Faculty of Education

Message from the Dean

 

Welcome to the Faculty of Education!

The primary mandate of the Faculty is to prepare and provide teachers of the highest calibre for the school system in the Eastern Cape, South Africa and neighbouring countries.

Further, the faculty equips students with relevant scientific knowledge and skills and promote interest in and cultivate research proficiency as a precondition for developing a critical mass of scholars and researchers in the field of education.

This is what we wish to say, especially to incoming students, making teaching your career of choice is indeed a very wise decision.

The cliché that teaching is a noble profession and mother of all professions is as true today as it was many years ago.

The information provided in this booklet is intended to enable you to get a deeper insight into the vision and mission of the Faculty of Education, its organisational structure and programmes.

The vision and mission of the Faculty of Education devolve from and are located in the contexts of the vision and mission of Walter Sisulu University respectively.

The vision of the University - to be a values-driven, technology-infused African university providing a gateway for local talent to be globally competitive and to make a sustainable impact.

This vision resonates appropriately with that of the Faculty namely, to be a leading faculty in the Eastern Cape, South Africa and neighbouring countries in the preparation and provision of teachers of the highest quality, with emphasis on teachers of Mathematics, Science and Technology as well as other critical school learning fields and in the upliftment of regional, provincial and national communities through appropriate community development interventions.

It is that portion of the broad spectrum of the mission of the University which says that through “Quality teaching and learning, research, innovation and community engagement, Walter Sisulu University responds to societal needs and delivers future-ready graduates who are responsible citizens, able to address complex societal challenges in critical, ethical, scholarly, sustainable and entrepreneurial ways” which resonates aptly with the mission of the Faculty namely, commitment to excellence in the provision of programmes for the initial professional education of teachers (pre-service) and continuing professional teacher development (in-service) which are geared towards equipping both future and serving teachers with relevant knowledge and skills of the highest quality, with emphasis on teachers of Mathematics, Science and Technology as well as other critical school learning (subject) fields.

The Faculty is one of three faculties constituting Butterworth Campus. It has three academic departments, namely:

  • Continuing and Adult Professional Teacher Development
  • Economics and Management Sciences Education
  • Technology and Mathematics Education.

The preparation and provision of Mathematics, Science and Technology teachers is the arrowhead of the Faculty.

This resonates well with the prioritisation of the preparation and provision of Mathematics, Science and Technology teachers articulated in the vision and mission of the Faculty as well as in the legislation which established Walter Sisulu University as a comprehensive university.

There is an incontrovertible relationship between pre-service and in-service education of teachers in as much as the two supplement and complement each other in many ways. Indeed, one cannot exist without the other.

Continuing and Adult Professional Teacher Development (CAPTD) houses undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education programmes.

Notwithstanding a great demand for research activity and development in all fields of study in the Faculty, the following priority research niche areas have been identified in order to promote research activity and development: 

  • Mathematics, Science and Technology Education
  • Project-based model for teacher education
  • Diversity and inclusivity in education
  • Education transformation.

For the Faculty of Education to respond effectively to its mandate as outlined above, it is absolutely essential that all academic and support divisions of the University including faculties and support units, embrace a spirit of interdependence, collaboration and support.

In conclusion, I wish you all success in your studies. 

Dr N Diko

Dean: Faculty of Education