Face-to-Face Training in a Conventional Preservice Programme: A Case Study at Edgewood College of Education in South Africa (CIE, 2002, 36 p.): 2. Context of the Colleges of Education in 2000

Face-to-Face Training in a Conventional Preservice Programme: A Case Study at Edgewood College of Education in South Africa (CIE, 2002, 36 p.)

		(introduction...)
		Multi-Site Teacher Education Research Project (MUSTER)
		List of Acronyms
		Abstract
		1. Introduction
		2. Context of the Colleges of Education in 2000
		3. Data Collection and Analysis
		4. Overview of the College
		5. The Teacher Education Programme and its Evaluation
		6. Teaching Practice
		7. Aspirations, Expectations and Preparedness of Students
		8. Cost of the Teacher Education Programme
		9. Key Issues Emerging from the Data
		10. Concluding Comments
		References
		Appendix A: Student Enrolments
		Appendix B: Qualifications Of The Academic Staff
		Appendix C: Resources

2. Context of the Colleges of Education in 2000

After the first democratic elections in 1994, South African education moved from an education system organised on racial lines to one organised along provincial lines. With a single system of education in the country there have been studies about teacher supply and demand. The Teacher Audit Study (Hofmeyr and Hall, 1995) and the Teacher Supply, Utilisation and Demand Projections (DOE, 1997) has prompted a re-evaluation of teacher supply and demand. The National Commission of Higher Education has recommended that Teacher Education becomes a higher education competency.

The projections indicated there was an over-supply of teachers, and teacher education institutions were issued with a directive to reduce the intake of students. From 1997 students in KwaZulu Natal entering teaching did not receive state bursaries. For the last few years there has been uncertainty about the fate of the college sector. In February 2000 the National Minister of Education announced that, from 1 January 2001, all colleges of education programmes will be incorporated into either a technicon or university. There will be 25 designated sites of teacher education around the country and in the KwaZulu Natal province the three proposed sites are Natal Technikon, University of Natal (Durban) and University of Zululand. In June 2000 the KwaZulu Department of Education issued a directive to the colleges indicating that there should be a zero intake of students in 2001.