.
• Ability to converse in an additional language.

Teachers who are in possession of a recognised Certificate or Diploma in Education or in other relevant fields may also present their qualifications for admission into the Bachelor of Education, with a possibility of transfer of credits from previous studies. The institution's RPL policy will be used to determine the level of progression into the B.Ed Degree and/or the credit accumulation towards the B.Ed Degree based on a credit recognition process that includes alignment of outcomes in the respective modules under consideration.

Entry Requirements

The minimum admission requirement for this qualification is

• National Senior Certificate (NSC granting access to Bachelor's Degree studies.

Or

• National Certificate Vocational (NCV), Level 4.

And

• At least any one of the following subjects: English and Zulu (HL or FAL); Business Studies, Dramatic Arts, Economics, Geography, History, Information Technology, Life Sciences, Mathematical Literacy.

This qualification consists of compulsory and elective modules at Levels 5, 6 and 7 totalling 512 Credits.

Compulsory Modules Level 5

• English Education: Language, learning and teaching in Education, 16 Credits.
• IsiZulu for communication, 16 Credits.
• Computer Literacy, 8 Credits.
• Education Studies: An introduction to the study of Education, 16 Credits.
• English Education, 16 Credits.

Electives Modules Level 5

• The nature of isiZulu language in Education, 16 Credits.
• Life Skills for Foundation Phase 1, 16 Credits.
• Numeracy in the early years, 16 Credits.

Compulsory Modules Level 6

• Education Studies: Teaching, learning and classroom practices, 16 Credits.
• Teaching Practice 1, 16 Credits.
• Teaching Practice 2, 8 Credits.
• Teaching Practice 3, 8 Credits.

Electives Modules Level 6

• English Education: Introduction to theory and practice, 16 Credits.
• English Education: Literacies in the English First Additional Language classroom, 16 Credits.
• IsiZulu prose and introduction to literary theories in Education, 16 Credits.
• Children's isiZulu literature and media in education (Home Language teaching) 16 Credits.
• Children's isiZulu literature and media in education (First Additional Language teaching) 16 Credits.
• Life Skills for Foundation Phase 2, 16 Credits.
• Life Skills for Foundation Phase 3, 16 Credits.
• Life Skills method for Foundation Phase 1, 16 Credits.
• Understanding child development and learning in Foundation Phase, 16 Credits.
• Foundation Phase teaching: Contextual realities, Education frameworks and processes in the Foundation Phase, 16 Credits.
• Mathematics Education for Foundation and Intermediate Phases 1, 16 Credits.
• Mathematics Education for Foundation and Intermediate Phases 2, 16 Credits.
• Mathematics teaching and learning in the Foundation Phase 1, 16 Credits.

Compulsory Modules Level 7

• Education Studies: Curriculum, 16 Credits.
• Education Studies: Psychology, 16 Credits.
• Education Studies: Philosophy and Sociology, 16 Credits.
• Education Studies: Researching Education, 16 Credits.
• Teaching Practice 4, 16 Credits.

Electives Modules Level 7

• English Education: Foundations, 5, 16 Credits.
• English Education: Teaching theory and practice using contemporary literature, 16 Credits.
• English Education: Literacies in the English Home Language classroom, 6, 16, Credits.
• English Education: Language, awareness, approaches and policy for English Home Language, 16 Credits.
• English Education: Language, awareness, approaches and policy for English First Additional Language, 16 Credits.
• IsiZulu sociolinguistics and language usage in Education, 16 Credits.
• IsiZulu Language Acquisition, Learning and Teaching (Home Language teaching), 16 Credits.
• IsiZulu Language Acquisition, Learning and Teaching (First Additional Language teaching), 16 Credits.
• Life Skills method for Foundation Phase 2, 16, Credits.
• Mathematics teaching and learning in the Foundation Phase 2, 16 Credits.

1. Develop an advanced academic knowledge of Educational studies.
2. Demonstrate competence in teaching their Foundation Phase specialisation subjects up to Grade Four of school education.
3. Demonstrate professional competence in making educational decisions relative and sensitive to the contextual realities of the schooling system within South Africa.
4. Demonstrate a caring, responsible attitude within ethical principles in promoting teaching and learning (values).
5. Demonstrate individual intellectualism, critical engagement and research skills to pursue Postgraduate studies in Education (progression).

Associated Assessment Criteria to Exit Level Outcome 1

• Develop a well-rounded knowledge base of the content knowledge relative to the teaching specialisations.
• Develop the subject content knowledge.
• Develop the competence in teaching respective teaching specialisations.

Associated Assessment Criteria to Exit Level Outcome 2

• Developed generic and specific teaching methodologies to teach their teaching specialisations.
• Develop teaching competence by taking into consideration the nature of learners, the diversity of teaching contexts.
• Use teaching resources, including that of Information and communication technology (ICT), in the teaching and learning practices.
• Demonstrate teaching skills with reflexive skills in the Teaching Practicum.

Associated Assessment Criteria to Exit Level Outcome 3

• Develop an understanding of policies, professional ethics and situational learning.
• Understand the contextual realities of the schooling system within South Africa.

Associated Assessment Criteria to Exit Level Outcome 4

• Develop caring, responsible and attitudinal values in an integrative manner.
• Work within an inclusive education framework and be guided by theoretical and philosophical frameworks.
• Develop a well-rounded knowledge base to locate teaching practices using responsible and ethical processes within a caring environment that promotes teaching and learning.
• Demonstrate an understanding of theoretical and philosophical frameworks provided by the Education Studies.
• Be accountable for teaching and learning practices.

Associated Assessment Criteria to Exit Level Outcome 5

• Demonstrate critical engagement with educational issues and research skills to initiate research processes to explore the educational issues systematically.

Integrated Assessment

The assessment process is guided by the institution's assessment policy.

There are various forms of assessment across all modules in the qualification. These assessments include test, assignments, project work, activities and summative examinations. The focus and content of these assessment tasks include demonstration of disciplinary and content knowledge, application knowledge and reflexive skills. Integrated assessment, therefore, forms a core to these assessment tasks. In addition, teachers are required to demonstrate their integrated knowledge and competence within a real classroom situation where they will be assessed by their school mentor as well as by university supervisors during the school-based teaching practice sessions.

All modules will have internal moderators. In addition, all exit level modules will be externally moderated. The moderation process is governed by the university's policy on assessment and includes a holistic approach to moderation. This holistic approach includes moderation of module outlines, readings lists, assessment tasks and examinations.