Curriculum And Assessment Policy Statement Research Articles

Infusing Climate Change Education into Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) as a Resilience Strategy in South Africa: Towards a Theory of Change

Infusing Climate Change Education into Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) as a Resilience Strategy in South Africa: Towards a Theory of Change

Exploring teacher understanding of curriculum and assessment policy statement document implementation in South African schools

Preparing subject teachers for understanding and implementation of curriculum and Assessment policy statement in schools has become a concern in nations as a way to strive for excellence. Yet, there is a little known about the understanding of curriculum policy than its effectiveness in the school. This study explored teacher understanding of Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document implementation. The study employed a qualitative approach, utilizing a case study research design. The interpretivism paradigm was applied to gain an in-depth understanding secondary of teachers’ perspectives on the implementation of the CAPS. The population of the research study consisted of 100 teachers in Capricorn District, and the sample of this study consisted of ten (10) teachers who were selected using a convenient sampling technique. Data was collected using individual, semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews, and was analyzed using thematic data analysis method. The study concluded that internal and external workshops could serve the purpose of implementing the CAPS document in the classroom. In addition, movable resources, for better implementation of the CAPS document in the classroom. Lastly, for researchers, these findings may help with further research on strategies to be implemented in schools to encourage constant use of the CAPS document. The unique contribution of this article to existing research on the classroom implementation of CAPS guidelines is to address the gap identified by ineffectiveness of the subject policy to the secondary teaching.

Resource inadequacy as a barrier to effective curriculum implementation by life sciences teachers in South Africa

South African teachers experience challenges with the implementation of the national school curriculum – the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). In this regard, teachers may not feel empowered to effectively deal with the demands of the current educational policy. Concerns have been expressed about learners’ poor performance in schools and the school infrastructure coupled with educational capacity emerged to be a possible contributing factor. In the study reported on here we focused on the challenges experienced by South African life sciences teachers in the implementation of CAPS caused by limited resources. The context of the study was secondary schools in 1 sub-district in the Northwest province that offered life sciences (LS) in Grades 10 to 12. A qualitative research approach was followed and 10 teachers from rural public schools who taught LS in Grades 10 to 12 during the period of this study were purposefully selected. For data generation, we used audio recordings from individual and focus-group interviews. The findings indicate that teachers’ needs in terms of resources to effectively implement CAPS are often not catered for. It is recommended that adequate teaching and learning resources for effective implementation of CAPS should be provided. The Department of Education’s prioritisation of teachers’ needs will engender effective curriculum implementation.

Positioning Environmental Education in the South African Classroom: The Case of the Grade 11 Geography Curriculum

The teaching of environmental education in the South African classroom is challenging. Although the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) provides for the integration of environmental education across subjects and grades, there are contextual limitations that educators (in the case of this study geography educators) face when having to teach environmental education. This problem is further compounded by limited research on the contextual challenges faced by geography educators when teaching environmental education and environmental awareness principles. This study investigates how geography educators conceptualise and teach environmental education and environmental awareness principles in the geography grade 11 classroom. The findings indicate that educators’ conceptualisation of environmental education, and how they teach it varies according to the setting that they are in. They expressed challenges faced due to inadequate resources to teach environmental education, as well as the inability to assess learners’ pro-environmental behaviour due to it not being allocated in the curriculum.

Exploring the Implications of the Articulation Gap on Grade 6 EFAL Learners’ Essay Writing Skills

The purpose of the study was to explore the implications of the articulation gap on Grade 6 EFAL learners’ essay writing skills. A qualitative approach was followed with a Case study research design. The research paradigm used in this study was the interpretive paradigm. Purposive sampling was used to select 18 English First Additional Language (EFAL) teachers in 3 primary schools at Malamulele Central Circuit. Document analysis, focus group interviews and lesson observation were used to collect data. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, the Garrison theory of teaching essay writing and the strength-based approach were aligned with the interpretivist paradigm. The study found that EFAL learners are unable to write essays that are academically acceptable in terms of the stipulated standard in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document. Such an articulation gap results in a difficult transition from the foundation to the intermediate phase which has contributed to the high failure rate in Grade 6. The study concluded and recommended that the curriculum during transitioning from the foundation to the intermediate phase (Grade 6) should be revised and the Teaching and Learning Language (TLL) in the Foundation Phase should be English in order to build a strong foundation. This research study is of practical importance to various sectors of the South African education system and abroad as it contributes invaluable information to curriculum developers and implementers within the education department and to the entire stakeholders in the schooling system. Keywords: Articulation Gap; Essay; Writing Skills; Instant Feedback

The effectiveness of Grade 3 teachers’ implementation of poetry through play pedagogies

Background: Poetry predates all other genres of literature, and it has been argued that the relationship between poetry and language is inextricable. The ability of African people to articulate their own stories was largely silenced by colonialism. Poems and lyrics have been known to create a bridge between individuals in meaningful words and songs.Aim: This article explores Grade 3 teachers’ experiences of teaching poetry and their utilisation of play pedagogies to enhance learning and make it pleasurable.Setting: Three schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, were purposively selected because of their rural location. The sample comprised six Grade 3 teachers who worked in these three rural primary schools. The learners in the study were using isiZulu as a language of learning and teaching.Methods: Semi-structured interviews, document analysis and non-participant observations were employed to generate the data.Results: Regardless, Grade 1 teachers know their knowledge of the value of play pedagogies in the development of young children.Conclusion: Researchers suggest that Grade 3 teachers need to align their practice and lesson plans with Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) proposals and guidelines. Moreover, play pedagogies need to be implemented and these need to be realistically aligned with allocated time frames and available resources to mitigate the severe restraints that impede effective poetry teaching as a tool for facilitating learning.Contribution: To ensure the success of all Grade 3 learners in the realm of poetry understanding and writing, it is imperative that Foundation Phase (FP) teachers align their teaching to the CAPS pedagogies to expose learners to various forms of poetry.

Using the Strategy Instructions Approach (SIA) in Teaching Reading Comprehension: A Case Study Schools in the Amathole East District South in Africa

This study sought to explore the effectiveness of using the Strategy Instructions Approach (SIA) to teach South African children reading comprehension. The majority of language teachers, especially those who teach English as a first or second language, were found to be lacking in the skills needed to impart reading comprehension effectively to their learners. Grade 8 learners were taught reading comprehension using SIA which was basically from the curriculum and assessment policy statement (CAPS) materials. A control group of 60 learners and an experimental group of 60 learners (sampled from three schools in Amathole East District in South Africa) were used to determine the effectiveness of SIA when compared to the traditional teaching approaches used by teachers to teach reading comprehension. The outcomes demonstrated that SIA enhanced performance in reading comprehension. The study recommends that schools especially, those in rural areas should have more reading resources and activities, longer hours on the school timetable for teaching reading comprehension, and higher institutions should train teachers to use SIA. Keywords: Strategy Instructions Approach (SIA), Reading Comprehension, Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), Control Group, Experimental Group

Theory of Change and Theory of Education: Pedagogic and Curriculum Defects in Early Grade Reading Interventions in South Africa

Much of the field of educational change has focused on better understanding the theory of change, that is, what knowledge is needed to make substantial educational change, particularly improvement to learning outcomes at scale. This article suggests that the South African early grade reading study community may have been looking in the wrong place. The search for the optimal theory of change or theory of action is obviously very important, but could it not be that a key part of the problem is defects in our theory of education? It is argued that there may be something educationally unsound in certain aspects of the official pedagogy and curriculum. As such, the South African education system is unlikely to make much progress towards the goal of getting children to read for meaning by the time they are 10 years old if these defects are not addressed. To illustrate this argument, the article points to data from two examples in South African education policies on pedagogy and curriculum: the first relates to the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) Foundation Phase document’s under-specification and weak guidance with reference to the teaching of phonics with linked decodable texts; the second concerns the CAPS document’s privileging of an unworkable reading teaching methodology called Group Guided Reading. The article concludes that to achieve real knowledge breakthroughs, university academics working alongside researchers in government need to develop rigorous research programmes aimed at improving foundational learning outcomes.

Partnership as a strategy to overcome the difficulties associated with policy implementation: South African teachers’ views

The purpose of the study reported on here was to investigate the role of partnerships in helping in-service teachers overcome the difficulties associated with performing practical work prescribed in the Life Sciences Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), an educational policy intended to transform the South African school curriculum in the wake of the apartheid years. CAPS is the latest of a plethora of educational policies that have been introduced in post-apartheid South Africa. However, teachers have lamented the lack of skills and resources necessary for its effective implementation. With this study we investigated how partnership between schools and 1 university in South Africa helped teachers to acquire practical skills and techniques related to CAPS implementation. A qualitative research approach with purposeful sampling was used. Data were collected through focus-group interviews, document analysis and observations that entailed observing teachers performing the experiments prior to the training. Teachers from 22 secondary schools participated in this research. Collected data were analysed using Creswell’s method of coding. Findings of this study indicate that partnership with the University helped equip teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge to perform science experiments, ultimately resulting in improved learner performance. Partnerships between schools and institutions of higher learning to enhance policy implementation are, therefore, recommended.

Curriculum integration of physical sciences, engineering science, technology subjects in relation to the technical sciences curriculum

The aim with this study was to analyse and explore how physical sciences, engineering science and technology subjects (technical electrical technology, technical civil technology, technical mechanical technology) can contribute to the alignment of the technical sciences curriculum. We used document analysis to collect data. An analysis of the curriculum and assessment policy statements (CAPS) for technical sciences, physical sciences, electrical technology, civil technology, mechanical technology, and textbooks for engineering science was done. The findings of the study suggest that the technical science curriculum is a replica of the physical science curriculum. We recommend that the technical sciences curriculum be reviewed such that relevant scientific concepts can be used to bridge the gaps identified in the curriculum. The implications are that a new, aligned technical sciences curriculum that is relevant for technology subjects must be developed.

Professional development for physical education teachers: A participatory approach to identifying learning needs

Predetermined professional development (PD) programmes delivered by external experts are the usual approach to enhancing the teaching of physical education (PE) in disadvantaged school contexts. This generally does not result in sustained learning and development once the PE professionals withdraw. Addressing the lack of teacher- and context-driven PD, we propose an evidence-based, collaborative, and transformative PD approach that involves teachers themselves in designing, implementing, and evaluating ongoing learning opportunities suited to their context. To enable teachers to improve their practice in a sustainable manner, we adopted a participatory action learning and action research design, using qualitative data generation tools. With this article we report on the first cycle, namely that of action and reflection, where teachers generated and analysed qualitative data to identify their learning needs. Four themes emerged, namely (1) the need to interpret and adapt the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) (2); ability to teach PE in their specific low-resource context while; (3) generating support from colleagues and management, and (4) coping with systemic issues impacting on their teaching. We discuss the implications of these needs for the continuing PD of teachers.

Educators’ Perceptions and Approaches to Environmental Education and Pro-Environmental Behaviour in South African Secondary Schools

Environmental education is taught within the geography curriculum in the basic education system of South Africa. However, owing to various contextual challenges faced in 21st century South African schools, the teaching of environmental education has remained largely paper based. This poses a challenge to educators who are assigned the responsibility to teach environmental education and foster pro-environmental behaviour in learners. The objective of this study was to investigate how geography educators understand environmental education, as well as determining the possible reasons for the gap between content knowledge of environmental education principles and learners’ pro-environmental behaviour. This study was conceptualised and articulated using the Tbilisi Principles of Environmental Education (TPEE) of 1978. An interpretivist paradigm was utilised for this study as it supports the qualitative approach of the study. This study was guided by phenomenology. Five geography educators from five non-fee-paying schools were sampled from a population of educators in the Kwa-Mashu Circuit of the Durban Pinetown educational district of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Data was acquired through voice recordings of five semi-structured interviews, which were consequently transcribed non verbatim to eliminate redundancies in the data. The data was analysed thematically according to the Tbilisi Principles, and discussed according to the research questions they satisfy. The findings indicate that educators are failed by a lack of resources to teach environmental education, as well as a curriculum which does not accommodate the teaching of environmental education constructively. The results of this study further revealed obstacles such as a lack of interest from geography learners, which then increases educators’ challenges when teaching environmental education. It is recommended that the National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document be revised to include environmental education constructively within grade 11 geography. This can be done by allocating teaching time specifically for environmental education, as well as ensuring that assessment methods are specific and allocated with resources.

The Quest for Recognition and Curricularisation of South African Music Education in Basic Education

Framed within curriculum inquiry theory, this article argues for the necessity to merge music curricula with music educator curricula in the existing Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) offered by the South African Department of Basic Education (DBE). Currently, being educated in music does not qualify a graduate to be a music educator, as an additional qualification is necessary. Music-trained educators leaving universities are required to undertake a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) to be recognised as music teachers in public schools, hence the need for reform. The main purpose of this article is to discuss the quest for Recognition and Curricularisation of South African music education in basic education. The study adopted a qualitative research method to collect data, using previous and recent scholarly writings. The findings of this article were presented in themes developed through the questions presented. The over-arching conclusion is that South African universities’ music qualifications should be recognised as teaching qualifications. Keywords: Basic Education, Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), Music Educators, PGCE, Skills

The impact of poor reading skills on Grade 12 isiXhosa Home Language exam results

IsiXhosa is one of the 11 official languages offered as a subject in the South African school curriculum at Home Language (HL) level. The examination of this subject in grade 12 (the school-exit year) consists of three papers: Paper 1 (P1), which focuses on reading for understanding and language usage; Paper 2 (P2), which focuses on reading for analysis using prescribed genres; and Paper 3 (P3), which focuses on writing. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) publishes a diagnostic report after every examination session, following the completion of marking of the final examinations, detailing the performance of the grade 12 learners in each subject written. The 2018 and 2019 reports show that the performance of candidates in isiXhosa HL is poor and suggests that they cannot read for understanding. This study sought to analyse the impact of poor literacy skills on grade 12 candidates’ performance in the isiXhosa HL final examinations. This was done by analysing the DBE’s 2018 and 2019 isiXhosa HL Diagnostic Reports for P1 and determining how a lack of reading skills affects learners’ comprehension and analysis skills. The South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) emphasise the importance of reading for different purposes. The findings of this study suggest that learners do not have a solid foundation in reading and textual analysis and that reading is not given priority in the classroom, which ultimately leads to poor performance. The article concludes that reading and academic performance go hand in hand and that learners should be exposed to different texts; this can be achieved when teachers prepare well for their reading lessons and use not only the prescribed works. Furthermore, every learner should be given a chance to read, as no learner will ever perform well in their academics if their reading skills are poor.

Using critical pedagogy in English education: Disjunctures between pre-service teachers' preparation and opportunities for implementation

In many universities offering qualifications in education, Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy features prominently in curricula for pre-service teachers of English. Student teachers are prepared with the knowledge and skills that enable them to use approaches from critical pedagogy to teach English effectively in their classrooms upon graduation. Critical pedagogy affords pre-service teachers of English training in teaching critical literacy, a pedagogy of self-empowerment, and tools for teaching critical thinking. However, student teachers may not easily exploit these affordances when they start to teach since many constraints in the school system may impede the effective implementation of critical pedagogy in the English classroom. These constraints include the inflexible Annual Teaching Plan, the practice of teaching for assessment, and contradictions in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). As a result, there is a disparity between the vision of teaching English in critical ways on the one hand and opportunities to realise this vision within the structures of South African policy on the other. In this article, we explore this disparity and its implications for learning to teach English within a critical pedagogy framework.

Teaching and learning sensitive and controversial topics in history through and with decolonial love

The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) school history curriculum of post-apartheid South Africa is littered with sensitive and controversial topics. Many history teachers and their learners do not know how to confront these topics, especially in multiracial, multicultural, and diverse classrooms. Therefore, this paper explores how the idea of decolonial love (Sandoval, 2000; Maldonado-Torres, 2006) could inform alternative creative pedagogies or contribute to existing pedagogical frameworks that history teachers and their learners employ when engaging sensitive and controversial topics. In this paper I argue that decolonial love has the potential to enable both history teachers and their learners to engage with sensitive and controversial topics in history in ways that promote empathy, cognitive, social and epistemic justice, inclusivity, critical thinking, respect, love, and tolerance for others as envisioned in the CAPS document. This would, in turn, promote the transgression of knowledge boundaries for knowledge co-construction (Keating, 2013) and thus, enable a way of doing history that promotes pluriversal (situated) knowledges (Santos, 2014). Lastly, I argue that decolonial love can provide a useful pedagogical framework for teaching sensitive and controversial topics since it ties together different approaches to teach such topics.

Environmental Education in South African Schools: The Role of Civil Society Organizations

Environmental education (EE) is an integrated component of the South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document. Pro-EE civil society organisations are actively involved in the implementation of EE policies in schools. The roles played by civil society organisations contribute to the trajectory of practical environmental programmes. This study adopted an interpretive paradigm, a qualitative approach, and a phenomenological design anchored on Bronfenbrenner's philosophical view of human development. One Pro-EE civil society organisation and two respondents were purposefully sampled. Semi-structured interviews and documents were tools employed to collect qualitative data and results were analysed thematically. The study revealed that Pro-EE civil society organisations play a pivotal role which includes; equipping learners to live sustainably, teachers’ professional development, policy formulation, and implementation that actualizes the CAPS document's objectives. The study recommended that the South School Act be amended to make EE policy mandatory. The department of basic education (DBE) should provide sufficient resources to Pro-EE civil society organisations to expand Eco-Schools project-based initiatives in schools regardless of the geographical location.

The impact of teacher and learner positioning in the writing classroom

Existing research shows that in South Africa, there are reasons for concern regarding the achievements of a large proportion of Grade 6 learners in language learning. The impact of this poor language achievement affects their success rates across learning areas and in higher grades. It has also been found that historically, Grade 6 boys have achieved and continue to achieve lower results than their female peers in national and international language assessments. However, boys’ language learning in the Intermediate Phase in South African schools is surprisingly under-researched, particularly their writing skills development. This study uses positioning theory to understand Grade 6 boys’ writing development. A cycle of the Grade 6 writing programme, as prescribed by the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) (DBE, 2011), was observed and analysed. Although the teachers followed the same policy statement (the CAPS), it was found that their scaffolding approaches within the stages of the writing cycle differed significantly. It was concluded that there are significant links among three key elements: teacher knowledge, teachers’ and learners’ positioning in the writing process, and learners achieving the object of cognition in the stages of the writing cycle.

Exploring the relationship between commognition and the Van Hiele theory for studying problem-solving discourse in Euclidean geometry education

This article is an advanced theoretical study as a result of a chapter from the first author’s PhD study. The aim of the article is to discuss the relationship between commognition and the Van Hiele theory for studying discourse during Euclidean geometry problem-solving. Commognition is a theoretical framework that can be used in mathematics education to explain mathematical thinking through one’s discourse during problem-solving. Commognition uses four elements that characterise mathematical discourse and the difference between ritualistic and explorative discourses to explain how one displays mastery of mathematical problem-solving. On the other hand, the Van Hiele theory characterises five levels of geometrical thinking during one’s geometry learning and development. These five levels are fixed and mastery of one level leads to the next, and there is no success in the next level without mastering the previous level. However, for the purpose of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) we only focused on the first four Van Hiele levels. Findings from this theoretical review revealed that progress in the Van Hiele levels of geometrical thinking depends mainly on the discourse participation of the preservice teachers when solving geometry problems. In particular, an explorative discourse is required for the development in these four levels of geometrical thinking as compared to a ritualistic discourse participation.

Teachers’ Experiences in Contextualising the CAPS Curriculum Life Skills in Intermediate Phase Classrooms in the Johannesburg North Region

The teaching and contextualisation of Life Skills as required by the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document in the intermediate Grades 4-6 have been experienced differently by teachers. The CAPS requires teachers to make the curriculum and content relevant to the varied needs and lives of learners from different backgrounds. Resultantly, the paper is driven by three objectives a) exploration of teachers’ training background; b) understanding and implementation of the CAPS requirements, and c) teachers’ conceptualisation of contextualising Life Skills in the Intermediate Phase. The study employs the constructivist theory by Vygotsky and Piaget with the emphasis on knowledge construction, individually and socially. The study was qualitative in nature. Five Life Skills Intermediate Phase teachers were selected, observed, and interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that each teacher had different ways of interpreting and implementing the CAPS Life Skills. The experiences were both positive and negative due to many contextual factors that influenced the contextualisation of the content. Considering the findings, the study suggests that Life Skills should be prioritised in schools as are other subjects and be taught by specialist teachers. Further studies can be conducted to explore the impact of contextualisation of the Life Skills subject on the life of learners.
 
 Received: 21 April 2022 / Accepted: 28 June 2022 / Published: 5 July 2022