Science and Technology Education

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A critical study of methods of measuring the attainment of pupils in practical work in the biological sciences with special reference to the situation pertaining to Indian schools.
(1980) Moodley, Tharanialan Kistnasamy.; Behr, Abraham Leslie.
No abstract available.
A study of achievement in mathematics with special reference to the relationship between attitudes and attainment.
(1981) Moodley, Moonsamy.; Behr, Abraham Leslie.
This study was designed to explore the patterns and trends in attitudes towards mathematics and attainment in mathematics among Indian pre-matriculants. It also aimed at investigating the relationships between attitudes and attainment and the effects of differences in sex, grade, levels and certain background variables on mathematics attainment and attitudes. A set of 24 multiple-choice mathematics test items, compiled to test cognitive outcomes in mathematics at three taxonomic levels, served as a measure of attainment in mathematics. An attitude scale of 48 Likert-type items comprising six dimensions was developed to measure pupil's attitudes towards mathematics (affective outcomes). In addition, questionnaires were used to collect data on selected background variables and teachers' ratings of the pupils. The test, attitude scale and questionnaires were administered to 680 pupils selected randomly from 17 secondary schools in Durban. The 53 teachers responsible for the 151 mathematics class units (Std 9 and Std 10) at these schools also participated in the research project. The data was subjected to statistical analyses (item analyses, correlational analyses, z-scores and ANOVAS) by computerization. The reliability and validity of both the mathematics test and the attitude scale were demonstrated. The potential value of these instruments as measures of cognitive and affective outcomes in mathematics has been presented and argued. The significances of the relationships in respect of the background variables (including sex, grade and levels) and mathematics attitudes and attainment have been carefully documented (see summary - section 6.4). The relationship between attitudes towards mathematics and attainment in mathematics was found to be positive and significant, with no difference between males and females. It was also demonstrated that attainment in mathematics might be predicted from attitude and ability (IQ) scores, and a regression equation was derived for this purpose. Finally, consideration was given to implications of the major findings and problems for future research.
Concept development in mathematics : teaching and learning of quadratic equations, inequalities and their graphs.
(1994) Grewal, Ajmer Singh.; Moodley, Mathew.
This was an evaluative study undertaken to unpack some of the factors which could explain Transkei matriculation students' apparent poor conceptual understanding of Mathematics and to throw some light on possible solutions to their problems. In addition the study attempted to examine how Mathematics as well as the learning and teaching of Mathematics, were viewed by Transkei teachers and students at the high school level. The theory of quadratic equations, inequalities and their graphs constituted the mathematical content research area of this study. This topic was chosen because of the key role that it plays in the matriculation Mathematics syllabus. There were 8 research questions which led to 8 hypotheses. The research sample comprised 311 matriculation students taking higher grade Mathematics and their 10 Mathematics teachers from 10 schools in the Umtata education circuit. Four researcher-designed instruments, namely: a diagnostic test (students'), a student interview schedule, a teachers' questionnaire, and a teacher interview schedule were used. The diagnostic test consisted of 38 items aimed at addressing the first 7 research questions. Students' mean scores for each group of items of the test addressing a particular research question were computed and compared against a criterion score of 60%, using the "Z” statistic. In addition, an analysis of students' scripts was carried out and clinical interviews on a sample of the subjects (students) were conducted to find out their conceptual difficulties/misconceptions. The teachers' questionnaire and interview schedule were used to ascertain the teachers' disposition towards Mathematics teaching. Accordingly, teachers were divided into two groups A and B on the basis of their scores in relation to the median for the whole group. This enabled the testing of hypothesis 8. In this regard, means for the students taught by the two respective groups of teachers were comared by using "Z" statistic to establish if they were statistically different from each other. Teachers' reasons for their responses to some of the items in the questionnaire were analyzed and discussed with a view to finding out their favourite teaching styles and some of the difficulties they faced in order to be as effective as they wished to be. Analysis of data for research questions 1-7 showed that students did not have sufficient pre-requisite knowledge, and did not display a satisfactory level of mastery in solving quadratic equations and inequalities, and interpretation of graphs for quadratic equations and inequalities. Students' difficulties identified from the findings of this study were classified into 7 categories, namely: mathematical terms, mathematical symbolic language, mathematical skills, form in mathematics, over generalisations, translation and conceptual difficulties. The "Z" test for hypothesis 8 showed that students taught by teachers whose teaching strategies were more student-centred performed better than those who were taught by teachers whose teaching was inclined towards teacher-centredness. Finally, recommendations for teachers, curriculum planners, education authorities and other researchers are also made.
Towards a new framework for reconstruction of the primary science curriculum in South Africa.
(1996) Raubenheimer, Carol Dianne.; Graham-Jolly, Michael.
The purpose of this study is to ascertain, from a review and analysis of the literature, if any key messages emerge within which curriculum reconstruction of primary science education in South Africa can be undertaken. Firstly, three paradigms in education are equated with three philosophies of science and the compatibility of modes of inquiry are highlighted. It is argued that paradigms can be used as a form of analysis to locate particular approaches to the teaching and learning of science. Thereafter, an overview of major trends in science education is provided. The various views of and approaches to science education are analysed and located within particular paradigms. In order to assist in such analyses, a conceptual framework is developed. This draws on key determinants of curriculum development and locates these within each of the three paradigms. The framework is applied to a review and analysis of international emphases in primary science education, within which five different perspectives are identified. These are located within different paradigms. Science education in developing countries is considered thereafter and some recent trends in primary science curriculum development in South Africa are examined. It is shown that the recent syllabus revision process and the revised syllabuses in South Africa are still located in a technical approach to curriculum development. In seeking an alternative approach, the weaknesses of imported ready made solutions from more developed contexts are highlighted, and an exploration of alternative approaches that are more responsive to local contexts is then undertaken. Some innovative examples of curriculum development in other parts of Africa and South Africa are examined. From the review and analysis a set of key messages emerge for curriculum development in primary science education. In selecting appropriate programmes, it is vital that attention is given to children's' existing abilities and ideas, to the expected role for science in society, and to a particular society's values and norms. Material provision, of itself, does not bring about meaningful change, and teachers can and should be involved in the production of teaching materials. Another key message is that it is crucial for teachers to be involved in curriculum decision making, although they may need inservice support to make this possible. Approaches to inservice education must therefore give due consideration to this, and to developing classroom based teaching competencies. Finally, attention is given to some of the factors which may contribute to systemic change in science education.
Exploring the relationship between policy and practice : a study of continuous assessment.
(1997) Ramsuran, Anitha.; Jansen, Jonathan David.
Research reveals that policy intentions seldom define classroom practice. This research study uses continuous assessment as the 'case' to explore the policy-practice relationship. The research approach adopted involved a critical review of policy documents on continuous assessment; interviews with Department officials; a survey questionnaire on continuous assessment distributed to teachers in ten secondary schools; and a detailed exploration of continuous assessment practice in three institutional settings. The findings show that continuous assessment is rarely implemented as policy intended; teachers at the classroom level have transformed the aims of policy-makers to the extent that implementation proceeds at some distance from the original policy intentions; and teachers are experiencing numerous problems in attempting to implement continuous assessment.
Senior certificate examinations November 1996 Physical Science : factors contributing to pupils' performance as perceived by various role players.
(1997) Sookraj, Heeraman.; Brookes, David W.
Abstract available in the PDF.
Exploring teacher's beliefs about the nature of science and their relationship to classroom practices : a case study with special reference to physical science teachers in the Empangeni / Richards Bay area.
(1998) Singh, Suresh Kamar.; Brookes, David W.
This research explored the complex issue of the nature of science. The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between teachers 's beliefs about the nature of science and their classroom practices. Limited literature exists on the nature of science in South Africa. However, findings from the study concurs with the abundant international literature on the nature of science. This research has shown that textbooks, the curriculum, and teacher training are three of the primary factors that shape teachers ' beliefs about the nature of science. The under-emphasis of the nature of science in textbooks, the curriculum and in teaching training contributes to the misrepresentation of the nature of science by teachers in their classroom practices. This research was conducted as a case study using quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection such as questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations. Findings from the study have shown that teachers' instructional strategies are consistent with their personal educational philosophies, that is, teachers' teach science according to a belief system. For teachers operating in the analytical paradigm, the products of science such as the laws and theories were emphasized in their teaching and lessons were teacher dominated. Teachers operating in the hermeneutic and critical paradigms present science as dynamic and changing and they emphasized the products and processes of science with the teacher acting as a facilitator. Recommendations from the research include the development of new textbooks, curricula, teaching techniques and approaches to science. The research also calls for the inclusion of history and philosophy of science in the science curriculum.
Environmental education case studies for curriculum development in science teacher education.
(1998) Pillay, Alan Sathiaseelan.; Brookes, David W.; Naidoo, Premanithee.
Science student teachers' participation with practising teachers in developing curriculum in environmental education for implementation in schools has been a neglected field. This study focuses on the collaboration of science student teachers with practising teachers in developing an alternative curriculum for environmental education compared to existing traditional practices in most schools in South Africa. The science teacher educator, as the researcher, used action research or elements of it to facilitate the process. The action research component served as an inquiry into, and improvement of, the PRESET/INSET curriculum development model for teacher development. This dissertation reports on four case studies of curriculum development and environmental education in science teacher education practised at the University of Durban-Westville from 1991 to 1996. Innovative strategies serve as the basis of interventions in four primary school contexts, each representing a case study on its own, yet sequentially linked as action research cycles. The case study approach served the purpose of illuminating the curriculum development process with the intention of generating grounded theory through action research or elements of it. The outcomes of a survey of the status of curriculum development in institutions offering science teacher education in KwaZulu-Natal are also presented to support the need for an innovative approach to the PRESET/INSET curriculum development model.
How teachers integrate environmental education into the curriculum.
(2000) Lerm, Erika Rene.; Keogh, M.
The purpose of the research was to determine how teachers integrate environmental education into the curriculum. In achieving this, the research set out to document answers to the following critical research questions: • What are the different ways in which teachers integrate environmental education into the curriculum? • How do teachers explain their particular strategies for integration? • To what extent does the resources context influence the ways in which teachers integrate environmental education into the curriculum? A survey was carried out in schools from the North Durban and South Durban Regions of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, who attended a workshop at the Durban environmental education centre. A questionnaire was administered to all the teachers who attended the workshop, followed by observations and a semi-structured post observation interview was held with a select sample of the teachers. All focused on documenting curriculum integration strategies with regard environmental education. The literature review revealed some strategies to integrate environmental education into the curriculum and highlighted some of the problems associated with the integration of environmental education into the curriculum. Data obtained, revealed that teachers are integrating environmental education into the curriculum using a variety of strategies and topics. The availability of resources does affect the extent to which environmental aspects are included, but this does not appear to be the only limitation to integrate environmental education into the curriculum.
OBE in action.
(2000) James, Angela.; Vithal, Renuka.
Abstract not available.
Secondary school learners' intuitive modelling strategies for solving problems in kinematics.
(2000) Chetty, Pritha Devi.; De Villiers, Michael David.
Abstract available in the PDF.
An investigation and identification of indigenous science understandings among Zulu community elders and the impact of these understandings on the Zulu secondary school learners.
(2001) Khumalo, Gugu Catherine Helen.; Maqutu, Tholang.
A lot of scholars have alluded to the existence of indigenous knowledge among community elders. The purpose of this study was to explore existence of indigenous science understandings among Zulu elders and determine the impact of these understandings on the indigenous secondary school learners. A group of elders and a group of learners from a selected rural community were interviewed on three phenomena pertaining to biology and physical science. Each phenomenon was chosen according to its relevance to the traditional African practices of the rural community studied. The data from both groups was analysed to determine understandings held by each group. Findings of this study revealed that elders held indigenous science understandings that had an impact on the indigenous secondary school learners. Elders transmit these understandings as views that I chose to call indigenous conceptions and duality explanation conceptions. As a result of the impact of elders' views and school science, learners on the other hand held three types of conceptions, namely, unchanged indigenous conceptions, hybridised conceptions and duality explanation conceptions. The recommendations I made are based on the findings that elders' indigenous knowledge has an impact on learners' science understandings. This then has implications to classroom practices and science education.
Design analysis of the Grade 9 technology curriculum in South Africa.
(2002) Chapman, Gavin Ashley.; Malcolm, Clifford Keith.
During the years of apartheid (pre 1994) there were two main streams that one could follow while studying at school viz. academic or technical. The majority of South African learners followed the more traditional academic stream allowing some to enter careers as doctors, lawyers, policemen/woman, school teachers and the like, while the remainder ended up jobless. Those pupils who followed the technical stream were considered by some of the more academically inclined persons, to be the 'duller' type of pupil, who could learn a trade and end up as a blue-collar worker. As the cost of technical education has always been much higher than the purely academic courses, the number of schools offering technical subject courses in South Africa has always been in the minority. The entire scene changed after the banning of apartheid (post 1994) and the introduction of the notion of globalisation. Rapid developments suddenly appeared world-wide especially with the introduction of new technologies, mainly in informatics. Suddenly the world seemed to be a much smaller place as one could e-mail, fax, or use a cell phone anywhere in the world at the touch of a button. In order for South Africa to become part of the new world order, and to think about global markets, certain essential changes had to be made firstly to the local environment. A depressed economy needed rejuvenation. There was a growing awareness that serious change was needed in the way children think and learn at school and to start aligning ideas with international trends. To do this, the Department of Education in Pretoria (DoE), decided to radically transform the education sector by introducing a new system of education known as outcomes-based education (OBE). The new OBE system brought with it mixed reactions from the South African public and from the teachers within the system. Many teachers did not want to accept that education could be done in a different way than they had been used to, in the past twenty to forty years. Younger teachers on the other hand did embrace change but are still trying to get the right balance within the prescribed parameters laid down in national education policy documents. To try and achieve such balance, the minister of education called for an independent review committee to re-work the general education and training phase curricula in order for them to be made more 'user-friendly' as many complaints had been received about the policy documents being overly complicated and unmanageable in the normal classroom situation. This process was concluded in May 2001 and Technology education remained as one of the eight new learning areas within the general education and training phase (GET) of South African schooling. The first draft of the Technology education curriculum was handed out for public comment in October 1997 and was used as the basis for a pilot study at selected schools in 1998. This information was used as the basis for analyzing the design of the Technology curriculum at grade 9 level. Grade 9 was selected as it is the final exit from general education and training (GET) into further education and training (FET), and because it was the starting point for the pilot project in 1998. Valuable data was available at the pilot project school sites to be used in this study. Not all the provinces were able to initiate a pilot project due to a number of reasons but those that did viz. Kwazulu/Natal, Gauteng, and the Western Cape were visited individually to collect data. This study therefore 'unpacks' the Technology curriculum into component parts using an analysis tool developed from a theoretical framework. This unpacking of the parts allows one the opportunity to critically check whether or not certain important aspects of the design were omitted either intentionally or unintentionally by the design team (NTT). Chapter one orientates the reader and sets the scene from where I, as researcher, locate myself and what the prevailing conditions are like at South African schools. The study problem is highlighted as are the obstacles that have tended to have an impact on the final curriculum design. Chapter two provides an overview of the related theory associated with the field of curriculum study. Technology education is discussed as broadly as possible within the framework of the new OBE education system for South African schools. Chapter three discusses the methodologies applied to ensure reliability and validity of the findings. The design analysis tool is presented with an explanation of each of the eight components. Chapter four relates an interesting story about the findings. A description of the educational sites is presented together with descriptions of the educators at the six pilot schools, as well as some background of the national technology design team (NTT). All recorded evidence was gathered during personal visits to the schools and individual meetings with the design team members. Chapter five provides a discussion of the data to analyse the Technology curriculum. In this way the reader is directed to the problem areas that were identified and supported the purpose of this curriculum study. Chapter six firstly answers the three critical questions posed in Chapter one. An alternative model for curriculum design and development is presented. This theoretical model is intended to reduce the weaknesses of the present curriculum design if applied to any similar initiative in the future. This will allow educators greater freedom to do what they do best - to teach from a curriculum policy that they clearly understand and are trained to deliver. In this way South African schools and all learners will be rewarded by being well prepared for a variety of challenging careers in the global world that we live in.
A case study of a high achiever's learning of physical science.
(2002) Stott, Angela Elizabeth.; Hobden, Paul Anthony.
This is a case study of the learning of physical science of a high achiever, selected on the assumption that instruction in learning strategies and styles used by successful learners may improve learning effectiveness of less successful learners. Operating in an interpretive paradigm, qualitative data was gathered by participant observation aimed at sensing the complexities of the case. A rich, holistic description is given, enabling readers to form naturalistic generalisations of their own. The data corpus spans three years and is composed of audio-recorded lessons and interviews, field notes and written material. Data collection, analysis and interpretation were done in an inductive, cyclic manner, guided by research questions about learning strategies used by the learner, instructional strategies used by the teacher, and the roles played by intrinsic factors, practical work and problem solving, in contributing to effective learning of physical science by the high achiever. The study implies that effective learning, even by the highly intelligent, involves struggle and requires the use of a variety of strategies. This fits a constructivist, rather than transmissionist, view of learning, and thus supports learner-centered transformations in South African education. The learner is interpreted to be intrinsically motivated by interest and a high regard for knowledge precision, elegance, and transferability, to use a large number of learning strategies, particularly while solving open-ended problems and performing practical investigations, in order to come to a deep understanding of physical science. The study suggests that teaching children how to learn, particularly by addressing their outlook on learning and introducing them to a variety of strategies, should be an aim of physical science instruction, and that interesting, open-ended, learner-centered tasks should be used in attempts to induce self-regulated learning.
The mathematics education of youth at-risk : Nellie and Wiseman.
(2003) Rughubar, Sheena.; Vithal, Renuka.
This study examines the mathematics education of youth at-risk in South Africa. It explores how two learners at the margin understand and perform in mathematics in two radically different educational environments. It also examines what provisions, if any, are incorporated into the mathematics curriculum to accommodate these pupils. One of the research participants attended Thuthukani, a residential school for youth at-risk and the other was based at Sanville Secondary, a mainstream school. The differences between the two contexts were in the scarcity of resources, limited space and class sizes. The qualitative case study, which was the preferred method of choice, was carried out in two stages. Observation of learners at the residential school was stage one. Stage two was the observation of a learner at the margin in a mainstream school. Observations were captured through audio and visual recordings and photographs. Pupils' written reflections and workbooks, combined with the information acquired through interviews, informal discussions and a research diary, supplemented the instruments to produce a rich data for analysis. The analysis suggests that each of the components of this study, namely: the educational environment (context), the mathematics curriculum, the teacher and the learner at the margin influence the teaching and learning in the classroom. The study concludes with the researcher's recommendations on the mathematics education of learners at the margin.
Voices from the classroom : beliefs of grade 11 learners about science and indigenous knowledge.
(2004) Maharaj, J. S. K.; Malcolm, Clifford Keith.
The dismantling of apartheid in South Africa provides educational researchers with the opportunity to explore many issues in education one of which being knowledge and its epistemology. Since colonization Africa has been mainly a consumer of Western knowledge and hardly a producer of new knowledge. Generally indigenous knowledge is taken by Western scholars and then sold to its motherland dressed in Western garb. Because of colonization and subsequent apartheid rule the progress of indigenous ways of knowing was marginalized and only Western ways of knowing were promoted. Indigenous ways of knowing need to be debated not only by scholars in the main but also by the science learners in African schools. Hence this study firstly explores the beliefs of a large group of grade 11 Physical Science learners about school science and indigenous knowledge and secondly explores how these learners negotiate relationships between school science and indigenous knowledge.
Evaluation of educational computer programmes as a change agent in science classrooms.
(2004) Muwanga-Zake, Johnnie Wycliffe Frank.; Amory, Alan M.
This evaluation started with preliminary research into the situations and problems in science classrooms and computer laboratories. The preliminary research identified teacher-centred lessons, learner and teacher conceptualisations, large numbers of learners per classroom, assessment, and a lack of interest in biology as some of the major problems in South African classrooms. The current research (because it is continuing) uses two Educational Computer Programmes (ECPs); a Computer-Aided Assessment (CAA) programme which is designed to alleviate problems in assessment, and Zadarh (a constructivist adventure game) designed to solve problems in biology classrooms, to further investigate some of the identified problems and find out the learners' and teachers' views on the utility of these two ECPs. The use of these two ECPs had not previously been investigated appropriately, especially in disadvantaged communities where teachers had little knowledge of the use and of evaluating ECPs. Therefore, a major concern for this study is that previous ECP evaluations excluded teachers and were not comprehensive enough especially for deploying ECPs in disadvantaged communities. A review of the methods that had hitherto been used, indicated that quantitative, mostly, behavioural and cognitive, pre-test post-test methods were prominently used, despite the shift in instructional design to constructional design, which embrace qualitative aspects of learning. Also, instructional design has evolved from behavioural models to include constructivist microworlds, which were unfairly evaluated by excluding qualitative benefits. Thus, this study seeks a more comprehensive evaluation strategy, in which teachers play the role of co-evaluators and which captures the qualitative and quantitative changes that software programs impart upon teachers' classroom practices, with sensitivity to the multiple disciplines in a program, as well as to the value systems of teachers. Comprehensive evaluation processes were facilitated during which 26 teachers in 23 schools in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga Provinces embarked upon the evaluation of the two ECPs. Evaluations were based upon a developmental, constructivist and interpretative approaches, by which teachers took ownership of these evaluations. Comprehensive evaluations revealed benefits from CAA and Zadarh, as well as benefits from direct teacher participations in the evaluations. CAA (Question Mark in this case) instantly provided diagnostic data. However, it was evident that the quality of diagnosis and remediation depended upon the quality of the test items, and the learning as well as the teaching strategies. Factors that could militate against the use and full utilisation of CAA in the schools where the study was done included the cost of software for CAA, teachers' capacity to set diagnostic test items particularly in a multiple-choice format, teachers' ability to interpret data produced by CAA, and teachers' skills in remedying their classroom problems as well as learners' problems. This study found that by playing Zadarh learners were able to construct knowledge through discovery and were attracted to the enjoyable aspects of this educational tool. Learners remembered most of those moments in the game during which they were both stuck and trying to solve problems on their way through Zadarh. Therefore, Zadarh can provide useful learning experiences with fun, and can improve motivation towards learning. Debilitating factors against the use of Zadarh and CAA include school curricula, which do not accommodate innovations, inflexible timetables, and classroom approaches that are teacher-centred. It was clear that the success of using computers in education would depend upon the ability of teachers to evaluate the ECPs, and to integrate ECPs into school curricula. drive these interactions played an important role in the successful integration of ECPs into classroom. One way of achieving such success is to include teachers as evaluators and co-designers of ECPs. Evaluations of ECPs therefore should: i) allow the teachers and learners, through social dialog, to identify how software could solve problems; ii) establish the compatibility of the software with the school curriculum; iii) ascertain the capacity of school computers to execute the software; and iv) provide support to the teachers in the use the software. Evaluations should benefit teachers and learners. The study concluded that a post-modern, developmental, and constructivist evaluation process might be one of the ways of enhancing training teachers in the use of the ECPs, in the concepts that the software deal with, and in evaluation. In that way, a socially contracted evaluation is comprehensive and can serve as a change agent through which teachers reflect and act upon improving their classroom practices.
An investigation into teachers' views of continuous assessment (CA) and its implementation in grade 12 higher grade mathematics in the Ethekwini region.
(2004) Deonarain, Suren.; De Villiers, Michael David.
The proposed research is about the introduction of Continuous Assessment (CA) in Grade 12 Higher Grade Mathematics, as part of the learner's overall assessment. Schools are required by policy laid down by the Department of Education to implement CA in Grade 12 Mathematics. The introduction of CA is a new development. It is important to study how it is being implemented and the effect it has on the quality of Mathematics Education. The goals of this research are to: • investigate Grade 12 Mathematics teachers' understanding and views of CA; • the strategies that they are implementing in CA; • how CA is impacting on the conceptual understanding of their learners and • to what extent are teachers' assessment practices consistent with the Rationale of Continuous Assessment? The data was collected by means of a questionnaire which consisted of both close-ended and semi-structured questions. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the quantitative data. The findings show that continuous assessment is not being implemented in terms of a wide range of alternate assessment strategies as it was intended to be, with pen and paper testing still being the more dominant practice. The findings also show that whilst Continuous Assessment is having a measured educational impact on teachers and learners, there are still problems experienced by educators. These problems are hampering its implementation. Teachers require more workshops on the Continuous Assessment strategies.
Teaching physical science in rural (under-resourced) secondary schools.
(2004) Legari, Kgomotso.; Malcolm, Clifford Keith.; Pillay, Alan Sathiaseelan.
The study provides a closer look at Physical Science teachers in the rural secondary schools (of the Bafokeng area). It puts focus on the different teaching methods that they use in order to overcome the realities of teaching in an under-resourced environment. This includes different aspects that affect the teaching and learning process, both directly and indirectly. In view of the above, the study displays the necessity and roles that different stakeholders have to play. For instance, the contribution of NGOs/ companies towards the development of teachers and school learning areas. The need for parental involvement in their children's learning process has also been highlighted. In the midst of having problems with resources, and learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, this study enlightens that" by going an extra mile, teachers can make a difference in the (disadvantaged) teaching environment, as well as to the lives of learners. Teachers in this study do not use any unknown special methods to deal with their situation. They do what they feel has to be done in order to continue with what is expected of them. The study has not managed to link any direct negative impact between class size and learning, since the school which had most learners in Physical Science, seemed to have being doing well under similar conditions as others. Also highlighted, is the importance of the relationship amongst Physical Science teachers themselves. Since most of the schools in this study did not have enough materials for teaching Physical Science/Chemistry, building relations with other teachers from different schools seemed worthwhile.
An exploration of biology teachers' practice with regard to practical work and how it relates to the NCS-FET life science policy document.
(2004) Pillay, Asheena.; Alant, Busisiwe Precious.
When democracy was achieved in South Africa there was a need to create an education system that served the needs of all South Africans. An education system which would produce literate, creative, critical and productive citizens. This led to the introduction of OBE, Curriculum 2005 and the National Curriculum Statement policy document. The principles on which the current South African education system is based has been borrowed from countries like Canada, England and Scotland. Although there are educational changes, the legacy of apartheid continues to be felt in the education system. There still exists an unequal distribution of resources both physical and human. Many previously disadvantaged schools do not have laboratory facilities nor qualified biology educators. This unequal distribution of resources impacts on teaching and learning. The successful implementation of the NCS-FET Life Science Policy Document hinges on teachers. Teachers are expected to through their teaching espouse the philosophy of the NCS-FET Life Science Policy Document. The majority of teachers teaching in South African schools had their training in a "content era," where it was amiable to transfer as much content knowledge as possible to learners, with little inquiry and the accompanying practical work. The NCS-FET Life Science Policy Document embraces the idea of learner centredness and emphasises the development of basic and integrated science process skills, in its first learning outcome. These educational changes imply a re-examination of the ways in which activities may have been conducted in the past, and at present. The context in which practical work is done in South Africa is different from the context in which practical work is done in countries like Canada, England and Scotland. This study uses an open-ended questionnaire and focus group interview to investigate teacher conceptions of practical work, the types of practicals teachers use to teach science process skills. The purpose is to get a deeper insight and understanding of teacher practices within a South African context, taking into account the effects of the legacy of apartheid. The study also highlights the possible challenges the teachers face in embracing the NCS-FET Life Science Policy Document.

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