Teacher development for religious and cultural diversity in citizenship education : a community of practice approach

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research focuses on teacher-learning for religious and cultural diversity. The background to thestudy is associated with curriculum reforms in South Africa since democratization in 1994 and thegrowing interest globally in the integration of Citizenship education and Religion education. In SouthAfrica, the new national curricula after 1994 introduced Life Orientation as a learning area / subjectwhich includes Citizenship education with Religion education as key focus areas. The outcomesassociated with these focus areas require school-based learners to demonstrate knowledge ofdiversity, co-operative and communicative forms of democracy and commitment to the valuesespoused in The Constitution. The question that arises in relation to the professional development ofteachers in this regard, concerns whether teachers have the professional knowledge base to ensurethat their learners acquire the knowledge and skills to enable them to participate as competentcitizens in a pluralist democracy. Consequently the large-scale transmissionist approaches to teacherdevelopment that have dominated INSET programmes have been critiqued in this study for beinginadequate for learning the complexities associated with diversity, citizenship and democracy. Thisstudy has hence advocated for teacher-learning through participation in communities of practicewhich arguably provide appropriate learning conditions in which dialogue and critical reflectioncharacterise the interaction between teachers. On the grounds that South Africa's social-politicalhistory enforced the segregation of racial groups and privileged Christianity above other religions orbeliefs, a further argument is related to how this history has influenced teachers' frames of referenceand whether teachers' frames of reference continue to influence how Citizenship education isapproached in the classroom. Hence, the theoretical framework for this study has been formulated toaddress the issue of teacher-learning for Citizenship education and Religion education (Citizenshipeducation/Religion education) and the extent to which the frames of reference of teachers influencetheir approaches to democracy, values, citizenship and diversity. To this end two learning theoryperspectives have been explored, viz. Mezirow's transformative learning theory (1991, 2000) andcommunities of practice, as conceptualised by Wenger (1998, 2006b). The efficacy of thecommunities of practice concept for teacher-learning for diversity was investigated against atransformative learning theory background, using a mixed methods approach. A cross-sectionalsurvey was conducted amongst 60 secondary schools in the Gauteng province, followed by a phaseof participatory action research (PAR) with three teachers over a period of approximately eightmonths. The survey questionnaire was designed to determine the perspectives of a sample of LifeOrientation teachers towards learning and teaching religious and cultural diversity in Life Orientation.The findings were used to inform the action research process which in turn drew attention to thesignificance of the community of practice concept for assisting teachers to generate contentknowledge for Citizenship education/Religion education from an inclusive and constructivistperspective. The findings of the survey questionnaire indicated that the majority of the teachers in thesample were not opposed to including religious diversity in their Life Orientation classes despite nothaving backgrounds in Religious Studies or meaningful in-service training. The PAR findings indicatethe value of engagement by teachers in a community of practice for creating and acquiringappropriate content knowledge and for critical reflection on the meaning and application of democraticand personal values for Citizenship education/Religion education.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University