Mathematics, Science and Technology Education

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Career choices of black grade 12 learners in KwaZulu-Natal schools: implications for sustainable development
(2010) Mmema, Sipho Sibusiso; Dlamini, E.T.
Skills development is a crucial issue in South Africa as the economy of the country will only grow if there are people with the right skills and expertise to run all sectors of the economy. This study examined the career choices of Black Grade twelve learners in order to determine whether at this level learners have broadened their career choices to include scarce areas such as, for example, Science, Mathematics and Economics Management Science. The choice of careers is an important sustainable development issue, because without relevant expertise the economy of the country will not improve. Secondly, the demise of apartheid opened up careers which were previously denied to Black people; it is for this reason that the researcher examined the career choices of Black Grade twelve learners in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal in the Republic of South Africa. The study made use of questionnaires to establish what kind of career choices Black Grade twelve learners made and also to find out whether there was any difference between the careers chosen by girls and boys and also between rural and urban learners. The study found that the general career choices of both males and females had changed by the time they reached Grade twelve, seen against career studies done at Primary school level (Mmema, 2010). In this study, some males currently chose careers that were previously only popular with females in grade seven, such as nursing, information technology, tourism, and computer sciences. Similarly, girls had begun to choose careers that were traditionally popular with the boys, such as mining, land surveying, doctor, civil engineering, prison warden, journalism, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. The strategy of the Department of Education in encouraging girls to participate in science projects seems to be working, even though it is at this stage concentrated at urban schools. The study indicated that the Department of Education needed to put more effort into career guidance in rural schools where the learners were not exposed to diverse career choices and information about technology. Learners in the urban areas seemed to be more familiar with career choices in general than the rural learners. Very few males and females intended to choose any of the many apprenticeships available in the trades, with the result that foreign people often take up the trades after following an apprenticeship. This is one of the important factors that cause xenophobia. Many of the sectors of the economy in this country are experiencing crisis. The result is that most of the economy of the country is controlled by people who have not chosen their professions with the necessary foresight and are therefore square pegs in round holes. This poses a serious challenge to the government and also to the Department of Education; they have to make learners more aware of the shortage of skills in the different sectors and prepare them to make wise career choices. As a recommendation, it is suggested that the government put more effort into assisting learners with career choices, particularly in the Black rural areas since Blacks form a two-third majority in the country. Career guidance will also stimulate and increase awareness of the professional and semi-professional careers that are available in the workplace.
Conceptual understanding of photosynthesis
(2010) Mhlamvu-Zikhali, Nompumelelo Venentia; Dlamini, E.T.; Ndawonde-Nene, B.G.
The purpose of this study was to investigate possible reasons for the high failure rate in Biology, particularly under the topic “Photosynthesis”. Photosynthesis is a biological process which is critical for producing food for all living organisms. A test was used as a tool for collecting data. The test consisted of six questions taken from previous grade twelve final examination papers. The questions were analysed to determine the cognitive demands according to Blooms taxonomy. The questions were found to be integrated and tested lower and higher order cognitive levels according to Bloom’s taxonomy. The learners achievement scores showed that the test discriminated well among those learners who studied well and those who did not know their work. The sample was drawn from six high schools of Mthunzini circuit, in northern KwaZulu-Natal. To test whether there were significant differences in achievement scores among the six schools, a statistical Package for Social Sciences was used. Poor performance in the structured questions showed that language was a major barrier in expressing the learners ideas. Examples of incoherent sentences written by learners were captured in the main study. English as a medium of instruction affects the ability of the learners to answer questions. Looking at the learners responses, it is evident that language is a barrier to those students who cannot discuss in the target language (TL) of instruction which is English. Some students with better English competence were able to express themselves in the instructional language, and this gave them a chance of explaining their observations clearly and accurately. The poor performance at the level of 29% in lower order questions, showed how poorly the learners are mastering their work. Question 5 an application level question was the most poorly done with 66% learners achieving between 0-10%. The learners failed completely to plot a graph, they failed to use information given to identify correct axes on which to plot the independent and dependent variables. There was therefore also a problem of mathematical literacy which should make sure that every learner can handle a simple graph question. Learners who had chosen careers for which Biology is a requirement, performed better than their peers. Career choices seemed to be a factor in motivating learners to strive to do well. There were no significant differences in the achievement scores between boys and girls at 95 confidence levels. In one of the more conceptual questions the girls did better than boys at the range of 61-70% while at the range 71-80% only the girls featured. The efforts by the government to encourage girl children to do well may be beginning to pay off. It is also an achievement that the overall study showed the girls performing as well as the boys. The study provides a window which shows what is happening in our Black schools and a challenge for the government to look for ways of assisting, in particular, poverty stricken schools and also supplying such schools with well qualified teachers. The schools may also need to spend more time on task instead of allowing learners to mill around doing nothing.
Evaluating the role of learning support materials in curriculum implementation: the case of "WE CARE"
(2008) Luthuli, Cleopatra; Dlamini, E.T.
The study sought to explore the impact that exemplary curriculum materials called "We Care" had made on the classroom practice of the recipients, namely educators in rural areas. It also explored the ways in which the recipients put the materials to use. The materials in question introduced the educators to the practice of integrating Environmental Education (EE) into the teaching of the Natural Sciences. The materials also provided suggestions with regard to learner-centred actrvrty-based ideas for learning programme development Teaching experiences of educators using "We Care" were recorded mainly by means of videotaped lessons, which were transcribed and analyzed. Results showed that all the educators found the materials informative and interesting to use. "We Care" materials generated collegiality among the educators and inspired them to work together and share ideas. Analysis of the videotaped lessons, however, revealed that the participants often lacked adequate content to explain science concepts clearly. Group work was also handled poorly, with the result that the objectives of group activities were not being achieved. A general weakness in handling the outcomes-based approach was evident, despite the participants' expressed conviction that "We Care" had helped them to demystify OBE. The study's value manifested in the identification of good practice among the participants and in the opportunity that it provided to discuss exemplary practice.
Implementation of Environmental Education in senior phase: a survey of cluster schools
(2009) Makhoba, Angeline Jabulile; Dlamini, E.T.
The objective of this study was to investigate if educators in the Senior Phase implemented the (EE) in their learning areas. The study had to find out why some environmental themes were more interesting to teach as compared to others. The teaching methods used by educators in teaching environmental education were to be identified. The study was conducted amongst six (6) primary schools and two (2) high schools in one cluster. There were thirty (30) educators involved in the study. The constructed objectives of the research study lead to the formulation of the following research hypotheses: (a) The frequency with which identified environmental themes are taught differs with respect to different learning areas; (b) Some identified environmental themes are more interesting to teach as compared to others; and (c) Educators use a variety of teaching methods when teaching environmental education in the senior phase. A questionnaire was used to collect data. It followed eight (8) environmental themes to be used by the participants. The collected data was then analysed through the use of a computer programme called Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). In the analysis of results it was discovered that educators did implement environmental education in their learning areas, but to a limited extent. This seemed to agree with the hypothesis that educators do implement cross-curricular teaching of EE. It was discovered that some learning areas like Economic and Management Science (EMS), Natural Science (NS) and Social Science (SS) were more flexible in teaching environmental education as opposed to Arts and Culture (A & C) and Life Orientation (LO). The analysis of results showed that some environmental themes were more interesting to teach, like Population and Human Health as compared to others like Deforestation and Waste and pesticides. It was discovered that educators used mainly the question and answer, discussion and narrative methods as opposed to projects, research and fieldwork. This finding is discussed in the light of the literature reviewed, some recommendations aiming at action that could be taken and further research is made.
Small scale farming on Wetland resource utilisation: a case study of Mandlanzini, Richards Bay
(2009) Mthiyane, Thokozani Sivikele; Dlamini, E.T.; Mncube, D.W.
Wetland utilisation by rural communities in South Africa poses a serious challenge for natural resource conservation. The growing rate of rural poverty, poor education and socio-cultural beliefs contribute towards the current plight of many wetlands. The challenge that faces wetland sustainability stems from the over utilisation of wetland resources for survival as well as cultural activities that are practiced. This study aimed at investigating the impact of various wetland activities performed on a daily basis by local communities of Mandlanzini in the quest for survival. The community groups were selected to study their way of life and their relation to their local environment in order to deepen the understanding of their activities and impact on the wetland. Household data collected, gave a clear picture of socio-economic status of the community. The results of the study showed that community members, on the lower end of salary scales, were the ones who relied heavily on raising income by using resources available from the wetland. Research data showed that, there is a high demand for staple food such as ‘amandumbe’, banana, and sweet potatoes by the community under study. The study also showed that indigenous knowledge can play an important role towards the restoration of wetlands. Furthermore, as many community members practiced subsistence agriculture, most of their livestock depend on wetland resources. All these constituted good reasons why communities should be involved in wetland management and conservation.
Towards educational transformation: perception of and reflections on educational practice in foundation phase classes
(2007) Khuzwayo, Mumsy Ethel; Dlamini, E.T.
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.

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Browsing Mathematics, Science and Technology Education by Author "Dlamini, E.T."

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