Finding Direction When the Ground Is Moving: Science Education Research in South Africa

Malcolm, Cliff; Alant, Busisiwe

doi:10.1080/03057260408560203

Cited by 22 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 36 publications

(47 reference statements)

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“…However, scholarly inquiries into how science teachers interpret and use support texts have been rather limited, particularly with regard to C2005-aligned LSM (Baxen & Green, 1997;Adler, Reed, Lelliot & Setati, 2002). Malcolm & Alant (2004), for example, highlight the tenuous relationship between the profit-driven nature of the publishing industry and their mandate to produce learner-centered, locally contexted texts. They conclude that this "… creates an important space for research into texts, text design … the quality, purchase and uses of texts."…”

Section: Curriculum Support Texts and Science Practical Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ball (1990, p. 258) reminds us that curriculum-aligned texts "make good policy messengers" because teachers would generally rather engage with a textbook than a policy document. This seems especially true in developing Southern African countries where learner-centred pedagogical policies, so fundamentally different from the traditional teacher-centred approach, are in great currency (Malcolm & Alant, 2004). A crucial part of this policy shift towards more learner-centred and inquiry-oriented interactions in South African science classrooms has been a call for teachers to infuse their practices with more 'practical activities' (Department of Education, 1997, p. 135;2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“There is a worksheet to be followed”: A case study of a science teacher's use of learning support texts for practical work

Stoffels

2005

African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technol

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Drawing on the notion of the 'didactical transposition' of curriculum texts, this paper takes a critical look at why one science teacher still persists with a traditional teacher-centred approach towards practical work. It flows from a multi-case study on the instructional decision-making of Grade 9 Natural Science teachers currently implementing the new outcomes-based Curriculum 2005 in South Africa. Data were collected through classroom observations, prelesson and post-lesson interviews, video-stimulated recall sessions as well as content analysis of various artefacts. The paper describes how and explains why the respondent uses the Learner Support Material (LSM) in a rather mechanical manner to shape practical work for his learners.

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Section: Curriculum Support Texts and Science Practical Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“There is a worksheet to be followed”: A case study of a science teacher's use of learning support texts for practical work

Stoffels

2005

African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technol

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“…It can be inferred from this that when learners lack competency in coping with the complexity of inquiry, structuring is key to learner engagement. Unfortunately, our knowledge about how teachers can support learners through structuring is limited (Fradd & Lee, 1999;Laugksch, 2003;Malcolm & Alant, 2004). A few studies which have been conducted on this subject, have identified some support strategies aimed at promoting conceptual understanding, knowledge generation, improving attitudes to learning science and so on.…”

Section: Teacher Support In Scaffolding Learnersmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…However, research by Harris and Rooks (2010) does point to the complexity of managing inquiry-based classrooms and the considerable changes needed in the classroom management practices of teachers. In an overview of research in South Africa, Malcolm and Alant (2004) report that the dominant research conducted has been on teaching and learning, especially on cognition. There is therefore a dearth of research on how learners can be supported in acquiring more autonomy in doing scientific investigations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting South African learners towards greater autonomy in scientific investigations

Ramnarain¹,

Hobden²

2014

Journal of Curriculum Studies

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This report describes how teachers support ninth-grade students who are doing scientific investigations in Natural Sciences in South African schools. This is of interest as allowing students to participate in inquiry-based investigations is a significant shift from traditional practices. It presents a new challenge to teachers as it signals an opportunity to shift from a teacher-centred to a student-centred approach in practical inquiry. The research study adopted a mixed methodology research design that involved the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data were collected by means of questionnaires that were administered to 55 teachers. Qualitative data were collected by means of five classroom observations of student investigations and in-depth teacher interviews. The analysis of all the data revealed that teachers believe in providing support and not allowing learners to discover for themselves when participating in investigations. Teachers use a number of support strategies depending on the stage of the investigation. Based on these findings, a learning progression of teacher support for increasing learner autonomy was formulated which teachers can use in guiding them in the use of appropriate support strategies as they shift students towards greater autonomy in doing investigations.

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“…The issues of what kind of knowledge is adequate for making effective instructional decisions or designing appropriate learning environments are on the agenda of current research world-wide (Malcolm & Alant, 2004). For South Africa, the unsatisfactory teaching competencies of the majority of science teachers is attributed to weak content knowledge arising from poor teacher education programmes offered in the former colleges of education prior to 1999.…”

Section: Contribution Of This Paper To the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Reflections on Teaching Periodic Table Concepts: A Case Study of Selected Schools in South Africa

Mokiwa

2017

EURASIA J MATH SCI T

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The Periodic Table of Elements is central to the study of modern Physics and Chemistry. It is however, considered by teachers as difficult to teach. This paper reports on a case study exploring reflections on teaching periodic table concepts in five secondary schools from South Africa. Qualitative methodology of interviews and document analysis were used to collect data from five participants that were purposively selected. One specific research question was addressed: what practices inform Physical Sciences teachers when teaching periodic table of elements? Results showed that all participants were able to describe specific teaching and learning difficulties, such as relating the properties of substances to characteristics of the constituent particles. They further, recognised the importance of using models of atoms and molecules to promote understanding. These findings have implications for science teaching, learning and teacher education.

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Finding Direction When the Ground Is Moving: Science Education Research in South Africa

Cited by 22 publications

References 36 publications

“There is a worksheet to be followed”: A case study of a science teacher's use of learning support texts for practical work

“There is a worksheet to be followed”: A case study of a science teacher's use of learning support texts for practical work

Shifting South African learners towards greater autonomy in scientific investigations

Reflections on Teaching Periodic Table Concepts: A Case Study of Selected Schools in South Africa

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