Professional development in environmental education : case studies in primary schools

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:This study was contextualised in the broad process of change and transformation ineducation in South Africa In this study I investigate how SWAP (Schools WaterProject) as a resource could possibly enable teachers to use the local environment asa means of promoting environmental learning in their classes: a professionaldevelopment process for teachers. The purpose of this study is to understand andgive meaning to the processes of professional development that might be madepossible through using SWAP as suggestion materials for teaching about water qualityissues in a local water source close to schools. This process was framed in myresearch question, could an in-service process using SWAP as learning supportmaterial enable professional development in teachers working at rivers in a localenvironment? It is organised as a number of delimited or bounded case studies withinan interpretive paradigm. In this study the bounded systems are primary schoolsrepresented by a selection of teachers from the participating schools. The researchprocess involved a short period of training for teachers to familiarise themselves withthe resource, a supported field trip to provide an opportunity for hands on applicationand follow-up support visits to assist teachers with field trips and implementation ofSWAP activities in their classroom practice.Data was generated at various stages and suggests that materials are an importantfacet of professional development and the SWAP materials proved to be a useful tool in this regard as evidenced through the development of new skills, acquisition of newknowledge and new ways of teaching. Issues that emerged were that in-serviceprocesses need to be organised over long periods of time and support is needed atschool level to ensure meaningful implementation of curriculum innovations. Animportant insight developed is that professional development processes in schoolsoccur in complex systems and are thus influenced by many factors that either supportor hinder the process. These factors need to be recognised as impacting factors andtaken into account during such processes so that they can benefit the processmaximally and not hinder initiatives.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University