Browsing by Author "Rock, Chrischar"

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    Democratic citizenship education in South African schools: Teachers' practices and perspectives
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Rock, Chrischar; Robinson, Maureen; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Curriculum Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since the advent of democracy in South Africa, policy documents and curriculum guides have attempted to shape and provide a framework for democratic citizenship education in schools. Even with such policies being in place, this research works from the premise that through teachers’ practices, perspectives, and lived experiences in classrooms and schools, policy endeavours and ideals for democratic citizenship education can be given meaning. The study draws on practice theory, where the emphasis lies on examining practices in practice. The study uses the notion of sense-making, which includes the central concepts of individual cognition, situated cognition, and policy signals. Through its findings, the research sheds light on teachers’ conceptualisation of democratic citizenship education and how it is implemented, organised, and practiced across different classrooms in different schools. The study utilized qualitative research methods within an interpretivist framework, and it focused on eight Life Orientation teachers, all in their first five years of teaching. Data-collection methods included lesson observations and semi-structured interviews. The lesson observations offered insight into how these teachers implemented democratic citizenship education in their respective classrooms. Semi-structured interviews allowed the research participants to discuss their perspectives on democratic citizenship education and offer further insights into the pedagogical strategies observed in lessons. This study has identified that, conceptually and empirically, there exists a gap between how curriculum policy in South Africa articulates the values and strategies of democratic citizenship education and teachers’ understanding and interpretations of these ideas. Findings indicate the importance of the relationship between the teacher as the individual sense-maker, the situational context, and external policy representations on teachers’ conceptualisation and implementation of democratic citizenship education. The study showed how teachers are constrained or enabled by their situational context and the different ways in which they take initiative to navigate their individual contexts. Results indicate a need for a better understanding of how teachers themselves make sense of democratic citizenship education in practice and the influence of the situational context on teachers’ classroom pedagogy. As one strategy towards this end, the study argues that teacher education programs, both in their design and implementation, need to create opportunities for pre-service and in-service teachers to develop pedagogical approaches to explore, implement and promote democratic citizenship education. By giving attention to the findings and recommendations of this study, it is argued that we may develop a better understanding of the teacher (self), the profession, and the practice for the realisation of democratic citizenship education in schools in South Africa.