Towards educational transformation: perception of and reflections on educational practice in foundation phase classes
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Date
2007
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Abstract
This study examined the perceptions and reflections of educators on their educational practice in the foundation phase classes. The aim of the study was to investigate the challenges facing the implementation of OBE in foundation phase classrooms. The research targeted foundation phase educators because they were the first to be exposed to the knowledge and practice of OBE and Curriculum 2005 in 1998. Initial assumptions held by the researcher was that by now the foundation phase educators should have accumulated a lot of experience in OBE and Curriculum 2005 (C 2005) practical implementation. The first research instrument was a questionnaire that was administered by the researcher to foundation phase educators for the purpose of soliciting their perceptions of the training workshops conducted from 1998 to 2000 to facilitate their understanding of C2005.
The second research instruments were self-evaluation sheets that were disseminated to Foundation Phase (FP) educators so that they could rate themselves in terms of the competences they thought they developed during the training workshops and classroom-based support workshops. Thirdly, Interview schedules were used to solicit information about the support programmes available to educators in the foundation phase to facilitate the successful implementation of OBE and C 2005 in the classrooms. Lastly, the use of observation schedules provided the necessary confirmation of whether the educators' self rating was confirmed by their classroom practice.
The results showed that there are challenges facing the implementation of Outcomes-based education in classrooms such as. The challenges faced by the educators were as follows:
• Data collected from classroom observations showed that the FP educators had difficulty in applying skills and competencies required to implement a successful OBE delivery. Among difficulties was a lack of creativity to plan worthwhile learning activities to engage the learners in a variety of identified skills, and intellectual processes without resorting to rote learning.
• The subjects lacked skills to integrate knowledge across curricula and this was exacerbated by a general poor content knowledge of educators in general, even at this level.
• The OBE demand to have educators who can handle diverse needs of learners was lacking. The dominant teaching method was the "telling method" accompanied by recitation of unexplained poems. The role of the poems was not explained but seemed to be used to fill gaps when educators had nothing worthwhile to teach.
• Another missing pillar of OBE in the subjects' classrooms was poor contextualization of content with learners' real life experiences. The educators had difficulty in selecting support materials to facilitate learning.
On the role of School Management Teams to mentor and support FP educators the results of the study showed the following:
• Time constraints made it impossible for SMT member to mentor and assist colleagues. But the most crucial point was that the SMTs stated that they had been inadequately trained to implement OBE let alone train other people.
• SMTs are managing an RNCS curriculum that is in a trial and error mode as everybody grapples to understand what is authentic OBE implemented as RNCS in South Africa. The impact on the learners is a decline on literacy levels. Failure to implement OBE effectively in FP classrooms is rocking the foundation stones of future learning of the young Black learners.
The findings suggest a need for intensive and more prolonged in-service education and training for foundation phase educators, otherwise the country is heading toward disaster of another lost generations of learners who will come out of school illiterate. The heads of departments and other members of school management teams require proper training in instructional leadership skills and knowledge. This could enable the members of the school management teams to provide mentorship, coaching, support and proper guidance to educators about the practical implementation of OBE curriculum.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctoral Degree in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education at the University of Zululand, 2007.
Keywords
OBE, OBE implementation