Abstract
This era of exponential technological advancements makes us profoundly aware of the role that education must play to ensure that “humankind” can live and thrive in this futuristic society. Many of our pre-service teachers are digital natives; however, they must be taught to become digital integrators in the learning space. This calls for teacher education institutions to critically analyse their pedagogical models and curriculum design. Technological innovation must be aligned with social innovation, given the environmental and social crisis experienced on a global level. In addition to the conceptual framework that focuses on Generation Alpha, social innovation and teacher education, this study is underpinned by posthumanism and critical pedagogy theories. These theories are critically discussed and used by the researcher to evaluate the existing teacher education programmes and explore ways in which these programmes may be redesigned to cater for “societies that face poor social mobility, unacceptable gaps in attainment, rising mental health issues and a lack of the skills needed for 21st-century careers”.
This study aims to investigate the extent to which pre-service teachers are prepared to teach Generation Alpha from a social innovation perspective. This study highlights the imperatives for reimagining teacher education curricula for future generations within the context of social innovation.
A qualitative case study research strategy is used in this study. Data was collected through focus group interviews, individual interviews and data analysis, which was analysed through qualitative content analysis.
The key findings of this study indicate that the teacher education curriculum is not designed to prepare pre-service teachers to teach Generation Alpha learners from a
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social innovation perspective. Fourth-year B.Ed students believe that they are not adequately prepared to teach Generation Alpha learners within the context of social innovation. This belief is validated by teacher educators. Intermediate-phase learners expect future teachers to be digital integrators and expressed the importance of teaching global and digital citizenship.
Pre-service teachers must be competent in technological innovation, social innovation and global citizenship to enable them to produce learners who are socially, and ethically responsible, as well as emotionally intelligent innovators, leaders, and communicators. To mobilize and expedite these competencies, teacher education institutions must redesign their pedagogical models and teacher education curricula to align with the educational needs of future generations.
Key words: posthumanism; technological innovation; social innovation; Generation Alpha; teacher education; critical pedagogy