COMPARISON OF TEACHER PEDAGOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA AND IVORY COAST
Teacher Training Programmes
There are many programmes in both countries provided to the teachers so as to train them for teaching in schools. In South Africa, efforts to improve the quality of our teachers and their teaching have been undergoing for several years. These efforts include familiarising teachers with the new curriculum, such as the revised National Curriculum Statements (Deacon; 2010), through short courses and workshops. Other efforts are increasing the qualifications of under-qualified teachers through programmes such as the National Professional Diploma in Education (Deacon; 2010), developing teachers’ ability of the subject through various Advanced Certificates in Education (Deacon; 2010), identifying opportunities for teacher development through the Integrated Quality Management System (Deacon; 2010), Quality teaching and Learning Campaign (Deacon; 2010). Professional development programmes and providing support for teachers are also executed to improve teacher quality.
In Ivory Coast, Primary school teachers are trained in several higher education establishment outside the framework of the public university system and Centre of animation and educational training Yamoussoukro or have passed the National Diploma (Côte d'Ivoire - Teacher Training, n.d.). Klassen (1969) stated that Teacher Training at ENS has departments for teacher training based on linguistics,foreign language, Negro-African literature and culture and psycho-pedagogy, including pedagogical theory and practical courses, where they complete eight weeks of practice teaching in the establishments of Second Degree in the last year.
However, these programmes are often badly coordinated, poorly managed. They lack resources and have inadequate focus on the specific content knowledge and pedagogical techniques that teachers require. In South Africa, some programmes such as the Integrated Quality Management System, which intends to simultaneously advocate teacher development and hold teachers accountable, has been turned down by teachers and has also been seen as time-consuming and adding on to their workload (Deacon; 2010). In Ivory Coast, there seems to be a lack of emphasis on Mathematics and the Sciences, as the teacher training provided only focuses on linguistics,foreign language, Negro-African literature and culture and psycho-pedagogy.Besides, the education systems lack both quality and quantity. Existing qualifications, programmes and short courses for teachers are of poor standard and do not meet the needs of the teachers.
Attitudes and Treatment of Teachers
In South Africa, the national and provincial governments, who are obliged to share responsibility of non-tertiary education matters, are not working well together and have poor coordination (Deacon; 2010). New well-qualified teachers are not being employed by the system immediately and existing qualified teachers are not being utilised effectively in schools. Both practicing and qualified teachers in some rural parts of South Africa do not have ready access to professional development or initial teacher education facilities. Funding education resources, such as computers and books are not carried out. Teachers incorporate education resources poorly into lessons and resources are poorly monitored. Furthermore, South Africans view the teaching profession as a cumbersome one and this affects the recruitment and retainment of teachers. This also results in the low morale of teachers. Many teachers are under-qualified (Deacon; 2010), many more are not prepared and do not receive the support they need to teach the grades to which they are assigned.
In Ivory Coast, Klassen (1969) stated in 1946 the Ivory Coast had no secondary schools to supply the nation with graduates whom it could have used to recruit more teachers with adequate education, In order to train the future after 1946, President Felix Houphouet Boigny, then member of the Chamber of Representatives in the French National Assembly from the Ivory Coast, agreed with France whereby the first fellowship holders from the Ivory Coast would be sent to study in the secondary schools as well as colleges of Paris. But very few of them ultimately became teachers and as such there were very few native secondary teachers. This was due to the lack of an authoritative educational policy which was unsympathetic to the liberalism of those in power. Also, extremely few young people were attracted to becoming a teacher, either as there was a lack of information or due to no desire being aimed to strengthening the teacher profession. At the same time, the difficulties of becoming a teacher and the length of time required for professional preparation discouraged a large number of students from becoming teachers. Thus, a teaching profession was seemed less prestigious for many students and less remunerative when compared with certain other professions.
This shows that the teachers in both countries have a poor attitude towards teaching, in the sense that being a teacher is not a preferred job, and thus the amount of effort and hard work put into teaching is relatively low. This would mean that the standard of education in both countries would be relatively low too as teachers are the ones who directly impart their knowledge to students. If the attitude of the teachers towards education is poor, so will the students' attitude towards education be poor. This results in the students having mindsets of not wanting to learn, which will in turn limit the amount of knowledge they can acquire.
Recruitment of Teachers
In South Africa, there is a declining number of teachers in the teaching force. This is because most individuals who join the teaching force are young individuals who are mostly less-educated. However, young teachers tend to bring about a severe high leaving rate due to the other job opportunities available. These other jobs have better working conditions, a greater status and a higher income (Deacon; 2010), causing young individuals to leave the teaching force. Furthermore, the teaching career has poor working conditions and low job satisfaction, such as limited career advancement and insufficient recognition. The overcrowding of schools and classrooms due to a increasing enrolment rate deters teachers from this job. Hence, younger teachers who are highly-educated leave the teaching force at a high rate. (Berg, Burger) Students receive poor quality education because their teachers are under qualified. Furthermore, in light of the new education system in South Africa, continuous training of teachers, even a decade after the system was introduced, has taken up a huge amount of time of teachers. Continuous assessment of teachers and the Integrated Quality Management System have interrupted the teachers’ time greatly. This also causes a great drop in the teaching force.
In Ivory Coast, from 1967 to 1968, only 543 teachers were fully qualified teachers of all private and public elementary school teachers, having acquired the baccalaureate (that requires 13 years); 3,703 were assistant teachers, holding the BEPC (the lower secondary certificate that requires 10 years) and having 1 year of teacher training; 2,055 were monitors, having from 7 to 10 years of education; and 1,960 were assistant monitors, having only 6 years (Bolibaugh,1972). This proves that the teachers in Ivory Coast are of low standards. In fact, numerous studies are critical of the quality of instruction and cite as major causes the poor education and the lack of professional commitment of most teachers. From then onwards, new teachers are required to have 10 years of education and 1 full year of professional training.
Despite the fact that the first fellowship holders from the Ivory Coast would be sent to study in the secondary schools as well as colleges of Paris, very few of them ultimately became teachers. This resulted in very few native secondary teachers. This was due to the lack of an authoritative educational policy which was unsympathetic to the liberalism of those in power. Also, extremely few young people were attracted to becoming a teacher, either because there was a lack of information or due to no desire being aimed to strengthening the teacher profession. At the same time, the difficulties of becoming a teacher and the length of time required for professional preparation discouraged a large number of students from becoming teachers. Thus, a teaching profession was seemed less prestigious for many students and less remunerative when compared with certain other professions (Bolibaugh,1972).
In order to solve unemployment, the standard of education has to be improved to fit South Africa's and Ivory Coast’s needs. For example, most of the employed people in Ivory Coast work in the agriculture field and there is a lack of people who are fit for high-skilled jobs. One way to solve unemployment is to have higher teacher qualifications and better training for teachers, to train students to have adequate skills for such jobs. For example, there can be a greater emphasis on the subjects of Mathematics and Science, by investing more in the development of these subjects as an integral part of education in both countries. In order to do so, a higher standard of training should be provided for the teachers. This should allow the teachers to be able to understand the subjects to a greater extent and be able to better impart the knowledge they have acquired to students, so as to provide a higher quality of education for the students. In turn, the students would be able to learn more as their standard of education received is higher. With more knowledge comes more opportunities for these students to put their knowledge to use and a higher chance to be able to get employed.
There are many programmes in both countries provided to the teachers so as to train them for teaching in schools. In South Africa, efforts to improve the quality of our teachers and their teaching have been undergoing for several years. These efforts include familiarising teachers with the new curriculum, such as the revised National Curriculum Statements (Deacon; 2010), through short courses and workshops. Other efforts are increasing the qualifications of under-qualified teachers through programmes such as the National Professional Diploma in Education (Deacon; 2010), developing teachers’ ability of the subject through various Advanced Certificates in Education (Deacon; 2010), identifying opportunities for teacher development through the Integrated Quality Management System (Deacon; 2010), Quality teaching and Learning Campaign (Deacon; 2010). Professional development programmes and providing support for teachers are also executed to improve teacher quality.
In Ivory Coast, Primary school teachers are trained in several higher education establishment outside the framework of the public university system and Centre of animation and educational training Yamoussoukro or have passed the National Diploma (Côte d'Ivoire - Teacher Training, n.d.). Klassen (1969) stated that Teacher Training at ENS has departments for teacher training based on linguistics,foreign language, Negro-African literature and culture and psycho-pedagogy, including pedagogical theory and practical courses, where they complete eight weeks of practice teaching in the establishments of Second Degree in the last year.
However, these programmes are often badly coordinated, poorly managed. They lack resources and have inadequate focus on the specific content knowledge and pedagogical techniques that teachers require. In South Africa, some programmes such as the Integrated Quality Management System, which intends to simultaneously advocate teacher development and hold teachers accountable, has been turned down by teachers and has also been seen as time-consuming and adding on to their workload (Deacon; 2010). In Ivory Coast, there seems to be a lack of emphasis on Mathematics and the Sciences, as the teacher training provided only focuses on linguistics,foreign language, Negro-African literature and culture and psycho-pedagogy.Besides, the education systems lack both quality and quantity. Existing qualifications, programmes and short courses for teachers are of poor standard and do not meet the needs of the teachers.
Attitudes and Treatment of Teachers
In South Africa, the national and provincial governments, who are obliged to share responsibility of non-tertiary education matters, are not working well together and have poor coordination (Deacon; 2010). New well-qualified teachers are not being employed by the system immediately and existing qualified teachers are not being utilised effectively in schools. Both practicing and qualified teachers in some rural parts of South Africa do not have ready access to professional development or initial teacher education facilities. Funding education resources, such as computers and books are not carried out. Teachers incorporate education resources poorly into lessons and resources are poorly monitored. Furthermore, South Africans view the teaching profession as a cumbersome one and this affects the recruitment and retainment of teachers. This also results in the low morale of teachers. Many teachers are under-qualified (Deacon; 2010), many more are not prepared and do not receive the support they need to teach the grades to which they are assigned.
In Ivory Coast, Klassen (1969) stated in 1946 the Ivory Coast had no secondary schools to supply the nation with graduates whom it could have used to recruit more teachers with adequate education, In order to train the future after 1946, President Felix Houphouet Boigny, then member of the Chamber of Representatives in the French National Assembly from the Ivory Coast, agreed with France whereby the first fellowship holders from the Ivory Coast would be sent to study in the secondary schools as well as colleges of Paris. But very few of them ultimately became teachers and as such there were very few native secondary teachers. This was due to the lack of an authoritative educational policy which was unsympathetic to the liberalism of those in power. Also, extremely few young people were attracted to becoming a teacher, either as there was a lack of information or due to no desire being aimed to strengthening the teacher profession. At the same time, the difficulties of becoming a teacher and the length of time required for professional preparation discouraged a large number of students from becoming teachers. Thus, a teaching profession was seemed less prestigious for many students and less remunerative when compared with certain other professions.
This shows that the teachers in both countries have a poor attitude towards teaching, in the sense that being a teacher is not a preferred job, and thus the amount of effort and hard work put into teaching is relatively low. This would mean that the standard of education in both countries would be relatively low too as teachers are the ones who directly impart their knowledge to students. If the attitude of the teachers towards education is poor, so will the students' attitude towards education be poor. This results in the students having mindsets of not wanting to learn, which will in turn limit the amount of knowledge they can acquire.
Recruitment of Teachers
In South Africa, there is a declining number of teachers in the teaching force. This is because most individuals who join the teaching force are young individuals who are mostly less-educated. However, young teachers tend to bring about a severe high leaving rate due to the other job opportunities available. These other jobs have better working conditions, a greater status and a higher income (Deacon; 2010), causing young individuals to leave the teaching force. Furthermore, the teaching career has poor working conditions and low job satisfaction, such as limited career advancement and insufficient recognition. The overcrowding of schools and classrooms due to a increasing enrolment rate deters teachers from this job. Hence, younger teachers who are highly-educated leave the teaching force at a high rate. (Berg, Burger) Students receive poor quality education because their teachers are under qualified. Furthermore, in light of the new education system in South Africa, continuous training of teachers, even a decade after the system was introduced, has taken up a huge amount of time of teachers. Continuous assessment of teachers and the Integrated Quality Management System have interrupted the teachers’ time greatly. This also causes a great drop in the teaching force.
In Ivory Coast, from 1967 to 1968, only 543 teachers were fully qualified teachers of all private and public elementary school teachers, having acquired the baccalaureate (that requires 13 years); 3,703 were assistant teachers, holding the BEPC (the lower secondary certificate that requires 10 years) and having 1 year of teacher training; 2,055 were monitors, having from 7 to 10 years of education; and 1,960 were assistant monitors, having only 6 years (Bolibaugh,1972). This proves that the teachers in Ivory Coast are of low standards. In fact, numerous studies are critical of the quality of instruction and cite as major causes the poor education and the lack of professional commitment of most teachers. From then onwards, new teachers are required to have 10 years of education and 1 full year of professional training.
Despite the fact that the first fellowship holders from the Ivory Coast would be sent to study in the secondary schools as well as colleges of Paris, very few of them ultimately became teachers. This resulted in very few native secondary teachers. This was due to the lack of an authoritative educational policy which was unsympathetic to the liberalism of those in power. Also, extremely few young people were attracted to becoming a teacher, either because there was a lack of information or due to no desire being aimed to strengthening the teacher profession. At the same time, the difficulties of becoming a teacher and the length of time required for professional preparation discouraged a large number of students from becoming teachers. Thus, a teaching profession was seemed less prestigious for many students and less remunerative when compared with certain other professions (Bolibaugh,1972).
In order to solve unemployment, the standard of education has to be improved to fit South Africa's and Ivory Coast’s needs. For example, most of the employed people in Ivory Coast work in the agriculture field and there is a lack of people who are fit for high-skilled jobs. One way to solve unemployment is to have higher teacher qualifications and better training for teachers, to train students to have adequate skills for such jobs. For example, there can be a greater emphasis on the subjects of Mathematics and Science, by investing more in the development of these subjects as an integral part of education in both countries. In order to do so, a higher standard of training should be provided for the teachers. This should allow the teachers to be able to understand the subjects to a greater extent and be able to better impart the knowledge they have acquired to students, so as to provide a higher quality of education for the students. In turn, the students would be able to learn more as their standard of education received is higher. With more knowledge comes more opportunities for these students to put their knowledge to use and a higher chance to be able to get employed.