Difficulties experienced by educators implementing curriculum 2005 : a case study of grade seven Natural Science educators in a predominantly rural district of one region of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education.
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Date
2001
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to establish what difficulties Grade Seven educators were
experiencing in the implementation of Curriculum 2005, a new national outcome-based
curriculum with wide ranging aims.
A qualitative approach, using a case study method, was employed and mainly in-depth
interviews and observations were conducted. Six Grade Seven educators in a variety of
schools were interviewed at length about the wide ranging problems they experienced in
introducing C2005 into the classrooms for the first time in 2000. The interview data was
supplemented by personal observations of most of these educators in their schools.
The research study was undertaken in a predominantly rural district of one region of the
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education.
The findings of the study are presented and these are interpreted and discussed under two
categories: these being the kinds of difficulties enunciated by the educators and the
researcher's observation of identified features of problems.
The key findings of this research study are the following:
• Educators use inappropriate teaching styles
• Educators lack a conceptual knowledge of Science
• Educators lack the skill to teach practical work
• Educators avoid selected aspects of C2005
• Assessment, recording and reporting is a threat to educators
• Educators are not able to use learners' knowledge
• Educators display a waning interest in the implementation of C2005
• Educators are stressed out
• There is an increased workload on educators Educators lack qualification, training and teaching in outcomes - based approaches
• Educators do not have parental support
• There is a lack of guidance on what to teach
• The lack of resources is a major obstacle for the implementation of C2005
• Educators lack a commitment to teach Natural Science
• There is a lack of support from principals and school management teams
Finally, recommendations are made for the successful implementation of C2005 as well
as suggestions for further research.
Description
Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.
Keywords
Competency-based education--South Africa., Science--Study and teaching (Primary)--Kwazulu-Natal., Curriculum change--South Africa., Theses--Education.