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NEWSLETTER OF THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION

VOLUME 9 NO 1, NOV 2013

Education is the most powerful weapon that can

be used to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

BECOMING A TEACHER AT UJ’S FACULTY OF EDUCATION

The Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg is a caring, dynamic and engaged Faculty, and is considered one of the top faculties of education in the country. The Faculty offers the following range of programmes for prospective students:

• BEddegree,afour-yearinitialteachereducationprogramme

• PostgraduatecertificateinEducation(PGCE),aone-yearfull-timeortwo-yearspart-timequalificationinvariousareas of specialisation

• BEd(Honours),aone-yearfull-timeortwo-yearspart-timequalificationinvariousspecialisationareas

• Master’sdegreeinEducationinvariousareasofspecialisation

• Doctoralstudies(PhDandDEd)

Note: Anumberofnewqualifications(AdvancedDiplomasinEducationandPost-graduateDiplomasinEducation)arecurrently being developed.

Education has constantly been in the news the past few years. One of the big challenges South Africa as an emerging economy faces, is improving its education. The key to effective schools lies in the quality of the teachers. This is something that the Finnish people understand: in Finland teaching is the most respected profession of all. It is often more difficult to be accepted into a teacher education programme at the University of Helsinki, than it is to be accepted for medical studies! South Africa needs passionate and creative top-achieving Grade 12 learners and prospective students in possession of non-teaching degrees or diplomas to pursue studies in Education.

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Achterberg drumming session

Teachingisaveryfulfillingprofession.ChristaMcAuliffe’ssentiments of “I touch the future - I teach!” is also echoed by HenryAdams,whosaidthat“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops”. If you become a teacher, you are going to inspire, amongst others, future poets, architects, engineers, scientists and doctors. The UJ Faculty of Education is a leading Faculty in undergraduate teacher education and school principals are eager to appoint UJ graduateswhentheyneedtofillvacantteachingposts.

FromthemomentofenteringthequalificationasafirstyearB.Edstudent,studentsexperienceasenseofbelonging,duetoaverystrongfocusontheFirstYearExperience(FYE).TheFYE programme was developed to support new students in findingtheiracademicfeetandtoadapttothechallengesoftertiarystudies.Earlyinthefirstyear,duringtheautumnrecess,studentsaretakenonanexcursionofthreedaysduring which the focus is on what it means to become a teacher.

UJeducationstudentsalsogethands-onexperienceinauthentic situations, namely in actual schools during blocks ofschoolexperiencethroughoutthefouryearsofstudy.In the fourth year, students also engage in service learning, where they learn about issues of social justice and numerous other aspects related to the teaching profession, by spending aprescribednumberofhoursinoneofUJ’spartnerschools.Teaching in the Faculty is guided by the principle of “learning to be”, and young teachers are assisted to achieve their full potential.

TheFacultyofEducationisapioneerinthefieldofestablishing teaching schools in South Africa. A teaching schoolfulfilsasimilarroleintheeducationofteachersasateaching hospital in the education of medical practitioners.

StudentsattheSowetoCampusdothebulkoftheirpracticalworkduringtheirfirstthreeyearsofstudyattheFunda UJabule School, a partnership between UJ and the GautengDepartmentofEducation.Theschool,situatedontheSowetoCampusisafirstofitskindinSouthAfrica.Asfrom2013,studentsstudyingtobecomeNatural,PhysicalorLife Sciences teachers, as well as Mathematics teachers, will also be working in a school which will be established as a teaching school namely the UJ Metropolitan Academy. This involvesapilotresearchstudyandtheidealistoexpandthisexperiencetoallfieldsofstudy.Theinitiativeprovidesstudentswithrichandauthenticexperiencesoftheteachingprofession while still studying.

One of the flagship undergraduate programmes in the Facultyisscienceeducation,whichhasexperiencedphenomenalgrowthoverthepastfiveyears.Otherflagshipprogrammes are technology education, educational psychology and childhood education at the Soweto campus.

TheFacultyofEducationatUJoffersexcitingpost-graduatecareerpathsandB.Edgraduatesarespoiltforchoiceregardingpost-graduatespecialisations.TheFacultyofEducationhastopacademicswhoprovideexcellentsupervisiontopost-graduatestudents.TheFacultyworkshard to establish a strong community of practice amongst thesestudents,forexamplebyhostingpost-graduateresearch indabas, as well as research workshops and seminars for masters and doctoral students.

Furthermore, the Faculty has a very strong research footprint, as well as a community engagement focus. You are invited to visittheFaculty’swebpageandreadabouttheinterestingresearch and projects at www.uj.ac.za/edu.

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Challenging students’ perceptions of what it means to become a teacher:annual first-year excursionProf Josef de Beer, Department: Science & Technology

The Faculty of Education at UJ annually accepts between 700 and 900 first-year students into its four-year BEd programme. Many of these young people enter the teacher education programme with a very naive understanding of the demands of the teaching profession and only gradually develop a more nuanced understanding of the complexity of the profession during the course of the four years. The Faculty helps these students “fast-track” their understanding of the teaching profession by taking all first-year students on an excursion during the March/April recess during which they are introduced to the profession while simultaneously having a lot of fun and getting to know one another.

In 2013 almost a thousand students participated in one ofthefivecampingexcursions,eachthreedaysinlength.DuringthefirstthreeyearsofthisinitiativetheexcursionwasheldattheGoldenGateHighlandsNationalPark.From2010we changed the venue to Achterbergh where more students can be accommodated.

Theexcursionisbasedonthephilosophythatstudentslearn certain concepts best outside of the formal classroom and what better venue to do this than at the beautiful AchterberghcampintheCradleofHumankind!Theprogramme is structured in such a way that students participate in groups other than their spontaneous circle of

friends. “Strangers” of different race and cultural groups are thus engaged in tasks that vary from building solar cookers tolearningaboutissuesofsocialjustice;theHIV/Aidspandemic that haunts our country; issues of gender, culture and religious tolerance, and engaging pedagogies that may be used in the classroom. We use a pedagogy of play and the educational activities with which the students engage challenge their notions of what becoming a teacher means. “Strangers” become friends while the students develop a sense of belonging.

Manyteachersstarttheircareersinunder-resourcedschools.Students are therefore engaged in activities during which

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During 2013 a new activity namely bush dialogues was introduced to the programme. Cultural and religious differences as well as gender issues were discussed around camp fires.

they learn that one needs to be creative and resourceful if one lacks resources. In one such activity students, working in groupsoffive,havetobuildsolarstoves.Theaimistoheatwater to as high a temperature as possible by using material suchasacardboardbox,aluminiumfoil,anemptycolddrinkcan and “cling wrap”.

It is also important for our students to develop an awareness of issues of social justice, as a teacher often encounters learnersfromdiversesocio-economicbackgrounds.IntheFoodBanquetGamestudentsarerandomlyprovidedwitha passport of some country, based on which they receive a certain amount of money with which they may buy food fromthe“banquet”.Afewluckystudentsreceivepassportsof countries such as the USA, France or Japan and may buy totheirhearts’desire.SomestudentsreceivepassportsfromBRICScountriesandalthoughtheyhavelimitedbuyingpower, they can still buy sufficient food. The majority of the students receive passports from developing countries such asMozambique,EthiopiaortheDemocraticRepublicoftheCongoandcanonlyaffordasliceofunbutteredbread.Thisactivity is powerful and leads to lively discussions of how a teachermayhandlethe“haves”andthe“have-nots”intheclassroom.

ThroughouttheexcursionthereareopportunitiesforunpackingtheFaculty’sconceptualframeworkforteachingand learning, namely the notions of care, accountability, critically-reflectivepracticeandnurturinglearningindiversecontexts.Studentsareprovidedtheopportunitytowritethe

screenplay for and dramatize a case study. They then discuss the case through a lens of care and accountability.

Averypositiveoutcomeoftheexcursionisthatstudentsandmembers of staff get to know one another better.

Over the past seven years students have consistently provided very positive feedback on the value of the excursion.Manystudentshaveindicatedthatpriortotheexcursiontheywerenotsurewhethertheyhadchosentherightcareerpath,butthattheyrealisedduringtheexcursionthat they passionately wanted to become teachers.

TheAchterberghexcursionhasbecomearesearchfocusofthe Faculty and the insights that staff members gain there while working with the students result in innovations in the formalcurriculum.Majorfindingsincludethefollowing:

• Theexcursionprovidesadifferentlearningenvironmentfor personal and professional development, to complement the formal lecture hall

• Thenatureofstudent-lecturerrelationshipsischanging• Studentsdevelopasensitivityforculturaldiversity• Studentslearnhowtonegotiaterulesofinteractionina

culturally diverse grouping • Studentsareexposedtodifferentsemiotictoolsfor

teaching and learning• Studentsenvisageaprofessionaltrajectory.

These, the researchers claim, hold much promise for future teacher education.

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Official launch of the new University of MpumalangaDr Andries du PlessisTeacher Education Campus, Siyabuswa

Historywasmadeon31October2013whenHigherEducationMinisterBladeNzimandeofficiallylaunchedthenew University of Mpumalanga. Invited guests gathered atthepicturesqueLowveldCollegeofAgricultureoutsideNelspruit, which will become the main campus of the new university.Amulti-campusmodelisbeingfavouredforthenewinstitution.TheGovernment’sNationalDevelopmentPlanfocusesparticularlyonruraldevelopmentandtheMinister reiterated that in time the range of faculties needs tobeexpandedtoensurethatthisbecomesaworld-classhigher education institution for Africa.

TheBEdFoundationPhaseteachertrainingprogrammehasbeen offered at Siyabuswa, which is located outside Marble Hall,sincethestartofthe2013academicyear.ThiswasdoneundertheauspicesofUJ’sFacultyofEducation.TheFaculty’sinnovative approach to teacher training has also been extendedwiththeselectionofMarelengPrimaryschoolasateachingschool.UJ’sdirectinvolvementwiththeacademicprogramme at the Siyabuswa campus will be concluded at theendof2016whenthefirstcohortofstudentsenrolledfortheBEdFoundationPhaseprogrammewillgraduateasUJstudents. From 2014 onwards students at Siyabuswa will be enrolled as students of the University of Mpumalanga.

The new University is a welcome addition to the higher education landscape – an achievement that UJ is proud to be a part of. It is the second of two new universities establishedsince1994,theotherbeingtheSolPlaatjieUniversityintheNorthernCapeProvince.

“The future of the world is in my classroom today, a future with the

potential for good or bad... Several future presidents are learning from

me today; so are the great writers of the next decades, and so are all the so-called ordinary people who will make the decisions in a democracy.

I must never forget these same young people could be the thieves

and murderers of the future. Only a teacher? Thank God I have a

calling to the greatest profession of all! I must be vigilant every day,

lest I lose one fragile opportunity to improve tomorrow.”

--Ivan Welton Fitzwater

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From a Stable to a Counselling Centre: Educational Psychology Department making its

strides in Community EngagementDr Tumi Diale, Department: Educational Psychology

The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he

vowed to make it.” J.M.Barrie

TheDepartmentofEducationalPsychologyisinvolvedatKingswayChristianSchoolaspartoftheFaculty’scommunity engagement initiative. The school is funded by various organisations and serves children mainly from the Zandspruit informal settlement. Its vision is to meet the needsandprovidelife-enrichingopportunitiesforsocio-economicallydisadvantaged children who have previously had limited options for bettering their lives. The Educational Psychologydepartment’sinvolvementisaimedatofferingPsycho-EducationalServices to the learners in the school. In previous years we have been offering these services through our Masters students. In March 2013 we placed twoofourHonoursstudents,LucyRobinsonandWarrickDodge,aspartoftheirsixmonthpracticumandIwasassigned the role of supervising them. They were both looking forward to

theexperienceandhadtheirplansof action ready, until they got to the school and encountered the reality. A famousboxeroncesaid,“Everybodyhas a plan until they get punched in the face”. Lucy and Warrick soon experiencedthiswhentheygottotheschool and found there was no place forthemtoworkexceptanoldhorsestable. So they had to make a plan, which was when the process of turning a stable into a counselling centre started.

DuringtheEasterholidaysLucyandWarrick worked hard to turn the placearound,fromfindingsponsorsto actually doing the hard labour of cleaning the place themselves. Within a period of two weeks the stable was a centre that learners were looking forward to going to and sharing their personal space with their counsellors. However,thetwostudentswere

determined to make this a “state of the art” centre. So they continued on their journey of searching for sponsors, small and big, from donations of a doll, a book or paint, to big donations of installing paving outside the centre and supplying signage for the centre. This process included more hard labour, negotiations, laughter and joy and still awaits a celebration when the centre will be officially opened. The establishment of the centre was an incredible feat. This was a onceinalifetimeexperiencewhichthese students had not planned, yet would not trade for anything. Their contribution to the school and to the community may be summarised in BenjaminFranklin’swords,“Ifyouwouldnot be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about.”

From a stable to aCounselling Centre

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When the music changes, so must the dance: changing the vibe of career counselling through the school-university community engagement projectTumi Diale,Department: Educational Psychology

Abraham Maslow once said “A musician must make his music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is to ultimately be at peace with himself.”

ThiswasthevisionwhenDrTumiDialeagreedto get involved in the UJ Metropolitan Academy CareerGuidanceandCounsellingprocess.UJMetropolitan Academy as a Maths and Science focus school aims at offering opportunities to previous socio-economicallydisadvantagedlearnersfromtownships. As a focus school, its admission criteria for grade 8 are different from other mainstream schools. As part of the selection process, learners are requiredtowriteanaptitudetest.Asacommunityengagementproject,theDepartmentofEducationalPsychologywasinvolvedinthepsychometricassessment of more than 450 learners from various primary schools. The assessment was done over a period of a month and the top 105 highest achievers were selected for admission to grade 8 at the school. Whilstthishasbeenanannualprocess,forthefirsttimeallparentsreceivedtheirchildren’sindividualassessmentreportsandwereinvitedtoaparents’feedback session to help them understand and accept their children better. Many parents were very excitedaboutthisopportunity,especiallythosewhohad already had children at the school in previous years. They reported that although they were happy that their children could succeed in the past, had they had an opportunity such as this one they wouldhaveunderstoodtheirchildren’sstrengthsand challenges better. In addition, after receiving feedback some of the parents felt that even if their children were to be selected, they had learnt another side of their children that they had not realised. The excellencewithwhichtheprocesswashandledhas led to further engagement opportunities with theschool.BetweenAugustandOctober2013theDepartmentofEducationalPsychologywasalsoinvolved in the career assessment and counselling process of the grade 11 learners of the school.

The greatest lesson learnt in this process is captured inthequotationbyAlbertEinstein:“Everybodyisagenius.Butifyoujudgeafishonitsabilitytoclimbatree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Online learning course from Dyslexia InternationalJean Fourie, Department: Educational Psychology

TheDepartmentofEducationalPsychologycollaboratedwithThe Southern African Association for Learning and Educational Differences(SAALED:http://www.saaled.org.za)inofferingtheon-linelearningcoursefromDyslexiaInternational(D.I.www.dyslexia-international.org)toSouthAfricanteachers.Thecourseis made available under a creative commons license and is usedinover30countriestotrainpre-andin-serviceteachers.DyslexiaInternationalworksinconsultativestatuswithUNESCOinsponsoring worldwide literacy training for teachers.

DyslexiaInternationalrecommendedtheinvolvementofthreekeyplayers in making the course available. Firstly, a ministerial delegate concerned with national teacher training was approached, in this caseMarieSchoemanfromtheNationalDepartmentofEducation.Secondly, a local university colleague, Jean Fourie, was appointed to act as implementation facilitator. Third, a local educational association-SAALED-wasappointedtooverseetheprocess.Thecourse was designed in order to train teachers in how to teach literacy and how to identify and adapt teaching strategies to meet thespecificlearningneedsofstudentswithdyslexiaininclusiveclassrooms.Thecourseisreviewedbyaninternational,scientificpanelofexpertsinliteracyanddyslexia.

This year 82 teachers completed the course which involved about 25 hours of independent study time. Teachers accessed thee-campuswhichprovidedalecturehall,filmlibrary,debatingchamber,on-lineresources,laboratorymaterialandtestcentre.They learnt about the latest research; good practice teaching methods; watched streamed videos and worked through the 24 assessmenttasks,includingquestionnairesattheendofeachsection gauging their understanding.

The course consists of three sections:

• “Thefirstsectionprovidesaplainlanguagedescriptivedefinitionofdyslexiaandlooksatthecausesaswellastheconsequencesofdyslexiaatpersonal,socialandacademiclevels.Italsodescribeshowreadingdevelopsinthenon-dyslexicbrainandwhyitissodifficultforlearnerswithdyslexiatomasterthewrittenlanguage.

• Thesecondpartprovidesinformaltestsforteacherstousetodetectwhetherornotachildmayhavedyslexia.Thesetestswillallowthemtoidentifythechild’sstrengthsandweaknessesinordertoadapttheirteachingtohisorherneedsand,inconsultationwiththeparents,toletthechildbefullyassessedbyaspecialistwherenecessary.

• Thethirdsectionfocusesonhowtoincludechildrenwithdyslexiainmainstreamclassrooms,andonthetoolsandtechniquesthatmeetthelearningneedsofthesechildren,inparticularfortheacquisitionofliteracyskills.Asthesetoolsandtechniquesbenefitallchildren,theyareeasilyimplementedinanyclassroom.”(DIwebsite)

Teacherswhocompletedthecourseprovidedon-linefeedbackwhichwasanalysedatthepanel’ssummerworkshopinBrusselsandreferredtoVincentGoetry,thecoursedirector,forimprovement of the course. Teachers were issued with joint certificatesfromtheUniversityofJohannesburg,SAALEDandDyslexiaInternational.

TheDepartmentofEducationandCurriculumStudieswaspleasedtohostProfessorWilfredCarrforaseminarseriesinOctoberthisyear.WILFREDCARRisprofessorofthePhilosophyofEducationattheUniversityofSheffieldwhere,formanyyears,hewastheHeadoftheSchoolofEducationandDeanoftheFacultyofSocialScience.HeisanExecutiveEditorofthejournalPedagogy,CultureandSocietyandHonoraryVice-PresidentofThePhilosophyofEducationSocietyofGreatBritain.Hismajorbooksinclude:(withStephenKemmis)BecomingCritical:Education,KnowledgeandActionResearch.(Brighton,FalmerPress,1986)whichwastranslatedintoSpanishin1988;ForEducation:TowardsCriticalEducationalInquiry(Buckingham,OpenUniversityPress,1995)whichwastranslatedintoSpanishin1997andChinesein1999;and(withAnthonyHartnett)EducationandtheStruggleforDemocracy.(Buckingham,OpenUniversityPress,1996);TheRoutledgeFalmerReaderinthePhilosophyofEducation(Oxon,Routledge,2005).

HisseminarsincludedafacultyanddepartmentpresentationsanddiscussionsaroundProfessionalKnowledge;Howtogetpublished;EducationalResearchas a practical science; and a university lecture “Education and the struggle for democracy”.

ProfessorCarr’scurrentresearchfocusesontheanalysisofeducationalpracticeandthesignificanceofthisanalysisforourunderstandingofeducationalphilosophy,theoryandresearch.Hepursuesthisresearchasamemberof‘Pedagogy,EducationandPraxis’:acollaborativeinternationalresearchprogramme investigating the nature and conditions of pedagogy, education andpraxisandhowtheymaybedevelopedindifferentnationalcontextsandvarious educational settings.

NEW EDITOR: EDUCATIONAS CHANGE:

Dr Dirk Postma

DrDirkPostmahasbeenappointedastheneweditorofEducationasChange: Journal of Curriculum Research. This Journal has grown under the dedicatedandvisionaryleadershipofProfElbieHenningfromitshumblebeginnings17yearsagotoaprestigiouspublicationinpartnershipwithTaylor&FrancisandUnisaPress.Itisanaccreditedjournal,approvedbytheDHETandincludedintheSocialSciencesCitationIndex.TheJournalhas published articles by distinguished scholars and draws increasingly international attention. The commemorative issue on the life and work of NevilleAlexandertestifiestothevisionoftheoutgoingeditor.

The aim of the new editor is to build on this solid foundation together with a competent team of associate editors. As a team they want to maintain andimproveontheJournal’sstatusasoneofthebesteducationaljournalsinthecountryandtoenhanceitsinternationalprofile.Inordertoachievethis,theEditorialCommitteewillredefinetheJournal’snicheonthebasisof which articles will be selected strategically and reviewed with care. The Journal wants in particular to publish articles on educational change within South Africa, the developing world and within marginalised societies. It is interestedinthewaysinwhichissuesofjusticeandequalityareaddressedthrough empowered and critical agency. The Journal will maintain its interest in empirical research which focusses on classrooms and schools. This researchwillbecouchedinarigorousqueryingoftheoriesintheprocessofgaining insight, perspective and wisdom.

The Journal will maintain its special relationship with the Faculty of Education at UJ while protecting its editorial autonomy and integrity. This relation consists in the drawing largely on academic members in the FacultyforitsEditorialCommitteeandinadevelopmentalcommitmenttoemerging scholars in the Faculty.

PROFESSORWILFRED CARR

VISIT

Dept of Education and Curriculum Studies

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On the 9th February 2013 a symposium was presented at Elandspark Special Secondary School as part of the community engagement and research partnership betweentheschoolandtheDepartmentofEducationalPsychology,UniversityofJohannesburg.ThesymposiumfocusedonCREATIVEEXPRESSIVEARTSTHERAPYASSCHOOLCOMMUNITYINTERVENTION,basedonaSANPAD(SouthAfricaNetherlandsResearchProgrammeonAlternativesinDevelopment)fundedresearchprojectundertheleadershipofDr.ElzetteFritzthatincludededucationalpsychologyMastersstudentsatUJ.Thisgroup,ChrizannevanWyk,FredSchouwink,CarlaBezuidenhout,LeandaduPreez,VanessaKilloran,PhumzuleMoteaneandthreedoctoralstudents-ShalyaHirschon,TalitaVeldsman,JoyNel-presentedtheirresearchfindings.

Dr.Fritzpresentedontheethicalconsiderationswhenengagingwithcreativeexpressiveartsintherapy–especiallyinacommunitycontextwhilstShalyaHirschonsharedherdoctoralresearchfocusingonCreativeArtTherapyusingthe“treeoflife”asmetaphorfortraumaticgriefinHIVinfected/affectedadolescents.SuzanLemont,amulti-modalexpressiveartstherapistandtheDutchresearchpartnerinthe project, addressed the role and importance of creative expressiveartsinmoderneducation.NatalyWoollettconcludedthemorning’spresentationsbydiscussingtrauma and traumatic bereavement in the South African Context:nonverbaltherapiesandtheirpowertotransform.

Duringthelunchbreakallthestudentsinvolvedintheresearch project shared their research posters and in the afternoon delegates could choose to attend a variety of three-hourworkshops.

The symposium was attended by more than 100 delegates, mainly teachers and psychologists, with honors and masters educationalpsychologystudentsintheDepartmentofEducationalPsychologyrenderingassistance.FoodwassponsoredbyWoolworthsBedfordviewandMatrixassistedin the delegate gift packets. In this regard Leanda du Preez,previouseducationalpsychologistattheschool,assistedthroughhermarketinginitiative.Delegatefeeswere donated to the school honoring the community engagement and what stood out was how collaboration between different stakeholders can build bridges across disciplines in service of South African youth. The symposium highlighted the value of addressing trauma through creative engagement in therapy and the support it can provide to vulnerable children and those responsible for rendering support to them.

CongratulationstoDr.ElzetteFritzonthecompletionofanexcellentresearchproject.Dr.FritzhasunfortunatelylefttheuniversitytoconcentratemoreontheCreativeExpressiveArts in Therapy. We wish her all the best and appreciate her dedicated input in the department of Educational Psychology.

Chrizanne van Wyk, Fred Schouwink, Carla Bezuidenhout, Leanda du Preez, Vanessa Killoran, Phumzule Moteane and three doctoral students - Shalya Hirschon, Talita Veldsman, Joy Nel

Educational Psychology2013 SymposiumDepartment: Educational Psychology

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D E PA R T M E N T O F S C I E N C E A N D T E C H N O L O G Y E D U C AT I O N

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

SCITECHED

Life Sciences as an FET subject was in the past not offered at theUJMetropolitanAcademy(UJMA),aschoolwithwhichthe Faculty of Education has close liaisons. In a discussion with the principal, Ms Marietta Westerberg, in 2012, it emerged that many parents would like their children to take LifeSciencesasasubject(especiallythoselearnerswhowanttopursuemedicineasacareer).Thereasonwhytheschooldid not offer Life Sciences as a choice, is that it might have channelledsomelearnersawayfromPhysicalSciences(whomightseeLifeSciencesasa‘softeroption’).However,boththe principal, and the Faculty of Education, were keen to introduce Life Sciences as an additional subject as from 2013. In January 2013, the Subject Methodology Life Sciences students(4thyearBEdandPGCEstudents),undertheleadershipofProfJosefdeBeer,ProfGeoffreyLautenbach

andDrJacquelineBatchelor,startedtoteachtheGrade10LifeSciencescurriculumtoagroupofselectedGrade10learners.TheselearnerswillwriteLifeSciencesinGrade12intheyear2015,asanadditional(8th)subject.Theclassesarepresented by Subject Methodology Life Sciences students on Saturdays.

The initiative proved to be a wonderful learning opportunity for the UJ students. The Japanese Lesson Study model is used, whereby students plan and present lessons in groups of four. The students also have to facilitate the practical laboratorywork.Studentsdescribetheexperiencewithmetaphorssuchas“bungee-jumping”-veryscary,butalsoextremelyexciting–andtheyallcommentonhowthisproject assists them in their individual pedagogical content knowledge development.

UJ’s SCITECHED ASSISTS UJ METROPOLITAN ACADEMY IN OFFERING LIFE SCIENCES AS SCHOOL SUBJECTProf Josef de Beer, Department: Science & Technology Education

UJ Storytelling FestivalGadija Petker, Department: Childhood EducationTheFacultyofEducationoftheUniversityofJohannesburg(UJ)andtheGcinamasikoArtsandHeritageTrusthostedaStorytellingFestivalattheUJSowetoCampuson22and23February2013.Theeventthemed‘Loveinyourlanguage’setthestagetoencourage reading and an appreciation of literature for learners in both primary and high schools. It also presented South African youth with a platform to share their talentsrelatedtostorytelling,songanddance,poetry/coralverserecitalandstageproduction. The audience was spellbound as they listened to nationally renowned storytellers demonstrate the art of storytelling.

IncludedintheprogrammeweretheExecutiveDeanoftheFacultyofEducationatUJ,ProfessorSarahGravettandtheDirectoroftheGcinamasikoArtsandHeritagetrust,DrGcinaMhlophe.Childrenfromthefacultyofeducation’steachingschools,Funda UJabule and Metropolitan UJ Academy as well as community partner schools PhilipKuschlickandPietvanVuurenpresentedplays,danceperformancesandpoetryrecitals.WiththeacademicleadershipofMsGadijaPetkerthirdyearBEdFoundationPhaseteachereducationstudentsprovidedadditionalentertainment.Thesestudentsusedthestorytellingfestivalasaplatformtosharetheirexpertiseofreadingaloudto children, designing arts and craft and displays of interactive play production and dance.

Benefits of reading and storytelling.Through reading and telling stories, adults and children are able to get to know one anotherinamorerelaxedandnurturingway.Storiesassistwithmemoryretentionbecausetheyareusedtorecordimportantexperiencesandevents.

Whenchildrenidentifywiththeexperiencesandfeelingsofstorycharacters,theygrow emotionally. Their memories are enhanced, attention spans stretched and emotions engaged.

Readingbooksandlisteningtostoriesdeepenthinkingskillsbystretchingtheimaginationandencouragingcreativeproblemsolving.Visualisationskillsareexpandedbecausereadingbooksandlisteningtostoriesallowsonetoformpicturesin the mind. It also promotes an interest in literature and the appreciation of classic tales. Most importantly, it presents an opportunity for children and adults to develop richlanguageabilitiesfilledwithnewvocabularyandexpressions.

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SeminarsIN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM STUDIESProf Devika Naidoo, Department:Education and Curriculum Studies

A series of seminars has been organized in the faculty of education in the second semester in 2013. Three seminars havebeenheld:inthefirst,SalimVallyarguedthatCriticalpedagogy, could assist in unravelling the causes of educationalinequalitiesandmoreimportantly,empowermarginalised communities to transform their lives and an unequalsociety.LeilaKajee,asdiscussantpointedoutthechallenges that current large classes carry.

The second was a panel discussion on the topic: Disciplinarypower,Normalization,FreedomandLoveinwhichGrahamDampier,SolomonDavidandDevikaNaidoo argued the topic. Foucault reconceptualises the constructionandexerciseofpowerinthemodernage.Unlikeinthepre-modernage,individualsinthemodernage are governed by disciplinary power. The panel looked into various aspects linked to disciplinary power: normalization, freedom, love and pedagogy. What is normalization?Howisitachieved?Howdoesitcontroland regulate educational practice? Is there freedom? What ismeantbyFoucault’sinsistence(despitecontradictions)that power is not only repressive but also productive? Isnormalizationtheeffectofdisciplinarypower?Bysubmitting “disciplinary power” to a deconstructive analysisGrahamarguedthatthetermimpliestwocontraryapproaches to education and socialisation.

ThethirdseminarwasgivenbyProfJohanMulleronthetopic:Rootsofdisciplinarydifference&thecurriculum:thepathosofspecialisedknowledge.ProfMullerexaminedtheemergenceofcodifieddisciplinaryknowledgefromitsrootsinChina,IslamandEurope,throughthemedievaluniversities,uptothescientificrevolutionintheseventeenth century and beyond. Forms of disciplinary knowledge and their implications for curricular coherence werediscussed.Engineeringwasusedasanexampleto show how different forms of curricular coherence create possibilities and limits for curricular change and for mobilityacrossqualificationtypes.

ThefourthseminarbyGertvanderWesthuizenon conversation analysis problematised notions of interactionallearningandexploredhoweverydaylearningincommunitiesmayhelpusfindteachingandlearningmethodsthatareresponsive,equitableandcontributingto cognitive justice. Notwithstanding that the attendance at the seminars could be better, participants enjoyed more rigorous individualised participation. The team hopes to planasimilarseriesofseminarsnextyear.

EduCommunityKhomotjo Segobolo

The EduCommunity society is a dynamic organisation that operates within the Faculty of Education at UJ. The organisation is committed to and guided by the vision and policies of the Faculty as well as those of the University of Johannesburg.

The society is dedicated to the creation of unity and a consciousness concerning matters that affect and concern all UJ education students, which is the driving force behind social cohesion within the Faculty.

As future educators, members of the society engage with communities and particularly schools. They do school visits and organise a number of programmes such as career guidance for grade 9 and 12 learners, literary and study skills, mentorship and choice of subjects for grade 9’s. They also participate in book reading programmes and do community service.

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Chancellor’s medal for Educational Psychology studentDepartment: Educational Pyschology

BronwynBlakereceivedthechancellor’smedalforthebestmaster’sstudentin2012.Hertopicwas:ARASCHMODELANALYSISOFTHEITEMSONTHEVIQ8SCALEOFASESOTHOTRANSLATEDVERSIONOFTHEJSAIS under the supervision ofDrHDunbar-Krige.

Several awards forBEd Hons studentJanine le RouxJanineleRouxstartedherpostgraduatecareerin2010whensheenrolledforaBEdHonsattheUniversityofJohannesburg.She developed a keen interest in curriculum policies and perspectives and based her research report in the second year of her study on female leaders in disadvantaged school communities. The research report formed part of a larger South African Netherlands PartnershipforAlternativeDevelopment(SANPAD)studyandwasfundedbySANPAD.The study focused on women leading in disadvantaged education communities and investigated how female school leaders re-centrecurriculumleadershipsoastoinclude social issues evaded in the curriculum. Janine graduated cum laude and received anaccoladefromtheuniversity’salumniforbeing one of the top 2011 graduates. This was followed by an award from the Faculty of EducationforthebeststudentintheBEdHonsin 2011.

Janine started her career in education in 2002 asaschoolteacherontheWestRand.AfterabriefspellintheclassroomshejoinedOxfordUniversityPressasateacher-trainerwhereshewas involved in the marketing of educational resources.ThereaftershewashiredbyPearsonEducation and played a role in marketing as well as workshop development. At present sheisemployedbytheGautengDepartmentof Education as a Senior Education Specialist for Library Services in the Education and OperationalSupportDirectorateattheGautengWestDistrict.Janineiscurrentlyplanning to enrol for an MEd degree.

awardsEdubrief

Edubrief

UJ Executive Dean to lead Education Sector Committee Earlierthisyear,theMinisterofBasicEducation,MrsAMMotshekga,appointedProfSaartjieGravettasChairpersonoftheEducationSectorCommitteeoftheSouthAfricanNationalCommissionforUNESCO(SANATCOM).Herroleentailsprovidingthe necessary leadership to enable the Education Sector Committee(Edcom)tocarryoutitsadvisory,facilitative,liaisonandcoordinationrolebetweenUNESCOandtheSouthAfricanGovernmentandCivilSociety.

InhercapacityasChairpersonoftheEdcom,ProfGravettattendedthe37thSessionoftheUNESCOGeneralConferenceheldatUNESCOPlacedeFontenoy,ParisFrance.Sheindicatesthat it was a privilege and honour for her to have been part of the SA delegation to the conference. She reports that at the conference member states inter alia considered the post 2015agenda,withtheoverarchinggoalofensuringequitablequalityeducationandlifelonglearningforallby2030.However,theeducationforallagendaremainsunfinishedandwillhavecontinued relevance. The thematic priorities post 2015 will be early childhood care and education; youth and adult literacy; teachers; skills for life and for work; and education for sustainable development and global citizenship.

PROMOTIONSIN THE FACULTY

Prof Gert van der Westhuizen has been promotedtofullProfessor.

Prof Salim Vally has been promoted to AssociateProfessor.

Dr Tsediso Makoelle has been promoted to Senior Lecturer.

For enquiries please contact:Leila Kajee (Editor),

lkajee@uj.ac.zaPrudence Mohau,pmohau@uj.ac.za

Prof Gravett took this picture at the session at which Deputy

Minister of Education, Enver Surty, read the South African statement

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