The Effects of Technical Science on Learner Performance and possible Technical Vocational Career Choices

Abstract

Technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges offer technical vocational professions through a more vocational than academic curriculum. The addition of mathematics and physical science to the technical school curriculum led to a high failure rate and an increase in dropout rates because many students failed these two subjects. The department of basic education (DBE) established technical mathematics and technical science as alternatives to mathematics and physical science in these schools in an effort to address these issues. This study explored the effect of technical science on the technical high school pass rates following its implementation. Qualitative data methods was used to analyse physical science and technical content documents as well as pass rates descriptively. Findings for this study showed that technical science had less weight in the exam and less challenging content than physical science. After the advent of technical science, the pass rates for physical science rose considerably, though they were also inconsistent. Additionally, several schools stopped teaching technical science even after their students excelled in it. The study recommends that more investigation be done into the effects of technical science on learners' readiness for technical vocational careers and reasons for some schools to drop technical science. Keywords: learner performance, pass rates, physical science technical science, TVET colleges, vocational careers