Abstract
The paper compares the experiences of rural and urban learners who participate in Eskom Expo for Young Scientists science fairs in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Within an exploratory case study in the Limpopo province, a third-generation activity-theory framework was applied as an analytical tool to determine differences in activities between learners from rural and urban schools. To address triangulation, personal meaning mapping, interviews, focus-group discussions, and observations were used. The study involved eleven learners, six from rural schools and five from urban schools. Themes were identified to present the learners` view on science fairs and possible reasons for their performance or failure. The results revealed that the differences in activities of rural learners are due to: poor school facilities, lack of support, lack of mentors, lack of equipment, lack of computers and computer illiteracy. Two new areas are confirmed namely the level of attention with regards to learner`s engagement and readiness to learn and depth of knowledge of learners – factors that were not identified in previous studies on science fairs.
Highlights
Some ethnic groups do not prefer pure sciences because to them they think they are for “white men” (Wong, 2015)
The paper compares the experiences of rural and urban learners who participate in Eskom Expo for Young Scientists science fairs in the Limpopo province of South Africa
The results revealed that the differences in activities of rural learners are due to: poor school facilities, lack of support, lack of mentors, lack of equipment, lack of computers and computer illiteracy
Summary
Some ethnic groups do not prefer pure sciences because to them they think they are for “white men” (Wong, 2015). The out-of-school programs (Hayden, Ouyang, Scinski, Olszewski, & Bielefeldt, 2011; Robelen, 2011) have supported scientific literacy and well-planned out-of-school programs are able to “foster interpersonal competence, help define life goals and promote educational success” While the learners are doing these activities, they acquire scientific skills, and improve communication skills and content knowledge (Fisanick, 2010; Tran, 2011). Involving learners in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) related out-of-school activities help in building STEM interest in learners and they will likely take up STEM careers (Sahin, 2013). Learners find solutions to daily-life challenges in out-of-school settings and they will be able to construct their own meanings (Cicek, 2012)
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