6 research outputs found
Pre-service teachers' experiences of learning to teach culturally inclusive science.
No full textM. Ed. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.Pre-service teachers training at tertiary institutions are expected to adapt to and implement curriculum changes in several subjects, including Natural Sciences, which are designed by the Department of Basic Education. According to the new Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for Natural Sciences (2011), teachers are expected to embrace indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) in order to deliver culturally inclusive science lessons. Specific aim three in the Natural Sciences curriculum (CAPS, 2011) postulates the inclusion of indigenous knowledge systems and states that learners should understand the different cultural contexts in which indigenous knowledge systems were developed. However, a review of literature indicates that this is not being practiced in many schools because teachers do not have adequate knowledge, background and teacher education to integrate culture rooted in indigenous knowledge systems in their science lessons. At the tertiary institution where my study was located, pre-service teachers were being taught to infuse cultural knowledge rooted in IKS in science lessons.
This qualitative case study sought to explore 20 purposefully selected pre-service teachers' experiences and views of learning to teach culturally inclusive science in a pedagogic content knowledge module at a tertiary institution in KwaZulu-Natal. In this study, culturally inclusive science included school science which engages with alternate knowledge systems, which are rooted in indigenous knowledge systems. This research used an interpretive paradigm with multiple data generating methods which comprised of reflective journals, video recorded observations, document analysis, focus groups, and individual interviews in order to understand pre-service teachers' experiences and views of learning to teach a culturally inclusive science which is embedded in indigenous knowledge systems. Drawing on the constructs of socio-cultural theory and the Zone of Proximal Development, pre-service teachers‟ learning experiences were analysed. Content analysis was used to analyse the data obtained. Categories were developed with meaningful words, phrases and sentences. Thereafter, patterns, trends and links were established, and finally conclusions were developed. The findings included pre-service teachers‟ views and experiences of the integration of culture whilst learning to teach science. Pre-service teachers express two broad views regarding the integration of culture. The first view was the lack of integration of cultural knowledge, rooted in IKS, in Natural Sciences content modules. The second view related to the potential benefits of the integration of cultural knowledge in science lessons.
The experiences of pre-service teachers' learning to teach culturally inclusive science revealed both challenges and opportunities. The pre-service teachers involved in this research expressed a lack of cultural knowledge rooted in IKS, insufficient teacher education, a lack of resources, time constraints, and inadequate details provided by the CAPS document as challenges. In spite of these challenges, the pre-service teachers who participated in this study expressed that working in groups and the use of external human resources were opportunities for them to learn to teach culturally inclusive science.
Recommendations which evolved from insights from this study were directed to teacher education institutions, curriculum designers and university educators
Exploring how Science teachers engage in curriculum innovating in environment and sustainability education.
No full textDoctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Life Sciences and Natural Sciences teachers are expected to adapt and to implement curriculum changes that are designed by the Department of Basic Education. The new Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for Life Sciences and Natural Sciences stipulates that teachers are expected to integrate environment and sustainability content knowledge in their science teaching. In order for this to materialise, a specialised multi-pronged approach is necessary. It is argued that teachers work in diverse contexts and need to be innovative in order to teach science that is relevant to the lives of learners. I argue that effective professional development incorporating innovation can enable teachers to successfully teach environment and sustainability education.
This study was located within a critical paradigm which was underpinned by a qualitative approach. This study involved ten practicing Life Sciences/Natural Sciences teachers who were purposively selected to form the research sample. These participants were part of the Science and Mathematics Education Honours programme and studied a module which required them to engage with the idea and practice of curriculum innovating, as part of the programme. The study was conducted at a teacher training institution in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
This qualitative case study sought to explore the experiences and challenges of participants as they engaged in curriculum innovating in environment and sustainability education. The factors that enabled or constrained participants’ efforts to engage in curriculum innovating were also examined. This study also focused on the role of professional development in capacity building for the purpose of curriculum innovating.
Drawing on the theoretical constructs of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), Rogan’s Zone of Feasible Innovation (ZFI) and Vygotsky’s Engagement Theory the experiences and challenges of participants were analysed. Multiple data generation strategies were employed, namely: individual interviews, reflective journals, photo narratives and document analysis. Content analysis was used to analyse the data sets that emerged from the data generation strategies. The use of coding was employed to develop categories and patterns within the data sets. The findings included challenges and experiences of curriculum innovating in environment and sustainability education. A key finding was that participants expressed a need for the inclusion of innovating in more of the modules of the Honours programme. Findings from this study also revealed that the individual school context,
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resources and support from Heads of Department (HODs) were factors that enabled or constrained participants in their efforts to engage in curriculum innovating. The study provides insights into how a professional development module can provide teachers with strategies for critically appraising their context, thinking deeply about the type of support they need and how this can be leveraged, planning lessons in order to prepare for curriculum innovating, engaging more knowledgeable others to critique their lesson plans, implementing new strategies and reflecting on their experiences. The participants reported feeling renewed, refreshed, re-invigorated and intrinsically motivated to experiment with new ideas in order to engage in curriculum innovating.
Recommendations from this study will be significant to curriculum designers, higher education department officials involved in teacher professional development, teacher education institutions and school teachers
Tenofovir microbicide gel as an effective prophylactic measure to human herpes virus-8.
No full textMasters degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Background: High prevalence and incidence rates of human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) contributes significantly in the aetiology of cancers, including Kaposi sarcoma (KS). These cancers remain among leading causes of morbidity and mortality especially in people who are immunocompromised.
Aim: To determine the effectiveness of 1% topical tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) as a vaginal gel formulation on HHV-8 acquisition amongst participants enrolled in the CAPRISA 004 trial.
Methods: The CAPRISA 004 trial was a randomised controlled trial which investigated the effect of TDF gel on Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) acquisition. A total 889 women from urban and rural settings in KwaZulu-Natal, aged 18 to 40 years were enrolled in the study and the samples from these women were tested for HHV-8 infections. Peripheral blood samples collected at enrolment and at the study exit visit were tested with Biotrin’s indirect immunofluorescent system to measure antibody to HHV-8 lytic antigens. HHV-8 prevalence was evaluated by sociodemographic factors and incidence by study arm and location. Descriptive statistics included means and standard deviation for quantitative data and frequencies for categorical data with Fisher’s exact test. Poisson regression was used to evaluate the incidence rate. A two-tailed p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant in hypothesis testing and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are reported.
Results: At baseline testing, 54 of 889 participants were HHV-8 positive with a prevalence of 6.12%. A higher parity (p=0.014) and higher number of sexual partners (p<0.001) as well as a rural setting (p=0.014) were associated with higher prevalence. With 40 infections among the 660 participants, the overall HHV-8 incidence rate was 3.98 per 100 person-years (PY) (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 2.84-5.42). Twenty infections occurred among participants assigned to the TDF arm with an HHV-8 incidence rate of 4.05 per 100 PY (95% CI 2.48-6.26) compared to the 20 infections among participants assigned to the placebo arm with an HHV-8 incidence rate of 3.91 per 100 PY (95% CI 2.39-6.04) (Incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 1.04, 95% CI 0.56-1.93; p=0.909). There were no differences in the HHV-8 incidence rates among participants assigned to the TDF and placebo arms in rural (IRR 1.40, 95% CI 0.66-2.95), p=0.383 or urban settings (IRR.51, 95% CI 0.15-1.68), p=0.266. HIV incidence rate among participants with prevalent HHV-8 infections was 6.48 per 100 PY (95% CI 2.11-15.13) and was similar to the HIV incidence rate of 7.35 per 100 PY (95% CI 5.92-9.01) among participants who remained HHV-8 negative, IRR of 0.88 (95% CI 0.36-2.17), p=0.785.
Conclusion: The study showed that among women in rural and urban settings in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, the prevalence of HHV-8 infection was high and that TDF was not effective in the prevention of HHV-8 infection
Professional Development in Environmental and Sustainability Education: Voices, Practices and Reflections of Science Teachers
No full textA specialised multi-pronged approach is necessary in order for environmental and sustainability content knowledge to be integrated into the Science curriculum. This underscores the need for Science teachers to be innovative in their teaching, and to be supported through professional development. This study aims to explore how professional development at a tertiary institution can be used to support practising Science teachers in curriculum innovation when they teach environmental and sustainability education in the new Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) curriculum. A qualitative approach is adopted in this interpretivist study. The sample comprises ten purposefully selected Science teachers who registered for a Bachelor of Education Honours programme. Drawing on constructs from the Zone of Feasible Innovation (ZFI), which is related to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), practising Science teachers’ engagement in curriculum innovation in environmental and sustainability education is analysed. Data were generated using reflective journals, lesson plans, and interviews. The findings suggest that teachers experience challenges related to ‘the how’ and ‘the what’ of implementation of environmental education concepts enshrined in the CAPS document. Insights into teacher agency (in terms of content knowledge, teaching strategies and assessment) which catalysed teacher transformation, are presented. The implications of the findings will be significant for education department officials involved in teacher professional development, teacher education institutions, and school teachers themselves.Keywords: Curriculum innovation, environmental and sustainability education, professional development
Cuspal deflection of teeth restored with bulk fill flowable composite resins, with and without fiber-reinforcement and evaluated by Micro-computed Tomography
No full textPolymerisation shrinkage of composite resins is a clinical challenge which has been well documented in the literature. Many studies investigating polymerisation shrinkage stress measure cuspal deflection, which is a manifestation of this stress. The introduction of flowable bulk-fill composite (BFRBC) materials has streamlined the restorative process, though the shrinkage and cuspal deflection from these BFRBCs has not been compared with regards to its use with polyethylene fibers (Ribbond fibers). The authors describe a method to measure the cuspal deflection of flowable BFRBCs placed in cavities of standardised dimensions at distinct steps of the restorative process, with and without fiber-reinforcement and using x-ray micro-computed tomography. Coordinate points are established on the buccal and lingual aspects of scanned specimens using the Volume Graphics VG Studio max 3.2.5 (Hiedelberg, Germany 2018) software. The system allows for these landmarks to be established across each scan (of the same tooth), ensuring standardization of each specimen. Further anatomical points are used to enable analysis. Comparison of angles generated across these points determines the extent of cuspal deflection.
•A method of measuring the cuspal deflection of composite resins is proposed.
•Experimental procedures are provided.
•Data analysis methods are outlined.This work was supported by a grant provided by Prof Riaan Mulder Author Incentive Fund and The University of the Western Cape Senate Research Funds (RP2022/3)
Amelioration of cisplatin-induced myocardial injury by nanocurcumin through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and calcium regulatory mechanisms.
No full textCisplatin (CIS) is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent associated with cardiotoxicity. Nanocurcumin (N-CUR), a nano-formulated antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, has shown enhanced therapeutic efficacy over native curcumin. This study investigated the cardioprotective effects of N-CUR against CIS-induced cardiotoxicity in rats, focusing on oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and calcium (Ca ⁺) homeostasis regulators, Ca ⁺ binding protein A1 (S100A1) and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca ⁺-ATPase 2a (SERCA2a). Male Wistar rats received N-CUR (80 mg/kg) orally for 10 days, while CIS (7 mg/kg, i.p.) was given on day 7. CIS significantly elevated cardiac injury markers and induced myocardial histopathological changes. It increased MDA levels while reducing GSH, SOD, and catalase, indicating oxidative damage. Inflammatory markers including NF-κB p65, iNOS, TNF-α, and IL-6 were markedly upregulated. Apoptosis, marked by upregulated Bax and caspase-3 and decreased Bcl-2, was enhanced. Furthermore, CIS suppressed S100A1 and SERCA2a, disrupting Ca ⁺ homeostasis. N-CUR effectively reversed these changes, restoring antioxidants, suppressing inflammation and apoptosis, and normalizing Ca ⁺-regulating proteins, thereby preserving cardiac integrity. In conclusion, N-CUR protects against CIS-induced cardiotoxicity through antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic mechanisms, as well as by restoring Ca ⁺ homeostasis. These findings support the therapeutic potential of N-CUR as an adjunct treatment to reduce cardiovascular complications in patients receiving CIS-based chemotherapy. [Abstract copyright: © 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
