A constructivist framework to prepare teachers for sustainable rural learning ecologies

[摘要] English: The study aimed to propose a constructivist framework to prepare teachers for sustainable rural learning ecologies. Generally, newly qualified teachers are not prepared to teach in rural schools. This may be because they were not trained or exposed to rural learning ecologies during their training for the profession. Although the government has come up with strategies to recruit teachers for rural teaching, the study therefore sought to prepare student teachers while in their field of study. Student teachers in the study used constructivism as a teaching and learning approach in rural learning ecologies as solutions to address the challenges. Constructivism in the study was used to acknowledge sustainable rural learning ecologies for student teachers as learners to the profession, to bring their existing ideas about teaching, and learn through others viewpoints on how to facilitate the lesson in rural learning ecologies. Critical Emancipatory Research (CER) was used as the paradigm underpinning the study to empower the marginalized group. Participatory Action Research (PAR) was adopted as the methodology for generating data to allow freedom of participation for co-researchers. The generated data were analysed and interpreted through the use of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) which subsequently made it possible for data to be interpreted at textual, social and discursive levels. The study makes recommendations to propose a constructivist framework to prepare teachers for sustainable rural learning ecologies using constructivism.

[发布机构] University of the Free State