Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in Ethiopian Secondary School Teacher Education Practicum Supervision

Year 2018, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 165 - 181, 01.06.2018

Tesfamichael Getu Mulugeta Teka

Abstract

The current teacher education program in Ethiopia has taken a relatively new modality known as PGDT (Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching) program, in which candidates are admitted after obtaining a first degree in one of school subjects and expected to acquire professional knowledge (i.e., Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and knowledge of learners and context). The current study, therefore, aims to examine the practicum supervision practices of the PGDT program at Bahir Dar University (BDU) and Mekelle University (MU), Ethiopia. To achieve this, data were collected from student teachers (n=21), university supervisors (n=16), teacher educators (n=11), and cooperating teachers (n=19) and program coordinators (n=3) through interview along with document analysis. The results show that the practice fails to adequately address PCK as subject-specific pedagogy becomes a peripheral issue in the practicum supervision. Hence, it is called for restructuring the PGDT practicum supervision program in a way that could well address PCK

Keywords

Pedagogical content knowledge, postgraduate diploma in teaching, practicum, supervision

References

• Bailey, K. M. (2006). Language teacher supervision: A case-based approach. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Borg, S. (2006). Teacher cognition and language education: Research and practice. London: Continuum.
• Borg, S. (2010). Contemporary themes in language teacher education. Foreign Lan- guages in China, 7(4), 84-89. doi:10.172:8080/zgwy/EN
• Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
• Crookes, G. (2003). A practicum in TESOL: Professional development through teach- ing practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Day, R. R., & Conklin, G. (1992). The knowledge base in ESL/EFL teacher education. Paper presented at the 1992 TESOL Conference, Vancouver, Canada.
• Duit, R. (1999). Conceptual change approaches in science education. In W. Schnotz, S., Vosniadou, & M. Carretero (Eds.), New Perspectives on Conceptual Change (pp.263-282). Oxford: Pergamon.
• Ellis, K. (1994) Promoting excellence in teaching and learning: implications for schools and teacher education, Forum of Education, 49(1), 53 - 66.
• Feinman-Nemser, S. & Flodden R. E. (1986). The cultures of teaching. In M. Wittrock (ed.), Handbook of research in teaching (pp. 505-526). New York: Macmillan.
• Fish, D. (1995) Quality Mentoring for Student Teachers: A principled approach to practice. London: David Fulton.
• Gebhard, J. G. (2009). The practicum. In A. Burns & J.C. Richards (Eds.), The Cam- bridge guide to second language teacher education (pp. 251–58). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Gebhard, J. G., Oprandy. R. (1999). Language teaching awareness: A guide to explor- ing beliefs and practices. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Grossman, P. L. (1990). The making of a teacher: Teacher knowledge and teacher education. New York: Teachers College Press.
• Hailom, B. (1997). Context- generated supervision in teaching practice: Skills in ob- servation and the management of Feedback. A paper presented at the first work- shop on teaching practice, Kotebe College of teacher education, Addis Ababa.
• Hiko, M. K., Afework, T. H., Usman, A. Y., & Duressa, W. T. (2014). The Practices and Challenges of Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching Practicum Implementation in Haramaya University Cluster, Ethiopia. Middle Eastern & African Journal of Educational Research 7, 25-43.
• Johnson, K. E. (1996). Portfolio assessment in second language teacher education. TESOL Journal, 6(2), 11-14.
• Kassa, K. (2014). Attitude of Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (PGDT) student teachers towards teaching profession in Ethiopian university College of Teacher Education. Middle Eastern & African Journal of Educational Research, 10, 44- 47.
• Lave, L., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. NewYork: Cambridge University Press.
• Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (1993). How languages are learned. Oxford: Oxfor- dUniversity Press.
• Long, M. H. (1996). Authenticity and learning potential in L2 classroom discourse. University of Hawai’i Working Papers in English as a Second Language, 14(2)
• Long, M. H., & Porter, P. A. (1985). Group work, interlanguage talk, and second lan- guage acquisition. TESOL Quarterly, 19(2), 207-228.
• Lyster, R., & Ranta, L. (1996). Corrective feedback and learner uptake: Negotiation of formin commune active classrooms. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 37-61.
• Ministry of Education, (2003). Teacher Education System Overhaul (TESO)handbook. Addis Ababa: MOE.
• Ministry of Education, (2009). Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (PGDT), curricu- lum framework for secondary school teacher education program in Ethiopia. Ad- dis Ababa: MOE.
• Ministry of Education, (2011a). Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (PGDT), practi- cum implementation provisional guideline. Addis Ababa: MOE.
• Ministry of Education, (2011b). Practicum guideline for secondary school teachers training in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa: MOE.
• Mulugeta, T. (2009). Evaluation of implementation of the paradigm shift in EFL teach- er education in Ethiopia (Unpublished PhD Dissertation). Addis Ababa Univer- sity, Addis Ababa.
• Numrich, C. (1996). On becoming a language teacher: Insights from diary studies. TESOL Quarterly, 30(1), 131-153.
• Ong’ondo, C., & Borg, S. (2011). ‘We teach plastic lessons to please them’: The influ- ence of supervision on the practice of English language student teachers in Kenya. Language Teaching Research, 15(4), 509-528.
• Randall, M., & Thornton, B. (2003). Advising and supporting teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J. C. (1998). Beyond training. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Richards, J. C. & Crookes, G. (1988) The practicum in TESOL. TESOL Quarterly, 22(1), 9-27.
• Richards, K. (2003). Qualitative Inquiry in TESOL. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Har- vard Educational Review, 57, 1-22.
• Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Edu- cational Researcher, 15, 4–14.
• Smyth, J. (1989) Developing and sustaining critical reflection in teacher education, Journal of Teacher Education, 40(2), 2-9.
• Swain, M. (1998). Focus on form through conscious reflection. InC. Doughty & J. Williams(Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition. (pp. 64-81) New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Tang, S. Y. F. (2003). Challenge and support: The dynamics of student teachers’ pro- fessional learning in the field experience. Teaching and Teacher Education,19,
• VanPatten, B. (1997). How language teaching is constructed: Introduction to the spe- cial issue, Modern Language Journal, 81(1), 1-5.
• Wallace, M. (1991). Training Foreign Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Wondwosen, T. (1995). The Supervision of Teaching practice in EFL Classes (Unpub- lished MA thesis). CELTE, University of Warwick.
• Youngs, P. & Bird, T. (2010). Using embedded assessments to promote pedagogical reasoning among secondary teaching candidates. Teaching and Teacher Educa- tion, 26, 185-198.