Examining teachers’ experiences of implementing the Grade 12 Life Sciences curriculum

Abstract

The implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in different subjects in South Africa has been studied before, but the literature is generally lacking on the lived experiences of life sciences teachers implementing the Further Education and Training (FET) phase life sciences curriculum (Davids, 2018; Dlova, 2019; Imenda, 2016; Koopman, 2013; Koopman, 2018; Mabusela, 2016; Ngidi, 2016; Riffel, 2020; Siseho, 2013 Sitwala; 2016). Lived experiences in phenomenology means those often taken for granted experiences that we encounter in our daily lives. To address the gap in the literature, this study focuses on some life sciences teachers’ lived experiences while implementing the Grade 12 life sciences curriculum using a phenomenological approach. A phenomenological approach is concerned with both the design itself and a theoretical framework which states that humans know and perceive the world through their lived experiences (Ojikutu, 2017). Schon’s (1970) reflection-on-action constituted the main phenomenological approach underpinning the study. It provided me the opportunity to explore how the participating teachers reflected on their experiences while implementing the Grade 12 life sciences curriculum. To obtain a holistic picture of the situation surrounding the new curriculum and subsequent ones, the study explored the lived experiences of five Grade 12 teachers teaching in four schools in a postapartheid South African context. Using a phenomenological research design model, the study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods (mixed-methods) to collect data in four public secondary schools in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. The qualitative data were derived mainly from document analysis, observations, result analysis, and interviews of five teachers while the quantitative data were derived from the responses of 25 teachers to a questionnaire. In pursuance of the study answers were sought to four research questions namely: (1) To what extent did the life sciences teachers understand the basic intention of the curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS)? (2) What pedagogic strategies did they use to implement CAPS in their classrooms? (3) What were their perceptions of, and experiences with CAPS? (4) What relationships exist between the teachers’ demographic characteristics and their learners’ academic achievement? The findings revealed that the stated intention of the curriculum was to enhance social justice and transformation as a way to develop a sense of education for sustainable development which was uppermost in the teachers’ minds. Although they were willing to incorporate indigenous knowledge in their science lessons as recommended by the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), they lacked the necessary experience to teach an indigenized life sciences curriculum. As a result, they used traditional instruction instead of adopting new pedagogic strategies in the implementation of the new curriculum.Their continued use of traditional instruction was probably due to the way they http://etd.uwc.ac.za/ ii themselves were taught. The majority of teachers who participated in the study had over ten years of teaching experience in life sciences. In addition, there was a general lack of adequate resources; particularly those resources which could have allowed them to use innovative strategies.The consequence of all of this was that the performance of learners was rather unsatisfactory both provincially and nationally. From the foregoing, the implications of the findings for policy, training, curriculum development, instructional practices, and future studies were highlighted and recommendations made. However, in view of the small sample involved, no generalization was feasible. Despite this, it was hoped that the findings would be found useful and informative towards attempts directed at future curriculum reforms in the life sciences not only in the Northern Cape Province where this study took place but throughout the country as a whole.