Foundation Phase

The Foundation Phase Team at Wits school of Education comprises of thirteen dedicated and hard working staff members. Our core business as a Foundation Phase Team is to prepare, assist and support Foundation Phase student teachers to understand how young children develop so that they can plan and teach using appropriate materials and methods to cater for the needs of different children in the early years of learning.

Our BEd courses are mainly methodology courses that are used to prepare students to teach children from Grades R-3. This includes children from the ages of 3-9 years. The Foundation Phase curriculum we offer is in line with the practice and principles of the National Curriculum Statements and emphasizes the strong balance between theory and practice. At the centre of all our courses lie the holistic development of a child and their skills across all aspects of child development. Though our courses encompass theory and practice, we emphasize the understanding that children learn through their senses and first hand experiential activities and this is modeled throughout our teaching in lectures and in small tutorial groups. As a team we strive to ensure that through the four years of study our students are equipped to deal with most of the challenges experienced by practicing teachers hence we allow them to go for Teaching Experience from the first year of study.

Our courses are planned and structured in a developmental and progressive way. These methodology courses are carefully presented to support students to teach and allow children in the early years of learning to develop an understanding of who they are and the world around them. We strive throughout our courses to support students not only to teach and develop children academically but to assist the young ones to develop their self image, feelings of who they are and self esteem.

Head of Division: Dr. Kerryn Dixon

Members of Staff
Botha, D
Moloi, E
Excell, L
Oldacre, F
Krige, D
Place, J
Lukhele, C
Ramsingh, V
Mdluli, M
Motilal, G
Schneider, K-L
Sheldon, M
Dixon, K.

Anderson, E.

Harlech-Jones, B.

Abelson, T.

Sigerson, A.

Boulle, J.