Pre-service social sciences teachers’ perspectives of their teacher professional identity in a South African university within the context of curriculum integration

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perspectives of pre-service teachers regarding their identity as social sciences teachers. The aim is to summarise their subject and topic preferences within the social sciences curriculum and to propose ways in which social sciences can be strengthened as an integrated curriculum. This study is based on the questionnaire responses of twenty-three final year Intermediate Phase (Grade 4-6) and Senior Phase (Grade 7-9) pre-service social sciences teachers at a South African university. Forty-three percent of the participants indicated that they do not prefer teaching either History or Geography. A limited response to the questionnaire from pre-service teachers resulted in a small sample size which may not be representative of other pre-service social sciences teachers. The research presented can inform social sciences teacher training programmes about how pre-service teachers view themselves and how they feel about social sciences as an integrated school subject.