Revised National Curriculum Statement Research Articles

Inequalities in the Cape Flats: Principals’ perspectives on children’s schooling

Background: A separate, apartheid system of schooling in South Africa entrenched European racialised ideologies of white supremacy that left a legacy of social, economic, and educational inequalities. The 1995 White Paper for Education, the 1996 South African Schools Act, and the Revised National Curriculum Statement outlined steps for equalising education. However, inequalities within the schooling system remain.Aim: The study aimed to understand how principals experience the lasting effects of apartheid-era segregationist policies in primary schools and to document principals’ solutions.Setting: A meeting of principals who work at primary schools in the Western Cape province.Methods: Researchers purposively sampled four principals from the primary schools represented at the meeting, conducted semi-structured interviews with the principals chosen, and adopted an interpretive approach to analyse findings.Results: This study finds from principals’ perspectives that neighbourhood gang violence, and highly unequal funding for schools in different neighbourhoods adversely impact primary school children’s education and principals’ abilities to lead as a result of context, overcrowding and inequality. Principals note that when parent-led programmes such as the Walking Bus produce a positive effect, the government tends to undercut parents’ efforts to work with principals to secure and equalise young children’s schooling.Conclusion: Giving greater governance power to parents and principals may help to equalise the extremes of inequalities in primary schools remaining from Nationalist Party policies of the pre-1994 apartheid era.Contribution: This study contributes to primary school principals’ ideas for improving primary schoolchildren’s education.

Foundation phase teachers’ interpretation of the life skills programme with regard to the teaching of natural science

<p>Scientific literacy should be promoted through the teaching of science from Grade R and for this to happen, teachers need to understand what science should be taught and how it should be taught. This interpretive, qualitative study explores the degree to which four foundation phase teachers interpret the life skills programme with regard to the teaching of natural science by using an adapted version of a theory of implementation. Analyses of a questionnaire, documents (Revised National Curriculum Statement and lesson plans) and interviews enabled us to build a picture of how each teacher interpreted the curriculum with regard to a number of constructs. The findings show that foundation phase teachers have great difficulty interpreting the curriculum because the foundation phase curriculum does not give clear guidance with regard to the teaching of science. Their poor content knowledge, the poor understanding of what integration of science in numeracy and literacy entails, as well as their poor understanding of the instructional methods used to teach science exacerbate the problem.</p>

Knowledge about Inquiry: A study in South African high schools

This paper reports a study on South African learners' knowledge about scientific inquiry using the Views About Scientific Inquiry (VASI) Questionnaire. The sample consisted of 105 grade 11 learners from 7 schools across the socio-economic spectrum in a South African city. A rubric for scoring the VASI Questionnaire was developed and refined during the process of coding and is presented. Results showed that the learners held more informed views than that reported in previous international studies, except for particularly naive views regarding multiple methods of investigation. The results are discussed in terms of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) that was taught from 2003 to 2010 in South African schools. This curriculum was founded on outcomes-based principles, valuing process skills rather than content. The study found that examples provided in the RNCS document correspond closely to the aspects of inquiry as described by the National Research Council. It is argued that the RNCS contributed to the more informed views about inquiry found among South African learners in this study.

Scientific Literacy and the South African School Curriculum

The notion of scientific literacy is contested terrain, particularly when the term is used in school curricula. Using a scientific literacy framework of Vision I (covers science products and processes) and Vision II (based on science-related situations as a starting point for discussion), the article analyses the Natural Science (grades 7–9) curricula in South Africa developed and implemented over the past two decades. The Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) and the Curriculum and Policy Statement (CAPS) were scrutinised for indicators of each vision. Findings indicate that, while the RNCS espoused the concept of scientific literacy, the CAPS made little mention of it. While both curricula are dominated by Vision I indicators, particularly science products and processes, the CAPS document focuses almost exclusively on these. The implications of highly specified content and narrow interpretations of scientific literacy have consequences for teacher education and textbooks authors, as well as learners who will exit the school system before grade 10 and who need to be scientifically literate to function effectively as citizens in South Africa's nascent democracy.

Reflecting on the Development of Context-relevant Teaching Tools Using Local and Indigenous Knowledge

Schooling in South Africa is structured according to the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) for Grades R to 9 and the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) for Grades 10 to 12. The National Curriculum outlines the skills and abilities that learners should achieve in order to exhibit the prescribed outcomes for each Learning Area and grade, but it does not prescribe the subject content or tools to be used to teach these skills and abilities. This paper reflects on the journey of three researchers involved in a study that aims to develop context-relevant teaching tools using indigenous and local knowledges in collaboration with local teachers and community members, to be utilised in seven schools, in Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape.

The Role of Members of School Management Teams in Curriculum Implementation and Management: A Case Study of Selected Schools in the Gauteng Province (Republic of South Africa)

The aim of the research was to establish the role that members of the school management teams (SMTs) play in terms of curriculum implementation and management. The qualitative method was used to gather information from members of the SMTs on how the new curriculum is implemented and managed. In-depth formal interviewing was used as the main data collection method. The researcher used focus group interviews and individual interviews to collect data. Comparisons were drawn, similarities identified and a discussion of the research was presented. The data were coded, categorised and condensed. The researcher then interpreted and drew meaning from the displayed data. The study revealed that members of the SMTs had different views about their role as implementers and managers of the curriculum. SMTs have received training through workshops organised by the Department of Education on Curriculum 2005 (C2005), the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS), and the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) as well the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). Thus most of the members of the SMTs felt that they have been empowered by the training they received. They also felt that it is imperative to make sure that the school environment be conducive for learning and teaching to take place and ensure the successful implementation and management of the curriculum. However, the study also revealed challenges and recommend that policy- makers have to explore professional development from the perspective of the SMTs in order to clearly understand what would be best for changing their curriculum implementation and management. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n14p135

Alignment between South African mathematics assessment standards and the TIMSS assessment frameworks

South Africa’s performance in international benchmark tests is a major cause for concern amongst educators and policymakers, raising questions about the effectiveness of the curriculum reform efforts of the democratic era. The purpose of the study reported in this article was to investigate the degree of alignment between the TIMSS 2003 Grade 8 Mathematics assessment frameworks and the Revised National Curriculum Statements (RNCS) assessment standards for Grade 8 Mathematics, later revised to become the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS). Such an investigation could help to partly shed light on why South African learners do not perform well and point out discrepancies that need to be attended to. The methodology of document analysis was adopted for the study, with the RNCS and the TIMSS 2003 Grade 8 Mathematics frameworks forming the principal documents. Porter’s moderately complex index of alignment was adopted for its simplicity. The computed index of 0.751 for the alignment between the RNCS assessment standards and the TIMSS assessment objectives was found to be significantly statistically low, at the alpha level of 0.05, according to Fulmer’s critical values for 20 cells and 90 or 120 standard points. The study suggests that inadequate attention has been paid to the alignment of the South African mathematics curriculum to the successive TIMSS assessment frameworks in terms of the cognitive level descriptions. The study recommends that participation in TIMSS should rigorously and critically inform ongoing curriculum reform efforts.

The Resistance Mode of Learning: The Potential for Resistance to New Policy Initiatives to Facilitate Teacher Learning

Creating unison between teacher learning and teacher practice remains a challenge in education. The literature suggests that despite innumerable attempts to foster teacher learning among educator professionals, the application of such learning activities to classroom practices remains yet an ideal. This article explores how learning about assessment fosters teacher learning, and how this learning filters through into the context of the classroom, where application thereof finds expression through the assessment practices that teachers employ. The expansive terrain of teacher learning has created a sense that simply teaching educators about key concepts and crucial terms in assessment, or 'assessment literacy' as it is termed, is far from adequate since th ere are various forces that influence and shape teacher learning. The current article explores the potential for teacher learning through resisting and challenging new policy initiatives - and in the case of the demarcated study, challenging the new forms of assessment. This study set out to explore how three primary school educators learn about assessment as they embark on a journey of learning about the new assessment practices advocated by the Revised National Curriculum Statement framework. The study utilised a case study design, where document analysis, interviews and observation were the instruments used. The article reveals that teachers are not merely passive recipients and implementers of policy. Further, in offering resistance to new policy initiatives, teachers engage in activities that enhance their learning.

Analyzing Views of Intermediate Phase Educators with Regard to Their Experiences of the Revised National Curriculum Statement

The study examines the views of Intermediate Phase Educators on the viability of Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). The study also aimed at examining the views of the Intermediat e Phase Educators and their perceptions with regard to the implementation of RNCS in Mangaung schools and its impacts on their teaching philosophy. The findings from this study pointed to problems such as educators receiving inadequate training on implementing RNCS. Another finding showed poor planning in terms of the preparation and allocation of teaching and learning support material to the schools and all these factors foster negative perceptions among educators. It is the light of the latter cited problems that the research er got motivated to engage in an analytical research study of the views educators hold with regard to Revised National Curriculum Statement, in particular, the educators in the intermediate phase. On the basis of the findings of this study, a number of recommendations for the implementation of RNCS are given which requires support and monitoring, this should be provided by the department officials. The support and monitoring stage should be followed by training of the educators. Workshops should be designed by the departmental officials for professional development of educators on the topics consistent with thrust and vision for the curriculum. There should be adequate supply of learning support material which is essential to the effective running of an educational system.

Reflections of Teacher Perceptions Regarding Curriculum Change in the Bloemfontein Area, South Africa

With the dawn of the new curriculum in this country, namely, Curriculum 2005 (C2005) in 1997, and the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) in 2002, which are the two major curriculum policy...

Challenges Regarding the Implementation of the Revised National Curriculum Statement

KEYWORDS Curriculum Development. Outcomes Based Education. Curriculum Implementation ABSTRACT The study examines the views of Intermediate Phase of educators on the viability of Revised of National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). T he aim of the study is to make a n analysis of the views of t he Intermediate Phase Educators perceptions about the implementation RNCS in Mangaung. The study applied a qualitative research method. Questionnaires were used as the main data gathering instrument because they preserve the anonymity of the respondents thereby encouraging honest. The study revealed that educators differ in terms of the problems that they encountered in the implementing RCNS in the GET band. The findings from this study pointed to problems such as educators receiving inadequate training on the implementation. It was a lso revealed that no monitor and evaluation was done by the respective official. Another finding, showed that teaching and learning support material arrived late and that there was a large shortage of such material.

The Environment in the Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Technology Learning Areas for General Education and Training in South Africa

Abstract This article assesses the inclusion of environmental concerns in South Africa's Revised National Curriculum Statements for Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology. It comments on the state of environmental education in formal education in South Africa generally but more specifically in the areas mentioned. Challenges for advancing the project of environmental education in South Africa are noted and a collective effort focusing on the professional development of teachers is proposed.

Life orientation in the intermediate phase (grades 4-6): A survey in selected Western Cape primary schools, South Africa

To eradicate the inequalities of the apartheid education system the outcomes-based education (OBE) master plan, Curriculum 2005 (C2005), was launched in 1997 and implemented in 1998. In 2000, C2005 was revised and renamed the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) which gradually became known as the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). Within the new education system, a new Learning Area called Life Orientation (LO) was introduced. Life Orientation presents five learningoutcomes of which one, Physical Development and Movement (PDM), resembles Physical Education (PE). Because LO consists of different constituents (Guidance, PE, Religious Education, Youth Preparedness) it was deemed necessary to investigate certain aspects of the implementation of LO. The focus of this article was on the Intermediate Phase (IP [Grades 4-6]) in the General Education and Training Band (GET). The main problem was to determine the perspectives of LO teachers regarding the implementation of LO and particularly the Learning Outcome, PDM, in the IP in selected primary schools in the Western Cape, a province in South Africa (SA). Quantitative data captured by means of aquestionnaire typify the research design as a survey. A total of 124 primary schools were randomly selected of which 45 IP teachers (N=45) returned questionnaires. Summary statistics using frequency tables and histograms were utilised. The data were analysed by using Statistica 8.0 (STATSOFT, 2007). Every aspect as stipulated by the NCS seemed to be in place for the presentation of LO in the IP. However, 51% of the LO teachers were not qualified to present LO as an integrated whole whichcreated major problems for the status of LO as a Learning Area in schools. The situation holds specific implications for the growth and development of IP learners. It is recommended that the Department of Education (DoE) should take the initiative and lead in this regard to urgently provide specialist LO teachers for the IP. However, Higher Education Institutions (HEI's) should become more involved in training initiatives for prospective teachers in LO.

Transforming Mathematical Discourse: A Daunting Task for South Africa’s Townships

In this study, the authors describe the voices and practices of four mathematics teachers in a K–7 “Coloured” township school in the context of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The authors begin with an explanation of the context of the township in terms of its history, languages, diversity, educational system, and mathematics education. Through observing and describing four mathematics classroom discourses, two from the Foundation Phase and two from the Intermediate Phase, the authors illustrate the relationship between the participating teachers’ voices and practices within their socio-cultural and socio-historical context. Additionally, the authors describe the complexity of transforming mathematics education and suggest that implementing the Revised National Curriculum Statement requires an epistemological shift in perspective regarding teaching and learning that promotes mathematical understanding. The authors’ analyses show the importance of transforming mathematics education and the responsibility of higher education institutions in the preparation of future teachers compatible with the new societal demand.

Provisioning Western Cape Schools in South Africa with Effective Dance Educators: Posing the Challenges

This paper problematises the training of dance teachers in post-apartheid South Africa. The provisioning of the state primary and secondary schools that offer dance studies as part of the Learning Area, Arts and Culture, with effective teachers is crucial to the delivery of satisfactory dance education in South Africa, where the Revised National Curriculum Statement is specifically intended to meet the diverse demands of the post-apartheid arts environment. The paper proposes that the training of dance educators is further complicated due to the tensions created by the gaps between post-apartheid education philosophy and the realities of teaching, particularly in state schools in the Western Cape.

The Indigenous Knowledge of African Traditional Health Practitioners and the South African Science Curriculum

South Africa's new and revised National Curriculum Statement implicitly suggests the integration of indigenous knowledge (IK) into the science curriculum so that learners can, inter alia, learn within the context of their cultural knowledge. Unfortunately, teachers do not necessarily know about the various indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) within South Africa. We therefore decided to identify the ideas of traditional health practitioners (THPs) concerning what children need to know, and then to obtain science teachers' responses to these ideas. In this pilot study in the Western Cape, we used a qualitative approach and conducted in-depth interviews with a small group of THPs, with a follow-up questionnaire and discussion with a larger group. We then shared the THPs' ideas with both experienced science educators and high school science teachers. Our results show that THPs think that South African learners need to know about and respect their heritages, especially African IKS. They emphasized the importance of learning about health and freedom from disease, particularly HIV/AIDS. The THPs believe that both science and IK are important in the education of learners, and that they could co-teach their IK in conjunction with science topics. They suggested how they could do this. They believe that science teachers need to learn about IK, and suggested that THPs could learn some science. Both groups of science teachers were interested in, and strongly supportive of the THP suggestions. They also emphasized that IK needs to be standardized and validated by an indigenous organization.

The implementation of the Natural Science Outcome Three: Embedding the learning of science in societal and environmental issues

The revised National Curriculum Statements for the Natural Sciences include an outcome that expects learners to demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between science and technology, society and the environment. This study seeks to determine the extent this outcome is being realized in grades 8–9 in Mpumalanga, and to identify factors which might promote its implementation. Data were collected by means of both case studies and a survey. Results indicate that the intention of this outcome is only being achieved at very low levels, if at all. The meeting of teachers with colleagues, sharing ideas, and generally supporting each other were found to be strongly associated with higher levels of achieving this outcome, as well as a positive school ethos.

It’s Time to End the Decade of Confusion about OBE in South Africa

The fundamental elements of what is known today as Outcome-Based Education are clearly embodied in numerous familiar models of learning, assessment, and credentialing in the non-education world that, in some cases, are many centuries old. In virtually all of these models, successful outcome performance is the clear/fixed/pre-determined/known/constant factor in the equation, and time is the flexible/variable/adaptable factor. In formal education, however, exactly the opposite pattern exists: time is the clear/fixed/pre-determined/known/ constant factor, and learning successes the flexible/variable/adaptable factor. This makes “authentic” OBE implementation extremely difficult for modern education systems to implement because they are fundamentally Time-Based – defined, organized, and driven by the calendar, schedule, and clock – not Outcome-Based as some profess. South Africa is no exception to this rule – which made its enthusiastic embracing of OBE in 1997 problematic from the start. In explaining the core fundamentals of the OBE concept and how those fundamentals evolved(particularly in North America) prior to 1997, this paper makes clear that South Africa’s Curriculum2005 initiative missed the OBE mark on almost every essential count: 1) not having a clear, compelling, and operational framework of “Exit Outcomes” on which to ground the reform and the curricular changes which drove it; 2) making no reference, either in theory or practice, to OBE’s Four Operating Principles – which enable modern day educators to get as close to “real “implementation as the Time-Based paradigm of education allows; 3) missing the mark significantly on understanding and implementing what Outcomes are – culminating demonstrations of learning– the multiple forms they take, and the multiple ways in which they can be designed and assessed;4) bogging down in micro content, assessments, marking, and record-keeping – which advanced BE implementers warn strongly against; 5) lacking the future-focused grounding of OBE designs that are legitimately called “transformational;” and 6) falling into the familiar pattern of calling its “CBO” thinking and practices “OBE.”The latter relates to an almost universal constellation of practices that make educational systems virtually unchangeable from an OBE perspective: Curriculum Based Outcomes, Content Bound Objectives, Calendar Based Opportunities, Cellular Based Organization, Contest Biased Orientations, Convenience Based Operations, and Convention Bound Obsolescence. Unfortunately, Curriculum 2005 and its key advocates appeared to take these seven CBO’s as givens, which made their continuous reference to OBE incongruous at best. Consequently, the paper argues that, had South Africa’s key educational policy makers in1997, and since, taken the time to understand the six key points above, they would have been able to make a more constructive choice about the educational reforms they sought to bring about. First, recognizing these major disparities between their Curriculum 2005 strategies and the fundamentals of genuine OBE, they could have chosen to bring C2005 more strongly into alignment with OBE and modified their initial course of action considerably. Or, recognizing these major disparities, they could have chosen to drop the OBE label altogether and thereby reduced or avoided a lot of the confusion generated by implying that Curriculum 2005 required significant changes in familiar practice. For example, by maintaining the very “non-OBE” Matric and annual examination systems that had always been in place, the government kept everyone locked into traditional/conventional modes of thinking about learning, curriculum, achievement, assessment, and qualifications. Conclusion: South Africa should stop referring to OBE in any form. OBE never existed in1997, and has only faded farther from the scene as C2005 was replaced by the Revised National Curriculum Statement. The real challenge facing educators is how to implement educational practices that are sound and make significant differences in the lives of ALL South African learners.

HAS GEOGRAPHY CURRICULUM REFORM IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA STRENGTHENED CONTINUITY AND PROGRESSION?

ABSTRACT Continuity and progression are hallmarks of quality learning. Continuity relates to the extent to which significant features of a discipline are emphasised as a learner moves through the school system. Progression refers to the way a learner's knowledge, skills and understanding are deepened in a given knowledge area as he or she moves through the school system. In this article we investigate the extent to which these two constructs form part of the design features of post-apartheid Geography curriculum frameworks. We further examine whether revisions to curriculum frameworks have strengthened continuity and progression in South African school Geography. We conclude that elements of continuity and progression are evident in both the Human and Social Sciences document of Curriculum 2005 (C2005) and the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) for Social Sciences. However, several shortcomings concerning continuity and progression are evident in the documents, requiring teacher competence in both geographical and pedagogical knowledge.

Educators’ selection and evaluation of natural sciences textbooks

Due to the central role of textbooks in the teaching and learning of science, it is imperative that textbooks provide correct content and instructional support. We investigated how 16 South African Grade 7 natural science educators selected their textbooks and how they evaluated these textbooks. The results were analysed according to the constructivist paradigm, as implemented in the Revised National Curriculum Statement, as well as selection criteria found in the literature. The selection criteria that the educators listed in interviews were isolated ideas that were not embedded in a constructivist framework. The educators also lacked the necessary scientific and pedagogical content-knowledge to effectively evaluate the textbooks. Recommendations are made for improvements in educator training, departmental guidance, and textbook writing. Experience in textbook evaluation during their training courses could boost educators' competence in selecting the books and detecting and compensating for their deficiencies. This would contribute to filling South African educators' need of hands-on examples that can be applied immediately in their classrooms.