Teachers' voices and quality education in the basic education discourse in South Africa

The absence of a shared understanding of quality education for South African schools prompted this study to apply the capability approach of Amartya Sen to investigate the productive qualities of teachers. The study outlines the significance of integrating teachers’ perspectives into discussions su...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Samantha Hoffman, Rouaan Maarman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2024-12-01
Series:Perspectives in Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/8048
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850136358635438080
author Samantha Hoffman
Rouaan Maarman
author_facet Samantha Hoffman
Rouaan Maarman
author_sort Samantha Hoffman
collection DOAJ
description The absence of a shared understanding of quality education for South African schools prompted this study to apply the capability approach of Amartya Sen to investigate the productive qualities of teachers. The study outlines the significance of integrating teachers’ perspectives into discussions surrounding quality education in South Africa. More emphasis is directed towards the necessity of understanding quality education through the lens of teachers’ experiences and perceptions. A case study design was used and teachers in two Cape Town schools were selected to illustrate the case. The study conducted in-depth individual and focus group interviews with primary and high school teachers to explore their views on quality education and its implications for capability enhancement. Utilizing the capability approach as a framework, the research underscores the voices of teachers and the pivotal role of teachers in shaping educational practices and policies. The study revealed that limitations put on teachers’ voices rendered the understanding of quality education a bureaucratic discourse instead of a transformational idea and suppresses evaluative reasoning and the pursuit of interconnected teaching and learning freedoms in schools.
format Article
id doaj-art-e9b4ab3dbb8347a99f5cf2db44c53451
institution OA Journals
issn 0258-2236
2519-593X
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher University of the Free State
record_format Article
series Perspectives in Education
spelling doaj-art-e9b4ab3dbb8347a99f5cf2db44c534512025-08-20T02:31:09ZengUniversity of the Free StatePerspectives in Education0258-22362519-593X2024-12-0142410.38140/pie.v42i4.8048Teachers' voices and quality education in the basic education discourse in South AfricaSamantha Hoffman0Rouaan Maarman1University of the Western Cape, South AfricaUniversity of the Western Cape, South Africa The absence of a shared understanding of quality education for South African schools prompted this study to apply the capability approach of Amartya Sen to investigate the productive qualities of teachers. The study outlines the significance of integrating teachers’ perspectives into discussions surrounding quality education in South Africa. More emphasis is directed towards the necessity of understanding quality education through the lens of teachers’ experiences and perceptions. A case study design was used and teachers in two Cape Town schools were selected to illustrate the case. The study conducted in-depth individual and focus group interviews with primary and high school teachers to explore their views on quality education and its implications for capability enhancement. Utilizing the capability approach as a framework, the research underscores the voices of teachers and the pivotal role of teachers in shaping educational practices and policies. The study revealed that limitations put on teachers’ voices rendered the understanding of quality education a bureaucratic discourse instead of a transformational idea and suppresses evaluative reasoning and the pursuit of interconnected teaching and learning freedoms in schools. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/8048Basic schoolingcapability approachquality educationteachers’ voice
spellingShingle Samantha Hoffman
Rouaan Maarman
Teachers' voices and quality education in the basic education discourse in South Africa
Perspectives in Education
Basic schooling
capability approach
quality education
teachers’ voice
title Teachers' voices and quality education in the basic education discourse in South Africa
title_full Teachers' voices and quality education in the basic education discourse in South Africa
title_fullStr Teachers' voices and quality education in the basic education discourse in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Teachers' voices and quality education in the basic education discourse in South Africa
title_short Teachers' voices and quality education in the basic education discourse in South Africa
title_sort teachers voices and quality education in the basic education discourse in south africa
topic Basic schooling
capability approach
quality education
teachers’ voice
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/8048
work_keys_str_mv AT samanthahoffman teachersvoicesandqualityeducationinthebasiceducationdiscourseinsouthafrica
AT rouaanmaarman teachersvoicesandqualityeducationinthebasiceducationdiscourseinsouthafrica