Fhatuwani J. Mundalamo

The story of a physical science curriculum: transformation or transmutation?

Abstract Recently Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) were introduced in South Africa in response to confusion precipitated by previous curriculum documents. The purpose of this paper is to explore that confusion in the subject ‘Physical Sciences’ and consider the nature of the transformation from the previous curriculum by looking at curriculum documents and examination papers. We present a two phase curriculum change model which suggests that congruency between curriculum documents and examinations is critical for effective curriculum change. We analyse the pre-CAPS curriculum, the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), on its own terms by using the stated outcomes as our reference point. Our analysis reveals that the weighting and conceptualization of the outcomes shifted through successive documents, which undermined congruency between the documents and meant that content-oriented science masqueraded as inquiry-oriented science. This led to a retreat from the original vision of weighting skills and relevance equally with content. The examinations took this retreat a step further. Evidence of the retreat is that the nature of the questions asked in the 2008 examinations on the NCS was similar to that of the 2007 examinations on the previous curriculum which had not changed since apartheid. However, in the NCS examinations there was a small shift towards contextualisation and inquiry oriented science. The retreat means the vision of transformation which was the rationale for the NCS curriculum was eroded—instead of transformation, there was transmutation back to the old apartheid curriculum. The Physical Sciences CAPS cements the retreat and creates new confusion by changing the syllabus again without signposting the change.

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.

A Mutual Peer-To-Peer Assessment on Pre-Service Teaching Practicum

Abstract This paper reports about peers assessing peers during the science teaching practicum. The purpose of the study was therefore to establish the foci of pre-service teachers (PSTs) on what they assess and if there is a link between their assessment comments or judgments and the grading of their peers’ teaching capabilities. This study was based on fifty three teaching journals PSTs used for assessment purposes during school practicum. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the comments of PSTs about their peers’ teaching capabilities and their mark allocations were respectively conducted from their teaching practice journals. The findings show that there is some consistency on the PSTs’ foci of content they assess and the value they attach on most of the five variables. In addition, there is a varied link between their comments or j udgements and the grading of their peers’ teaching capabilities. However, assessment on mastery of learning content had the least comments. Most of the comments were on teaching strategies, methods and techniques. In light of the findings, we recommend that assessment criteria for peer assessment be clearly defined and sections be added to the teaching practice journals, to justify mark allocation for every aspect of the assessment.