Abstract:
This research is an evaluative analysis of the perceptions of lecturers and students at the Johannesburg College of Education on the educational rationale for the inclusion of a Community Outreach programme in a teacher education course. The research was based on the premise that student teachers in South Africa need to be able to reflect critically on their own practice and therefore need to be exposed to circumstances other than the confines of segregated educational institutions, if they are to develop analytical skills and form opinions about serious social and moral issues. Working in a social psychological (cf. Mead) and phenomenological tradition (cf. Shutz) this research attempts to extract an approximation of the lived experience" of the students and lecturers who participated in this programme (at a number of rural schools for blacks; multi-racial camp projects; literacy projects; children's homes; after-care centres; organizations for homeless street children; pre-primary projects; special education with the physically and mentally disabled and in related fields of research) and reflects their perceptions of reality. Hence the research aims to discover what it is like to be participating in the Johannesburg College of Education's Community Outreach project, and to describe and interpret the scheme's significant features, recurring issues and problem areas. The Methodological approach was one of Illuminative Evaluation (Parlett & Hamilton, 1976). This approach is dependent on a multiplicity of strategies and sources of data collection. Different techniques therefore are combined to throw light on a common problem: Qualitative methods (e.g. the analysis of group discussions, diary and written reports, interviews and observation techniques) as well as Quantitative techniques (e.g. a questionnaire which had closed as well as open-ended questions). This data was content analysed [Krippendorf, 1980] and subjected to analysis through the use of frequency counts and X2 tests of statistical significance. The data combined to produce the following conclusions : i. It was conclusively shown that the ability of student-teachers to perceive the link between theory and practice is limited. It is therefore acknowledged that if the "community" experience is to link the social commitment" to a "learning commitment". Community Education needs to be given a greater centrality in the Educational Studies course at the JCE. ii. It was shown that the role of the lecturer is a vital element in the success of the programme, as a motivator and primary sustainer of interest. The inability of lecturers to form an active link between the students and the organizations was detrimental to the success of the project as a whole. iii. A strong bias in favour of projects of a cross-cultural nature (i.e. the rural projects and holiday camps) was discerned in terms of student interest and ultimate levels of satisfaction. iv. The nature of the task was shown to be an important consideration and the adequacy of the students in terms of their emotional temperament, ability and state of preparedness particularly in their dealing with emotionally disturbed children in children's homes and after-care centres was a real cause for concern. Finally, the morality of 'helping' is a persistent theme that emerged from this study. In essence, programmes should be based on thorough initial research to ascertain real needs to guard against a cynical use of the community as a resource to satisfy the students pre-established educational goals.
