Creating a culture of effective learning through invitational education: a development program for teachers

[摘要] English: South Africa has been going through various changes since 1991. Educationwas no exception. Unfortunately, change also brings about uncertainties, whichis exactly what the poor matric results brought to the minds of educators. Sincemany state-aided schools opened their doors to disadvantaged learners, poormatric results prevailed year after year. In 1997 a task-group was set up toexamine the situation and find reasons for the complete collapse of a culture oflearning and teaching.All stake-holders are responsible for the collapse of the culture of learning andteaching. Learners, teachers, parents, principal, governing bodies as well asdepartmental officials should accept joint responsibility for the present situation.In order to restore the culture of learning and teaching the Department ofEducation should not only try to improve the teacher-learner ratio, but shouldtrain teachers to become sensitive to the individual needs of learners, whether itmay be social class differences or their individual cognitive abilities. Teachersshould be guided towards developing their own potential in order to be optimistic,friendly and open to the needs of learners and the educative process. All of thesementioned factors would then lead to the creation of an inviting, positive learningenvironment which is conducive to facilitate effective learning.The principles of Invitational Education sets the scene for creating an invitinglearning atmosphere through viewing learners as able, responsible and valuable.Teachers' behaviour is aimed at being intentionally inviting. Through this stance,they show their optimism and affirmative attitude towards teaching which inreturn brings forth more positive attitudes from the learners. Building learnersself-confidence by making them feel special and proud, motivate them toreaching their full potential. Conflict is resolved in a constructive manner andpolicies and programmes are tailored to the learners' needs and to the principlesof Invitational education. Through empirical investigation factors are identifiedwhich might influence effective learning. Factors relating to the learner, teacherand learning process were identified and analysed.The legal and educational requirements for a training programme wasexamined. The requirements of the National Qualifications Framework for theregistration of units and qualifications were explored as well as Outcomes-basedEducation as proposed educational model in South Africa. A synthesis isproposed between principles of Outcomes-based Education and Invitationaleducation in order to show that the invitational approach to teaching fits in wellwith the new educational model.Finally, a programme is structured according to which teachers in South Africacould be trained in the principles of Invitational Education in order to facilitateeffective learning.

[发布机构] University of the Free State