Bachelor of Education in Intermediate Phase Teaching

Purpose

The purpose of the Bachelor of Education in Intermediate Phase qualification is to develop in teachers, the competences to be a classroom teacher who can demonstrate focused knowledge and skills in teaching specialist school subjects at the Intermediate Phase of schooling. The qualification provides a well-rounded education that equips the graduate 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 her or him 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 graduate 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 Postgraduate studies in Education, and/or professionally through alternate qualifications for professional growth.

Rationale

The Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) in Intermediate Phase Teaching 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 teaching Intermediate Phase learners. This is minimum qualification to qualify and professionalise an Intermediate 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.

Teacher supply has been a major concern in the current context of providing quality education of schooling. This qualification is responding to this concern by producing appropriately qualified teachers who would be able to contribute towards a quality school education system. Teacher supply has been limited to higher education institutions within South Africa, and University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has been one of the major producers of teacher in this country since its inception. The School of Education has the experience, competence, capacity and capabilities of offering a well conceptualised, relevant and quality driven B.Ed (Intermediate Phase Teaching) qualification. This B.Ed (Intermediate Phase Teaching) qualification is a complete re-conceptualisation of an existing qualification 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 teacher through this qualification will contribute to the pool of well and appropriately newly qualified teachers available for employment in identified areas 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.

The B.Ed (Intermediate 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. 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 three 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 (BEd), 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 BEd Degree and/or the credit accumulation towards the BEd 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) granting access to Bachelor's Degree studies.

And

• At least any one of the following subjects at Level 4: any language (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 Level 5, 6 and 7 totalling 512 Credits.

Compulsory Modules Level 5, 72 Credits

• 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.
• Basic Mathematics for Intermediate phase teachers, 8 Credits.
• Economics and management Sciences for the Senior Phase of schooling, 8 Credits.

Electives Modules Level 5

• English Education: Foundations, 16 Credits.
• Children's isiZulu literature and media in education, 16 Credits.
• Mathematics Education for Foundation and Intermediate phase 1, 16 Credits.
• Mathematics Education for Foundation and Intermediate phase 2, 16 Credits.
• Introduction to Science and Technology Education, 16 Credits.
• Geography Education 1: Development Studies, 16 Credits.
• Economics and management Sciences for the Senior Phase of schooling, 8 Credits.
• Like Skills for the Intermediate Phase of schooling, 8 Credits.
• History philosophy, theory and method, 16 Credits.

Compulsory Modules Level 6, 48 Credits

• 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: Introductory concepts (Home Language teaching), 16 Credits.
• English Education: Introductory concepts (First Additional Language teaching), 16 Credits.
• Integrated isiZulu language and literacy studies, 16 Credits.
• IsiZulu Language Acquisition, Learning and Teaching 01 (Home Language teaching), 16 Credits.
• IsiZulu Language Acquisition, Learning and Teaching 01 (First Additional Language teaching, 16 Credits.
• Earth and its Resources, 16 Credits.
• Introduction to Teaching and Learning Science and Technology, 16 Credits.
• Mathematics Education for foundation and intermediate phase 3, 16 Credits.
• Mathematics teaching and learning in the intermediate phase 1, 16 Credits.
• Geography for Educators 2 (Biogeography and Geomorphology, 16 Credits.
• Industrialisation, development and modernity, 16 Credits
• Social Science Education Method 1, 16 Credits.

Compulsory Modules Level 7, 80 Credits.

• 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: Theory and practice using period literature, 16 Credits.
• English Education: Language awareness, approaches and policy (Home Language teaching), 16 Credits.
• English Education: Language awareness, approaches and policy (First Additional Language teaching), 16 Credits.
• IsiZulu sociolinguistics and language usage in education, 16 Credits.
• Teaching isiZulu Poetry, Film, Drama and Language Skills 02 (Home Language teaching), 16 Credits.
• Teaching isiZulu Poetry, Film, Drama and Language Skills 02 (First Additional Language teaching), 16 Credits.
• Structures and Processes, 16 Credits.
• Teaching and Learning Science and Technology, 6 Credits.
• Mathematics teaching and learning in the intermediate phase 2, 16 Credits.
• Social Sciences Education Method 2, 16 Credits.

1. Develop an advanced academic knowledge of Educational studies.
2. Demonstrate competence in teaching their Intermediate Phase teaching specialisation subjects up to grade seven of school education.
3. Demonstrate professional competence required of being a teacher, 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 beginning research skills that will enable her/him to pursue post-graduate studies in Education (progression).

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 1

• Develop a well-rounded knowledge base of the content knowledge relative to their teaching specialisations.
• Develop subject content knowledge incrementally and which provides the basis for teachers to develop competence in teaching the respective teaching specialisations.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 2

• Develop generic and specific teaching methodologies to teach their teaching specialisations.
• Demonstrate practically the teaching skills with reflexive skills intended to further develop this competency.
• Provide the scope for on-going and context based support for teacher development.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 3

• Develop professional competence of being a teacher by focusing on policies, professional ethics and situational learning.
• Demonstrate professional competence required of a beginning teacher.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 4

• Develop the caring, responsible and attitudinal values in an integrative manner across the module offerings and site based learning through the teaching practice modules.
• Work within an inclusive education framework and guided by theoretical and philosophical frameworks developed through the Education Studies.
• Develop well-rounded knowledge base to locate their teaching practices in responsible and ethical processes and within a caring environment that promotes teaching and learning.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 5

• Develop individual intellectualism, critical engagement and research skills.
• Develop 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.