The role of teacher -educators during South Africa's post -apartheid social transformation

In South Africa's transition from an authoritarian apartheid state to a stable nonracial democracy, teacher-educators have an enormous task. They endeavor to re-develop the teaching force so that education will nurture a populace with the requisite skills and dispositions for civic participation. This dissertation analyzes the experience of teacher-educators in contemporary South Africa and finds that they play three significant roles: re-shaping classroom teachers' identity and promoting a type of professionalism that is conceived for South Africa's unique circumstances; changing classroom dynamics to move instructional methods away from authoritarian, rote learning practices toward learner-centered practices that promote conceptual understanding; and building bridges for teachers, especially the previously disadvantaged groups, into higher education and constructing scaffolding to support these teachers in their learning. The argument of this dissertation is that despite the commitment of the African National Congress, state agencies, and the university to education transformation, teacher-educators encountered obstacles in their efforts to re-develop the teaching force. These obstacles were related to teachers' local circumstances. In devising and implementing approaches to improving the quality of classroom teachers, ultimately they had to rely on their personal experience and commitment to transformation to address these obstacles. Findings were generated from a case study that spotlights teacher-educators situated in the largest contact university in South Africa that offers education programs. Study participants work with practicing teachers. This feature sets the study apart from others on education reform internationally, in which there is a tendency for researchers to focus on pre-service teachers, school-based teachers and education policies. Analysis of data from classroom observations and semi-structured interviews also draws attention to factors that hinder progress toward education development. The dissertation has policy implications for democratization projects and for increasing efforts to improve classroom instruction for the Education for All (EFA) program. Program planners must take into account that policies are limited by teachers' local circumstances and support teacher-educators to develop and implement innovative approaches to overcoming these limitations.