South African Curriculum Research Articles

Enacting Creative Thinking Skills Using Design Process in Technology Classrooms

Creativity is rapidly becoming central to scholarly discourse, research, and education practice. It is central to modern society and forms the basis for innovation and progress. In the current era, creative thinking skills (CTS) are pivotal skills one must possess to compete, succeed, and participate in the global economy. Therefore, the Ministry of Education must ensure the cultivation of such skills in today’s classrooms to produce the kind of learners that will be the perfect fit for societal needs around the globe. As such, Creative Thinking Skills development is one of the core objectives of the South African Curriculum and Technology Education (TE), encouraging learners to be creative and innovative. The study examined how Technology teachers enact Creative Thinking Skills in their classrooms. The study was based on a qualitative research approach complemented by the case study research design. Purposive sampling was used to sample four Technology Education teachers as study participants. Data was collected through interviews and complemented by observations and document analysis concerning four Technology teachers. The study discovered that although the design process (DP) is available to support them, teachers still struggle to adequately articulate the idea of creative thinking and what it entails. The study suggests that to support learners, technology teachers should engage themselves in a lesson study approach with colleagues in nearby districts to receive continuous pedagogical training that will help them understand the nature and components of creative thinking.

Challenges of Incorporating Sustainable Development Goals Into South African Higher Education Curricula

This paper highlights several challenges that the adoption and implementation of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) pose for South African Higher Education institutions’ (HEIs) curricula design. It also reflects on the experiences of some institutions who have embraced SDGs in their teaching and learning, research, management (governance and operations), and public engagement strategies (Sustainable Development Solutions Network, 2017). SD4 seeks to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. This paper is intended to contribute to policy debates on issues that are seemingly being given little attention in curriculum design, in the advance towards the target 2030 date for achieving SDGs. The research is motivated by the absence of guidelines and frameworks from South African education governing bodies regarding SDGs, leading to knowledge and capacity gaps that frustrate academics who are increasingly being required to include SDGs in their courses. The author uses a qualitative methodology (document review) and focuses on literature published between 2019 and 2023 on the implementation of SDGs into South African curricula. This study recommends that private HEIs be included in the development of SDG governing frameworks and policies. It also recommends that HEIs develop a South African ranking system to track progress towards SDG attainment.

The implementation of the curriculum and assessment policy statement

Worldwide, national educational authorities set curricular guidelines for schools to ensure implementation. Despite these measures, the translation of policies into school or classroom activities is rarely a smooth or complete process. South Africa has made significant and much-needed positive curriculum changes. However, effective curriculum implementation requires a sound understanding of the curriculum policy, adequate and varied resources and greater attention to contextual factors. Using the interpretivist paradigm and qualitative research design, the study explored the perspectives and experiences of school managers regarding the challenges and problems of implementing the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements in the Intermediate Phase within the South African curriculum reform context. For the first research question, the thematically analysed data generated the findings which highlight a generally good understanding and positive outlook of the revised curriculum policy by the participants. In contrast, the findings for the second research question confirmed that inadequate resources such as a shortage of teachers and textbooks, overcrowded classrooms and other learning support materials impact teaching and learning and the process of curriculum implementation negatively. The study contributes to the important topic of curriculum reforms and curriculum implementation challenges and problems. The study recommends, among others, strategies needed for monitoring the implementation of the CAPS, placing individual school managers as change agents and adopting the three constructs of the theory of curriculum implementation for strengthening implementation.

Teachers’ Experiences of Teaching the Financial Literacy Component to Enhance Learner Performance in Economic and Management Sciences

A few studies have been conducted to understand how secondary school teachers made sense of quality teaching and learning and assessment in general, and particularly in the financial literacy component of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS), a subject outlined in the South African Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). Learner performance in the financial literacy component of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) has been poor, hence the reason for exploring the experiences of teachers teaching the financial literacy component. The study adopted an exploratory case study design qualitative approach within an interpretivist paradigm. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with teachers, departmental heads and Subject Advisors considered experts in teaching, in addition to classroom observation. The collected data were analysed by means of thematic analysis. The study findings revealed that many factors influence the teaching of the financial literacy component of EMS. It was recommended if these factors were addressed it could enhance learner performance. In addition, the notional hours allocated to EMS should be increased and it is suggested that projects and case studies should be done away with as forms of assessment as they do not give a true reflection of learner performance. Learners should only be assessed with controlled tests and examinations so that a true picture of their performance could be determined, and proper intervention strategies mapped out.

Inclusive Education a Vehicle Towards Decolonization of the South African Curriculum

Inclusive Education a Vehicle Towards Decolonization of the South African Curriculum

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.

The Curriculum–TIMSS Alignment for Grade 8 Science from 2007 to 2019: A Case of South Africa and Singapore

The present study explores the validity of inferences that may be drawn from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) learner achievement data by measuring the South African curriculum–TIMSS alignment for the Grade 8 science assessments from 2007 to 2019. The Singapore curriculum–TIMSS alignment indices are a fair benchmark for comparison, as Singapore is the best-performing country in the TIMSS. The research questions that guide the present study included the calculation and comparison of the South African curriculum–TIMSS and Singapore curriculum–TIMSS alignment indices. The study analysed 585 South African curriculum items, 659 Singapore curriculum items and 1025 TIMSS assessment items from 2007 to 2019. The present study employed four raters and achieved an inter-rater reliability coefficient of 0.85. The South African curriculum–TIMSS analysis achieved an average content alignment index of 0.34, and an average cognitive alignment index of 0.54. As a benchmark, the Singapore curriculum–TIMSS analysis achieved an average content alignment index of 0.36 and an average cognitive alignment index of 0.74. The literature reviewed supports acceptable content and cognitive alignment indices of 0.67 and 0.65, respectively. The present study concludes that valid inferences from learner performance in the TIMSS may not be drawn for the case of South Africa, and even for Singapore valid inferences are based on cognitive alignment only. However, South Africa’s continued participation in the TIMSS is encouraged as the literature supports many benefits associated with the TIMSS non-achievement data.

Curriculum as policy text: shifting the gaze of South African curriculum implementation research

ABSTRACT Curriculum reform was high on the agenda of South Africa’s post-apartheid governments. Yet as time passed, the initial reforms were seen as increasingly problematic, especially when pedagogical realities met policy priorities. There was reluctance on the part of policymakers to give up what was seen as the democratic imperative behind the reforms. Yet as schools struggled, public responses blamed inadequate attention to practical issues as undermining the implementation of the reforms. This perspective on curriculum implementation, blaming teachers for the failure of policy reforms, is not uncommon. This paper argues, however, that such a perspective is very often misinformed because it deflects attention from the specific nature of policies and the role of policymaking in neglecting key issues that might have better facilitated implementation. South Africa’s democratic curriculum reforms were essential for dismantling a key aspect of the apartheid state. The paper highlights this point arguing that an understanding of policies rather than a focus on the failure of schools provides a better lens for understanding the trajectory of curriculum reform processes in South Africa.

"Myth" or "construct"?: What students are learning about race in the South African history classroom

History education in post-apartheid South Africa addresses topics that are highly salient to the concept of race. To make sense of colonialism, slavery, the Holocaust, and most notably apartheid, students require an understanding of what race is, and how it has been used to justify discriminatory and unjust behaviour. The South African Curriculum and Policy Statements for Grade 9 History therefore devotes two hours to a topic on "the definition of race" (Department of Basic Education [DBE], 2011a: 43). However, what are students learning about 'the definition of race' from their history education? In this article, we draw on our experience as a history educator and history education researcher to argue that students often develop inaccurate and unhelpful understandings of race. This is partially since both the South African history curricula and textbooks describe race as a "myth" (DBE, 2011a, 43; Bottaro, Cohen, Dilley, Duffett, & Visser, 2013) with no scientific or evolutionary basis. Hence, students who learn that race is a 'myth' understandably struggle to understand discourses and policies that refer to racial identity and are at risk of misunderstanding theories of evolution. While we agree that the concept of race has no legitimate scientific basis, we nonetheless argue that students require an historical understanding of race; one that demonstrates how racial identities have been constructed in different ways and for different purposes over time. Such an approach would introduce students to the extensive historiography of the construction of race (e.g. DuBois, 1940; Dubow, 1995). By understanding race as a construct rather than a myth, we suggest that students will be better able to engage with the legacies of racialised violence as well as the ways in which racial identity is a legitimate source of meaning for many South Africans.

A content analysis of two african medical schools' antibiotic stewardship curricula.

Antibiotics are precious substances that have saved millions of lives since their discovery, resulting in significant advances in modern medicine. However, antibiotic resistance and a slowdown in the discovery of new antibiotics with novel mechanisms of action are affecting the sustainability of antibiotics. The objective of this study was to describe the content of South African and Nigerian medical students' curricula with respect to prudent antimicrobial prescribing. A content analysis framework was used to identify, describe, and count the keywords, key phrases, and sentences relevant to the teaching of prudent antimicrobial prescribing in the complete curricula content of two African countries' medical schools. The courses are taught in the Graduate Entry Medical Programme (GEMP) curriculum (years 3-6) of the South African medical school and years 4-6 of the Nigerian medical school. The frequency of keywords/key phrases relevant to prudent antibiotic prescribing such as antimicrobial stewardship, mechanisms of bacterial resistance, and principles of antibiotic therapy was determined. The two curricula reviewed were found to be different. While the South African medical school uses an integrated curriculum in the GEMP (a stream where candidates with undergraduate degrees are enrolled into the 3rd year of medical school and spend 4 years), the Nigerian medical school operates a traditional (discipline based) curriculum from MBBS 1-6. A greater number of keywords and key phrases were found in the South African curriculum compared to the Nigerian curriculum in relation to prudent antibiotic prescribing and antimicrobial stewardship. The key phrase "antimicrobial stewardship" or "antibiotic stewardship" was absent in the Nigerian curriculum but appeared four times in the South African curriculum. The findings of this curriculum review suggest a need for revision of the medical curricula of the two countries, to one that will better prepare learners for antimicrobial stewardship.

PP456 [Resuscitation, Stabilisation & Transport » Critical care response teams (rapid response teams)]: INITIATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SOUTH AFRICAN CURRICULUM FOR EDUCATION IN NEONATAL CRITICAL CARE TRANSFERS

PP456 [Resuscitation, Stabilisation & Transport » Critical care response teams (rapid response teams)]: INITIATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SOUTH AFRICAN CURRICULUM FOR EDUCATION IN NEONATAL CRITICAL CARE TRANSFERS

Post-COVID Teaching and Learning of Religious Education in the Context of School Violence in South Africa

Informed by the Bricolage theory, the authors sought to interrogate the role of religious education in combating school violence in South Africa in the post-pandemic era. While COVID, in many arguments, has been seen as catastrophic to humankind, it has evoked a religious sense among people to enable them to confront vulnerability, which can be harnessed to mitigate school violence. Located in participatory action research, a qualitative approach was used to collect data from twelve participants within the Free State province, where purposive sampling was used. The authors responded to two questions: What are the instigators of school violence? How can religious studies mitigate school violence in South African schools? The paper found that while religious education is underplayed in the South African curriculum, it has an impetus to ignite morality among teachers and learners to address school violence. Based on the paper’s findings, the article argues that despite its shortfalls, religious education remains one of the pillars of enacting the missing ingredient of morality which has made schools unsafe havens for educational stakeholders. In light of this argument, the article recommends reconsidering religious education as a core subject in South Africa from a borderless curriculum angle. Keywords: Bricolage, Religious Studies, School violence, Morality, COVID-19, Sustainable learning and borderless curriculum

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.

Contextual variations and pedagogy in the teaching of first additional languages in Grade 1: A multicase study

Background: The South African curriculum policy mandates the introduction of the first additional languages (FALs) teaching in Grade 1. Research on FAL teaching has been on the agenda in South Africa for more than a decade now. Several interventions in response to systemic findings have been made, yet little success is noted in terms of the advancement of FAL teaching in the foundation phase to a sustainable degree. Thus, there is a need for ongoing research in this focus area to enrich scholarly debates and the practice of FAL teaching with new insights.Aim: This paper seeks to further these debates through its attempt to explore and present findings on whether the contextual variations in which schools are located have any influence on Grade 1 FAL teachers’ pedagogical practices.Setting: The study was conducted in three geographically different Grade 1 classroom contexts, namely, urban, peri-urban and rural.Methods: This is an interpretivism qualitative small-scale multi-case study involving three Grade 1 teachers who taught FAL in three geographically different schools. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews, observations and post-observation interviews. Thematic data analysis was applied, and the results are presented as collated essential findings.Results: Findings revealed variances in the way teachers taught FAL. These variances were linked to their pedagogical practices as influenced by spatial variation, learners’ exposure to second sites of FAL learning, to name a few.Conclusion: The study calls for teachers to be courageous in developing innovative FAL teaching approaches, thereby influencing curriculum policy on how FAL may be taught in Grade 1 classrooms in different geographical contexts.

‘The shadows of “boundary” remain’: curriculum coherence and the spectre of practice

ABSTRACT This paper will re-visit the origins and early use in South African curriculum writing of the concept of ‘coherence’; it will go on to show how Suellen Shay and her colleagues fleshed out the concept and created an instrument for its empirical analysis; it will then step back and examine the contribution and some problems that were brought to light; examine briefly how Shay’s later work continued to wrestle with the notion of ‘practice’, particularly in light of curricula that were judged to display conceptual coherence; and will suggest one possible solution in the seminal paper by Bernstein (2000). Finally, the paper will reflect on two implicit definitions of ‘curriculum’, a ‘strict’ one and an ‘extended’ one and suggest why they should be distinguished.

Exploring the use of writing frames to teach and assess writing in English Additional Language learning in schools

The learning of writing is complex because it requires the development of cognitive and linguistic abilities. Effective teaching and learning of writing demand guided practice. The South African National Curriculum Statement Grades R–12 includes the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for First Additional Language (FAL) teaching and learning. It introduces the use of question-prompt writing frames to learn writing in grade 4. In the second part of the grade 5 year, process writing is introduced as a writing frame that should be used when needed. From grade 7 to grade 12 process writing is implemented as part of the writing lessons. The education department adopted assessment for learning as a teaching and learning approach where feedback provides scaffolded learning. This theoretical paper argues that the writing frames used in the South African curriculum are inadequate to scaffold the learning of writing; furthermore, that the assessment of the writing skills of learners tends to focus on closed skills. The implementation of assessment for learning as an approach to teaching and learning is yet to develop fully to ensure successful scaffolded learning. Additionally, the writing frames introduced limit the teaching of a variety of writing genres and restrict the teaching of writing to western narrative and writing styles. The paper intends to demonstrate that the use of targeted frames appropriate to the writing task and outcome would improve writing learning and assessment.

Insights provided into the decolonisation of the science curriculum, and teaching and learning of indigenous knowledge, using Cultural-Historical Activity Theory

This article explores the budding scholarship related to the decolonisation of the South African curriculum, by making use of third-generation Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a lens. In the article the authors advocate for the use of indigenous knowledge as a vehicle for curriculum transformation. The article has a binomial nature, in so far that the first section considers the decolonisation of the higher education curriculum through the infusion of indigenous knowledge, by making use of CHAT. The last section reflects on empirical findings of a teacher professional development (TPD) intervention related to epistemological border-crossing between indigenous knowledge and natural sciences. CHAT is especially valuable in indigenous knowledge (IK) research, due to its emphasis on both cultural and historical contexts. In-service natural sciences teachers were assisted in their professional development to better contextualise the school curriculum for culturally diverse learners, through the infusion of indigenous knowledge. The findings reveal that there are tensions between the intended and realised curriculum, and that teacher professional development does not necessarily lead to the transfer of knowledge and skills in the classroom. Using indigenous knowledge as a vehicle to decolonise the curriculum, holds affordances for the rediscovery and appreciation of people’s own history, culture, language and identity.

Boundary talk in Life (dis)Orientation: Collaborative conversations across Higher Education Institutions

Life Orientation (LO) as a compulsory subject in the South African school curriculum (Grades 7–12) aims to develop the learner’s self-in-society. This implies a holistic approach that includes the personal, social and physical development of the learner. In most Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), LO is not offered as a specialisation that includes these three broad aspects of development. In many cases, the emphasis rests with personal development, focusing, in particular, on modules taken in Psychology. Physical Education, if it is included in any LO programme, usually falls within the ambit of Sports/Human Movement Science programmes. The social development aspect is, by and large, omitted and Human Rights Education, including Religion Education and Citizenship Education, is neglected. Alternatively, pre-service teachers are required to select from a smorgasbord of modules and they often graduate without having included all three broad aspects of this specialisation. This article speaks to the importance of collaborative relationships across HEIs with a view to meaningful boundary talk that can be transformative in nature and provide the platform for research ventures. This collaboration that commenced as a community of two in conversation, led to a community of many in conversation, in the form of a national colloquium in 2020 that focused on LO in the HEI space. This article presents the themes emerging from this colloquium and recommends that transdisciplinary knowledge can lead to transdisciplinary education that serves the mandate of the LO specialisation in HEIs, namely, to prepare pre-service LO teachers.

Decolonising Teacher Education Curriculum in South African Higher Education

Calls for the decolonisation of higher education in South Africa gained prominence after the #Rhodesmustfall, #Feesmustfall and series of 2015-2016 students’ protests in South African higher institutions. Visible in the demands of the students during these protests was the need for the decolonisation of higher education curriculum to ensure reflection of diverse realities in South Africa. This led to various conferences in different parts of the Republic. However, while some scholars are clamouring for the need for decolonisation, others consider the desire for decoloniality and glocalization. Thus, the subject of decolonisation remains a debate in South African society. Meanwhile, decolonisation is still very much crucial. Seemingly, in the words of Steve Biko, decolonization should begin from the mind. Hence, this discursive study explores how pre-service teachers’ minds can be decolonised for realities in transforming South African higher education. The study adopts Critical Race Theory as a lens for this phenomenon. South African higher education curriculum has predominantly been Eurocentric and epistemic, reflecting Western dominance in post-apartheid South Africa. The study argues why and how South African higher education institutions can place teacher education at the centre of learning experiences, for students to adapt and maximize the realities in their contexts, and for responsive lived experiences. Thus, adding voices to a curriculum that promotes total rethink, reflections and reconstruction of students' minds in integrating the existing Eurocentrism and epistemic knowledge with African philosophy in higher education institutions.

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.