Journal of Curriculum Studies Research
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Cognitive Justice and the Effective Use of the Principles of Good Teaching at Grade 10 Accounting
Full text linkThis paper analyses the effective use of the principles of good teaching as they are operationalized toward the creation of spaces for cognitive justice in the processes of teaching and learning Grade 10 Accounting. The envisaged spaces enable all forms of knowledges to co-exist and to complement another, in an enabling dialogue among these knowledges. Critical Accounting Research (CAR) is the lens couching the paper since it perceives the co-existence of knowledge as a way to contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and democratic world, and by extension, becoming beneficial to all. Participatory Action Research method operationalises CAR, where dialogues and discussions with the co-researching groups are conducted in order to formulate and operationalise this effective use of the principles of good teaching. Critical Discourse Analysis makes sense of the results as it allows for the use of text by participants to reveal the meaning at the deeper levels of discursive practice and the social structure
Exploring the Effectiveness of Practical Assessment Tasks Towards Skills Development in Mechanical Technology Subject
Full text linkIn a nation like South Africa, where the GDP and economic development are among the lowest, the lack of skilled workers has a noticeable impact. Skilful workers continue to be imported into the country in fields that are critical to economic development. To have an economic sector that can compete with the current global market conditions and the changing technology, qualified manpower is needed. This study explored the effectiveness of the Practical Assessment Task in Mechanical Technology in secondary schools around Gauteng province. A qualitative research approach was employed whereby a case study research design was used. The study purposively sampled nine teachers from seven different schools located in three districts of Gauteng Province. The study deployed two data collection instruments where face-to-face semi-structured interviews and workshop observations were administered. The results of this study show that the lack of resources in Mechanical Technology and the time allocated for the subject is a major challenge that teachers face. These were made worse by a lack of teacher development in the subject. The said challenges have a major impact that delays proper skills development at the secondary school level, thus rendering the PAT ineffective in addressing skills development. The recommendation is that the Department of Education needs to implement a policy where resources would be prioritised and provide lasting and relevant training to the teachers
Pedagogical Implications on Curriculum Support for Learner Progression
Full text linkPart of enabling progressed learners’ successes is provision of adequate curriculum support to bridge content gap. Learner progression was introduced as an intervention for retention and to minimise school dropout. Dynamics around education policy implementation gaps seems to be obstacle between progression policy promises and outcomes. This is visible through the national grade 12 results which continue to decline amid learner progression. Within debates of progression policy derailing quality education, Covid19 disruptions unleashed inequalities in the education sector. For instance, learning losses and in turn pedagogical implications for progressed learners’ extended learning opportunities. This paper reports on curriculum support provided to progressed learners reflecting on Covid19 disruptions using Bandura’ Social Learning Theoretical lens. The study adopted a qualitative research approach placed within interpretivism paradigm and employed exploratory case study design. Six teachers were purposively selected from three secondary school in one district of the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Thus, two grade twelve teachers per school whose subjects were directly affected by progression policy because the study focuses on progression from grade eleven to twelve. Data were collected through document analysis and interviews. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Findings revealed limitations to reach out to progressed learners’ due catch-up plans because of lockdown and rotational models. This study concluded on a fair compliance on policy stipulations yet limited specific intervention strategies. The unique contribution of this study is the reflection on three implementation gaps which had implications for progression policy outcomes
The Journey Continues: Mathematics Curriculum Analysis from the Official Curriculum to the Intended Curriculum
Full text linkIn this paper, we share major lessons we have learned in our curriculum analysis explorations and provide suggestions for future mathematics curriculum research. Specifically, we will discuss the successes and challenges of using comparative methods and developing analytical frameworks. Using an old Chinese saying, follow the vine to get the melon (顺藤摸瓜), our journey starts with getting a holistic picture of standards and moves to identifying a specific topic in the textbooks. We first conducted a study to compare the geometry standards of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) and the Chinese Compulsory Education Mathematics Curriculum Standards (CMCS); then we analyzed the presentation of a specific topic, triangle congruence, in multiple geometry textbooks. For each comparative study we conducted, developing the analytical framework that can be used to guide future investigations constituted a critical step in the research methodology. We have learned lessons from adapting the well-known van Hiele model, which was created for the development of geometric reasoning, into a lens for a detailed curriculum analysis. We have also learned lessons from elaborating on the key constructs from the “Mathematics Curriculum as Story” framework for coding and analysis. These lessons as well as our future directions serve as the primary focus of this paper
The Role of Culture in Shaping the Curriculum of Higher Education in South Africa
Full text linkOver the past two decades, the South African higher education (HE) sector has highlighted the usefulness of a locally relevant curriculum that incorporates culture. There is also some research calling for the integration of culture and an emphasis on the Africanized curriculum. However, these related concepts (culture and Africanization) have yet to be sufficiently applied in the HE curriculum as part of the HE transformation drive. The present paper aims to present a review of the literature regarding the role of culture on curriculum transformation and the Africanization of academic material in the context of the HE sector in South Africa. The primary research method for this study is the review of the selected research findings containing issues related to culture and its role in curriculum transformation. The findings of this review reveal that the concepts of culture, and more specifically the Africanization of the localized curriculum (in the HE sector), are not yet adequately understood, even though progress has been made over the last two decades. The inheritance of colonial Eurocentric views is believed to be hindering this progress. Higher education can in this regard play a significant role in achieving the goal of a locally relevant curriculum
Teachers’ Experiences of Teaching the Financial Literacy Component to Enhance Learner Performance in Economic and Management Sciences
Full text linkA 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
Teacher Self-Efficacy and Learner Assessment: A Perspective from Literature on South African Indigenous Languages in the Foundation Phase
Full text linkStudies have shown that self-efficacy is the belief in one's ability to complete a task or achieve a goal, and that this belief can have a significant impact on teaching methods and learning outcomes. Yet, in the context of South Africa, despite the promotion of indigenous languages in Foundation Phase (FP) classrooms, learners continue to struggle on account of low teacher self-efficacy. Underpinned by Bandura’s social cognitive theory, this study used a literature review methodology to explore the self-efficacy-related challenges confronting FP teachers in assessing learners using their indigenous languages. The study also examined the strategies that can used to enhance teachers’ self-efficacy. The findings revealed that factors, such as inadequate teacher training, learner mobility, and resource constraints militate against teachers’ beliefs of their ability to equitably assess FP classrooms. The findings also revealed that possible strategies to enhance FP teachers’ self-efficacy could include making use of role-modelling, improving working conditions, and encouraging continuous professional development and training of in-service teachers, among other steps to be taken. Some of the study’s recommendations include rolling out targeted training and support programmes for FP teachers, aligning FP learner assessment instruments with the diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the learners, and tailoring collaboration between schools and local communities for the benefit of the learners
Primary Preservice Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Practical Work in Remote Learning Environments
Full text linkScience practical work is renowned for providing authentic environments for science learning in ways that reduce the abstractness of concepts. Significant resources are used to provide facilities such as laboratories to ensure that practical work is implemented in science learning. Practical work is important for primary preservice science teachers, who in turn will implement the instructional strategy in their future classrooms. The rise in remote learning has prompted researchers and instructors to reimagine ways of facilitating practical work in ways that involve human-machine interactions in significant ways. This study used an interpretive paradigm and an explorative single-case-study design to explore primary preservice science teachers’ perceptions of conducting practical work in remote learning environments. A framework based on the Internet of Things- (IoT) enabled tools was used to mediate the understanding of the study findings. Data were collected from 25 preservice teachers by means of experiment reports and observation of practical work activities. The findings of the study showed that in the absence of proper systems for conducting practical work remotely and limited internet connectivity, the participating preservice teachers used internet searches to inform them of how to conduct experiments using household materials. The experiment reports comprised experiment demonstrations developed through the use of filmmaking applications, cloud computing tools, and social media collaborations. The paper makes recommendations to expand preservice teachers’ technological competencies to include the use of virtual laboratories to conduct practical work in remote learning environments
Creating Sustainable Learning Environments in the Era of the Posthuman: Towards Borderless Curriculum
Full text linkThis editorial is a culmination of various research on the area of posthuman theorization as applied to the field of education. It also focused on the need for borderless curriculum to circumvent global challenges such as genocide, terrorism among other things. It details the rationale of adopting a post human and borderless curriculum to respond to the ambivalence brought by the corona virus. The special issue gives alternatives which emerged during the pandemic and arms educators and learners with new models of learning that will ensure education system is not disrupted on the even another pandemic emerges. The argument of the special issue is that within the auspices of posthuman and borderless curriculum something else, and new is possible through working and thinking together
Teachers' Views on the Application of Educational Technologies in the Classroom: A Case of Selected Tshwane West Secondary Schools in Gauteng
Full text linkThe teaching profession is moving toward the use of educational technologies (ET) in the form of tablets, laptops, and reliable internet in the classroom to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools. The use of these tools in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is believed to positively impact how teachers deliver the curriculum. Teachers’ views on the application of educational technologies in the classroom are examined in this paper. The opinions of the teachers are crucial since they could influence whether or not the technologies are accepted. This study used a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers from one district in Gauteng province. A purposive sampling method was used to select these teachers on the basis that Gauteng is the leading province in ICT integration in schools. Data were analysed thematically from teachers’ responses. The Activity Theory framework was used to underpin the study. According to the findings, teachers voiced their dissatisfaction with the use of these technologies and other issues they face, such as poor technical support, a lack of equipment for maintaining educational technologies, inferior educational technology infrastructure, and unreliable Internet connectivity. Additionally, teachers called on the Department of Basic Education to provide professional development in technology integration and to equip schools with infrastructure as well as Wi-Fi.