Original Research
Foundation phase teachers’ interpretation of the life skills programme with regard to the teaching of natural science
Submitted: 29 April 2016 | Published: 31 May 2017
About the author(s)
Saritha Beni, Department of Science Education, Embury Institute of Education, South AfricaMichele Stears, Mathematics and Computer Science Education Department, School of Science and Technology Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Angela James, Mathematics and Computer Science Education Department, School of Science and Technology Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Abstract
Scientific literacy should be promoted through the teaching of science from Grade R and for this to happen, teachers need to understand what science should be taught and how it should be taught. This interpretive, qualitative study explores the degree to which four foundation phase teachers interpret the life skills programme with regard to the teaching of natural science by using an adapted version of a theory of implementation. Analyses of a questionnaire, documents (Revised National Curriculum Statement and lesson plans) and interviews enabled us to build a picture of how each teacher interpreted the curriculum with regard to a number of constructs. The findings show that foundation phase teachers have great difficulty interpreting the curriculum because the foundation phase curriculum does not give clear guidance with regard to the teaching of science. Their poor content knowledge, the poor understanding of what integration of science in numeracy and literacy entails, as well as their poor understanding of the instructional methods used to teach science exacerbate the problem.
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Crossref Citations
1. HOW A READER TITLED ADVENTURES IN THE PLAYGROUND MAY BE USED TO TEACH NATURAL SCIENCES IN THE FOUNDATION PHASE
Angela James, Lisa James, Sartiha Beni, Michele Stears
Natural Science Education in a Comprehensive School (NSECS) vol: 27 issue: 1 first page: 4 year: 2021
doi: 10.48127/gu/21.27.04