(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2016) Steyn, H. J.; Van der Walt, J. L.; Wolhuter, C. C.
Benchmarking is one way of ensuring academic depth and rigour in
teacher education. After making a case for setting benchmarks in
teacher education based on the widely recognised intra-education
system contextual factors, the importance of also taking into
account the external (e.g. the national-social) context in which
teacher education occurs is highlighted. A five-step plan is offered
for ensuring academic depth and rigour in teacher education
through benchmarking. The process is illustrated with examples
from the South African situation. The article concludes with an
outline of the contextual conditions with which teacher educators in
South Africa have to cope.