Bricolising Retired Teachers in South Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

ABSTRACT This paper interrogates the challenges and opportunities related to re-engaging retired teachers in mainstream curriculum practice in South Africa. Some rural schools report poor performance, whereas retired teachers in their locality could help to mitigate this challenge. The paper used bricolage as a theoretical lens, because of its emphasis on using available resources to address ambivalence. The qualitative paper responds to two questions: What are the challenges facing integration of retired teachers? and How could retired teachers assist to mitigate poor performance? The paper found that many retired teachers are still active and can assist with mentoring and teaching and learning; however, there is no policy framework to guide their re-engagement. The paper argues that South Africa should tap into best practices of retired teachers through formulation of a policy framework that ensures the knowledge of retired teachers is not wasted, but harvested to address various trajectories, including poor performance.

A CONSTRUÇÃO DA PROFISSIONALIDADE DOCENTE NAS NARRATIVAS DE PROFESSORAS APOSENTADAS

This text presents part of a master's research that aimed to understand the process of teaching professionalism from testimonies of retired teachers. These collaborating teachers joined the Municipal Education Network of Belo Horizonte in the 1980s and taught for the initial grades of elementary school. The narrative interviews allowed them to access the stories of teachers and produce knowledge about the profession and teaching professionalism. We were able to understand how the process of building the teachers' professionalism developed. We used Sacristán (1995) and Roldão (2005, 2007) to discuss the teaching profession, Nóvoa (1995, 2017), Tardif (2002), to discuss the specific knowledge of the teaching profession and also Tardif and Lessard (2007) on thecharacteristics of teaching work. We identified thematic units -the reasons for the teaching choice, the family, contexto and insertion in the profession and the construction of knowledge about teaching.

नेपाली शास्त्रीय सङ्गीतमा तण्डुकार घराना [Tandukar family in Nepali Classical Music]

नेपाली शास्त्रीय सङ्गीतको इतिहासमा तण्डुकार घरानाको भूमिका ठुलो छ । सङ्गीत क्षेत्रमा तण्डुकारहरू उस्तादको नामले चिरपरिचित छन् । काठमाडौँको भाँेसिकोटोल उस्तादहरूको उद्गमस्थल हो । खुसः जातले पनि परिचित यिनीहरूको मुख्य पेसा कृषि हो । कामारूकामाक्षबाट रातो मच्छिन्द्रनाथ बोकेर ल्याउने रथचक्र ललित ज्यापुलाई पूर्वज मान्ने तण्डुकारहरू जात्रापर्व, पूजापाठ, गीत सङ्गीततर्फ पनि दखल भएकाले लिच्छवी राजाले लालमोहर लगाई काः बाजा बजाउने अधिकार तण्डुकारलाई दिएका थिए । यद्यपि मच्छिन्द्रनाथको जात्रामा तण्डुकारहरूले सर्वप्रथम रथ तानेर उक्त जात्राको शुभारम्भ गर्ने चलन रहेको छ । यसरी संस्कृति र सङ्गीतकलालाई आत्मसात् गरी अगाडि बढेकाले नै यिनीहरू शास्त्रीय सङ्गीतप्रति आकर्षित भएका देखिन्छन् । यसैको परिणामस्वरूप गरिमामय घराना कायम गर्न सफल भएका हुन् । प्राप्त जानकारीअनुसार वीरभीमसेन तण्डुकारदेखि उ. नारायणप्रसाद तण्डुकारसम्म पाँच÷छ पुस्ताको अध्ययनबाट देशभित्र मात्र नभई विदेशमा पनि तण्डुकारहरूले योगदान पु¥याएको बुझिन्छ । देश तथा विदेशबाट उनीहरूले प्राप्त गरेका पुरस्कार, प्रमाण पत्र, पदक, प्रशंसापत्र, गीत रेकर्ड नेपाली शास्त्रीय सङ्गीतको इतिहासमा तण्डुकार घरानाको भूमिका ठुलो छ । सङ्गीत क्षेत्रमा तण्डुकारहरू उस्तादको नामले चिरपरिचित छन् । काठमाडौँको भाँेसिकोटोल उस्तादहरूको उद्गमस्थल हो । खुसः जातले पनि परिचित यिनीहरूको मुख्य पेसा कृषि हो । कामारूकामाक्षबाट रातो मच्छिन्द्रनाथ बोकेर ल्याउने रथचक्र ललित ज्यापुलाई पूर्वज मान्ने तण्डुकारहरू जात्रापर्व, पूजापाठ, गीत सङ्गीततर्फ पनि दखल भएकाले लिच्छवी राजाले लालमोहर लगाई काः बाजा बजाउने अधिकार तण्डुकारलाई दिएका थिए । यो सन्दर्भलाई पुष्टि गर्ने प्रमाण हुन् । विद्यालय तथा विश्वविद्यालयमा हाल कार्यरत तथा अवकाशप्राप्त शिक्षक तथा प्राध्यापकहरू उत्पादनमा यो घरानाको ठुलो देन छ । यस घरानाले पु¥याएका योगदानका विषयमा वैज्ञानिक तथा व्यवस्थित ढङ्गले विश्लेषण गरी तयार पारिएका सामग्रीहरू आजसम्म पनि प्राप्त हुन सकेका छैनन् । यस विषयमा गहन अध्ययन अनुसन्धान भएको देखिँदैन । यो नै यस क्षेत्रको ठुलो समस्या हो । उक्त क्षेत्रको अध्ययन, चिनारी तथा समस्याको सम्बोधन गर्ने प्रमुख उद्देश्यका साथ तण्डुकारघराना र नेपाली शास्त्रीय सङ्गीत शीर्षकको यो लेख तयार गरिएको हो । [The Tandukar family has played a significant role in the history of Nepali classical music. In the field of music, Tandukars are well known as Ustads. Bhansikotol in Kathmandu is the birthplace of masters. Khus: Also known by caste, their main occupation is agriculture. The chariot wheel carrying the red Machhindranath from Kamarukamaksha is considered to be the ancestor of Lalit Jyapu. However, in Machhindranath's procession, it is customary for the Tandukars to be the first to start the procession by pulling a chariot. They seem to be attracted to classical music because of their culture and music. As a result, they have succeeded in maintaining a dignified family. According to the information received from Virbhimsen Tandukar. From the study of five to six generations up to Narayan Prasad Tandukar, it is understood that Tandukar has contributed not only in the country but also abroad. The Tandukar family has played a great role in the history of Nepali classical music. In the field of music, Tandukars are well known as Ustads. Bhansikotol in Kathmandu is the birthplace of masters. Khus: Also known by caste, their main occupation is agriculture. The chariot wheel carrying the red Machhindranath from Kamarukamaksha is considered to be the ancestor of Lalit Jyapu. This is proof of the context. The family has made a significant contribution to the production of retired teachers and professors currently working in schools and universities. Even today, materials that have been scientifically and systematically analyzed on the contribution of this family have not been available. There seems to be no in-depth study and research on this subject. This is the biggest problem of this region. This article titled Tandukar Gharana and Nepali Classical Music has been prepared with the main objective of studying the area, identifying it and addressing the problems.]

Teaching-life Histories: An Analysis of Initial and Continuing Training for Twenty-first century Teachers

This research analyses the teaching practice of retired teachers with the objective of inquiring into the initial and continuing training that twenty-first century teachers need. To this end, a semistructured interview was conducted with an incidental, nonprobabilistic sample of 325 participants and performed quantitative analysis of the data with SPSS 23. The descriptive parameters were produced using frequency analysis. Contingency tables were produced to verify if sex or year of birth explained perceptions of the training required of to be a good teacher. The results revealed significant differences between those born before 1948 and those born after that year.

The teacher as a child-rearer or the teacher as an educator. Two views of education workers on the teacher’s role

Teaching is a learned and practiced profession. In the course of their activities, the teacher influences the formation of attitudes, and the views and awareness of children and adolescents. Teaching should prepare young people “to independently manage the development of their own personality, to undertake valuable goals and to choose responsible life paths”. The teacher’s work situation results from the role that the teacher plays in the process of the socialization and education of children and adolescents. This article addresses the problem of the differentiation of the role of the teacher in the education process in Poland in terms of two variables – education and upbringing (child-rearing). It answers the question of whether and how the perception of the teaching profession has changed in the perception of people practicing this profession. How do teachers who are currently retired teachers see the profession and role of the teacher, and how are teachers currently practicing this profession? Is/was the Polish teacher a child-rearer or rather an educator, understood here as a person imparting knowledge? How does the occupation affect the perception of oneself, from the perspective of two groups of surveyed teachers (currently employed and retired)? All the reflections contained in the article are based on interviews with retired and currently working teachers. These interviews were part of a wider research project conducted in recent years by the author of the article in Polish educational institutions. The research took the form of ethnographic field research.

Academic Causes of School Failure in Secondary Education in Spain: The Voice of the Protagonists

School failure is, at the international level, a problem that affects, most educational systems. In Spain, it is currently a current problem that remains unresolved. Therefore, our research aims to discover and analyze situations of school failure experienced by different agents with long experience in order to understand them and find out the possible responsibility of the school itself and the teacher. The methodology used in this research is qualitative in its focus on the phenomenological approach. The sample is constituted by the following: (a) active teachers; (b) retired teachers; (c) students who live school failure and (d) subjects integrated into the working world who experienced situations of school failure. The instrument used to collect information was the semi-structured interview and the focus groups, supported by a script designed and submitted to expert judgment. The results have been obtained from “content analysis” using the Nvivo11 Plus program. A wide overview of the main academic causes, incidents from the school and the classrooms that are involved in school failure is presented. Among the most relevant conclusions is that the school, with certain actions and in an indirect way, can lead to the construction of school failure.

Education's “Talented Tenth”

While the discourse on achievement among Black American students often includes the perspectives of researchers, teachers, and college/university faculty, retired educator views are often disregarded. Based on Du Bois's exertion about the Talented Tenth, who he recognized as “educational experts” and “seers” that serve as “leaders of thought and missionaries of culture among their people,” Black retired teachers and educational leaders are questioned about how to change Black student achievement trends, and included in this chapter are the recommendations offered by Black retired teachers and educational leaders—recommendations designed to bring about change in practice. Beyond adding to the discourse on Black student achievement, the chapter gives voice to retired Black educators whose years of professional experiences qualify them as “educational experts.”