‘To Win a War, You Need to Train Your Army First’: An Exploration of Teacher Development in South Africa

Kerishka Govender

Authors

Kerishka Govender Author

Keywords:

Teacher Development, Professional Learning Committees, South African Teachers, Social Learning Theories

Abstract

Teachers are critical to reforming the South African educational system and enhancing learners’
academic outcomes. However, current teacher development strategies face challenges such as poor
implementation, lack of contextual relevance, and failure to meet educators’ needs. The Integrated
Strategic Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development (ISPFTED) represents a positive
shift, promoting Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as the future of teacher development. Based
on social learning theories, PLCs encourage ongoing, collaborative learning, offering an alternative to
the one-time seminars that have proven ineffective in South Africa. This study investigates existing
teacher development methods and explores the potential of PLCs to foster long-term, contextually
appropriate growth. It evaluates the effectiveness of PLCs in enhancing teacher performance through a
comprehensive systematic literature review.

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‘To Win a War, You Need to Train Your Army First’: An Exploration of Teacher Development in South Africa

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