Mandate of the NATU Teacher Development Institute
The Teacher Development Institute’s (TDI’s) Strategic Plan for 2025 gives effect to NATU’s strategic trajectory as the basis for efficient and effective implementation and management of its mandate. It is therefore with great anticipation that I look forward to the conclusion of this strategic planning session by the Central Executive Board (CEB) to give the Institute a clear direction. In the meantime, I have endeavored to craft a tentative strategic plan, based on the founding strategic objectives of the TDI, namely to:
- Customise Teacher Development Programmes to meet teachers’ individual and group needs;
Develop Teacher Development Programmes for endorsement by the South African Council for Educators (SACE); - Conduct training on SACE endorsed learning programmes, and others;
- Establish partnerships, collaborations and linkages with governmental and non-governmental organisations that support teacher development;
- Establish a pool of experts throughnpartnerships with target Universities to support teacher development;
- Promote a positive and close collaborative work environment with local leadership structures of the organisation on matters of teacher development;
- Source funds and attendant resources to support teacher development; and
- Provide support to the CEB as requested / required.
The Current Status of the NATU TDI
The Teacher Development Institute is a platform for members to earn Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) points and attend enrichment programmes. The programmes have been based on both the Menu- and Demand driven models, whereby we have been running SACE-endorsed programmes and others purely for self-enrichment (e.g., Labour Law, Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution, Supervisory Management Skills, Phonics and phenological awareness in Isizulu and Sesotho, etc.). However, over time, the original concept of ‘Institute’ has evolved to assume other responsibilities which are very important in ensuring that the broader NATU membership is involved and continually kept abreast of developments in education at both the provincial and national levels. One such major activity has been inviting members to attend meetings, workshops and many other professional engagements organised by the Department of Basic Education (DBE), Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) and other stakeholders, such as SACE, the NECT and the ETDP SETA. These activities have played a very important role in allowing members to follow and contribute to the ongoing debates on many issues pertaining to the growth of the education profession in the country. Already, there have been many occasions where NATU delegates have been specifically singled out for making very important and valuable contributions.
It is important that the TDI makes contributions to a number of areas that strengthen the South African school curriculum – such as
- Ehancing teacher well-being by fostering positive, integrated, and responsive experiences that focus on supporting their holistic well-being, personal and social growth;
- Strengthening the school curriculum by facilitating high-impact experiences that enrich and extend learners’ educational experiences – such as critical thinking, leadership,
entrepreneurship and civic engagement; - Ensuring the TDI’s financial sustainability by exploring different income generation
opportunities through, inter alia, linkages, sponsorships, partnerships and collaborations.; and - Establishment of communities of practice to enhance teacher professionalism.
Thus, the philosophy, shape and essence of the NATU TDI have broadened over the past few years by reconceptualising professional teacher development as an enterprise that goes well beyond the definition of a physical venue. Thus, apart from operating on a decentralised model, the Institute has embraced e-learning, online and virtual platforms for some of its activities. In this regard, the Institute applauds NATU members who have so far transitioned to embrace the ‘new normal’, which is a blended model of the old and new – both for their own training and their teaching. With the current focus on ‘skills for a changing world’, there is no going back to the ‘old normal’. So, as we operationalise our activities for 2025, the TDI urges members to be flexible enough and respond to training whenever it is organised, regardless of the training platform used. We also urge members to continue accepting our invitations to participate in DBE and PED initiated activities in order to actively contribute to the national educational landscape by broadening their intellectual, professional and personal horizons.
We are grateful to the DBE, the NECT, Maskew Miller Learning and the ETDP SETA for their continued support of our cause.