Browsing by Author "Traut, Hester Jacoba"

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    Creativity in initial teacher education : a case study in geography
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Traut, Hester Jacoba; Frick, B. L.; Beets, Peter; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Curriculum Studies
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT : The purpose of this study was to explore, analyse, interpret and describe how the perceptions of a selected group of twelve geography Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students at a South African university developed in the year of their initial teacher education (ITE) programme. The following central research question guided the study: How can the development of geography student teachers’ use of creativity act as a mediator between their acquired content knowledge and their related applied pedagogical practice? This study mainly focused on developmental theories of creativity which advocate that there are qualitatively different levels of creativity and that creativity can and should be developed in the context of ITE. Simultaneously, the importance of preparing student teachers to become subject specialists was highlighted. These two focuses underlay the argument for creativity to be purposefully used to act as mediator between (student teachers’) acquired content knowledge and their related applied pedagogical practice to provide for heightened pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). If this could be achieved, student teachers will ultimately have a positive influence on the quality of basic education in South Africa that in turn will provide for better prepared HE students. Apart from enhanced PCK as an outcome, the individual student teacher (and learner) will benefit from acquiring creative skills to equip them to cope with future demands of the 21st Century. This study followed a case study methodology and the qualitative data was generated by using questionnaires at the beginning of the study period, lesson observations during the course of the study, and in-depth individual interviews at the end of the study period. The data was analysed by means of content and thematic analysis. Although the research findings do not pose to be generalised to a larger population, it may provide new insights that can inform initial teacher education in higher education institutions in South Africa. The analysis and interpretation of this study’s data revealed a synthesis with the literature in the field and iterated the changing landscape in which university students and school-going learners find themselves. The fast-paced world we live in today places demands on individuals to become more creative in their thinking to be able to cope with changing environments, changing knowledge, more choices, more information, more novelty, and greater levels of complexity. Therefore, ITE in the 21st Century has to keep track with the apparent transition from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. Information alone is no longer enough. Individuals (student teachers and their subsequent learners) have to be empowered to lead change and to survive inevitable change. While academic knowledge and skills may be inadequate to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world, creativity may provide skills in coping with different environments, and therefore creativity becomes increasingly important in dealing with complex issues. The results of this research indicated that student teachers’ creativity can and should be developed as part of the PGCE (ITE) programme for improved pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in the context of the respondents of this study. The twelve respondents of this study were in agreement that creativity should be included in ITE programmes because they had realised the importance and practical advantages of incorporating creativity in PCK to enhance teaching and learning. This means that creativity does indeed provide the spark that is needed between content knowledge and pedagogical practice to transform subject knowledge for enhanced and deeper learning (or PCK) that may lead to the ultimate creation of new knowledge.