URSULA HOADLEY reviews A Dictionary of Education and Training, edited by Steward Mothata, with contributing authors Steward Mothata, Eleanor Lemmer, Thobeka Mda and Fanie Pretorius (Hodder & Stoughton, R99,95)
A TEACHER I know recently told me about a consultant who visited his school to lead a workshop on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) for the staff. Thoroughly confused by all the jargon and technicality-talk, the teacher began to note down each acronym that the presenter used. He came out of the workshop with a list of 49 acronyms, but very little clarity around the NQF.
One of the defining features of the new system of education and training is the over-abundance of jargon. New ways of thinking and speaking about education and training have flooded the field with new terms and concepts. This can lead to murky waters for teachers, as anyone who has attempted to come to grips with Curriculum 2005 will know. Rather than introduce teachers to new understandings in education, the new terms often serve to alienate and intimidate, not to mention confuse and frustrate.
It is as a response to this ”shock of the new” that Steward Mothata, and a group of educationalists from Unisa have compiled A Dictionary of South African Education and Training. What the dictionary attempts to do is provide clear and concise definitions for a wide range of terms flying around in the education and training arena. This it does ably. But the dictionary is more than a dry, technical list of definitions of new words and concepts. Included in the list for definition are a range of terms that manage to encapsulate the complex ways in which education and training is understood and practised in this country. So it includes definitions for ”specific outcomes” and ”lifelong learning”, but also incorporates a historical perspective (”People’s Education”; ”Historically Disadvantaged Institutions”), references to policy (”Gender Equity Task Team”; ”SAHRC Report on Racism in Schools”), pedagogy (”Labelling”; Rote Leaning; Pacing), and educational research (”quantitative design”; ”qualitative research”).
The language is clear and accessible. The concepts and terms are topical and interesting. The publication is as much a reference dictionary as an interesting book to browse through. For example, the authors include Yizo Yizo as one of the dictionary items, defined thus: ”A television youth drama series commissioned by the Department of Education and aired by the SABC in the first half of 1999. The fact that there was an outcry and public debate about Yizo Yizo indicates that the department’s message was received by the public i.e. the violence that most South African learners are exposed to in their schools and communities.” The dictionary is easy to read, informative across a range of educational issues, well cross-referenced and comprehensive.
My only reservations pertain to two sections preceding and following the dictionary. The first section includes five essays which aim to explore some of the new developments in the field of education and training, and attempt to clarify some of the key issues surrounding new developments in education. The focus in these five essays is on the integration of education and training. This topic is dealt with very briefly in the space of 14 pages. Perhaps some key issues across a broader range of educational perspectives and issues would have provided a better introductory section. As it stands, section one suggests that what follows in the dictionary section relates primarily to the issues introduced here. The dictionary does in fact represent a far richer selection of terms, definitions and comments on the field.
The dictionary also includes a list of acronyms which could very usefully be expanded and made more prominent. The reason for this particular selection is not clear. For example, PI (performance indicator) is included, but not SO (specific outcome), BEd (Bachelor of Education) but not HDE (Higher Diploma of Education). Either the criteria for the selection of these acronyms should be made explicit, or the list should be expanded and made comprehensive for those who are trying to make sense of the items. Similarly, the section following the dictionary, the appendix, which relates directly to issues raised in the five essays, could either have been omitted or served to provide a more useful selection of key tables and extracts from policy documents.
These reservations pertain only to about 30 pages of the book. The real meat and value lie in Section 2 — the dictionary. This provides those interested in education and training with an extremely useful resource in keeping abreast with rapid changes in the field, and making sense of a wide range of educational terms and meanings.
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, May 8, 2000.
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