1 INTRODUCTION

• Rationale for the study
• Research design
• Limitations of the study
• Structure of the report

2 THE NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN EDUCATION (NPDE)

• Numbers of under-qualified teachers
• The qualification
• Recognition of prior learning in the NPDE
• Research on RPL in the NPDE
• Papers on the NPDE
• Conclusion

3 RECOGNISING PRIOR LEARNING: THE ROLE OF REFLECTION

• Reflection in teacher education
• Reflection in the recognition of prior learning
• ‘Experience’ and RPL in higher education in South Africa
• Reflection in RPL in teacher upgrading: the conundrum
• Conclusion

4 RPL IN THE NPDE AT UNISA

• The recognition of prior learning at UNISA
• RPL in the NPDE at UNISA
• Conclusion

5 THE PROBLEM OF ‘REFLECTION’ IN THE UNISA NPDE

• The importance of reflection
• The most common problem: reflection
• The case of Ms T and Ms P
• Reflection on the teachers’ reflections

6 THROUGHPUT ISSUES at UNISA

• The results
• The experience of an NPDE student
• Some observations on Ms T’s experiences

7 RPL IN THE NPDE AT UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO

• The official recruitment of prior learning
• Trends in the articulation of teaching/learning experiences
• Academics’ opinions about RPL in the NPDE
• The prior learning of Ms B
• The prior learning of Ms J and Ms U
• The portfolio process in general
• Conclusions

8 RPL IN THE NPDE AT THE NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

• The official recruitment of prior learning
• Reflections of three NMMU NPDE graduates
• The prior learning of Ms N
• The prior learning of Mr M
• The prior learning of Mr R
• RPL experiences of other teachers at the same school
• The NPDE support network
• Conclusions

9 WHAT KIND OF KNOWLEDGE?

• The love and endurance of Ms T
• The innovativeness and compassion of Ms N
• The independence and responsibility of Mr M
• The ingenuity and endurance of Mr R
• A teacher educator’s view
• What are we talking about here?
• Horizontal and vertical discourse
• A three part distinction?
• Practical wisdom

10 THE CONUNDRUM, THE COMPROMISE AND PRACTICAL WISDOM

• The conundrum
• The compromise
• Practical wisdom
• Recommendations