Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
06 November 2020
|
Story Rulanzen Martin
|
Photo Supplied
Dr Tronél Hellberg, UFS alumna, completed her PhD in Music from the OSM in 2018.
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has posed many challenges. Not only has it distrupted our normal way of life it but has created a ‘new normal.’ Even in these trying times, alumni from the University of the Free State (UFS) have adjusted to the new normal by going above and beyond to make it as normal as possible.
One of these is Dr Tronél Hellberg, an alumna from the
Odeion School of Music at the UFS, who has supported Grade 12 learners by presenting free online prescribed music theory classes. The classes are beneficial for learners following the CAPS or IEB curriculum. “I trust the online videos will assist learners and teachers to get through this challenging Grade 12 year,” says Dr Hellberg. She has
recorded more than 38 live videos on her
G-Sential Theory of Music Facebook page.
The recordings are accessible to Grade 12 learners and their teachers at no cost. Dr Hellberg established the
G-Sential Theory of Music in 2007 and has since published 20 theory of music books.
Apart from assisting in teaching, one of her main objectives is to reach less fortunate learners who do not have access to music teachers. “Grade 12 music literacy requires an accumulative understanding of theory of music,” she says. With her initiative she also aims to “fill any gaps” to solidify knowledge and information which might still be unclear.
Teacher professionalism and status under Commonwealth radar
2010-03-26
 |
From the left are: Ms Simone De Cormarmond, Chairperson: Commonwealth Foundation; Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, University of the Free State (UFS); Mr Samuel Isaacs, CEO: SAQA; and Dr Carol Anne Spreen, Lecturer at the University of Maryland, USA).
Photo: Ian van Straaten |
International delegates attending the 5th Annual Commonwealth Teacher Research Symposium held at the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein this week unanimously agreed that more research still had to be done on issues of recognition, registration and standards affecting teachers and teaching across Commonwealth countries.
This two-day gathering of researchers, officials and representatives of regional international organisations and higher education institutions agreed that issues of teacher migration, the professionalism of teachers, teacher preparation and the use of teaching standards, as well as the comparability and recognition of teacher qualifications should be further researched.
The delegates agreed on the following based on the research and data that were presented and shared with all the participants:
Teacher migration is recognised as an increasing global phenomenon that requires ongoing research in the Commonwealth.
Recognising that inequalities and differences within and across Commonwealth countries exist, and considering that fair and ethical treatment in the international recruitment of teachers is an important cornerstone of the Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol.
Teacher training, the recognition of teacher qualifications, the professional registration of teachers and the development of professional teacher standards should be actively encouraged through ongoing pan-Commonwealth research.
An increased acknowledgement of the role of the professionalisation of teachers through an improved understanding of teacher qualifications and standards.
There should be a specific research focus on teacher preparation and the use of teaching standards.
An increased comparability and recognition of teacher qualifications across Commonwealth countries should be actively encouraged.
Advocacy of teachers’ rights, effective protection of the vulnerable teacher, and appropriate strategies should be promoted to uplift the status of teachers and teaching as a profession.
The Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol, amongst other things, aims to balance the rights of teachers to migrate internationally against the need to protect the integrity of national education systems, and to prevent the exploitation of the scarce human resources of poor countries.
Delivering his keynote address at the symposium, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, decried the quality of professional qualifications in South Africa.
“We have become very good at manufacturing outcomes. We actually have become very good at giving an impression of having achieved particular outcomes without having achieved them at all,” he said.
“So what does it mean to talk about outcomes in an unequal country with unequal resources? What does it mean to talk about qualifications when we do not trust the outcomes?”
He suggested that the teaching profession should be subjected to a peer review mechanism and that the practice of setting minimum standards should be dealt away with because it results in minimum outcomes.
Dr Carol Anne Spreen, lecturer at the University of Maryland in the USA, proposed that countries should improve the quality of their own teachers instead of importing teachers from other countries.
The research symposium was organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat and hosted by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the UFS.
Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za
26 March 2010