Learning to teach in South Africa

In his collection of essays, which reflect on the state of teaching in an emerging democracy, Morrow tackles some of the foremost topics affecting the teaching profession, from large classes to new curricula to multicultural education. Learning to Teach in South Africa (HSRC Press) maintains that debate and discussion around the contemporary challenges affecting teaching are essential for effective change to take place in education.The twelve essays in this publication span the period from 1989, just prior to Nelson Mandela’s unexpected release from jail, through to 2005, eleven years after the first democratic election in South Africa. The essays, many based on papers delivered at national and international conferences, address a web of issues that have emerged in the practical, institutional and political dimensions of teachers’ lives against a transforming educational landscape.Traditional schools, and the responsibilities of teachers in them, have come under unrelenting pressure. And such pressure increases in the face of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, high levels of unemployment and widespread poverty and marginalisation. In this collection of essays Morrow develops a view of teaching as organising systematic learning and claims that the increasing responsibilities of teachers make it more and more difficult for them to carry out their core responsibility. He raises the possibility that we need a different model of a school and the responsibilities of teachers, and implies that in attempting to overcome the negative legacies of apartheid education policies, attempting to achieve a real transformation of education, we will need a new model of a school, one in which schools become the sites for the delivery a comprehensive package of social service to the young.A teacher himself, Morrow was also Dean of Education at the Universities of the Western Cape and Port Elizabeth, as well as Chair of the Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education, during the time that these pieces were written. His experience in the field, and passion for his subject, comes through clearly in each essay.The range of Morrow’s writing encompasses several important issues linked by three interweaving themes that run through the book. The first is teaching and the ways in which financial, conceptual, institutional and other constraints set boundaries around what is possible, and seen as possible. The second is the ongoing struggle with multiculturalism and relativism (seen as the root of apartheid education policy, and still influencing thinking about education in South Africa). The third is Teacher Education, which overlaps with the other two themes and depends heavily on them.Morrow introduces bold and informed reasoning concerning education and teaching in South Africa, and is not afraid to introduce controversial viewpoints. Learning to Teach in South Africa makes a relevant and thought-provoking contribution which should be of value to all those involved in the field of education, and particularly teacher education.Learning to Teach in South Africa is by Wally Morrow and is published by the HSRC Press.Copies of all of HSRC Press published titles are available from leading booksellers nationally, and from the online bookshop at www.hsrcpress.ac.za.For a review copy of the book, or to make contact with the author, contact:Shaun StuartMarketing Co-ordinatorHSRC Press Contact DetailsKaren BrunsHSRC Press+27 21 466 8022kbruns@hsrc.ac.zawww.hsrcpress.ac.za