Abstract
M.Ed.
The focus of this inquiry was to describe and interpret teaching and learning processes as they manifest in a specific Higher Education Diploma class at a Historically Disadvantaged Institution of higher education. This report moves from the premise that, despite the major political and social transformation that has taken place in South Africa, teaching and learning processes in many classrooms at Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDI) remain a domesticating and disempowering experience. The argument of this paper therefore is, the only way that education in such classes can be transformed from a domesticating into an empowering experience for learners is through the transformation of teaching practice; and that such transformation can only occur when dialogic mediation is adopted as a strategy for teaching and learning. Based on the preceding argument, a qualitative research design was employed to describe and interpret teaching and learning processes in a specific Higher Education Diploma (HED) classroom at a specific Historically Disadvantaged Institution of higher learning. Participant observations and in-depth, semi-structured follow-on interviews were conducted. Purposeful sampling was used to select information rich cases for in-depth study. The constant comparative method of data analysis was used to search for recurring themes and patterns. The main finding of this study is that teaching and learning processes in the HED classroom of the said institution continue to be grounded in the traditional, positivist, behaviorists approach to education, which uses monologic teaching as a strategy for teaching and learning. Allegedly this results in the domestication and disempowerment of learners. The study also highlighted the crucial role played by teaching practice in either the domestication or empowerment of students in higher education in general.
The inquiry concludes with a number of recommendations that can probably improve future practice. These include, inter-alia, the adoption of a dialogic stance to teaching practice as a strategy to promote empowering education; and the re-training and reorientation of practicing teachers towards the adoption of the principles of empowering education.