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Papers by Sarita Ramsaroop

Research paper thumbnail of Mixed-Reality Simulation to Support Practice Learning of Preservice Teachers

Education Sciences, Oct 22, 2023

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Research paper thumbnail of Rethinking University Pedagogy

Advances in educational technologies and instructional design book series, Jun 16, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of The Earth is Flat! Exploring the Mental Models of the Solar System in the Foundation Phase

This paper aims at describing the changes in the mental models that foundation phase learners con... more This paper aims at describing the changes in the mental models that foundation phase learners construct about the relationships between the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. A series of clinical interviews were conducted with Foundation phase learners at a primary school in Soweto, Johannesburg, to elicit their thinking in relation to the shape, colour and relative positions of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. The participants in this study consisted of 10 grade R and 10 grade three learners. Learners constructed their representations of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon using clay. From this, their intuitive ideas about colours and shapes of these objects became evident. The question this research asks is: "How do learners' concepts of the relationships between the Earth, Moon, and Sun change throughout the foundation phase?" Data was collected through interviews and video recordings and was analyzed using open coding. The findings revealed that there is a marked change between the flat Earth models that are prevalent with the grade R sample and the spherical depictions made by the grade 3 learners. The findings further show that despite the changes in representations of the shape of the Earth, most learners still hold a geocentric model of the solar system. The authors recommend that foundation phase teachers use the protocol that was developed for these interviews as a means to establish the intuitive theories that children hold before attempting to teach content relating to weather, seasons, day/night cycles and the solar system. This is necessary as the learning of these concepts are dependent on their understanding of the relationships between the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. By determining the prior knowledge of learners, teachers can effectively inform their teaching strategies and adapt to the competencies of these learners. In so doing, it ensures that learners reach the normative understanding of these natural phenomena. The authors argue that the limited time spent on teaching concepts relating to the solar system leads to minimal change in the concepts that these learners hold. This impacts on a learners' journey to reaching a normative understanding of such concepts.

Research paper thumbnail of Experiences of Student-Teachers: Implications for Refined Student-Support

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

Every institution has support services available for students, especially first-year students, th... more Every institution has support services available for students, especially first-year students, that would help deal with issues they might need assistance with during their early years. Student support services offered at universities to assist students’ academic, social, or psycho-emotional needs help to enhance their overall welfare and academic achievement. This study investigated university student-teachers experiences and their implications for refined student support. A case study qualitative research design was employed for this study with 12 student-teachers (five male and seven female) as the sample. A focus group interview method was employed to generate responses, and the information was evaluated with thematic content analysis. This study reported that first-year students encountered various challenges classified into academic (inconsistency in keeping the timetable of lectures and lecturers, misplacement, and missing academic results), social (inadequacies in the transp...

Research paper thumbnail of Domains and origins of information and knowledge encountered by pre-service teachers during professional experiences in Helsinki and Johannesburg

Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education

Research paper thumbnail of Differentiating between experience and expertise in mentoring student teachers

South African Journal of Education, Feb 28, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Infusing 21st-century competencies into scripted foundation phase literacy lessons

South African Journal of Childhood Education

Background: Despite large-scale interventions aimed at developing literacy skills, children’s rea... more Background: Despite large-scale interventions aimed at developing literacy skills, children’s reading competence levels in South Africa continue to remain an area of concern. In addition, the need to prepare learners for the increased demands of a fast-changing world of learning and working is gaining attention in educational policy and practice.Aim: Using a qualitative multi-site case study research design, the authors aimed to explore teachers’ understanding and enactment of scripted literacy lessons that are designed to promote 21st-century competencies.Setting: Five Grade 1 teachers were selected from four schools, three of which are in peri-urban and the other in a township area.Methods: Data were generated in two phases across three teaching cycles. In the first phase, lessons were observed and recorded on video. The second phase consisted of stimulated recall interviews (SRIs) in which teachers commented on their recorded lessons.Results: The findings showed that when teacher...

Research paper thumbnail of Mathematics subject supervisors’ role in ensuring quality teaching in preprimary and primary schools

South African Journal of Childhood Education

Background: The need to examine mathematics subject supervisors’ roles in ensuring quality perfor... more Background: The need to examine mathematics subject supervisors’ roles in ensuring quality performance in mathematics learning is evident in the declining performance of learners in mathematics. This is attributed to various variables such as inadequate supervision, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate and obsolete resources, disillusioned teachers and poor pedagogical content knowledge. Hence, this study examines mathematics subject supervisors’ roles in ensuring quality teaching in preprimary and primary schools.Aim: This study aimed to enhance subject supervisors’ role in ensuring quality teaching in preprimary and primary school mathematics.Setting: Public preprimary and primary schools in the Owerri Educational Zone of Imo State, Nigeria, served as the research setting.Methods: The research adopted the quantitative research method and a descriptive survey research design. Questionnaires were used as the instruments for data collection and were validated by experts in mathematics ...

Research paper thumbnail of COVID-19 – lessons learnt

Routledge eBooks, May 27, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of A confluence of liminality in a rural learner transitioning to boarding school in South Africa

Issues in Educational Research, Jun 19, 2021

Many rural children in South Africa are subjected to social isolation, poor quality schooling and... more Many rural children in South Africa are subjected to social isolation, poor quality schooling and other related challenges, which impacts their growth and development and access to post-school educational opportunities. Well-functioning boarding schools offer a solution but research in South Africa is still in its infancy. Using the theoretical frame of liminality, in a qualitative case study, the authors explore the influence of a wellfunctioning boarding school on the social and academic development of a socioeconomically disadvantaged rural male learner. Data from interviews, observations, progress reports and open-ended questionnaires were analysed using content analysis procedures and interpreted for evidence of possible shifts, tensions, and challenges. The findings confirm that while the young man benefitted both academically and socially, the confluence of liminal spaces in his transition from a rural background to boarding school, resulted in ongoing tensions that prolonged his state of liminality. We discuss the consequences for the learner and our roles as researchers and engage with the implications for this type of research for development agents both in South Africa and internationally.

Research paper thumbnail of Service Learning and Teacher Education

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education

Although teacher education actively promotes the ideals of social justice and care, finding ways ... more Although teacher education actively promotes the ideals of social justice and care, finding ways of enculturating student teachers into what these values mean in education remains a challenge. Additionally, the literature abounds with the struggles of teacher educators to prepare student teachers with the knowledge and competencies required for the complex task of teaching. A way to address this is through the inclusion of service learning (SL) in initial teacher education programs. SL, as a form of experiential learning, with reflection at its core, serves as a means of deepening student learning about the practice of social justice and care and as a way of both drawing on, and informing, student teachers’ practical and situational learning of teaching. SL also holds potential for preparing teachers with the competencies required for the 21st century. The research on SL in teacher education draws on theoretical perspectives of experiential learning, democracy education, social tran...

Research paper thumbnail of The reawakening of teaching through aesthetics in education: Students’ perspectives

Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Incorporating indigenous knowledge in the teaching of weather and climate in primary school classrooms in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The Journal of Geography Education in Africa

One of the challenges related to the teaching and learning of weather and climate in the social s... more One of the challenges related to the teaching and learning of weather and climate in the social sciences is the somewhat abstract nature of these concepts. Incorporating indigenous knowledge (IK), a form of prior knowledge that learners acquire from communities and passed down through generations, can assist in making learning meaningful and relevant. Using a qualitative research design, we firstly explore the type of IK related to weather and climate practiced in a local rural community to identify the overlapping knowledges of community elders and Grade 5 social sciences teachers. Secondly, we set out to determine how these teachers view the incorporation of IK in the teaching of weather and climate. Finally, we show how teachers perceive the relationship between IK and scientific knowledge. The data confirms that there is a shared awareness, among the community members and teachers, of the rituals and practices associated with weather and climate in this area. Teachers do see the...

Research paper thumbnail of The potential of teaching schools in enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession

Journal of Curriculum Studies

Abstract In 2011 the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Developmen... more Abstract In 2011 the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa was promulgated. This framework proposes the establishment of teaching schools to strengthen pre-service teacher education. This study arises from this initiative. A generic qualitative study was undertaken to explore the views of research participants from selected teacher education institutions and schools in South Africa on the potential of teaching schools to enable student teacher learning for the teaching profession. The key findings are that teaching schools can potentially make a distinctive contribution towards enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession through student teachers experiencing good teaching in a model environment and through coordinating experiences in coursework and at the school. The discussion of the findings points to the distinctive potentialities of teaching schools for strengthening teacher education. The notion of hybridity and third space is invoked as a heuristic to shed light on the developing of a true collaborative relationship between the teacher education institution and the teaching school for enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession.

Research paper thumbnail of Moving sciences beyond museums and theatres

Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring educator competence in teaching environmental education in schools in Gauteng

Africa Education Review, 2013

Abstract There is an abundance of research in support of interdisciplinary approaches to teaching... more Abstract There is an abundance of research in support of interdisciplinary approaches to teaching Environmental Education (EE). Research has also supported the use of a holistic and systemic approach to the teaching and learning of environmental content. Curriculum planning in South Africa has followed a cross curricular approach to teaching Environmental Education whereby EE is infused across all Learning Areas in the Senior Phase. This is done with an assumption that, irrespective of their fields of speciality, teachers have been equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to teach Environmental Education effectively. This article explores educator competencies in teaching EE in accordance with the expectations outlined in the National Curriculum Statement. A quantitative study was undertaken to determine the nature of knowledge, skills and attitudes that teachers are currently equipped with to be able to teach EE holistically and systemically. The findings of this investigation emphasise the need to empower teachers with in-depth knowledge of EE so as to be able to teach it in an integrated manner.

Research paper thumbnail of Bringing Map Learning to ‘Life’by Using the Environment as a Learning Resource

Alternation: Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa

The last two decades have brought to light local and international research on problems encounter... more The last two decades have brought to light local and international research on problems encountered by learners when learning Geography at school, especially map work. One of the reasons provided for poor learner performance relates to teacher expertise in teaching this subject. This research explored how first-year student teachers from a university in Johannesburg, South Africa, merged their coursework with their fieldwork when learning map work; and how they were able to re-imagine their teaching of map skills to learners in the Intermediate Phase of the primary school. In addressing the research aim, a qualitative case study method of inquiry, using open-ended questionnaires, was undertaken. Drawing on the findings from the data, I assert that using Kolb's experiential learning theory, to integrate student teacher learning in coursework and fieldwork, not only strengthened pedagogic content knowledge, but also enabled student teachers to exhibit agency. The data confirmed that student teachers configured their understandings of map work by engaging their past experiences with the present (learning in coursework and fieldwork) to re-orientate their learning towards the future (how they will teach learners). For example, student teachers were empowered to take agentic action by reflecting on their learning in coursework and fieldwork to make informed pedagogical choices on how they would teach this content area to learners in the primary school. Thus, the foundations for learning to teach geographical enquiry skills were being developed.

Research paper thumbnail of The role of museums in learning to teach with a critical lens Background to the research

This study set out to explore the potential of student teachers learning to teach apartheid era h... more This study set out to explore the potential of student teachers learning to teach apartheid era history to learners in the primary school when learning in apartheid museums is blended with coursework. Using qualitative methods of inquiry, the findings show that student teachers learning in museums that dovetail with coursework at the university strengthens their ability to 'know, think, feel and act like a teacher'. The multiple narratives contributed towards addressing misconceptions, strengthened citizenship and pedagogic content knowledge, fundamentals that can equip student teachers to teach apartheid era history with an informed lens. The study highlights the importance of developing in student teachers investigative skills before and after museum visits so as to ensure that they are not merely consumers but are able to interrogate multiple narratives, resulting in them being active producers of knowledge.

Research paper thumbnail of Foundation phase teachers’ views of the involvement of male caregivers in young children’s education

South African Journal of Childhood Education

This study aimed to explore foundation phase teachers' views of the involvement of male caregiver... more This study aimed to explore foundation phase teachers' views of the involvement of male caregivers in the education and development of young children. Setting: The paper reports on the qualitative phase of a mixed methods study conducted in three township schools near Johannesburg. Methods: Focus group interviews involving a sample of 17 foundation phase teachers were conducted in three schools. An iterative coding process within a generic qualitative data analysis approach was carried out to articulate overarching ideas and themes. Results: The results highlight how teachers' taken-for-granted gendered assumptions about the roles of females and males in the education and development of foundation phase children and about the children's care arrangements influence how they communicate with parents, unconsciously alienating male caregivers. Conclusion: Although teachers had not considered the role of male caregivers in the early years of children's education, they acknowledged that such an undertaking would be beneficial to the learners and the school. Therefore, the authors argue for training aimed at capacitating foundation phase teachers with the essential competencies necessary to galvanise and increase meaningful involvement of male caregivers in the education of learners in pre-service and inservice teacher professional development.

Research paper thumbnail of The role of museums in learning to teach with a critical lens

Journal of Education, 2017

The role of museums in learning to teach with a critical lens Sarita Ramsaroop (Received 19 Augus... more The role of museums in learning to teach with a critical lens Sarita Ramsaroop (Received 19 August 2016; accepted 8 May 2017) Abstract This study set out to explore the potential of student teachers learning to teach apartheid era history to learners in the primary school when learning in apartheid museums is blended with coursework. Using qualitative methods of inquiry, the findings show that student teachers learning in museums that dovetail with coursework at the university strengthens their ability to ‘know, think, feel and act like a teacher’. The multiple narratives contributed towards addressing misconceptions, strengthened citizenship and pedagogic content knowledge, fundamentals that can equip student teachers to teach apartheid era history with an informed lens. The study highlights the importance of developing in student teachers investigative skills before and after museum visits so as to ensure that they are not merely consumers but are able to interrogate multiple narr...

Research paper thumbnail of Mixed-Reality Simulation to Support Practice Learning of Preservice Teachers

Education Sciences, Oct 22, 2023

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Research paper thumbnail of Rethinking University Pedagogy

Advances in educational technologies and instructional design book series, Jun 16, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of The Earth is Flat! Exploring the Mental Models of the Solar System in the Foundation Phase

This paper aims at describing the changes in the mental models that foundation phase learners con... more This paper aims at describing the changes in the mental models that foundation phase learners construct about the relationships between the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. A series of clinical interviews were conducted with Foundation phase learners at a primary school in Soweto, Johannesburg, to elicit their thinking in relation to the shape, colour and relative positions of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. The participants in this study consisted of 10 grade R and 10 grade three learners. Learners constructed their representations of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon using clay. From this, their intuitive ideas about colours and shapes of these objects became evident. The question this research asks is: "How do learners' concepts of the relationships between the Earth, Moon, and Sun change throughout the foundation phase?" Data was collected through interviews and video recordings and was analyzed using open coding. The findings revealed that there is a marked change between the flat Earth models that are prevalent with the grade R sample and the spherical depictions made by the grade 3 learners. The findings further show that despite the changes in representations of the shape of the Earth, most learners still hold a geocentric model of the solar system. The authors recommend that foundation phase teachers use the protocol that was developed for these interviews as a means to establish the intuitive theories that children hold before attempting to teach content relating to weather, seasons, day/night cycles and the solar system. This is necessary as the learning of these concepts are dependent on their understanding of the relationships between the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. By determining the prior knowledge of learners, teachers can effectively inform their teaching strategies and adapt to the competencies of these learners. In so doing, it ensures that learners reach the normative understanding of these natural phenomena. The authors argue that the limited time spent on teaching concepts relating to the solar system leads to minimal change in the concepts that these learners hold. This impacts on a learners' journey to reaching a normative understanding of such concepts.

Research paper thumbnail of Experiences of Student-Teachers: Implications for Refined Student-Support

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

Every institution has support services available for students, especially first-year students, th... more Every institution has support services available for students, especially first-year students, that would help deal with issues they might need assistance with during their early years. Student support services offered at universities to assist students’ academic, social, or psycho-emotional needs help to enhance their overall welfare and academic achievement. This study investigated university student-teachers experiences and their implications for refined student support. A case study qualitative research design was employed for this study with 12 student-teachers (five male and seven female) as the sample. A focus group interview method was employed to generate responses, and the information was evaluated with thematic content analysis. This study reported that first-year students encountered various challenges classified into academic (inconsistency in keeping the timetable of lectures and lecturers, misplacement, and missing academic results), social (inadequacies in the transp...

Research paper thumbnail of Domains and origins of information and knowledge encountered by pre-service teachers during professional experiences in Helsinki and Johannesburg

Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education

Research paper thumbnail of Differentiating between experience and expertise in mentoring student teachers

South African Journal of Education, Feb 28, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Infusing 21st-century competencies into scripted foundation phase literacy lessons

South African Journal of Childhood Education

Background: Despite large-scale interventions aimed at developing literacy skills, children’s rea... more Background: Despite large-scale interventions aimed at developing literacy skills, children’s reading competence levels in South Africa continue to remain an area of concern. In addition, the need to prepare learners for the increased demands of a fast-changing world of learning and working is gaining attention in educational policy and practice.Aim: Using a qualitative multi-site case study research design, the authors aimed to explore teachers’ understanding and enactment of scripted literacy lessons that are designed to promote 21st-century competencies.Setting: Five Grade 1 teachers were selected from four schools, three of which are in peri-urban and the other in a township area.Methods: Data were generated in two phases across three teaching cycles. In the first phase, lessons were observed and recorded on video. The second phase consisted of stimulated recall interviews (SRIs) in which teachers commented on their recorded lessons.Results: The findings showed that when teacher...

Research paper thumbnail of Mathematics subject supervisors’ role in ensuring quality teaching in preprimary and primary schools

South African Journal of Childhood Education

Background: The need to examine mathematics subject supervisors’ roles in ensuring quality perfor... more Background: The need to examine mathematics subject supervisors’ roles in ensuring quality performance in mathematics learning is evident in the declining performance of learners in mathematics. This is attributed to various variables such as inadequate supervision, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate and obsolete resources, disillusioned teachers and poor pedagogical content knowledge. Hence, this study examines mathematics subject supervisors’ roles in ensuring quality teaching in preprimary and primary schools.Aim: This study aimed to enhance subject supervisors’ role in ensuring quality teaching in preprimary and primary school mathematics.Setting: Public preprimary and primary schools in the Owerri Educational Zone of Imo State, Nigeria, served as the research setting.Methods: The research adopted the quantitative research method and a descriptive survey research design. Questionnaires were used as the instruments for data collection and were validated by experts in mathematics ...

Research paper thumbnail of COVID-19 – lessons learnt

Routledge eBooks, May 27, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of A confluence of liminality in a rural learner transitioning to boarding school in South Africa

Issues in Educational Research, Jun 19, 2021

Many rural children in South Africa are subjected to social isolation, poor quality schooling and... more Many rural children in South Africa are subjected to social isolation, poor quality schooling and other related challenges, which impacts their growth and development and access to post-school educational opportunities. Well-functioning boarding schools offer a solution but research in South Africa is still in its infancy. Using the theoretical frame of liminality, in a qualitative case study, the authors explore the influence of a wellfunctioning boarding school on the social and academic development of a socioeconomically disadvantaged rural male learner. Data from interviews, observations, progress reports and open-ended questionnaires were analysed using content analysis procedures and interpreted for evidence of possible shifts, tensions, and challenges. The findings confirm that while the young man benefitted both academically and socially, the confluence of liminal spaces in his transition from a rural background to boarding school, resulted in ongoing tensions that prolonged his state of liminality. We discuss the consequences for the learner and our roles as researchers and engage with the implications for this type of research for development agents both in South Africa and internationally.

Research paper thumbnail of Service Learning and Teacher Education

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education

Although teacher education actively promotes the ideals of social justice and care, finding ways ... more Although teacher education actively promotes the ideals of social justice and care, finding ways of enculturating student teachers into what these values mean in education remains a challenge. Additionally, the literature abounds with the struggles of teacher educators to prepare student teachers with the knowledge and competencies required for the complex task of teaching. A way to address this is through the inclusion of service learning (SL) in initial teacher education programs. SL, as a form of experiential learning, with reflection at its core, serves as a means of deepening student learning about the practice of social justice and care and as a way of both drawing on, and informing, student teachers’ practical and situational learning of teaching. SL also holds potential for preparing teachers with the competencies required for the 21st century. The research on SL in teacher education draws on theoretical perspectives of experiential learning, democracy education, social tran...

Research paper thumbnail of The reawakening of teaching through aesthetics in education: Students’ perspectives

Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Incorporating indigenous knowledge in the teaching of weather and climate in primary school classrooms in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The Journal of Geography Education in Africa

One of the challenges related to the teaching and learning of weather and climate in the social s... more One of the challenges related to the teaching and learning of weather and climate in the social sciences is the somewhat abstract nature of these concepts. Incorporating indigenous knowledge (IK), a form of prior knowledge that learners acquire from communities and passed down through generations, can assist in making learning meaningful and relevant. Using a qualitative research design, we firstly explore the type of IK related to weather and climate practiced in a local rural community to identify the overlapping knowledges of community elders and Grade 5 social sciences teachers. Secondly, we set out to determine how these teachers view the incorporation of IK in the teaching of weather and climate. Finally, we show how teachers perceive the relationship between IK and scientific knowledge. The data confirms that there is a shared awareness, among the community members and teachers, of the rituals and practices associated with weather and climate in this area. Teachers do see the...

Research paper thumbnail of The potential of teaching schools in enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession

Journal of Curriculum Studies

Abstract In 2011 the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Developmen... more Abstract In 2011 the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa was promulgated. This framework proposes the establishment of teaching schools to strengthen pre-service teacher education. This study arises from this initiative. A generic qualitative study was undertaken to explore the views of research participants from selected teacher education institutions and schools in South Africa on the potential of teaching schools to enable student teacher learning for the teaching profession. The key findings are that teaching schools can potentially make a distinctive contribution towards enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession through student teachers experiencing good teaching in a model environment and through coordinating experiences in coursework and at the school. The discussion of the findings points to the distinctive potentialities of teaching schools for strengthening teacher education. The notion of hybridity and third space is invoked as a heuristic to shed light on the developing of a true collaborative relationship between the teacher education institution and the teaching school for enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession.

Research paper thumbnail of Moving sciences beyond museums and theatres

Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring educator competence in teaching environmental education in schools in Gauteng

Africa Education Review, 2013

Abstract There is an abundance of research in support of interdisciplinary approaches to teaching... more Abstract There is an abundance of research in support of interdisciplinary approaches to teaching Environmental Education (EE). Research has also supported the use of a holistic and systemic approach to the teaching and learning of environmental content. Curriculum planning in South Africa has followed a cross curricular approach to teaching Environmental Education whereby EE is infused across all Learning Areas in the Senior Phase. This is done with an assumption that, irrespective of their fields of speciality, teachers have been equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to teach Environmental Education effectively. This article explores educator competencies in teaching EE in accordance with the expectations outlined in the National Curriculum Statement. A quantitative study was undertaken to determine the nature of knowledge, skills and attitudes that teachers are currently equipped with to be able to teach EE holistically and systemically. The findings of this investigation emphasise the need to empower teachers with in-depth knowledge of EE so as to be able to teach it in an integrated manner.

Research paper thumbnail of Bringing Map Learning to ‘Life’by Using the Environment as a Learning Resource

Alternation: Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa

The last two decades have brought to light local and international research on problems encounter... more The last two decades have brought to light local and international research on problems encountered by learners when learning Geography at school, especially map work. One of the reasons provided for poor learner performance relates to teacher expertise in teaching this subject. This research explored how first-year student teachers from a university in Johannesburg, South Africa, merged their coursework with their fieldwork when learning map work; and how they were able to re-imagine their teaching of map skills to learners in the Intermediate Phase of the primary school. In addressing the research aim, a qualitative case study method of inquiry, using open-ended questionnaires, was undertaken. Drawing on the findings from the data, I assert that using Kolb's experiential learning theory, to integrate student teacher learning in coursework and fieldwork, not only strengthened pedagogic content knowledge, but also enabled student teachers to exhibit agency. The data confirmed that student teachers configured their understandings of map work by engaging their past experiences with the present (learning in coursework and fieldwork) to re-orientate their learning towards the future (how they will teach learners). For example, student teachers were empowered to take agentic action by reflecting on their learning in coursework and fieldwork to make informed pedagogical choices on how they would teach this content area to learners in the primary school. Thus, the foundations for learning to teach geographical enquiry skills were being developed.

Research paper thumbnail of The role of museums in learning to teach with a critical lens Background to the research

This study set out to explore the potential of student teachers learning to teach apartheid era h... more This study set out to explore the potential of student teachers learning to teach apartheid era history to learners in the primary school when learning in apartheid museums is blended with coursework. Using qualitative methods of inquiry, the findings show that student teachers learning in museums that dovetail with coursework at the university strengthens their ability to 'know, think, feel and act like a teacher'. The multiple narratives contributed towards addressing misconceptions, strengthened citizenship and pedagogic content knowledge, fundamentals that can equip student teachers to teach apartheid era history with an informed lens. The study highlights the importance of developing in student teachers investigative skills before and after museum visits so as to ensure that they are not merely consumers but are able to interrogate multiple narratives, resulting in them being active producers of knowledge.

Research paper thumbnail of Foundation phase teachers’ views of the involvement of male caregivers in young children’s education

South African Journal of Childhood Education

This study aimed to explore foundation phase teachers' views of the involvement of male caregiver... more This study aimed to explore foundation phase teachers' views of the involvement of male caregivers in the education and development of young children. Setting: The paper reports on the qualitative phase of a mixed methods study conducted in three township schools near Johannesburg. Methods: Focus group interviews involving a sample of 17 foundation phase teachers were conducted in three schools. An iterative coding process within a generic qualitative data analysis approach was carried out to articulate overarching ideas and themes. Results: The results highlight how teachers' taken-for-granted gendered assumptions about the roles of females and males in the education and development of foundation phase children and about the children's care arrangements influence how they communicate with parents, unconsciously alienating male caregivers. Conclusion: Although teachers had not considered the role of male caregivers in the early years of children's education, they acknowledged that such an undertaking would be beneficial to the learners and the school. Therefore, the authors argue for training aimed at capacitating foundation phase teachers with the essential competencies necessary to galvanise and increase meaningful involvement of male caregivers in the education of learners in pre-service and inservice teacher professional development.

Research paper thumbnail of The role of museums in learning to teach with a critical lens

Journal of Education, 2017

The role of museums in learning to teach with a critical lens Sarita Ramsaroop (Received 19 Augus... more The role of museums in learning to teach with a critical lens Sarita Ramsaroop (Received 19 August 2016; accepted 8 May 2017) Abstract This study set out to explore the potential of student teachers learning to teach apartheid era history to learners in the primary school when learning in apartheid museums is blended with coursework. Using qualitative methods of inquiry, the findings show that student teachers learning in museums that dovetail with coursework at the university strengthens their ability to ‘know, think, feel and act like a teacher’. The multiple narratives contributed towards addressing misconceptions, strengthened citizenship and pedagogic content knowledge, fundamentals that can equip student teachers to teach apartheid era history with an informed lens. The study highlights the importance of developing in student teachers investigative skills before and after museum visits so as to ensure that they are not merely consumers but are able to interrogate multiple narr...