The integrated strategic planning framework for teacher education and

In 2009, a teacher development summit took place in South Africa (South Africa. DHET & DBE, 2011a). The summit was described a ground-breaking event which for the first time in the history of South Africa brought together all stakeholders9 across the teacher education and development sector (ibid.). The summit‟s primary goal was to highlight and address the challenges experienced in teacher education and development in South Africa, especially by teachers (South Africa. DHET & DBE, 2011a). The outcome of the summit was the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (2011-2025), hereafter abbreviated as ISPFTED, prepared by the Department of Higher Education and Training and Department of Basic Education (South Africa. DHET & DBE, 2011a). The primary outcome of the ISPFTED is “to improve the quality of teachers‟ education and development in order to improve the quality of teachers and teaching” (South Africa. DHET & DBE, 2011a:1). To achieve this primary goal, the ISPFTED aims to support teacher education through recruitment of teachers, preparation of teachers, induction of new teachers in the world of work and most importantly, through continuing professional development activities (South Africa. DHET & DBE, 2011a).

The ISPFTED is aligned to the national policies such as the Department of Basic Education‟s Action Plan, 2014, which aims to improve professionalism, teaching skills, and subject knowledge of teachers throughout their careers (South Africa. Department of Basic Education [DBE], 2010), and the DHET Revised Strategic Plan (2010/11-2014/15) aims at strengthening capacity and capability of the development of practising teachers (South Africa. Department of Higher Education and Training [DHET], 2010). Emphasis in the ISPFTED is to promote Continuing Teacher Professional Development (CTPD) through support systems that promote establishment of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to strengthen teacher professionalism. Establishment of PLCs will move teachers from being „subjects‟ in the teaching and learning spaces to becoming „agents‟ of educational change that motivates their work and provide spaces to teachers that affirm their voices in developing their own profiles on professional development matters (South Africa. DBE, 2014). PLCs are inherently connected to the concept of teacher agency, thus implementing PLCs aims to change the roles of teachers in continuing professional development activities (ibid.). This raises the question of whether the current climate in South Africa is

9 _{Participants included the Education and Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training}

conducive to teacher agency, especially their professional agency for biodiversity teaching. Thus, in relation to biodiversity, the study explored what skills, resources, and knowledge, teachers needed to use in the PLCs, what they wanted to be able to do, and how as individuals and in groups they wanted to do things differently. The study was situated in the context of teacher continuing professional development, using the Fundisa for Change programme as a case study. Among reasons given above, the choice of Fundisa for Change is because the study is situated in the environmental education field. The study thus had potential to yield information relevant to continuing professional development programmes, specifically the Fundisa for Change programme.

The PLC concept is an emerging policy concept in South Africa. There is a need for a clear conceptualisation of what PLCs are to avoid losing the power of the concept (South Africa. DBE, 2014). This was one of the lessons learnt from the national colloquium on PLCs held on 18 - 19 September 2014 in Pretoria, South Africa. The colloquium was organised by the Ministry of Basic Education in partnership with the Flemish Association for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance (VVOB) and the British Council as a first step towards implementation of PLCs, which are expected to be implemented nationwide by 2017. Among other objectives, the colloquium aimed “to provide platforms through which information could be gathered on the status of PLCs in the country; and to gather ideas from participants that will be incorporated into a document that will serve as a guide to provinces on how they could move forward in establishing PLCs” (South Africa. DBE, 2014:2).

Participants at the colloquium were from institutions of higher education, government departments, teacher unions, subject-based professional associations and continuing professional development initiatives like Fundisa for Change interested in teachers‟ professional development (South Africa. DBE, 2014). A number of issues that involve the development, management, resourcing and effective functioning of PLCs across provinces were discussed (ibid.). In line with the ISPFTED, the Fundisa for Change programme aims to pilot and develop the concept of PLCs within the context of environmental learning (Lotz-Sisitka, 2011). This has the potential to improve the quality of education in South Africa. Writing from the United States, Levine (2008) noted that improving teacher quality is not simply about creating PLCs, but it is about the focus of the PLC. Without a clear focus, there is danger that PLCs will be little more than loosely configured groups of teachers that are unable to secure meaningful change and improvement (ibid.). This implies that for professional development initiatives like Fundisa for Change to support establishment and/or strengthening of teachers PLCs successfully, they should clearly define the focus of the PLCs. This study was an attempt to contribute to this.