Papers by Hlengiwe Ngubane
Since 1994 when the new democratic government came into power many changes have taken place withi... more Since 1994 when the new democratic government came into power many changes have taken place within the South African education system. The implementation of a new curriculum made demands on educators in terms of teaching and learning of the various Learning Areas. The purpose of the study was to explore grade four educators" experiences of teaching and how they used teaching strategies teach Matter and Materials in the Natural Sciences Learning Area of the current curriculum, the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) for the Intermediate and Senior Phases. The research questions that drove this research are: What are educators" experiences of teaching grade four Matter and Materials in Natural Sciences? How do grade four educators use teaching strategies to teach Matter and Materials in Natural Sciences? The literature review focuses on the teaching of science and the strategies that educators use to create interest in learners. This study was based on Rogan and Grayson"s (2003) Theory of Curriculum Implementation. This is an interpretive, case study of four primary school educators teaching Natural Sciences in quintile one primary schools in Camperdown, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Quintile one schools are under-resourced schools. Qualitative and elements of quantitative approaches, and a convenient sampling method were used. The data collection methods were questionnaires, classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The expectations of teachers teaching Natural Sciences Grade Four as stated in the NCS Grades 4-9(2002) were documented. Data from all the instruments was analysed deductively using Rogan and Grayson"s (2003)Levels of implementation of a new curriculum. This study revealed that educators were still using traditional methods of teaching and only one educator used practical work to teach Matter and Materials. This is in contrast to the teaching strategies advocated by Curriculum 2005 (C2005), the predecessor of NCS, which suggests that educators should use more interactive strategies so that learning and assessment could be supported. Educators mainly used written and oral work to assess the learners. It is suggested that the Departmental Curriculum Development Unit should provide the educators with support on a continuous basis so that they can create and maintain an effective learner-centered environment when teaching Natural Sciences. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all those who supported me organisationally and honourably and that contributed to the attainment of the degree my achievements have been made possible by their contribution. My deepest gratitude goes to Dr. Angela James, my supervisor for her invaluable supervision and for being there all the way and for encouraging me when the going was getting tough throughout my study. Thanks a lot Angela, for your patience and the extra mile you took so that I could achieve my goals. I am also grateful to Dr. Michele Stears for support whenever I needed it. It is the pleasure to thank my research participants the educators, learners and principals who allowed me into their classrooms and participated from beginning to end. Through working together on this research project, we have thus developed very good working relations To my loving husband Themba, handsome son Siphesihle and pretty daughters Nandipha and Simthandile for being inspirational, patient, understanding and caring during my studies when I left you alone during my meetings. My appreciation also goes to my dear mother Alexinah Mlambo, for the prayers and motivation. You were always there for me encouraging me in one way or the other. Thanks a lot Mthabela, Chibi elingashi for taking care of me from birth until now. I am also grateful to my six sisters, Namsile, Phindile, Nozipho, Zanele, Nomusa, and Winile for their love, support and encouragement throughout the study. Checking on me from time to timehow far have I gone with my writing? The undying love you always give and always treating me like a kid as I am a last born, made me fly higher and higher.
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Papers by Hlengiwe Ngubane