Assessment Policy Statement Research Articles

The use of the process approach in South African English First Additional Language classrooms: A discourse analysis

The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement suggests that enhanced cognitive and metacognitive writing skills are achieved when the process approach is used to teach writing (DoE, 2012). This paper presents findings on the process approach instruction used in selected South African English first additional language writing classrooms. It examines how teachers used the process approach to teach writing in selected further education and training (FET) phase writing classrooms in the Pinetown district in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa. Underpinned by socio-cultural learning theory, the study observed 15 writing lessons using a video camera. Classroom discourse analysis was used to analyse data. The findings reveal teachers’ knowledge of the process approach curriculum they are expected to implement. Time constraints in the FET phase writing curriculum hinder teachers’ in-depth facilitation of the stages of the process approach to writing. Traditional teaching strategies were prevalent in the process approach writing classrooms. I argue for a socio-cultural scaffolding model of writing that embraces activity-based writing strategies when dealing with writing development in the FET phase since this moves beyond formal accuracy and discrete aspects of language and situates writing within meaningful contexts and authentic purposes and, thus, prepares learners for post-school writing practices.

Die waarde van persoonlike vertelling in Afrikaans Huistaal in die Nasionale Kurrikulum en Assesseringsbeleidsverklaring

Storievertelling word wêreldwyd aangewend om individue op 'n informele wyse te onderrig. Persoonlike vertellings of lewensverhale is 'n onderafdeling van storievertelling as groter fenomeen en hierdie persoonlike lewensverhale kan suksesvol as onderrigstrategie ingespan word. In hierdie verband het McAdams (2001:101) bevind dat lewensverhale veral belangrik is as uitdrukking van die individu se identiteit en hom of haar sodoende help om sin te maak van persoonlike ervarings. Storievertelling is dus 'n uitdrukking van identiteit, want om die storie van 'n mens se lewe te vertel, help jou om sin te maak van jou ervarings en kweek 'n gevoel van self, oftewel "wie ek is". Dit is gevolglik baie belangrik dat leerders van 'n vroeë ouderdom af blootgestel word aan en opleiding ontvang in lewensverhaalvertellings. Hierdie blootstelling lei daartoe dat leerders geleidelik daaraan gewoond gemaak word om as 't ware die storie van hul lewe aan ander te vertel. Op hierdie manier verseker blootstelling aan die deel van persoonllike lewensverhale dat individuele leerlinge nie geïntimideer sal voel deur dergelike aktiwiteite wanneer hulle die ouderdom bereik waar die stories van hul persoonlike belewenisse met vertroue vertel kan word nie. Daar is daarom veral gekyk na die Kurrikulum en Assesseringsbeleidsverklaring (KABV) om vas te stel of daar in die KABV voldoende ruimte geskep is om leerders vanaf 'n vroeë ouderdom bloot te stel aan lewensverhale. Daar is ook ondersoek ingestel of hierdie blootstelling en opleiding in die vertel van lewensverhale toeneem totdat leerders in vroeë adolessensie spontaan en met selfvertroue hulle persoonlike stories aan ander kan vertel.

Teachers' Experiences in the Implementation of the Life Skills CAPS for Learners With Severe Intellectual Disability

This article focuses on a participatory process where the experiences of teachers regarding the implementation of the life skills curriculum and assessment policy statement (CAPS) for learners with severe intellectual disabilities (SID) in schools for learners with special educational needs were investigated. This curriculum for learners with SID has been developed to be more effective in meeting the needs of these learners. The curriculum ensures that learners can meet the requirements of the national CAPS used in ordinary public schools at a reduced depth and width, or at a more functional level, in accordance with their cognitive abilities. Although a descriptive mixed research method was applied in the study, this article reports on the qualitative part of the research. In the qualitative phase, collages and arts-based discussions with core project groups were used to generate data. Four schools, 13 core project groups, and 51 participants (teachers) were involved in the research. The transcribed data from the core project group discussions were analysed using thematic analysis, and the themes that emerged were discussed by the participants. Based on the results of these qualitative arts-based discussions, the findings were used to create opportunities for the teachers to talk and work together to jointly develop a training manual for beginner teachers and to form a learning environment that would permit rich inquiry-based dialogue among the teachers.

The Implementation of Formal Assessments in Intermediate Phase Mathematics at Primary Schools in South Africa

The purpose of this research was to explore the implementation of formal assessments in intermediate phase mathematics at primary schools. The research was elicited by reports that assessment methods and procedures for tackling learners’ needs had been observed to be insufficient in South African schools. The study is grounded in Piaget’s cognitive constructivism and Vygotsky’s social constructivism. The researchers conducted document analysis of teachers’ portfolios which were purposefully selected. Nine teachers– three from each of Grades 4 to 6 were sampled. The portfolios were analysed to establish whether the implementation of the formal assessments was aligned with the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement requirements. A checklist was used to determine teachers’ implementation of formal assessment. Measures of central tendency were used to analyse data. The results revealed that teachers were not developing the abilities of learners in handling complex mathematical procedures as per the requirements of the policy. This implies that learners lacked the ability to break down mathematical problems into different factors or constituent parts. Learners were given a test instead of a project or investigation. Hence teachers were not promoting cooperative learning which is advocated by the policy. Therefore, teachers should be assisted by knowledgeable colleagues and subject advisors in their adoption and use of assessment. There must be a close examination of the classroom observation tools that are currently being utilised. Classroom observation assists teachers to improve their assessment strategies. The Department of Basic Education should supply tablets to primary schools to promote social constructive interaction amongst teachers and learners to enhance effective teaching and learning.

Learning Environmental Issues from a Secondary School Curriculum: The Case of Learners in Mamelodi Township, South Africa

In South Africa, the National Curriculum Statement-Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (NCS-CAPS), which came into effect in 2011, was expected to play a critical role in raising environmental literacy among school learners. However, no detailed studies have evaluated its effectiveness in fulfilling this role, especially within schools in peri-urban areas. Consequently, this paper evaluated the level of environmental awareness, perceptions, and participation amongst secondary school learners in the peri-urban area of Mamelodi Township. Primary data for this evaluation research were collected from Grade 9 and Grade 11 secondary school learners by means of a close-ended questionnaire. The results revealed the important role played by school subjects such as Geography, Biology, and Life Orientation while other school subjects were less frequently acknowledged by the learners. The research also revealed the different sources of environmental learning, environmental awareness, as well as environmental problems that the learners were familiar with. However, in some instances, there were statistically significant differences between Grade 9 and Grade 11 learners, thus indicating differences in the learning content and the degree to which environmental education was taught in the different grades.

The refinement and uses of a test of academic literacy for Grade 10 students

The massification of higher education has led to a substantial increase in enrolments since 1993, and an astonishing 300% rise in firstdegree completion among black students. Yet questions remain about the level and adequacy of students’ preparation at school for such study. Drop-out rates of learners remain unacceptably high both at school and university level. Language ability is often identified as being one of several hurdles that prevent success, especially in higher education. At school there is an apparent misalignment between the aims of the current Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), and the subsequent instruction and assessment of students. CAPS requires that students should be prepared to handle academic discourse, yet no clear outline of what academic discourse entails is given.Consequently, many higher education institutions across the country require of students to write additional pre-admission or post-entry tests of language ability. In some cases the National Benchmark Test (NBT) is used to grant or deny access, or in others for placement of at-risk students on language development interventions, usually defined as “academic literacy” courses. The clear expectation is that these tests will have some measure of predictive value, or at least be useful as regards minimising risk of failure. Ideally, it would then be advantageous if students who need to improve their academic literacy levels could be identified at an earlier stage than university entry, whilst they are still in school. To monitor and gauge the value of language assessments and courses, however, one would first need appropriate, adequate and defensible assessment instruments. This paper discusses the need for and the refinement of an academic literacy test for Grade 10 students as a first step towards measuring and then developing the required level of academic literacy before entry into higher education.

An Investigation into the Effectiveness of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in South African Schools

The paper presents the findings from current research on the impact that the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) curriculum subjects have on two South African Schools in Gauteng province in South Africa. The aim is to present the impact of the CAPs subjects in the school. The study did a critical evaluation of each subject to elaborate on the importance and challenges in implementing the subjects and using a qualitative research method to collect data on a group of teachers and students on their opinion on the impact of CAPs subjects. The findings suggest that even though the curriculum is effective, it needs to be improved to close the gap between public and private schools. Private schools are currently benefiting the most from the subjects and how the curriculum is structured.

Teacher Professional Development and Geography Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices for Climate Change Education

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) was added to the South African Geography school curriculum when the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) was implemented from 2012. Many in-service teachers who qualified prior to 2014 did not cover this concept during their initial teacher education qualification because it was not part of the curriculum at that time. To address this deficiency, a teacher professional development (TPD) module was developed by the Fundisa for Change programme and offered to a selection of in-service high school Geography teachers. Transformative learning theory helped to understand the pedagogical practices used by teachers after attending the Fundisa for Change teacher professional development programme, in particular the use of a learner-centred approach. Using a small-scale, qualitative and interpretive case study method, the influence of this short TPD course on the teaching of climate change in the Geography CAPS curriculum on teachers’ pedagogical practices was investigated. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, document analysis and lesson observations. Data were analysed using both inductive thematic and deductive analysis. Findings from this small sample of five teachers and their practices suggest that despite attending the programme, most of the participating teachers did not sufficientlyintegrate climate change education in their Geography classroom practices. The majority of the research participants did not implement the learner-centred teaching methods covered in the course. It is therefore recommended that a teacher professional development programme should be incorporated into longer-term and preferably ongoing professional development programmes so as to adequately foster climate change education in classroom practices. Keywords: Geography, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), climate change education, teacher professional development, learner-centred pedagogies

Eastern Cape teachers’ perceptions of their pedagogical content knowledge in Physical Education

In South Africa, the Physical Education (PE) curriculum has been reimplemented after an absence of more than a decade. The new South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) stipulates that thirty minutes to two hours’ teaching time per week be allocated to PE. The reintegration poses challenges, as teachers are under- and unqualified, with low self-efficacy and actual ability in PE-based pedagogical content knowledge. The lack of qualified specialist PE teachers is a current national dilemma. The purpose of this study was to determine the status of Eastern Cape teachers’ Physical Education qualifications and self-efficacy in pedagogical content knowledge. Forty-two teachers from eight primary and secondary schools, both low- and highresourced and from both urban and rural areas, were purposively sampled. The Sport in Development Impact Assessment Tool, a structured questionnaire, was used to gather quantitative data. Descriptive statistics indicated that most teachers had no formal Physical Education qualifications (76.2%) or had not participated in Physical Education informal training (69.0%) or non-formal training (76.2%). There were variations in the teachers’ confidence levels regarding Physical Education-based pedagogical content knowledge. Only 31.8% were very confident. Most teachers (80.0%) believed that teacher training was a problem. It is imperative to improve teachers’ PE-based self-efficacy and professional competence through continuing professional teacher development.

How should a national curriculum for History be quality assured? The case of the South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS)

ABSTRACT The South African Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training, known as Umalusi, embarked on a project to quality assure the South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) curriculum for schools (2011) in 2012. This article analysis the process in terms of the history curriculum and provides a commentary on universal principles for the quality assurance of national curricula in general. Six quality assurance measures are identified and discussed: comparison between the outgoing and the incoming curricula; entry- and exit-level requirements; internal comparison between Phases [Key Stages] of the curriculum; comparison of the history curriculum statement with statements for other curriculum subjects; current trends in history education; and comparison with history curricula in other countries. Conclusions are drawn for Umalusi and its practice, the CAPS curriculum itself, and the history curriculum. Keywords: Curriculum; Quality assurance; Accreditation; Umalusi; CAPS; NCS; Intermediate phase; Senior phase; FET; historical knowledge; historical skills.

AN EXPLORATION OF THE PROGRESSION POLICY AND ITS EF

This article examines the Progression Policy and its effects on learner achievement in the Further Education and Training Phase (Grades 10 to 12) amongst five underperforming public secondary schools in Pinetown. Since the adoption of the Progression Policy, the pass rate noticeable declined between 2014 and 2016. Thus, the Progression Policy is used in this study as an analytical framework, whilst the qualitative research design was used to gather data. The faceto-face semi-structured interviews, as well as focus group discussions with educators and principals, served as data collection methods. This study emphasized challenges attributed to the implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement and the Progression Policy in the Pinetown District. The study further revealed that the South African education system, from the Foundation Phase level all the way up, is plagued by serious challenges. The identified challenges include a lack of parental support, learner absenteeism, learner indiscipline, learner demotivation, resource allocation, and teacher-learner ratios. The results also revealed that the socioeconomic environment contributes to a dysfunctional condition in schools, which has a negative influence on the teaching and learning experience amongst educators and learners. Thus, the study proposes the reconfiguration of the Progression Policy alongside practicable and relatable recommendations inconsonance to study.

Strengthening comprehensive sexuality education in the curriculum for the early grades

Background: The continuing high rate of child abuse and sexual violence has highlighted the need for a focused intervention in the form of educating young learners on sexual risks and protection against harmful behaviours and making them aware of their right to be protected. Aim: The aim of this article is to strengthen the comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) curriculum for the early grades and to gain an understanding of teachers’ knowledge of CSE and how it is linked to the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS): Life Skills. Setting: This study was conducted at two schools in different districts in the Gauteng Province, in environments where rich data could be solicited from the participants regarding their knowledge of how to strengthen CSE in the curriculum. Methods: A qualitative case study was conducted that included eight Foundation Phase teachers and two subject advisors. One focus group interview was held with teachers and subject advisors. The analysis of documents containing teachers’ and subject advisors’ notes was examined through the lens of the Behaviour-Determinant-Intervention (BDI) Logic Model. Results: The data gathered showed the following significant gaps in CAPS: Life Skills CAPS need to be addressed and aligned to the International Technical Guidelines on Sexuality Education (ITGSE), and teachers need to be adequately trained in the content and teaching methodologies of CSE in the early grades. Conclusion: The CAPS curriculum must be aligned to the ITGSE. Teachers need to be trained; detailed scripted lesson plans should be made available to all early-grade teachers and appropriate resources should be provided to support teaching and learning to strengthen the CSE implementation.

Conceptual and representational confusion: An analysis of three foundation phase teachers’ descriptions of how they teach division

Background: In the foundation phase, division is split along the lines of grouping (quotition) and sharing (partition). Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) recommends that representations such as drawings, concrete apparatus, and symbols are used to teach all math concepts, including division. Aim: In this article, the author investigates how three foundation phase teachers describe teaching division and the representations they would use to do this. Setting: Grade 1 and Grade 2 teachers in one previously disadvantaged urban school were selected for this study. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were used to gather information about how the teachers say they teach division. They were invited to use or talk about any representations such as actions, apparatus, drawings or writings that they would use during their teaching. Results: Using a grounded theory approach, analysis of the data showed that all three teachers talked about how they would transform the mathematics in a division word problem into actions, drawings and symbols. However, none of them was able to use their representations to find the answer to the problem or to provide a division number sentence. The representations they used were relegated to end results and served no purpose in solving the mathematical problems. Conclusion: The results show areas in which teachers need support: Their own mathematical knowledge – specifically division in the case of this study How to teach division in the foundation phase. They lack both content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge.

Reconceptualising the Physical Sciences Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement in a South African Context

Post-apartheid South African curriculum reforms, from outcomes-based education (OBE) to the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), resulted in different challenges. Teachers, in particular those teaching Physical Sciences in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase from Grades 10-12, were expected to cope with changes and master Physical Sciences curriculum for the attainment of good results, but were unable to do so because they were missing an understanding of curriculum concepts. The success of any curriculum depends on ten fundamental and broad curriculum concepts: rationale, goals, activities, assessment, accessibility, resources, content, roles, environment, and time. However, empirical findings show that Grade 12 Physical Science teachers in South African schools still struggle to understand and contextualise curriculum concepts in order to redefine specific CAPS Physical Science concepts. Consequently, this conceptual study uses Van den Akker (2004) curriculum spider web concept framework in reconceptualising Grade 12 CAPS Physical Science concepts. This study argues that teaching without knowing specific subject curriculum concepts can lead to poor teacher performance and poor subject results, this study concludes by proposing a formal, non-formal and informal framework for CAPS Physical Science to resolve this.

Towards the decolonisation of religion education in a pre-service education classroom

ABSTRACT In this article, I reflect on my attempts to decolonise religious education at a historically white university in a post-apartheid South Africa. This pre-service education project conducted in 2017 happened against the backdrop of two events, namely, a renewed curriculum policy, Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) and the #RhodesMustFall (RMF) and #FeesMustFall (FMF) protests. These events encouraged me to reflect on my academic role as a teacher-educator preparing pre-service teachers to teach religion in schools. This led to me asking many questions such as, what is the effect of my teaching religious education?, How do teacher-educators prepare religious education pre-service teachers for a multicultural and multireligious society?, How does my teaching align itself with the decolonisation of education? and How do I redress the colonial past in my religious education classroom? The data which included reflective reports, student experiences and self-reflexivity acknowledged the findings that religion education served as a unifying factor in building social cohesion. The significance of this paper lies in the argument that decolonisation becomes an imperative if one is striving for social justice and intends to commit oneself to a more equitable society where crossing borders must be a seamless act.

Feminist Pedagogy and the South African Curriculum: The case of Women and Food Security

There is a food security crisis in South Africa and black working-class women are the shock absorbers of this crisis. It follows that where food studies are included in the South African curriculum, the relationship between women and food security should be understood and critiqued by learners. Improvements in gender equality have also been identified as one of the primary drivers of improvements in food security. In this paper, the South African curriculum is analysed in terms of food studies, gender studies and the promotion of gender equality. Using the lens of feminist pedagogy, a set of qualitative indicators were developed to assess the content and praxis of the curriculum. While there is content which deals with gender and with food, these are presented separately. In the Geography and Agriculture curricula, there is a marked lack of focus on gender concerns. This article concludes that the curriculum could be reoriented to include an awareness and critique of the nexus of women and food and that more positive representations of women as active and powerful agents are needed in the South African Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS).

Exploring the role of a Google Group in enabling lesson resource sharing in a South African geography teachers’ professional learning community

This article presents the findings of the initial phase of an ongoing exploratory study that responds to a national imperative, to create teacher-initiated professional learning communities (PLCs), to improve the professionalism and capabilities of South African teachers. The overarching goal of the study is to understand how an emergent PLC in the form of an online Google Group for South African geography educators may enhance geography education and teacher professional development. The contributions made to the Southern African Geography Teachers Network Google Group over a six-month period were analysed and categorized according to themes and topics in the Grade 10, 11 and 12 Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) curriculum. The findings, in shedding as they do, light on the curriculum sections receiving the most and least contributions, raise more questions than they provide answers. Areas requiring further research are identified. Our main contention is that the emergent PLC enabled through the Google Group offers exciting possibilities for teacher professional learning. As a bottom-up, online, easily accessible initiative, unrestricted by time or place constraints and with a growing membership, it may play an important role in enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in South African school geography.

Inner-self in the teaching of physical sciences according to the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in South African schools

ABSTRACT Teachers of Physical Sciences (PS) according to the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) are blamed for the high failure rate of learners resulting from inadequate subject content and pedagogy. However, little research has been done to look at the inner-self (self-identity) of those who teach. A qualitative interpretive case study was carried out on eight teachers of PS in rural schools in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, to explore teachers’ experiences and bring awareness of role of the inner-self in the teaching of CAPS PS. Reflective activities, document analysis and one-on-one semi-structured interviews were used to generate data, which were thematically analysed and framed by deep curriculum. Teachers focus a great deal on the outer-self (content and pedagogy), while lacking insight into the inner-self, and this leads them to lose self-direction/confidence in the teaching process. Failure to teach from within results in poor performance in a subject. This study recommends the inner-outer-self framework as a useful tool that can assist and bring awareness to PS teachers, to encourage them to teach from the inner-self within to the outer-self, in order to improve their performance, particularly among those teaching PS in rural schools.

Education and Care: How Teachers Promote the Inclusion of Children and Youth at Risk in South Africa

Children and youth at risk, particularly those placed in child and youth care centres (CYCC) in South Africa, have suffered from school disengagement due to multiple barriers to learning such as the exposure to crime and violence at a young age. As children and youth at risk at these centres find it difficult to engage in learning, new approaches need to be found to re-engage their interest to learn. This article discusses how the ‘Curriculum of Care’, an adaptation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), responds to the educational needs of children and youth at risk at a CYCC in the Western Cape. It draws primarily from interviews and a focus group discussion with the centre manager and teachers at the institution. The findings reveal that positive learning outcomes, and the effective integration of children and youth at risk, are shaped by positive teacher–learner relationships; however, the findings raise questions about the extent to which such a curriculum prepares children and youth at risk for life after they leave the institution. The article suggests that the institutions providing education and care for children and youth at risk need to provide a curriculum balancing academic rigour with care to promote a holistic, inclusive education programme that enables youth and children at risk to effectively navigate their entry into society.

Feminist Pedagogy and the South African Curriculum: The case of Women and Food Security

There is a food security crisis in South Africa and black working-class women are the shock absorbers of this crisis. It follows that where food studies are included in the South African curriculum, the relationship between women and food security should be understood and critiqued by learners. Improvements in gender equality have also been identified as one of the primary drivers of improvements in food security. In this paper, the South African curriculum is analysed in terms of food studies, gender studies and the promotion of gender equality. Using the lens of feminist pedagogy, a set of qualitative indicators were developed to assess the content and praxis of the curriculum. While there is content which deals with gender and with food, these are presented separately. In the Geography and Agriculture curricula, there is a marked lack of focus on gender concerns. This article concludes that the curriculum could be reoriented to include an awareness and critique of the nexus of women and food and that more positive representations of women as active and powerful agents are needed in the South African Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS).