EDC1015/101/3/2014
Tutorial letter 101/3/2014
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS IN
EDUCATION
EDC1015
Semesters 1 & 2
Department of Educational Foundations
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This tutorial letter deals with various general
and mostly administrative issues.
, EDC1015/101
CONTENTS
Pages
1 INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME .................................................................................. 3
2 PURPOSE OF AND OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE ................................................... 4
3 LECTURERS AND CONTACT DETAILS ......................................................................... 7
4 MODULE-RELATED RESOURCES ................................................................................. 8
5 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE MODULE ................................................... 9
6 MODULE-SPECIFIC STUDY PLAN ................................................................................. 9
7 PRACTICAL WORK AND WORK-INTERGRATED LEARNING .................................. 10
8 ASSESSMENT .............................................................................................................. 10
9 OTHER ASSESSMENT METHODS ............................................................................... 28
10 EXAMINATIONS ............................................................................................................. 28
11 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ............................................................................ 28
12 SOURCES CONSULTED ............................................................................................... 28
13 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 29
14 ADDENDUM ................................................................................................................... 29
2
, EDC1015/101
1. INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME
Dear Student
We would like to welcome you to this module. We hope you will find the contents of the module
interesting and, more important perhaps, that the module will give you a new understanding of
education and broaden your personal horizons.
We want you to regard this module as a journey of discovery – a journey that may well take you
into the unknown. Although this journey may prove exciting, it may also make you feel very
anxious at times. There may even be occasions when you feel totally lost, but do not give up ---
even if you start to feel that you have taken on something that is just too difficult. We are here to
help you and give you the support and guidance you need.
Education, as one of the human and social sciences, is affected by a number of philosophical
perspectives, each with its own particular theoretical framework. In order to understand our own
practice and theorising in education better, we need to be familiar with the basic ideas that
characterise each of these philosophical perspectives which, to varying degrees, affect
educational discourse. Working within one perspective, which is accepted as a regulating frame
of reference, has certain advantages. Such a perspective will be well tested, and any research
undertaken will fit into an existing system of meaning, gaining much from the common
perspective and, one hopes, enriching it.
Another possibility is to move freely between the various perspectives, learning from all of them
and using whatever seems helpful and valuable, but one should always be careful of a form of
superficial eclecticism. Of course, we are not condemned either to be imprisoned in a single
perspective or to flit from one position to another. The important thing is the wealth of insight we
may gain from exposure to more than one perspective and to be on the lookout for possible
points of convergence that may help us to pursue our critical task in a more meaningful way.
In the light of what we have said, this module will deal with
• the relationship between philosophy, theory and practice in the human and social sciences
3
, EDC1015/101
• philosophical perspectives in the human and social sciences
• the effect of philosophical perspectives on contemporary themes and issues of concern in
the human and social sciences
1.1 Tutorial matter
The tutorial matter for this module includes the following:
• Tutorial letters
• The study guide
• The prescribed book (to be bought)
Items not available at the time of registration will be posted to you as soon as possible, but are
also available on myUnisa.
2. PURPOSE OF AND OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE
2.1 Purpose
If you have kept up with the educational debate in recent times, you will know that
philosophical thinking about education in South Africa is fragmented. A number of South
African educationists work with Marxist and neo-Marxist models, others work in the more
general context of what may loosely be termed “democratic liberalism”, and still others in the
context of an analytic philosophy of education. Another group of educationists practise
education as a science (pedagogics) in terms of a fundamental pedagogical approach.
There is, therefore, a need to formulate, or at least to begin formulating, a new discourse
(“discourse” is another word for “discussion”) in education.
The educational discourse we have in mind will almost certainly be initiated in the context of
more than one particular view of education. This discussion, if it is to have any credibility at all,
4
Tutorial letter 101/3/2014
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS IN
EDUCATION
EDC1015
Semesters 1 & 2
Department of Educational Foundations
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This tutorial letter deals with various general
and mostly administrative issues.
, EDC1015/101
CONTENTS
Pages
1 INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME .................................................................................. 3
2 PURPOSE OF AND OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE ................................................... 4
3 LECTURERS AND CONTACT DETAILS ......................................................................... 7
4 MODULE-RELATED RESOURCES ................................................................................. 8
5 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE MODULE ................................................... 9
6 MODULE-SPECIFIC STUDY PLAN ................................................................................. 9
7 PRACTICAL WORK AND WORK-INTERGRATED LEARNING .................................. 10
8 ASSESSMENT .............................................................................................................. 10
9 OTHER ASSESSMENT METHODS ............................................................................... 28
10 EXAMINATIONS ............................................................................................................. 28
11 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ............................................................................ 28
12 SOURCES CONSULTED ............................................................................................... 28
13 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 29
14 ADDENDUM ................................................................................................................... 29
2
, EDC1015/101
1. INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME
Dear Student
We would like to welcome you to this module. We hope you will find the contents of the module
interesting and, more important perhaps, that the module will give you a new understanding of
education and broaden your personal horizons.
We want you to regard this module as a journey of discovery – a journey that may well take you
into the unknown. Although this journey may prove exciting, it may also make you feel very
anxious at times. There may even be occasions when you feel totally lost, but do not give up ---
even if you start to feel that you have taken on something that is just too difficult. We are here to
help you and give you the support and guidance you need.
Education, as one of the human and social sciences, is affected by a number of philosophical
perspectives, each with its own particular theoretical framework. In order to understand our own
practice and theorising in education better, we need to be familiar with the basic ideas that
characterise each of these philosophical perspectives which, to varying degrees, affect
educational discourse. Working within one perspective, which is accepted as a regulating frame
of reference, has certain advantages. Such a perspective will be well tested, and any research
undertaken will fit into an existing system of meaning, gaining much from the common
perspective and, one hopes, enriching it.
Another possibility is to move freely between the various perspectives, learning from all of them
and using whatever seems helpful and valuable, but one should always be careful of a form of
superficial eclecticism. Of course, we are not condemned either to be imprisoned in a single
perspective or to flit from one position to another. The important thing is the wealth of insight we
may gain from exposure to more than one perspective and to be on the lookout for possible
points of convergence that may help us to pursue our critical task in a more meaningful way.
In the light of what we have said, this module will deal with
• the relationship between philosophy, theory and practice in the human and social sciences
3
, EDC1015/101
• philosophical perspectives in the human and social sciences
• the effect of philosophical perspectives on contemporary themes and issues of concern in
the human and social sciences
1.1 Tutorial matter
The tutorial matter for this module includes the following:
• Tutorial letters
• The study guide
• The prescribed book (to be bought)
Items not available at the time of registration will be posted to you as soon as possible, but are
also available on myUnisa.
2. PURPOSE OF AND OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE
2.1 Purpose
If you have kept up with the educational debate in recent times, you will know that
philosophical thinking about education in South Africa is fragmented. A number of South
African educationists work with Marxist and neo-Marxist models, others work in the more
general context of what may loosely be termed “democratic liberalism”, and still others in the
context of an analytic philosophy of education. Another group of educationists practise
education as a science (pedagogics) in terms of a fundamental pedagogical approach.
There is, therefore, a need to formulate, or at least to begin formulating, a new discourse
(“discourse” is another word for “discussion”) in education.
The educational discourse we have in mind will almost certainly be initiated in the context of
more than one particular view of education. This discussion, if it is to have any credibility at all,
4
