Being a Teacher

Teachers are not just teachers. They are also people. In straddling issues of both professional and personal identity, this module comes to grips with the professional choices teachers are required to make, and do make, in developing the knowledge, skills and values of learners.

This module is suitable for both inducting novice teachers into the role of the teacher and for in-service programmes in which practising teachers could valuably compare their own experiences with this systematic overview of the role of a teacher and teaching as a profession. The contextual setting in South Africa is readily adaptable to other settings: the core issues are the same.

The different sections in this module present a coherent progression. Access the full version here. Alternatively, the seven sections are downloadable as individual units.

• Cover, title and imprint pages, with contents list and preface
• Section One - Introducing the module
• Section Two - Being a teacher in South Africa
• Section Three - Teaching as a profession
• Section Four - The teacher’s authority: sustaining an effective learning environment
• Section Five – The teacher as knowledge-worker
• Section Six - Teachers, values and society
• Section Seven – Making a difference

The Learning Guide is supported by a set of 20 readings, some of which can be accessed from this website (highlighted in blue). For those not available, you can contact the publishers listed below for permission to use the readings. A full set is available from Saide at infosaide [dot] org [dot] za (info[at]saide[dot]org[dot]za).

Reference list for Section One

• Reading 1: Kohl, H. 1986. On becoming a teacher. London: Methuen. (Excerpt A: 5–6; Excerpt B: 59–60; Excerpt C: 67–68).
• Reading 2 : Maja, B. 1999. The future trapped in the past: case study of a Soweto school. Johannesburg: National Business Initiative.
  By kind permission of the National Business Initiative (www.nbi.org.za)
• Reading 3: Jacklin, H. 2001. Teachers, identities, spaces.Heather Jacklin wrote this article specifically for Being a Teacher, and has kindly given permission for it to be freely available.
• Reading 4: Fataar, A. and Patterson, A. 1998. Teachers, moral agency, and the reconstruction of schooling in South Africa. Unpublished paper delivered at the World Conference of Comparative Education Societies, University of Cape Town.

Reference list for Section Two

• Reading 5a: Van Den Heever, R. 1994. Teachers want what students need. In     F. Sonn, (Ed.). DSA in Depth. Reconstructing Education. Cape Town: DSA.
• Reading 5b: Vergotine, A. 1994. Tricky tension for teachers. In Sonn, F (Ed.). 1994. DSA in Depth. Reconstructing education. Cape Town: DSA.
• Reading 6: Morrow, W. 1994. A culture of teaching. In Sonn, F (Ed). 1994. DSA in Depth. Reconstructing Education. Cape Town: DSA.
  By kind permission of the author.
• Reading 7: Fullan, M. and Hargreaves, A. 1992. The teacher's purpose. In: What’s worth fighting for in your school? Working together for improvement. Beckenham: Open University Press. pp 28–29. By kind permission of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario.
• Reading 8: Hammond, L.D. 1989. Accountability for professional practice. Teachers College Record, Volume 91, Number 1, Fall 1989. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University: 59–67.
• Reading 9a: South African Council for Educators. 1997. Code of Conduct for Educators. Pretoria: SACE.
• Reading 9b: Education Labour Relations Council. Resolution 8 of 1998, Duties and Responsibilities of Educators (school and office based).
• Reading 9c: Education Labour Relations Council. Manual for teacher appraisal. Government Gazette 19767, 18 February 1999: 52. Pretoria: Government Printer.
• Reading 10: Christie, P. and Potterton, M. 1997. Study of effective schools - summary of major findings.  School Development in South Africa: A Research Project to Investigate Strategic Interventions for Quality Improvement in South African Schools: Final Report, 1997. Johannesburg: University of Witwatersrand Press. By kind permission of the Government Printing Works RSA.

Reference list for Section Three

• Reading 11: Morrow, W. 1997. Authority, responsibility and democracy in education. In HDE Module 3: Practices: Orderliness and Chaos. Bellville: University of the Western Cape. By kind permission of the author.
• Reading 12: Vally, S. 1998. Spoil the rod, spare the child. The Educator’s Voice, December 1998, 2(9): 4–5. South African Democratic Teacher’s Union (SADTU).By kind permission of The Educator's Voice.
• Reading 13: Winkley, D. 1987. The paradox of discipline. In Education 3–13. October 1987. Financial Times Prentice Hall: London.

Reference list for Section Four

• Reading 14: Hargreaves, A. 1994. Dead certainties: a post-modern world. From  Changing Teachers, Changing Times: Teachers’ Work and Culture in the Postmodern Age. London: Cassell: 56–61.
• Reading 15: Mason, M. 1997.  Outcomes-based education in the context of three kinds of knowedge. In the Cape Times 31 July 1997: 10. Cape Town: Independent Newspapers.
• Reading 16: Love, E. and Mason, J. 1992. On readiness and 'fading’. In E. Love and J. Mason (Eds.) Teaching Mathematics: Action and Awareness. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

Reference list for Section Five

• Reading 17: Rachels, J. 1995. The challenge of cultural relativism. From The Elements of Moral Philosophy. New York: McGraw Hill. 15–29.
• Reading 18: Beck, C. 1990. Morals and values education. From  Better Schools: A Values Perspective. London: The Falmer Press: 143–150.

Reference list for Section Six

• Reading 19: Onore, C. 1992. Negotiation, language, and inquiry: Building knowledge collaboratively in the classroom. In G. Boomer et al. (Eds.) Negotiating the Curriculum: Educating for the 21st Century. London: The Falmer Press.
• Reading 20: Huebner, D. 1987. The vocation of teaching. In F. Bolin and Falk, J. (Eds.) Teacher Renewal: Professional Issues, Personal Choices. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University: 17–29.

Part of the module is a 47 minute long video which introduces viewers to the perceptions, doubts and concerns of student teachers about their choice of career. Through a range of interviews with two celebrities and teachers, as well as clips of classroom teaching and school management practices, we explore the role of the teacher as a knowledge worker; care giver; and change agent through teaching and management. On the basis of these experiences, we return to the questions that initiated the tour of schools and classrooms. 

Downloadable sections of the video are:

• Being a Teacher
  Student teachers’ and other teachers’ doubts and concerns about the status of teaching; the views of two celebrities on what good teachers meant for them.
  DOWNLOAD (19.8MB) OR VIEW (6:50 MINS)
• Teachers as Knowledge-workers
  The teacher as knowledge-worker, with a biology lesson as a basis for exploring ‘lecture’ type approaches to teaching factual content in relation to the learner-centred facilitation of learning.         
  DOWNLOAD (32.9 MB) OR VIEW  (11:32 MINS)
• Teachers as Care-givers
  Reflection on the above coverage of the ‘alternative’ approaches to teaching, leading to an introduction to the teacher’s social responsibility role.
  DOWNLOAD (21.7 MB) OR VIEW (9:28 MINS)
• Teachers as Managers
  Management: planning teaching and creating a suitable learning and caring environment. Issues of discipline and freedom are highlighted.
  DOWNLOAD (29.1 MB) OR VIEW (10:45 MINS)
• Being a Professional Teacher 
  Reflection on the doubts and concerns with which we began; professionalism in the health sector compared to teaching.  What makes a teacher who makes a difference?
  DOWNLOAD (31.3 MB) OR VIEW (7:14 MINS)