Postgraduate Certificate in Education in Senior Phase and FET Teaching

Purpose

The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in Senior Phase (SP) and Further Education and Training (FET) Teaching (SP&FET) is a capping qualification for persons wanting to become qualified as professional educators in schooling after having completed an appropriate Bachelors qualification (at least 360 Credits) other than the Bachelor of Education (BEd) qualification or an approved Diploma (360 Exit 6 Level).

The qualification aims to develop beginner teachers who are creative, confident, competent, caring and reflexive practitioners who can teach in a variety of educational contexts. The Exit Level Outcomes and evidence needed for demonstrating competence are aligned with the Beginner Competencies outlined in the Government Gazette No 38487 (February 2015). It is accepted that learners on the graduation of the PGCE (SP&FET) qualification are novice teachers who will still need time, experience and support to develop as fully-fledged extended professionals. At the same time, it is known that the development of teachers as extended professionals is promoted and enhanced through a model of teacher education that provides epistemological and experiential access, and is located in critically reflexive practice. This informs the design of the PGCE (SP&FET) qualification in general and the curriculum in particular. It affirms a belief in praxis and the importance of balance and integration between theoretical, practical, and professional and experiential learning.

Rationale

The PGCE (SP&FET) is an established and recognised teaching qualification which caps an undergraduate qualification allowing the individual to have a career in teaching. The qualification responds to the shortage of primary and secondary school teachers by developing the prospective teachers, who have completed their undergraduate qualification:

• Disciplinary knowledge of the field of education and the contexts in which teachers teach;
• Pedagogical content knowledge and pedagogical competence;

And

• Professional knowledge and competence of learners who have completed their undergraduate studies.

Qualifying learners applying for this qualification will be graduates in possession of at least Bachelor's Degrees, whose subject choices satisfy the admission of learners to a PGCE qualification set out in the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ) policy (DHET, 2015, pp. 66-69).

This qualification offers one of two possible pathways to becoming a professionally qualified teacher in the Senior and FET Phases (Grade 7 to 9 and Grades 10 to 12) of formal schooling in the South African schooling system. The pathway requires a National Senior Certificate, followed by a recognised Bachelor's Degree qualifications (for example, BA, BSocSci, BSc, BCom, BJourn, BMus), and a PGCE.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The institution recognises prior learning relevant to the cognate subjects/phases obtained from institutions and other qualifications at the same level, for credit-bearing purposes. The RPL policy of the institution will be applied for this purpose, in that this qualification is one in which: "Limited use is made of RPL to award credits towards certain qualifications". If the applicant has previously been granted credits that are relevant to the qualification and are at the same level, and if the applicant has evidence for that, a Faculty RPL committee will follow due process to evaluate the prior learning of the learner. The committee will assess the evidence provided by the applicant and a report will be submitted to the Faculty, which will decide on a ruling to be implemented, based on the report made by the committee.

Entry Requirements

The minimum admission requirements for this qualification are

• Bachelor's Degree, 360 Credits, NQF Level 7.

Or

• Appropriate Diploma, 360 Credits, NQF Level 6.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 7 totalling 120 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 7, 120 Credits

• Educational Studies, 42 Credits.
• Community Engagement, 4 Credits.
• Teaching Method 1 FET, 24 Credits.
• Teaching Practice 1 FET, 13 Credits.
• Teaching Method 2 FET/SP, 24 Credits.
• Teaching Practice 2 FET/SP, 13 Credits.

1. Engage critically and reflexively with a wide range of philosophical, sociological, and psychological orientations, theories and perspectives relevant to the field of education the phase specialisation, and the disciplines taught.
2. Understand a wide range of educational contexts and managing knowledge and competence in working with diversity in the classroom.
3. Adjust teaching and learning strategies in ways that meet the needs of all the learners in their classrooms.
4. Function responsibly within the education system, the school and the community.
5. Demonstrate competence in reading, writing and speaking the language(s) of instructions in ways that facilitate educators own academic learning and learning in the classrooms.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Demonstrate a familiarity with the fields of knowledge which underpin the discipline (education), the area of specialisation and the subjects taught.
• Show an understanding of the kinds of evidence, modes of argument or criteria of adequacy appropriate to the fields of knowledge in their area of specialisation.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the epistemic values and principles which characterise the fields of knowledge in the area/s of specialisation.
• Address concerns related to the practice and children's learning through classroom-based investigations.
• Explain, based on classroom research, the success or otherwise of teaching and learning strategies regarding critical educational concepts, the needs and abilities of the learners, and demands of the specialisation.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Select, adapt or design coherent learning programmes and lessons appropriate for the learners, context and specialisation, taking into account national, regional and school curriculum policies, learning contexts and learner differences.
• Select and/or design materials and resources appropriate to the learning programme, taking cognisance of issues such as content validity and differentiation.
• Plan lessons within teaching programmes, selecting appropriate teaching and learning strategies.
• Create expectations which make appropriate demands on the learners.
• Make judgments on the effect that language has on learning and, in that light, make the necessary adjustments to the teaching and learning strategies.
• Adjust teaching and learning strategies to cater for cultural, gender, ethnic, language and other differences among learners.
• Evaluate own and other's assessment strategies in terms of their validity, fairness reliability and sensitivity to gender, culture, language and barriers to learning and development.
• Justify selection and design of learning programmes in ways which show knowledge with understanding of a range of theories on teaching, learning, child development and curriculum.
• Evaluate and improve learning programmes, lessons and materials based on experience and classroom research.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Interpret curricular knowledge in practice, in their area(s) of specialisation, in terms of a broader understanding of the relevant knowledge field.
• Critically discuss the content of the curricular knowledge in the area(s) of specialisation, and apply appropriate values and conceptual frameworks to problem-solving in the relevant fields of knowledge.
• Evaluate what learning material (including text books) should be selected, at what level, in what sequence, and how it should be assessed, in the area/s of specialisation (phase and subjects/learning area).
• Select and use teaching and learning strategies appropriate to the subject, phase and topic and, based on careful assessment, to the needs of the learners in the classes.
• Select and use teaching and learning strategies which motivate the learners.
• Facilitate occasions where learners are taught in groups, pairs and as individuals.
• Accommodate differences in learning style, pace and ability in the planning and use of teaching and learning strategies.
• Identify and assist learners with special needs and barriers to learning and development.
• Use teaching and learning support materials to facilitate learner progress and development.
• Assess the teaching and learning strategies used in a particular context in light of the extent to which the objectives of the learning experience have been achieved.
• Managing and organising the learning environment and learners.
• Perform administrative duties required for the effective management of the learning environment.
• Create and maintain learning environments which are safe as well as conducive to learning.
• Create learning environments that are sensitive to cultural, linguistic, gender and other differences.
• Manage learning environments democratically and in ways that foster creative and critical thinking.
• Discipline learners in ways that are growth-promoting and fair.
• Resolve conflict situations within classrooms ethically and sensitively.
• Assist learners in managing themselves, their time, physical space and resources.
• Take appropriate action to assist or refer learners to specialists (e.g. Social worker) in order to address personal or social problems.
• Evaluate, and where necessary, adjust their actions in ways that show knowledge and understanding of management and administration.
• Justify actions in ways which reflect knowledge with understanding of a variety of ways of managing individual learners and classes.
• Select, adapt and/or design assessment tasks and strategies appropriate to the specialisation and for a range of learning contexts.
• Explain the link between the method of assessment, the overall assessment purpose and the objectives being assessed.
• Design and administer assessment tasks using clear language and instructions.
• Collect from a variety of sources sufficient confirming evidence of learner competence.
• Use a range of assessment strategies to accommodate differences in learning style, pace and context.
• Assess and record the progress of individual learners systematically.
• Use assessment results to provide feedback to inform future teaching, learning and assessment strategies.
• Justify choice and design of assessment strategies, methods, and procedures in ways which show knowledge with understanding of the assumptions that underlie a range of assessment approaches and their particular strengths and weaknesses in relation to age and learning area being assessed.
• Provide for a deep and systematic understanding of current thinking, practise, theory and methodology in an area of specialisation.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Maintain a sense of respect towards others in the learning environment.
• Co-operate in maintaining orderly learning environments.
• Initiate and maintain effective professional communication with parents, guardians and other members of the community and involve them in school affairs.
• Demonstrate an ability to engage critically with a wide variety of stakeholders regarding issues that are specifically relevant to teaching and learning practices.
• Engage critically with education policies, procedures and systems which impact on institutions and classrooms, as well as on the national education and training landscape.
• Apply school policies and development plans to their teaching.
• Organise curricular, cross-curricular and extra-curricular activities.
• Select, create, justify, deliver and reflect upon and improve extra-curricular activities.
• Behave in ways that enhance the status of professional educators and ensure an accountable culture of teaching and learning.
• Promote the values and principles of the Constitution, particularly those related to human rights and the environment.
• Promote the practice of democratic values, attitudes and dispositions in the school, as well as in society at large.
• Encourage, create and maintain a supportive and empowering environment for learners.
• Evaluate their professional progress effectively.
• Show a commitment to act in and actively promote the best interests of learners, parents, communities, colleagues and the profession.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• Co-operate professionally with colleagues in an institutional setting.
• Demonstrate an ability to engage critically with a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Use internal and external networking opportunities effectively.
• Practice and promote a sense of respect and responsibility towards others by cultivating a critical, committed and ethical attitude.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Interpret numerical information in their learning area, subject or discipline.
• Apply their understanding of numerical and elementary statistical knowledge to educational issues, teaching, learning and assessment, and their learning.
• Engage critically with theoretical texts and research within the field of education.

Integrated Assessment

Assignments are marked and returned within three weeks of the submission date. Learners are not usually permitted to re-work assignments. Instead, provision is made for formative assessment. It involves submitting a draft assignment to the AD person in the department or lecturer concerned who reads and responds to the assignment before the due date of submission. Although rubrics are given with assignments, the feedback has to be informative, and lecturers are thus encouraged to write comments directly onto learner assignments.

Educational Studies examinations are written mid-year, and Teaching Method examinations at the end of the year. The Department believes that examinations are to assess what a learner knows and can do, rather than illuminate what he or she cannot do. The institution's policy on external examining formalises what is accepted as good practice for carrying out external examining at the institution prior to the development of the policy. The Educational Studies and Teaching Methods are externally moderated and examined.

Work-integrated learning (Teaching Practice [TP]) assessment is a process rather than an 'event' and is both formative and summative in nature. Learners' peers also conduct lesson observations and provide informal feedback. Mentors play a significant role in the formative assessment of learner teachers' classroom practice. The expectation is that mentors will 'induct' learners into their classroom practice gradually, at first as observers, later as co-teachers, and ultimately handing over complete responsibility to the learners. Mentors are encouraged to provide written feedback on lessons observed and to complete formal evaluations of their learners'. The approach to assessment in the PGCE (SP&FET) qualification mirrors that described in the institution's policy. It is communicated to the learners via the PGCE (SP&FET) Student Handbook. These documents describe (1) the approach to assessment; (2) the competencies expected of beginner teachers by the end of the PGCE (SP&FET) year; and (3) the formative and summative assessment processes. In the Teaching Methods, there is room for an individual method lecturer's creative interpretation and application of assessment. This is consistent with the ethos of the Department which accepts the need for policy frameworks but views these as enabling, as opposed to prescriptive, frameworks for good practice.