Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Published by HSRC Press Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa www.hsrcpress.ac.za First published 2009 ISBN (soft cover) 978-0-7969-2293-9 ISBN (pdf) 978-0-7969-2294-6 ISBN (e-pub) 978-0-7969-2299-1 © 2009 Human Sciences Research Council Copy-edited by Lisa Compton Typeset by Baseline Publishing Services Cover by Fuel Design Printed by Name of printer, Cape Town, South Africa Distributed in Africa by Blue Weaver Tel: +27 (0) 21 701 4477; Fax: +27 (0) 21 701 7302 www.oneworldbooks.com Distributed in Europe and the United Kingdom by Eurospan Distribution Services (EDS) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7240 0856; Fax: +44 (0) 20 7379 0609 www.eurospanbookstore.com Distributed in North America by Independent Publishers Group (IPG) Call toll-free: (800) 888 4741; Fax: +1 (312) 337 5985 www.ipgbook.com Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Series preface v Project preface vii Acknowledgements ix Executive summary xi Acronyms and abbreviations xv 1 Introduction 1 2 Conceptualissues 3 3 Dynamicsofteachersupplyanddemand: Research,policyandpractice,1994—1999 9 4 Dynamicsofteachersupplyanddemand: Research,policyandpractice,1999—2004 17 5 Dynamicsofteachersupplyanddemand: Research,policyandpractice,2004—2008 23 6 Conclusion 33 References 37 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za v The Teacher Education in South Africa series is produced as part of the Teacher Education Programme (TEP), funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 2005 to 2008. The programme took place at a critical juncture in the development of teacher education in post-apartheid South Africa. Since 2004, sustained attention has been given to the improvement of teacher education consequent on the revision of the curriculum and the restructuring of higher education. In October 2004, the Council on Higher Education (CHE) initiated a review of teacher education programmes. On 26 April 2007, a National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development was gazetted. This provided the basis for a new system of teacher education and development for a new generation of South African teachers. The TEP emerged within this overall context of enhanced attention being given to the improvement of teacher education. Its overall goal was ‘to contribute to the knowledge and information base for policy formulation and implementation regarding the organisation and practice of teacher education, with a particular emphasis on initial teacher education (both pre-service and upgrading), as well as the professional development of school leaders and managers’ (CEA, CEPD, EFT, HSRC & SAIDE 2005). The work was organised under four major themes: teacher supply and demand; institutional culture and governance; the development of education management; and literacy and teacher development. The programme was designed by a consortium of agencies with considerable expertise and experience in the field: the Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD); the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC); the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE); the Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA) at the University of Pretoria; and the Education Foundation Trust (EFT). 1 The TEP was developed in consultation with stakeholders such as the national Department of Education, the Ministerial Working Group on Teacher Education, the Deans’ Forum and the Council on Higher Education/Higher Education Quality Committee, among others. Briefing and consultation continued through the process of research, for the consortium as a whole and in relation to specific projects. Michael Cosser, HSRC Organisational Manager, Teacher Education Programme 1 The EFT has been disbanded, and uncompleted projects have been taken over by the consortium. Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za vii In 2008, South Africa had 400 953 educators, which included school teachers and principals. Were they adequate in number and quality for the 12 239 363 learners in ordinary public and independent schools? Is the country’s teacher education system sufficiently geared up to produce the teachers that are required? Are sufficient numbers of teachers being attracted to teaching, and if not, why not? How have government and unions attempted to address specific teacher shortages since 1994 and how successful have these efforts been? What has the contribution of research been in these areas? These are the questions this monograph addresses. It does so by providing an overview and synthesis of the interventions, research and consequences of initiatives related to the demand for and supply of teachers since 1994. As such, it pays particular attention to the research conducted at the HSRC within the Teacher Education Programme, examining its contributions to the unfolding debate and situating them within overall trends in research, policy and practice since 1994. This monograph first examines conceptual approaches to teacher supply and demand, and then shows how demand-side strategies combined with the restriction of supply and the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the 1990s led to declining enrolments in teacher education in the early 2000s. A spate of research in the period between 2002 and 2005, as well as reports about declining enrolments, resulted in a number of supply-side interventions by the state from about 2004. These coincided with a renewed emphasis on skills supply more generally, and with new demands created not only for more teachers but also for better teachers by the revision of Curriculum 2005 and the introduction of the National Curriculum Statement. Significant challenges remain in matching supply with demand, as demonstrated in the research conducted. This monograph shows how the HSRC research has contributed to the ongoing and as yet unresolved debate about supply and demand of teachers and teacher education. Linda Chisholm, Project Leader Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za ix The generous support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for this project is gratefully acknowledged. An early draft of this monograph was presented at the Third Annual Education Conference at Birchwood, and at seminars convened by the Cape Higher Education Consortium at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the Wits School of Education. I would like to thank all the contributors, and especially Yousuf Gabru, Peter Kallaway, Dave Gilmour, Yusuf Waghid, Maureen Robinson, Mary Metcalfe, Albert Chanee, Jane Castle, Francine de Clerque and Spencer Janari for their comments. I have tried to address questions raised at these seminars to the best of my ability. Rob Turrell, Ivor Chipkin and Matseleng Allais provided extremely valuable insights and suggestions in written form. Any errors, omissions or limitations are my responsibility. My colleagues in the Teacher Education Programme at the HSRC – Fabian Arends, Michael Cosser, Nolutho Diko and Glenda Kruss – have inspired me with their knowledge and passion for their work. I am indebted to them for a collegial working environment. Vijay Reddy has also provided crucial support for my work. Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za [...]... between teacher supply and demand, it is important to understand the relationship between state and market Studies on the supply and demand of teachers have been conducted in an ongoing manner since at least 1994 Underlying the language of supply and demand’ is the concept of the market The market analogy is implicit in and assumed in discussions of teacher supply and demand, and yet this analogy is often... state interventions related to teacher supply and demand through an analysis and assessment of the relationship between research, policy and practice on the subject and how they impact on the supply and demand of teachers in three phases: 1994–1999, 1999–2004 and 2004–2008 In so doing, the study draws on a range of primary and secondary sources, including the Wits EPU Quarterly Review of Education and. .. key supply and demand issues and the parameters of what could be done in practice In the period when demand-side and redistributional strategies were dominant, the outcome of state–union negotiations can be seen in improved teacher salaries without an expanded teacher corps The PTR was set and a post-provisioning model agreed upon Teacher education and training and recruitment of new cohorts of teachers... relevant to questions of teacher supply and demand Demand and supply dynamics, information and policies: 1994–2008 This study argues that in the first period, 1994 to 1999, a preference existed for redistributional solutions as a way of improving quality in schools instead of investing in teacher education or re-education Finances for education were constrained, and the main priority lay in reorganising...Background and approach This monograph provides an integrated synthesis of a study of research, policy and practice in relation to the supply and demand of South African teachers in three periods: 1994–1999, 1999–2004 and 2004–2008 At the heart of the study is the question of teacher shortages and the need to match supply with demand so that a sufficient number of adequately trained teachers are teaching... demand- and supply- side research and interventions over time since 1994 In order to do this, it is necessary to understand the way in which ‘demand’ and supply are conceptualised in the education planning – and specifically the teacher policy – context The demand for teachers is commonly understood as being shaped by three main issues: pupil enrolment, PTRs and teacher turnover For example, more teachers... Whereas demand-side research and policies emphasised the reduction of teacher shortages in African schools through the mechanism of revised PTRs that resulted in rationalising, redeploying and redistributing teachers within the system rather than training new teachers, supply- side research and policy emphasised that there was an ‘overproduction’ of teachers in teacher education colleges and the need... people within schools and departments who are also in short supply Towards meeting demand Improvement can be effected in four main areas: information systems, financing of teacher education, salaries and conditions of work for teachers, and the post-provisioning system linked to teacher appointment, recruitment and retention Creaking information systems do not facilitate already ineffective teacher deployment... supply and demand as one of redistribution rather than investment and expansion Until we understand and address this appropriately, teacher education will receive short shrift A likely emphasis in the foreseeable future is on expanding teacher numbers and reducing class sizes A major priority will be to ensure that teacher salaries and conditions of work do not deteriorate and, perhaps more importantly,... Looked at in this way, it is clear that supply and demand issues are closely linked: tinkering with demand-led strategies will inevitably influence the available supply and the match between the two What this means is that there is a permanent and unstable dynamic between the supply and demand of teachers: the balance is continuously affected by the outcomes of state–union negotiated positions within the . Dynamics of teacher supply and demand: Research, policy and practice, 1999—2004 17 5 Dynamics of teacher supply and demand: Research, policy and practice, 2004—2008 . providing an overview and synthesis of the interventions, research and consequences of initiatives related to the demand for and supply of teachers since