Exploring the use of collaborative learning to promote pre-service teachers’ participation in a rural university classroom
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Date
2022
Authors
Adebola, Oyinlola Omolara
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Pre-service teaching education globally is provided to equip students who wish to specialise in the relevant teaching skills and pedagogical knowledge needed to teach and learn effectively. This study aimed to explore collaborative learning strategies to promote pre-service teachers' participation in South African rural university classrooms through article publications. This study is important because universities situated in rural South Africa have been reported to face challenges due to historical, religious, political, and social marginalisation.
This study is qualitative and intended to investigate the challenges that influence pre-service teachers’ less participation, the way out of the challenges, and the threats that could hinder the implementation of the suggested solutions in rural universities. Social constructivism theory and asset-based community development were chosen to theorise while adopting participation research for the design and transformative paradigm to lens the study. Data were collected using structured interviews, focus group discussions and interest in thematic analysis.
The first article, titled: “Challenges of pre-service teachers’ classroom participation in a rurally located university in South Africa,” addresses the challenges responsible for pre-service teachers’ lack of participation in a rural university classroom. The findings based on the above discovered that lack of preparation from both lecturer and students, the use of a teacher-centred approach, difficulty in understanding the English language, teaching workload, large class size, student background and tribalism were the major challenges facing pre-service teachers’ classroom participation in a rurally located university in South Africa.
With a research objective, the second article, titled: “A veritable tool for promoting classroom participation among pre-service teachers in rural universities in South Africa,” explores the strategies that engender collaborative learning among pre-service teachers in rural university classrooms. The study revealed the think-peer-share strategy, group work strategy, micro-teaching strategy, positive feedback and encouragement, learner-centred method, and inquiry method as strategies for improving participation among pre-service teachers in rural universities.
Article three, titled: “Sustaining collaborative learning in a South African rurally located university classroom: Threats and conducive conditions,” examines the conducive conditions that could sustain collaborative learning among pre-service teachers and evaluates the threats that could hinder the implementation of the possible solutions in a rural university classroom. The findings revealed connecting activity to assessment, connecting content to students’ lives, establishing classroom culture and planning as the possible solutions. At the same time, language barriers, unconducive classrooms and the lack of infrastructure were suggested as impeding factors that could hinder the implementation of the proposed solutions in the study.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.(Higher Education Studies))--University of the Free State, 2022
Keywords
Collaborative learning, conducive condition, rural university classroom, pre-service teachers, sustainability