"How effective is in-service training for teachers in rural school contexts?"

Abstract

The research was aimed at determining whether Grade Nine teachers benefited from the training in Curriculum 2005 assessment techniques that was organised by the Department of Education and whether the training contributed to meeting the intellectual and professional challenges facing South Africans in the 21st century. For this purpose a predominantly rural midlands district of the Pietermaritzburg region of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education was selected. The study followed a qualitative approach. Data was collected from three Grade Nine teachers from three rural schools who were responsible for teaching the following: languages, social sciences and mathematics. The study found that the teachers felt that they had not been trained adequately in the above learning areas, and therefore did not understand the new procedures. The procedures could also not be implemented within the teaching time allocated to the respective learning areas. In addition, the teachers felt that the paper work involved in the implementation of the new procedures had increased their workload unnecessarily. The training failed to prepare them for Curriculum 2005 and the assessment guidelines provided by the Department. The cascading of information resulted in the misinterpretation of important information. Furthermore, trainers lacked confidence, knowledge and understanding of the management of the training process. District officials who conducted training did not understand the terminology and used teaching methods that were non-consistent with outcomes-based education (OBE) and Curriculum 2005. At the school level, there was considerable overlap in planning and no clear solutions to this problem. Finally, the teachers regarded one week as inadequate for training and the training materials as insufficient for the teacher learning. The study concludes with recommendations for the successful implementation of Curriculum 2005 and for further research.