We are workshopped: problematising Foundation Phase teachers’ identity constructions

The new Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications document envisages a particular type of teacher (DHET, 2011). These teachers need to be, amongst other things, reflective, committed, critical practitioners with sound content knowledge (DHET, 2011).  It is with this in mind that a re...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lorayne Excell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2014-07-01
Series:South African Journal of Childhood Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/60
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author Lorayne Excell
author_facet Lorayne Excell
author_sort Lorayne Excell
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description The new Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications document envisages a particular type of teacher (DHET, 2011). These teachers need to be, amongst other things, reflective, committed, critical practitioners with sound content knowledge (DHET, 2011).  It is with this in mind that a remark made by Foundation Phase teachers in Limpopo raised several questions for the research team investigating communities of practice in the Foundation Phase.  The fact that teachers considered themselves to be ‘workshopped’, where something is done to them, is in opposition to the kind of teacher envisaged by government which sees teachers as pivotal to educational transformation. This paper unpacks the implications of teachers constructing themselves as ‘workshopped’ and its relation to workshops as vehicles through which knowledge is acquired. Using a critical discourse analysis of interviews and classroom observations conducted with Foundation Phase teachers, we explore the extent which the practice of the workshop is inimical to knowledge acquisition and even, possibly, negatively impacts a teachers’ ability to reflect on pedagogical gaps.
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spelling doaj.art-82d6f259421c43f0994e77cef851f5452022-12-21T23:18:55ZengAOSISSouth African Journal of Childhood Education2223-76742223-76822014-07-0141e1e1710.4102/sajce.v4i1.6061We are workshopped: problematising Foundation Phase teachers’ identity constructionsLorayne Excell0University of the WitwatersrandThe new Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications document envisages a particular type of teacher (DHET, 2011). These teachers need to be, amongst other things, reflective, committed, critical practitioners with sound content knowledge (DHET, 2011).  It is with this in mind that a remark made by Foundation Phase teachers in Limpopo raised several questions for the research team investigating communities of practice in the Foundation Phase.  The fact that teachers considered themselves to be ‘workshopped’, where something is done to them, is in opposition to the kind of teacher envisaged by government which sees teachers as pivotal to educational transformation. This paper unpacks the implications of teachers constructing themselves as ‘workshopped’ and its relation to workshops as vehicles through which knowledge is acquired. Using a critical discourse analysis of interviews and classroom observations conducted with Foundation Phase teachers, we explore the extent which the practice of the workshop is inimical to knowledge acquisition and even, possibly, negatively impacts a teachers’ ability to reflect on pedagogical gaps.https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/60WorkshoppedFoundation Phase Teachers, Agency, Identity Construction , Lexical choice
spellingShingle Lorayne Excell
We are workshopped: problematising Foundation Phase teachers’ identity constructions
South African Journal of Childhood Education
Workshopped
Foundation Phase Teachers, Agency, Identity Construction , Lexical choice
title We are workshopped: problematising Foundation Phase teachers’ identity constructions
title_full We are workshopped: problematising Foundation Phase teachers’ identity constructions
title_fullStr We are workshopped: problematising Foundation Phase teachers’ identity constructions
title_full_unstemmed We are workshopped: problematising Foundation Phase teachers’ identity constructions
title_short We are workshopped: problematising Foundation Phase teachers’ identity constructions
title_sort we are workshopped problematising foundation phase teachers identity constructions
topic Workshopped
Foundation Phase Teachers, Agency, Identity Construction , Lexical choice
url https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/60
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