Implications of the Articulation Gap between Geography Learners in Secondary Schools and University

Abstract

There is a concern in South Africa that most learners arrive at university underprepared. This is also a major concern for students who enroll for the BEd programme specialising in geography education. Due to the learners' articulation gap, they are unable to cope with the standard that is expected of them. Hence this study investigated the level of geography learners' preparedness when they arrive at university. The aim of the study was to investigate the challenges experienced by geography students in their first-year of study. The researchers used a qualitative approach grounded in phenomenology as the research design. Purposive sampling was used to select students who failed geography education in both semesters in their first-year of study, the academic year 2016. Two lecturers who teach geography in the first-year were sampled. The geography curriculum used in the secondary schools and university were also reviewed to determine the extent of alignment between the two. A thematic approach was used to analyse the data. The results of the study revealed that geography students enter university without proper preparation, and are therefore unable to cope with their first-year of study. The study further revealed that teachers who teach geography in secondary school are not sufficiently trained to teach geography, which results in their engaging in surface learning as opposed to deep learning. The study recommends that there be collaboration between secondary schools and universities to discuss the university's expectations with regard to learner preparedness. Moreover, geography teachers should be trained on an ongoing basis in order for them to keep up with current trends in the area of geography education.

A learner perspective on the implementation of Geographic Information Systems in selected schools in KwaZulu-Natal province

“…Hence, we argue that GIS was being poorly taught at the school that participated in this study resulting in learners resorting to memorising (without conceptual understanding). This finding concurs with conclusions proffered by other scholars (Ahiaku & Mncube 2018;Dube 2012;Malatji & Singh 2018) that GIS was not being properly taught in the South African classroom.…”

“…Furthermore, the learners' perspective on GIS implementation established in this study converged with the educators' perspectives submitted by Malatji and Singh (2018), Ahiaku and Mncube (2018) and Dube (2012). This study was in agreement with contemporary research on GIS implementation in South Africa that grade 12 learners lacked fundamental knowledge of GIS.…”

“…Studies indicate that the majority of schools in South Africa are teaching a basic introduction to GIS and thus the latter is not taught well because learners are not given the opportunity to engage in practical (Ahiaku & Mncube 2018;Dube 2012;Malatji & Singh 2018). In addition, Tarisayi (2018) notes that the teaching of GIS in South Africa is hindered by a lack of funding and time constraints (see also Fleming 2016;Nxele 2007;Zuma 2016).…”

“…Hong (2014) and Fleischmann and Van der Westhuizen (2016) state that there is a low adoption of GIS technology in schools because teachers lack knowledge of the practical GIS integration. Studies by Ahiaku and Mcube (2018), Dube (2012), Malatji and Singh (2018), Mzuza and Van Der Westhuizen (2019) and Tarisayi (2018) were all focused on the views of the educators with respect to GIS in schools. Resultantly, Fleming (2016) noted that in 2014 and 2015, respectively, GIS questions in the Matric Geography Paper 2 were often not attempted by the candidates.…”

“…Therefore, we argue that grade 12 learners should have been able to identify GIS uses by the local municipality of EThekwini if GIS was being properly taught in schools in KwaZulu-Natal. Resultantly, we reason that failure to identify uses of GIS in the real world by the grade 12 learners feeds into the growing discourse which argues that GIS is not being properly taught in South African schools (Ahiaku & Mncube 2018;Dube 2012;Malatji & Singh 2018).…”