Audrey Msimanga

Science curriculum reform in South Africa: Lessons for professional development from research on argumentation in science education

AbstractIn South Africa, the national curriculum has undergone several revisions in the past decade. Within the science curriculum, engagement of students in scientific inquiry has emerged as a significant educational goal. Related to this goal, the articulation of argumentation in teaching and learning has gained attention. Argumentation involves the coordination of evidence and theory to support or refute an explanatory conclusion, model or prediction. Other features of the recent curricular changes involve the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Nature of Science (NoS), both themes with relevance for argumentation due to their reference to how science works. We present a review of the recent curriculum developments in South Africa and trace the coverage of argumentation, IKS and NoS, the emphasis being on argumentation with the latter themes traced for context. Our review suggests that there is reduced visibility of argumentation in the recent curriculum reform, pointing to the need for...

Issues of Teaching & Learning in South Africa: A disjunction between curriculum policy and implementation

Abstract This article examines how issues of teaching and learning have been implemented in South African classrooms. We apply a framework of curriculum implementation (Rogan & Grayson, 2003) to studies of classroom teaching and learning reported in the literature. In doing so, we use the framework to categorise and comment on the research studies and determine the applicability of the framework to science and mathematics classrooms. Our review findings show that the frameworks constructs of ‘profile of implementation’ and ‘capacity to innovate’ can be applied, with some adaptation, to both mathematics and science classroom studies. Fewer studies have involved the third construct ‘outside support’. We conclude that there is an inevitable dislocation between policy and curriculum implementation, and that the framework provides a useful notion of ‘feasible implementation’ by suggesting how (in a series of small steps) individual schools can put into practice new curriculum policy.

Language, Literacy and Science Learning for English Language Learners: Teacher Meta Talk Vignettes from a South African Science Classroom

There is considerable research on the role of language in science teaching and learning from contexts in which non-native speakers of English are taught science by teachers who are either native speakers of or proficient in English as the language of learning and teaching (LOLT). In many South African classrooms, students who are non-native speakers of English are taught in English, by teachers who are also non-native speakers. Furthermore, many students and teachers in these classrooms speak more than one local language, such that English is their third or subsequent language. Thus, most South African students are English additional language learners (EALs) as opposed to being English second language learners (ESLs). Many South African classrooms are therefore multilingual by nature. Yet, very little is known about the pedagogic demands of teaching science to EALs. Research on EALs experiences in science lessons in the South African context has potential not only to contribute to the broader literature on EAL teaching but also to inform teacher education on how to prepare teachers for these environments. Meta talk is one of the teaching strategies that may help facilitate EALs involvement in the lesson as well as promote deep engagement with content. The chapter discusses some vignettes from whole class discussions observed in a multilingual science classroom showing how one South African teacher uses meta talk to get his learners to engage with science concepts.

Indigenous Knowledge and Science Education in South Africa

Both indigenous knowledge and curriculum reform are currently contentious topics in science education in South Africa. When South Africa became a democracy twenty years ago, one of the immediate tasks of the new government was to reform the education system. Among the goals of the ongoing educational reform is social transformation and redress (Department of Education, 1996).

The Pedagogical Role of Language in Science Teaching and Learning in South Africa: A Review of Research 1990–2015

One of the objectives of the South African science curriculum is to provide equal access to science for students from all backgrounds. However, this goal remains elusive as many students, particularly those from low socio-economic backgrounds, continue to perform poorly in science. One of the reasons for the persistent differential achievement in science is language. Yet the latest review of research in science education in South Africa conducted in 2009 identified only five papers focusing on language in science in the key journals reviewed. This paper presents a review of literature on language in science, with specific focus on research on the pedagogical functions of language in South African science classrooms in the past three decades. We extended the scope of the review by looking beyond the key journals considered in the 2009 review to include any other journal publications on language in science. Analysis of the research itself suggests that earlier studies focused on ways to resolve a perceived language crisis in English as a Second Language classrooms. There is a shift in focus with more recent research exploring the mobilisation of the linguistic resources of the classroom for learner conceptual engagement. We discuss these emerging trends.

Too late to come back? The paradox of a being a fifty year old “early career” black female academic

Much of what is known about the experiences of black women in academia is from research in the developed world. Little is known about the experiences of black women in African academic institutions and even less about the experiences of black women who experience career breaks. Using an auto-ethnographic approach I reflect on my attempts to balance the demands of my different roles as a black woman and an academic. In a narrative that explores the complex relationship of time, career and context, I argue that the time of womanhood, blackness and motherhood in academia is out of joint. Finally, I consider some of the strategies and resources that enabled my entry, re-entry, survival and growth during the course of my stop-and-start academic career. I hope that my story might contribute to the ongoing debates about the challenges and possibilities for late entry female academics in institutions of higher learning.