Practices and challenges facing physical science educators in Vuwani rural schools in improving grade 12 results
Loading...
Date
2020
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
The quality of Physical Science results in rural areas is a matter of concern. As a developing country, South Africa’s focus must be on uplifting the standard of education in rural areas in order to have more skilled people. The study of Physical Science can help improve science skills in our country. The aim of this study was to determine practices and challenges facing Physical Science educators in improving Grade 12 results in Vuwani’s rural schools. The study was done qualitatively. Data was collected through interviews and observations. The findings, as based on interviews, indicate that Physical Science educators in Vuwani are faced with challenges such as lack of resources, work overload, lack of support from SMT, insufficient training by the Department of Basic Education when curricula change, overcrowded classes and bad classroom environment. The study also revealed that learners fail because of lack of proper support from parents, lack of discipline and improper use of language of instruction during teaching and learning. Physical Science educators in Vuwani indicated that to improve results, the following strategies could be useful: engage learners in enrichment classes, work as a team, mentor the new comers, give learners more assessment activities, motivate learners and monitor educators’ activities through SMT. Findings obtained through classroom teaching observation indicate that educators have challenges with regard to resources, content knowledge, language usage, assessment and feedback provision on activities taught. The study recommends that schools with less learner enrolment should reduce streams in order to lessen workloads on educators. Learners should be assessed regularly to improve performance.
Description
A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the academic requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Comparative & Science Education in the Faculty of Arts, University of Zululand, 2019
Keywords
Educator Practices, educator challenges, physical science educator