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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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TEACHER EDUCATION AS AN AGENT OF SOCIAL CHANGE: THE KENYAN CASE
| Panel |
18. Education and Social change in Eastern and Southern Africa
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| Paper ID | 441 |
| Author(s) |
Ong'ondo, Charles Ochieng'
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| Paper |
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| Abstract | This paper hypothesises that Teacher Education is a possible point of intervention in developing reflective practice among teachers; which may be ultimately inculcated among learners in schools and possibly contribute to creativity, initiative and development in Africa, Kenya in particular. Reflective teaching involves thinking about pedagogy as well as other factors relevant education, including the teachers’ personality, learner differences, and contexts; with a view to continuously learn and create better ways of interaction with learners and the entire school community (Dewey, 1933). Reflection enables teachers to view themselves as agents of change in the society who have a responsibility to enable learners fit in the ever changing sociocultural, economic and political contexts. As professionals who interact with the young of the society at a critical age of discovery and identity formation, teachers might play a more instrumental role as agents of change if they are educated to be reflective and also to encourage reflective learning among their students.
This paper is based on an analytical concept for a PhD study in English Language Teacher Education to be conducted in Kenya later this year. The concept is being constructed from literature in the area and is largely influenced by the sociocultural view of teacher education and the notion of Reflective Teaching. In this study, a classical communicative framework (Who says what to whom in which way and with what effect?) will be adopted in analysing opportunities in the interaction between educators, practicum teachers and experienced teachers during teaching practice that may enhance reflective practice among these three key players. Teaching practice stage is a critical moment in the professional development of the teachers, when they blend their knowledge of content and pedagogy into pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1987).Yet most teacher education programmes in Kenya and perhaps elsewhere in Africa have followed the traditional behaviourist theory-application models that produces technicists instead of the investigative-learning approach that is associated with producing reflective practitioners.
The research will target English language teachers and draws its rationale from the fact that the way English language is taught - English language being a basic tool of interaction across various linguistic communities and cultures as well as the medium of instruction and the official language in Kenya – has a considerable bearing on reflective learning. The paper will argue that through reflective teacher education, Kenya could produce teachers who are socioculturally responsive and who can influence their learners to interact more productively regardless of their religion, culture, gender and political differences. Hopefully, our school system might produce reflective citizens who could be agents of social change by contributing more of more meaningfully to communal, national, regional and even global development endeavours.
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