Caracterización del material nanoestructurado

According to Brouwer and Korthagen (2005: 156) there must be an integrated approach in teacher education that links practical experiences to theory in order to strengthen graduates’ innovative teaching competence. Teacher education follows a variety of structural models and conceptual frameworks. A conceptual framework refers to a set of ideas about the goals for teacher education and the means by which these goals will be achieved (Volante & Earl, 2002: 420).

The location of music education and teacher training is important. Those who favour a thorough understanding and appreciation of musical knowledge and skills, prefer a conservatorium-based model in which pre-service teachers acquire a high level of performance skills. Those who favour pedagogical skills and an understanding of curricula and child development, supported a model that is taught in Faculties of Education in universities. An interdisciplinary model in which pre-service teachers are prepared for both performance-focused duties in a conservatorium environment and teacher-preparation-focused education faculties, is favoured by Harrison (2010: 23).

Auh and Walker (2003: 2) said that good teaching must contain elements of two methods of teaching: the traditional mimetic one and a transformative one. They also wrote that it is pointless to produce teachers who know nothing about the systems of knowledge that they teach. They believe that musical skills and knowledge, together with teaching skills are equally important in effective music teaching (2003:1). Not all teachers receive that same training and there are a variety of structural models and conceptual orientations that contribute to teachers’ interpretations of effective learning and teaching (Volante & Earl, 2002: 422-437). All theories about teaching and learning to teach rely on an understanding of the context in which students, educators and researchers and other policy-makers all structure music teacher training (Campbell, 1999: 29).

45 Researchers have conceptualised various teacher training reform models. These were the academic, social efficiency, developmentalist and social reconstructionist traditions and Zeichner, in 1993, started referring to them as “traditions of practice” and more recently – in 2003 - as “approaches to reform” (Ballantyne, 2005: 10). These models aim to clarify the theoretical and political assumptions underlying reforms. These traditions (or conceptual orientations) represent four ways of viewing the education of teachers and may be useful in examining the education of music teachers in South Africa. Feiman-Nemser’s listed five main conceptual orientations that are similar to those Zeichner and Liston listed. Each of these orientations has a specific focus that highlights certain aspects of teaching, learning, and learning to teach and it directs attention to a central goal of teacher preparation (Volante & Earl., 2002: 420 – 421).

The conceptual orientations towards teacher training can be summarized as follows:

3.3.2.1 The Academic Orientation

This orientation emphasizes the fact that teaching is firstly concerned with the transmission of knowledge and the development of understanding (Volante & Earl, 2002: 422), with specific focus on the importance of knowledge necessary for pre- service teachers (Ballantyne, 2005: 11). This knowledge is gained through a classical liberal arts education (Ballantyne, 2004: 11; Volante & Earl, 2002: 422) that is combined with a period of internship in schools. The most important goal for teachers in this orientation is the mastery of specific subject matter as they are being taught at universities. These teachers, however, should learn “how to teach” in the company of more experienced teachers once they get to schools as part of the internship model. Students who are academically talented would be favoured over less intellectually gifted students in this orientation (Ballantyne, 2005: 11).

3.3.2.2 The Social Efficiency Orientation

Supporters of this tradition are of the opinion that the best basis for designing a teacher education curriculum, is provided by a scientific study of teaching. Volante and Earl called this “the technological orientation” and according to them, this orientation focuses on empirically validated teaching strategies. The nature of a

46 teachers’ work is studied to provide a starting point for studying teaching. Reforms such as Competency/Performance Based Teacher Education (C/PBTE) in the United States between the 1960s and 1970s had a great influence on this tradition (Competency Based Education, 2009). This trend has become very popular around the world, despite criticism regarding its behaviouristic foundations. In C/PBTE certain competencies or skills are stated in the beginning of an education programme, along with the criteria by which the achievement of these skills or competencies is measured. Once a teacher had demonstrated the achievement of these skills, the teacher is viewed as “effective” (Ballantyne, 2005: 12). The outcomes that a teacher must achieve, should be consistent with the realities of teaching as experienced in schools (Ballantyne, 2005: 12).

3.3.2.3 The Developmentalist Orientation

This tradition is associated with both developmentalist and the humanistic teacher education programmes and is based on the principles that the development of pupils provides the basis for determining what should be taught to pupils and to their teachers. Volante and Earl felt that in this orientation, the teacher-learner is placed at the centre of the education process. It is believed that, learning to teach is a process of learning to understand oneself and individual students (2002: 422). A number of program options have been developed recently in the hopes of promoting reflection among future teachers, rather than solely emphasising instructional techniques (Goodman, 1986: 181).

3.3.2.4 The Social Reconstructionist Orientation

This orientation supports a view in which schooling and teacher education are very important factors in the development of a fair society (Zeichner & Liston, 1990: 12). Student teachers are therefore encouraged to evaluate the current social and political influences on education critically in a quest to break the cycle of poverty and finding solutions to the wrongs. Teachers in low-income communities need to be equipped to deal with these kinds of issues (Ballantyne, 2005: 13). In this orientation, a liberal social concept is combined with a radical critique of schooling in which teacher education is envisaged as a larger strategy to create a more just and democratic society (Volante & Earl, 2002: 422).

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3.3.2.5 The Practical Orientation

Volante and Earl refer to a fifth orientation in their study and named it “the practical orientation”. This orientation emphasises the elements of craft, technique, and the artistry that is revealed in the work of skilful practitioners. Supporters of this orientation argue that teachers must be prepared for the restricted nature of teaching with its associated demand for adaptability. The reliance on the importance of experience is the key source of knowledge for both new and experienced teachers (2002: 422). This orientation is not named by Ballantyne nor by Zeicher and Liston. Campbell supported a constructivist approach to training music teachers and he interpreted the theory as being fundamentally (a) Interactional, (b) Knowledge- based, (c) Developmental, and (d) Experiential (1999: 15).