Who are we missing?: teacher graduate production in South Africa, 1995-2006

Abstract

This article analyses teacher production in South Africa between 1995 and 2006. It synthesizes an in-depth analysis of enrolment and graduate data drawn from the South African Higher Education Management Information System with available literature in the field. The article first presents an overview of enrolment and graduation trends in initial professional education and training and in continuing professional development of teachers, thus generating a trend analysis of overall teacher graduate production for the decade. This serves as the platform from which to draw attention to a serious decline in the numbers of African women enrolled in IPET. In considering what has brought about this pattern, the article draws attention to the impact of the closing of the former colleges of education on teacher production. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding the social contexts that inform the movement of potential candidates from their households to teacher training institutions.