SPEAKERS

Empowering and qualifying the marginalised - Appropriate training for FET college lecturers

Andre van der Bijl

Changes to teacher education policy since 1994 focussed on schools, making no provision for FET college staff. Some training models were developed but they were not integrated into the new policy framework. Only after the revision of the National Professional Diploma in Education (NPDE) in 2003 was it possible college staff training be reintegrated into the teacher education qualifications framework.
 
This paper reflects on major policy and programme indicators that contributed to the development of the NPDE:FET as well as the management framework used to map them. The framework used relied heavily on existing needs-based frameworks and excising experience in training FET college staff.

André van der Bijl is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Coordinator at CPUT's Faculty of Education and Social Sciences. He is responsible for coordinating two programmes in the FET band, namely the Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE:FET) and the National Professional Diploma in Education (NPDE:FET). Andre has eighteen years' experience in education, first at FET colleges and, since 1994, in teacher education. André holds Masters and Bachelor's degrees in Education, as well as a Bachelor of Arts and is currently busy working towards a PhD.

A comparison between the development of vocational education in three countries: Implications for future training and development

Michael McCullough, USA, and Liezel Frick, South Africa

There is a notable increasing interest in vocational education worldwide, and the sector has experienced dramatic changes in the past few decades. The development of vocational education sectors in various countries has, however, shown marked differences as well as some surprising similarities.
 
This paper explores the development of vocational education the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and South Africa. It presents a critical review of the positioning and structure regarding underlying philosophies, policies and services that have guided the development of the vocational sectors in these countries and then attempts to provide a limited international perspective of past and current trends in vocational education. The strategic differences and similarities between the vocational systems in these countries are used to point out possible implications for future training and development within the vocational sector in South Africa.
 
Michael McCullough is currently Program Research Associate with the Community College Leadership Program, at the University of Texas, Austin. Michael, in collaboration with Dr. Norvell Northcutt of the Community College Leadership Program of the University of Texas has developed several applications of existing qualitative social system research methodologies for the study of the effects of social and economic change on rural communities. He trained in research design and qualitative analysis at the University of Northern Colorado (MA) and the University of Texas.
 
Liezel Frick is a lecturer at the Centre for Higher and Adult Education in the Faculty of Education at Stellenbosch University. Her areas of academic interest include continuing professional development, adult education, as well as capacity building in leadership and research. She is currently collaborating with colleagues at the Community College Leadership Project (University of Texas, Austin) and other stakeholders on strategies to facilitate leadership capacity in the South African Further Education and Training college sector.

Accessing the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) using the SIOP Model: Enhancing teacher and learner performance in the classroom

Sujata Pillay, South Africa

More than a decade after democracy, South Africa is still confronted by the challenge of producing learners who are highly literate, who are able to analyse, synthesise and evaluate information and whose knowledge and skills base is internationally comparable and. We continue to fair dismally in international studies on literacy and numeracy levels of learners in our schooling system. Of the average 70% senior certificate passes, no more than 18% qualify for university exemptions. The reasons for poor performance, which also manifests at further education and training colleges and higher education institutions, range from socio –economic factors to poorly qualified teachers. This paper will discuss the role of language barriers, the mediation of the curriculum (i.e. teaching methodologies /approaches impact on additional language students) on learning, and the inability of learners to engage with higher cognitive demand questions.

Sujata Pillay is currently Manager: Pearson Education Achievement Solutions. She has been involved in the education sector for the past 23 years, starting her career as a teacher. She then joined Kagiso Publishers and Maskew Miller Longman as an educational publisher. in 2001 she joined Umalusi in 2001 and managed the assessment unit joining Pearson Education.