TOP PRIVATE SCHOOL & TERTIARY GROUP COLLABORATE TO BUILD SA TEACHING CAPACITY

South Africa’s leading private education provider, ADvTECH, is pioneering the development of teacher capacity and expertise in the country by way of collaboration between its schools division and its tertiary division, The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE).

The group has successfully harnessed its unique position to create a blueprint for the development and training of teachers of the highest calibre, by creating a symbiotic relationship between its tertiary Teaching Faculty and its 109 schools.

“With almost half of South Africa’s teachers projected to leave the profession by 2030, the outlook for the quality of education available to future generations would be bleak in the absence of targeted intervention. Recognising and rising to this challenge, we have been actively investing in the development of the next generation of teachers across a number of our tertiary brands,” says Dr Lindiwe Mokotjo, Head of Faculty: Education at The IIE.

Mokotjo explains that through feedback and interaction with the schools division, IIE student teachers reap the benefit of being at the forefront of what is required from teachers in real-life classrooms, as opposed to studying outdated curricula in a mostly academic setting which doesn’t have any connection to schools on the ground.

“This way students receive the highest quality of real life-focused training, which can’t simply be replicated in an academic setting which isn’t in close contact with what’s happening in basic education,” she says.

Desiree Hugo, Academic Head: Schools Division at ADvTECH says these highly qualified teachers, who upon graduation will already have significant professional experience under their belt, are then fed back into the ADvTECH schools.

“The result is that these schools both benefit from superior teaching staff while at the same time ensuring a sizeable contribution to the provision of teaching professionals into the education sector in South Africa,” she says.

The Teacher Demographic Dividend project, conducted by a team of more than 20 researchers from the University of Stellenbosch, recently noted that the need for more education graduates will grow in this decade, even just to maintain current teacher numbers. It is estimated that by 2030, 6000 additional new teaching graduates will need to be drawn into the system compared to current numbers.

Hugo says the training and feedback loop between ADvTECH Schools and higher education provider The IIE is a system that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the country, whether in the public or private sector.

“The success of this approach can be objectively measured by the fact that education degrees and related qualifications presented at IIE Varsity College, IIE Rosebank College, IIE MSA and Oxbridge Academy, have consistently been in the top 5 popular fields of study for new students in recent years, while ADvTECH’s IEB Matric results consistently rank at the top of the leader board every year.”

Mokotjo says The IIE is doing all it can to ensure that South Africa does not run out of competent, well-qualified teachers, whether in the public sector or private sector.

“One of the factors leading to teacher attrition in the public sector, is the move to the private sector. However ADvTECH is literally growing its own timber in this regard, with our education graduates making a sizeable dent in the demand in both the public and private sector.”

She adds that the way future teachers should be prepared has drastically changed as a result of the expansion of the teaching profession in recent years. The transformation includes understanding the material being taught, how it is being taught, the setting in which learners are being taught, and the fact that each learner is unique and capable of excelling when working with a qualified teacher. In this regard, the Central Academics Team work closely with schools and the tertiary division to ensure alignment with the expectations of teachers in ADvTECH Schools.

ADvTECH takes its responsibility in this regard very seriously, and focuses on developing dynamic and skilled future teachers who are ready for the 21st century classroom, she says.

“Throughout their degree, aspiring student teachers are mentored by our Schools of Education’s professional team, and uniquely, each year of study has a Teaching Experience component. This critical component exposes students to diverse educational settings which ensures that they develop the practical skills essential for excellence in teaching. It also includes an element of service-learning which gives the students the unique opportunity to demonstrate their civic responsibilities.”