Pdu3701 101 Tutorial Letter

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PDU3701/101/0/2023

Tutorial Letter 101/0/2023

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

PDU3701

Year module

DEPARTMENT: EDUCATIONAL
FOUNDATIONS

This tutorial letter contains important information about your module.

BARCODE
CONTENTS
Page

1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 3
2 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES .................................................................................................. 3
2.1 Purpose .................................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Outcomes ................................................................................................................................. 4
3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION ....................................................................................... 5
4 LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS ............................................................................... 5
4.1 Lecturer(s) ................................................................................................................................ 5
4.2 Department ............................................................................................................................... 5
4.3 University .................................................................................................................................. 6
5 RESOURCES ........................................................................................................................... 7
5.1 Prescribed book ........................................................................................................................ 7
5.2 Recommended book(s) ............................................................................................................. 7
5.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)................................................................................................ 7
6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES ............................................................................................ 9
6.1 The Unisa First-Year Experience Programme ......................................................................... 10
7 STUDY PLAN ......................................................................................................................... 10
8 PRACTICAL WORK ............................................................................................................... 11
9 ASSESSMENT ....................................................................................................................... 12
9.1 Assessment criteria ................................................................................................................. 12
9.2 Assessment plan ..................................................................................................................... 12
9.3 Assessment due dates ............................................................................................................ 13
9.4 Submission of assessments .................................................................................................... 13
9.5 The assessments .................................................................................................................... 14
9.6 Other assessment methods .................................................................................................... 14
9.7 The examination ..................................................................................................................... 14
9.7.1 Invigilation/proctoring .............................................................................................................. 15
10 ACADEMIC DISHONESTY ..................................................................................................... 16
10.1 Plagiarism ............................................................................................................................... 16
10.2 Cheating ................................................................................................................................. 16
11 STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES .............................................................................. 16
12 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ..................................................................................... 17
13 SOURCES CONSULTED ....................................................................................................... 17
14 IN CLOSING ........................................................................................................................... 17

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PDU3701/101/0/2023

Dear Student

1 INTRODUCTION
We would like to welcome you to this module.

Unisa, as a comprehensive open distance e-learning (CODeL) institution, is moving towards


becoming an online institution. You will therefore see that all your study material, assessments
and engagements with your lecturer and fellow students will be online. This tutorial letter is
intended to offer you some guidance in this regard.

The mode of delivery for this module is blended. This means that you will have printed material
as well as material and activities that are uploaded on the module site. Unisa is an ODeL
institution, and you are expected to have internet access in order to participate in the online
activities.

2 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES


2.1 Purpose

This module deals with various philosophies of education and sets out to help you determine
the following:

1 the relevance of each of these philosophies of education for education, teaching and
learning
2 a philosophy of education which you find personally to be most meaningful for your
involvement in education, be it in South Africa or elsewhere in the world

To achieve these objectives, you will need to be thoroughly familiar with the main ideas of the
various philosophies discussed in the prescribed book, and know what the implications of
these main ideas are for philosophy of education.

Remember: A philosophical perspective provides the underlying theoretical framework


to view and construct our world, and determines the way we think and act, including
the way we think and act in education. A theoretical framework is the structure that can
hold or support a theory that undergirds a research study.

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2.2 Outcomes

It is important for us to indicate what we want to achieve in this module, because our
expectations determine the very nature of the module.
In this module we intend to:

• provide you with the concepts and vocabulary you need to critically assess the claims that
are made about the nature and aims of education, teaching and learning
• help you identify the theoretical frameworks that are derived from different philosophies of
education
• provide you with the conceptual tools and experience you need for creative and
independent thought in education
• help you develop an understanding of the relationship between education and the context
in which knowledge is created
• expose you to a pluralistic problem-centred approach to philosophy of education
• encourage you to interact critically with contemporary issues and problems in education

As a learner, your role is the following:


Carefully read through and interact with the content of your prescribed book, by:
• committing the main ideas of a range of philosophies to memory by acquiring an overview
of their main ideas and the names of some of their proponents
• reflecting on the nature of the philosophy of education derived from each of these different
philosophies
• working through the portfolio activities listed in each of the chapters in your prescribed
book
• working through the list of questions and relevant feedback in the wrap-around guide
• working through the list of self-study questions included in this tutorial letter

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PDU3701/101/0/2023

We hope that by completing this module, you as a learner will be able to develop your own
philosophy of education to help you reflect critically on:
• the philosophy of education which directs the education system in your country
• the effectiveness of your own classroom practice in the education of your learners in
preparing them to live meaningfully in their communities, society and the world

3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION
Unisa has implemented a transformation charter, in terms of which the University has placed curriculum
transformation high on the teaching and learning agenda. Curriculum transformation includes student-
centred scholarship, the pedagogical renewal of teaching and assessment practices, the scholarship of
teaching and learning, and the infusion of African epistemologies and philosophies. All of these will be
phased in at both programme and module levels, and as a result of this you will notice a marked change
in the teaching and learning strategy implemented by Unisa, together with the way in which the content
is conceptualised in your modules. We encourage you to embrace these changes during your studies
at Unisa in a responsive way within the framework of transformation.

4 LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS


4.1 Lecturer(s)

Dr B M Moloto
Department of Educational Foundations
Simon Radipere Building Room 6-90
Tel nr: 012 429 3429
E-mail: masehbm@unisa.ac.za

4.2 Department

Educational Foundations
Departmental Secretary: Ms D Tjikana
Simon Radipere Building Room 6-82
Tel: 012 429 6009
E-mail: ndaladn1@unisa.ac.za

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4.3 University
To contact the University, follow the instructions in the Study @ Unisa brochure.
Remember, you must have your student number available
whenever you contact the University.

Administrative queries
Enquiries in connection with administrative matters must be addressed to the
relevant administration departments to which the problem applies,
and NOT to the lecturers. General administrative enquiries may be directed to the
CEDU student information hub.

For your convenience, we have included some of the methods to contact the
University.
Website: http://www.unisa.ac.za or Mobi: http://mobi.unisa.ac.za

Contact addresses of the various administrative departments appear on the Unisa website:
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Contact-us/Student-enquiries.

The table below provides the most important University contact details.

E-mail addresses SMS numbers


educare@unisa.ac.za General college (CEDU) enquiries
study-info@unisa.ac.za 43578 Applications and registrations
assign@unisa.ac.za 43584 Assignments (not for submission
purposes)
exams@unisa.ac.za 43584 Examinations
despatch@unisa.ac.za 43579 Study material
finan@unisa.ac.za 31954 Student accounts
gaudeamus@unisa.ac.za n/a Graduation ceremonies
myUnisaHelp@unisa.ac.za 43582 myUnisa
myLifeHelp@unisa.ac.za 43582 myLife e-mail accounts

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PDU3701/101/0/2023

Please include your student number in all correspondence.

5 RESOURCES
5.1 Prescribed book

Higgs, P. & Letseka, M. 2022. Philosophy of Education Today. 3rd edition. Juta: Cape Town.

5.2 Recommended book(s)

None

5.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)

E-reserves can be downloaded from the library catalogue. More information is available at:
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request/request

African philosophy and education


Higgs, P. 2012. The decolonization of education in Africa: some critical reflections. Education
Philosophy and Theory, 44(2):37–55.
Ramose, M. 2004. In search of an African philosophy of education. South African Journal of
Higher Education, 18(3):138–152.

Empiricism and education


Sabol, TJ. 2012. Recent trends in research on teacher-child relationships. Journal of
Attachment and Human Development, 14(3):213–231.

Critical rationalism and education


Stables, A. 2014. Peirce and rationalism: is Peirce a fully semiotic philosopher? Journal of
Philosophy of Education, 48(4):591–603.

Phenomenology and education


Hultgren, FE. 1995. The phenomenology of doing ‘phenomenology’: the experience of teaching
and learning together. Human Studies, 18, 372–388.

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Hermeneutics and education
Higgins, C. 2010. Teaching experience: toward a hermeneutic of teaching and teacher. Journal
of Philosophy of Education, 44(2/3):435–478.

Constructivism and education


Jia, Q. 2010. A brief study on the implications of constructivism teaching theory on classroom
teaching reforms in basic education. International Education Studies, 3(2):197–199.

Systems theory and education


Neal, JW & Neal, ZP. 2014. Nested or network? Future directions for ecological systems theory.
Social Development, 22(4):722–737.

Feminism, queer theory and education


Thomas, P & Rothing, A. 2017. Exploring feminism in a multicultural classroom. Journal of Inter-
Cultural Education, 28(3):250–268.

Critical theory and education


Steyn, DM. You had me Foucault: living pedagogically in the digital age. Journal of Text and
Performance Quarterly, 31(3):249–266.

Postmodernism and education


Burbules, NC. 2009. Postmodernism and education. The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of
Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rata, E. 2012. The politics of knowledge in education. British Educational Research Journal,
38(1):103–124.

5.4 Library services and resources of information

The Unisa library offers a range of information services and resources:

• For brief information, go to https://www.unisa.ac.za/library/libatglance


• For more detailed library information, go to
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library
• For research support and services (e.g. the services offered by personal librarians and
the “request a literature search” service offered by the information search librarians),

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PDU3701/101/0/2023

go to http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Research-
support
• For library training for undergraduate students, go to
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Training

The library has created numerous library guides, available at http://libguides.unisa.ac.za

Recommended guides:

• Request and find library material / download recommended material:


http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request/request
• Postgraduate information services: http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request/postgrad
• Finding and using library resources and tools:
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/Research_skills
• Frequently asked questions about the library:
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/ask
• Services to students living with disabilities:
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/disability
• A–Z of library databases:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/az.php

Important contact information:


• Ask a librarian: https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/ask
• Technical problems encountered in accessing library online services:
Lib-help@unisa.ac.za
• General library-related queries: Library-enquiries@unisa.ac.za
• Queries related to library fines and payments: Library-fines@unisa.ac.za
• Social media channels: Facebook: UnisaLibrary and Twitter: @UnisaLibrary

6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

The Study @ Unisa brochure is available on myUnisa: www.unisa.ac.za/brochures/studies

This brochure contains important information and guidelines for successful studies through
Unisa.

If you need assistance with regard to the myModules system, you are welcome to use the
following contact details:

• Toll-free landline: 0800 00 1870 (Select option 07 for myModules)


• E-mail: mymodules22@unisa.ac.za or myUnisaHelp@unisa.ac.za

You can access and watch short videos on topics such as how to view your calendar, how to
access module content, how to view announcements for modules, how to submit

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assessments and how to participate in forum activities, via the following link: https://dtls-
qa.unisa.ac.za/course/view.php?id=32130

Registered Unisa students get a free myLife e-mail account. Important information, notices
and updates are sent exclusively to this account. Please note that it can take up to 24 hours
for your account to be activated after you have claimed it. Please do this immediately after
registering at Unisa, by following this link: myLifeHelp@unisa.ac.za

Your myLife account is the only e-mail account recognised by Unisa for official
correspondence with the University and will remain the official primary e-mail address on
record at Unisa. You remain responsible for the management of this e-mail account.

6.1 The Unisa First-Year Experience Programme

Many students find the transition from school education to tertiary education stressful. This is also true
in the case of students enrolling at Unisa for the first time. Unisa is a dedicated open distance and e-
learning institution, and it is very different from face-to-face / contact institutions. It is a mega university,
and all our programmes are offered through either blended learning or fully online learning. It is for this
reason that we thought it necessary to offer first-time students additional/extended support to help them
seamlessly navigate the Unisa teaching and learning journey with little difficulty and few barriers. We
therefore offer a specialised student support programme to students enrolling at Unisa for the first time
– this is Unisa’s First-Year Experience (FYE) Programme, designed to provide you with prompt and
helpful information about services that the institution offers and how you can access information. The
following FYE services are currently offered:

• FYE website: All the guides and resources you need in order to navigate through your
first year at Unisa can be accessed using the following link: www.unisa.ac.za/FYE

• FYE e-mails: You will receive regular e-mails to help you stay focused and motivated.

• FYE broadcasts: You will receive e-mails with links to broadcasts on various topics
related to your first-year studies (e.g. videos on how to submit assessments online).

• FYE mailbox: For assistance with queries related to your first year of study, send an e-
mail to fye@unisa.ac.za .

7 STUDY PLAN
Use your Study @ Unisa brochure for general time management and planning skills. Study @ Unisa
contains valuable information on where to begin with your studies.

We suggest that you note the closing dates for all assignments you must submit this year and plan your
submissions accordingly.

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PDU3701/101/0/2023

Period Activity
January to March • Familiarise yourself with the study material by scanning
2023 through the prescribed text and the wrap-around guide.
• Start with Assignment 01.
• Introduce yourself to us and your fellow students on the
Discussion Forum on myUnisa.

April to June 2023 • Study the prescribed reading for Assignment 01.
• Remember to participate in the Discussion Forum on
myUnisa at least once.
• The due date for Assignment 01 will be announced on
myUnisa. Prepare for the submission of Assignment 01.
June and July 2023 • The due date for Assignment 02 will be announced on
myUnisa. Prepare for the submission of Assignment 02.
• Remember to participate in the Discussion Forum on
myUnisa at least once.
July 2023 • The due date for Assignment 03 will be announced on
myUnisa. Prepare for the submission of Assignment 03.
• Remember to participate in the Discussion Forum on
myUnisa at least once.

August 2023 • Complete the portfolio activities in the prescribed text as well
as the questions in the wrap-around guide and Tutorial Letter
101/2023, but do not submit the answers.
• Remember to participate in the Discussion Forum on
myUnisa at least once.
• Prepare for the examination.
September and • Prepare for the examination.
October 2023

8 PRACTICAL WORK
None

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9 ASSESSMENT
9.1 Assessment criteria

It is important to acquire knowledge to be able to reflect critically on contemporary issues and


problems in education, and on your own teaching practice in the classroom.

In the light of the above statement, the assessment in this module will focus on your ability to:

• acquire reasonable knowledge based on the main ideas of various philosophies, and
the implication of these main ideas for philosophy of education and the theoretical
framework(s) they employ
• commit information to memory
• identify the different ideas that various philosophies of education have on the nature of
education, schooling, teaching and learning, human development and the role of
education policy in society.

These learning objectives will be assessed by the following assessment plan.

9.2 Assessment plan

• To complete this module, you will be required to submit three assessments.


• All information about when and where to submit your assessments will be made
available to you via the myModules site for your module.
• Due dates for assessments, as well as the actual assessments are available on the
myModules site for this module.
• To gain admission to the examination, you will be required to submit Assignment
01.
• The assignment weighting for the module is 20%.
• You will receive examination information via the myModules sites. Please watch
out for announcements on how examinations for the modules for which you are
registered will be conducted.
• The examination will count 80% towards your final module mark.

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PDU3701/101/0/2023

9.3 Assessment due dates

• There are no assignment due dates included in this tutorial letter.

• Assignment due dates will be made available to you on the myUnisa landing page
for this module. We envisage that the due dates will be available to you upon
registration.

• Please start working on your assessments as soon as you register for the module.

• Log on to the myUnisa site for this module to obtain more information on the due
dates for the submission of the assessments.

9.4 Submission of assessments

• Unisa, as a comprehensive open distance e-learning institution (CODeL), is moving


towards becoming an online institution. You will therefore see that all your study
material, assessments and engagements with your lecturer and fellow students will
take place online. We use myUnisa as our virtual campus.

• The myUnisa virtual campus will offer students access to the myModules site,
where learning material will be available online and where assessments should be
completed. This is an online system that is used to administer, document, and
deliver educational material to students and to support engagement between
academics and students.

• The myUnisa platform can be accessed via https://my.unisa.ac.za. Click on the


myModules 2023 button to access the online sites for the modules that you are
registered for.

• The University undertakes to communicate clearly and as frequently as is


necessary to ensure that you obtain the greatest benefit from the use of the
myModules learning management system. Please access the announcements
on your myModules site regularly, as this is where your lecturer will post important
information to be shared with you.

• When you access your myModules site for the module/s you are registered for,
you will see a welcome message posted by your lecturer. Below the welcome
message you will find the assessment shells for the assessments that you need to
complete. Some assessments may be multiple choice, some tests, others written
assessments, some forum discussions, and so on. All assessments must be
completed on the assessment shells available on the respective module platforms.

• To complete quiz assessments, please log on to the module site where you need
to complete the assessment. Click on the relevant assessment shell (Assessment
1, Assessment 2, etc.). There will be a date on which the assessment will open for
you. When the assessment is open, access the quiz online and complete it within

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the time available to you. Quiz assessment questions are not included in this tutorial
letter (Tutorial Letter 101) and are only made available online. You must therefore
access the quiz online and complete it online where the quiz has been created.

• It is not advisable to use a cellphone to complete the quiz. Please use a desktop
computer, a tablet or a laptop when completing the quiz. Students who use a
cellphone find it difficult to navigate the Online Assessment tool on the small
screen and often struggle to navigate between questions and to successfully
complete the quizzes. In addition, cellphones are more vulnerable to dropped
internet connections than other devices. If at all possible, please do not use a
cellphone for this assessment type.

• For written assessments, please note the due date by which the assessment must
be submitted. Ensure that you follow the guidelines given by your lecturer to
complete the assessment. Click on the submission button on the relevant
assessment shell on myModules. You will then be able to upload your written
assessment on the myModules site of the modules that you are registered for.
Before you finalise the upload, double check that you have selected the correct file
for upload. Remember, no marks can be allocated for incorrectly submitted
assessments.

9.5 The assessments

As indicated in section 9.2, you need to complete three assessments for this module. Details
on the assessments will be made available in Tutorial Letter 102/2023 and will be posted on
the myModules site.

There are no assignments included in this tutorial letter. Assignments and due dates will
be made available to you on myModules for this module. We envisage that the due dates will
be available to you upon registration.

Assignments must be submitted electronically via myUnisa.


Assignments may not be submitted by post, fax or e-mail.

9.6 Other assessment methods

None

9.7 The examination

Examination information and details on the format of the examination will be made available to
you online via the myUnisa site. Look out for information that will be shared with you by your
lecturer and e-tutors and for communication from the University.

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PDU3701/101/0/2023

9.7.1 Invigilation/proctoring

Since 2020 UNISA conducts all its assessments online. Given stringent requirements from
professional bodies and increased solicitations of UNISA’s students by third parties to
unlawfully assist them with the completion of assignments and examinations, the University is
obliged to assure its assessment integrity through the utilisation of various proctoring tools:
Turnitin, Moodle Proctoring, the Invigilator App and IRIS. These tools will authenticate the
student’s identity and flag suspicious behaviour to assure credibility of students’ responses
during assessments. The description below is for your benefit as you may encounter any or all
of these in your registered modules:

Turnitin is a plagiarism software that facilitates checks for originality in students’ submissions
against internal and external sources. Turnitin assists in identifying academic fraud and ghost
writing. Students are expected to submit typed responses for utilisation of the Turnitin software.

The Moodle Proctoring tool is a facial recognition software that authenticates students’
identity during their Quiz assessments. This tool requires access to a student’s mobile or
laptop camera. Students must ensure their camera is activated in their browser settings prior
to their assessments.

The Invigilator “mobile application-based service does verification” of the identity of an


assessment participant. The Invigilator Mobile Application detects student dishonesty-by-proxy
and ensures that the assessment participant is the registered student. This invigilation tool
requires students to download the app from their Play Store (Google, Huawei and Apple) on
their mobile devices (camera enabled) prior to their assessment.

IRIS Invigilation software verifies the identity of a student during assessment and provides for
both manual and automated facial verification. It has the ability to record and review a student’s
assessment session. It flags suspicious behaviour by the students for review by an academic
administrator. IRIS software requires installation on students’ laptop devices that are enabled
with a webcam.

Students who are identified and flagged for suspicious dishonest behaviour arising from the
invigilation and proctoring reports are referred to the disciplinary office for formal proceeding.

Please note:

Students must refer to their module assessment information on their myModule sites to
determine which proctoring or invigilation tool will be utilised for their formative and summative
assessments.

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10 ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
10.1 Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of taking the words, ideas and thoughts of others and presenting them as
your own. It is a form of theft. Plagiarism includes the following forms of academic dishonesty:

• Copying and pasting from any source without acknowledging the source
• Not including references or deliberately inserting incorrect bibliographic information
• Paraphrasing without acknowledging the original source of the information

10.2 Cheating
Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Completing assessments on behalf of another student, copying the work of another


student during an assessment, or allowing another student to copy your work
• Using social media (e.g. WhatsApp, Telegram) or other platforms to disseminate
assessment information
• Submitting corrupt or irrelevant files as per examination guidelines
• Buying completed answers from so-called “tutors” or internet sites (contract cheating).
For more information about plagiarism, follow the link below:
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Study-@-Unisa/Student-values-and-rules

11 STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES


The Advocacy and Resource Centre for Students with Disabilities (ARCSWiD) provides an
opportunity for staff to interact with first-time and returning students with disabilities.
If you are a student with a disability and you would like additional support or need additional
time for assessments, you are invited to contact Dr BM Moloto at masehbm@unisa.ac.za to
discuss the assistance that you need.

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PDU3701/101/0/2023

12 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


The Study @ Unisa brochure contains an A–Z guide
of the most relevant study information.

13 SOURCES CONSULTED
Please note that all resources consulted during the compilation of the content are
indicated in the study content.

14 IN CLOSING
If you experience difficulties with your studies, please contact us as soon as possible via e-mail
or telephonically.

Wishing you all the best in your studies!

Dr BM Moloto

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