Educator response to across the curriculum teaching in the senior phase.

Abstract

Since 1994 and the democratic elections in South Africa, education has undergone change and renewal. One change for education was seen in the form of Curriculum 2005. This new curriculum sought to remove the imbalances that existed under apartheid education. It was seen as an education system that would benefit all citizens in South Africa. The new curriculum was cal led C2005 because it was hoped that the final date for its implementation in its totality would be in 2005. C2005 required Learning Area integration and the Outcomes Based Education (OBE) mode of teaching. These new changes, were in many instances, too soon for educators to accept immediately and implement successfully. It was therefore felt that the introduction of OBE would be fraught with problems in 1ts implementation. C2005 received the full backing of the government and the Education Department but the response from educators at grassroots level indicated some dissatisfaction. This then called for an investigation by the Government appointed Review Committee; headed by Linda Chisholm. Several recommendations were made by the Committee. lt is hoped that the changes in the Revised Curriculum would be accepted by the end of 2001 when a National Curriculum Statement is scheduled to be announced. This case study therefore investigated the integration aspect of C2005 and the response of educators to across the curriculum teaching. The structured interview technique was used to obtain educator response to across the curriculum teaching. This sought to provide an insight into difficulties educators were encountering and what they saw as viable solutions. The first finding that emerged from the study was that of inadequate training to implement across the curriculum teaching. The notion that content was not really important in OBE created a problem with acquiring suitable resource material. There were also concerns about assessment expressed by the educators. The recommendations in this study focused on the importance of well structured and relevant workshops and in-service training for educators. This would enable school based educators to have the confidence to implement change in the curriculum successfully. It is also recommended that suitable resources that focus on the content for each Learning Area is developed. This would assist with integration of content, concepts, attitudes and skills. It is also vital that assessments are made grade wise so that standards are maintained and educators become familiar with competencies that are required in each grade. Education is at the forefront of any nation. It is therefore incumbent on educators to ensure that the curriculum is optimally implemented. This can be accomplished if the Education Department has the relevant support structures and mechanisms in place