Difficulties experienced by educators implementing curriculum 2005 : a case study of grade seven Natural Science educators in a predominantly rural district of one region of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish what difficulties Grade Seven educators were

experiencing in the implementation of Curriculum 2005, a new national outcome-based

curriculum with wide ranging aims.

A qualitative approach, using a case study method, was employed and mainly in-depth

interviews and observations were conducted. Six Grade Seven educators in a variety of

schools were interviewed at length about the wide ranging problems they experienced in

introducing C2005 into the classrooms for the first time in 2000. The interview data was

supplemented by personal observations of most of these educators in their schools.

The research study was undertaken in a predominantly rural district of one region of the

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education.

The findings of the study are presented and these are interpreted and discussed under two

categories: these being the kinds of difficulties enunciated by the educators and the

researcher's observation of identified features of problems.

The key findings of this research study are the following:

• Educators use inappropriate teaching styles

• Educators lack a conceptual knowledge of Science

• Educators lack the skill to teach practical work

• Educators avoid selected aspects of C2005

• Assessment, recording and reporting is a threat to educators

• Educators are not able to use learners' knowledge

• Educators display a waning interest in the implementation of C2005

• Educators are stressed out

• There is an increased workload on educators Educators lack qualification, training and teaching in outcomes - based approaches

• Educators do not have parental support

• There is a lack of guidance on what to teach

• The lack of resources is a major obstacle for the implementation of C2005

• Educators lack a commitment to teach Natural Science

• There is a lack of support from principals and school management teams

Finally, recommendations are made for the successful implementation of C2005 as well

as suggestions for further research.