PCK in retail education : a resource pack for teaching Year 9 SEC

Abstract

Despite the considerable research on the retail industry, relatively little literature focuses on retail education (Ketron et al., 2017; Pantano et al., 2020). Ketron et al. (2017) contend that only a fraction of the available retail research contributes to retail education, underlining the need for further exploration in the retail education field. This project-based dissertation is intended to support educators who may face the challenges I have encountered as a novice teacher. I have particularly grappled with the lack of readily available educational materials for guidance. This dissertation seeks to bridge the gap in educational resources required for lesson planning. The aim is to provide retail educators with a resource pack that facilitates the maximisation of their students’ potential as individuals, citizens, employees, employers and future retailers. The resource pack includes schemes of work, lesson plans, slide presentations and teaching materials that include activities, educational games, handouts and video clips. This project employs the idea of teacher knowledge bases, particularly pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). PCK is a crucial aspect of education, referring to the knowledge that educators possess concerning how to teach certain subject matter successfully. This dissertation draws upon my two-year experience as a retail teacher and incorporates class-based piloting of exercises. The resource pack developed is structured around two learning outcomes: Learning Outcome 2 (LO2), entitled the Retail Selling Process, and LO4, Customer Service in a Retail Environment. The pack incorporates a variety of teaching strategies such as questioning strategies, collaboration and cooperative learning, the jigsaw method, think-pair-share activities, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), educational games, storytelling, literacy exercises and debates.