A research tool for analysing and monitoring the Extent to which Environmental issues are integrated into teachers’ lessons
- Authors: Nsubuga, Yvonne
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/386447 , vital:68142 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/122246"
- Description: South Africa enjoys strong policy support for the integration of environmental issues into school curricula. However, much doubt exists over the extent to which this has been converted into appropriate classroom practice at the majority of under-resourced rural schools in the country. This article reports on a study which piloted a research tool which can be used to analyse teachers’ lessons, with the aim of gaining insight into the extent to which they integrate natural resource management issues. The research tool was based on Bernstein’s concept of classification and consisted of five indicators of natural resource management integration into Life Sciences lessons. The study contributes to the design of research tools that can be used to analyse and monitor the integration of environmental issues into teachers’ lessons. It also provides some insight into the environmental content of a sample of Grade 10 Life Sciences lessons at four rural underresourced schools in the Eastern Cape.
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- Date Issued: 2011
A Bernsteinian analysis of the integration of natural resource management in the curriculum of a rural disadvantaged school
- Authors: Nsubuga, Yvonne
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/386415 , vital:68139 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/122771"
- Description: Knowledge integration is one of the key principles that underpin curriculum reform in post-apartheid South Africa. One form of teacher support that has been adopted in South Africa is to provide schools throughout the country with samples of pedagogic texts such as curriculum documents and examination exemplars to act as guidelines to teachers as they implement this new curriculum requirement. In the isolated and under-resourced rural schools of South Africa, these texts are the main form of curriculum guidance to teachers. Hence the knowledge integration principles and messages conveyed within these texts are of crucial importance. One contributory factor to the lack of information on knowledge integration at rural underresourced schools is the lack of simple and effective research tools by which to analyse and compare the extent of knowledge integration within pedagogic texts and classroom practices. This article reports on a Bernstein informed analysis that was carried out on three different Grade 10 Life Sciences pedagogic texts in order to assess the extent to which they integrate natural resource management (NRM). The study involved the construction of two indicator frameworks as the research tools with which the analysis was conducted. Results from the analysis showed that although the official Grade 10 Life Sciences pedagogic texts contained very high levels of NRM integration, this was not the case for the Grade 10 Life Sciences text that was produced at the school level. The study provides useful insight into curriculum recontextualisation at a rural under-resourced school through the lens of NRM integration within the Grade 10 Life Sciences pedagogic texts. Such insight has the potential to contribute to better curriculum design and implementation strategies to service schools. This will hopefully help to narrow the gap that currently exists between the official and enacted curricula.
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- Date Issued: 2008
An Exploration of How Natural Resource Management (NRM) Discourse is Integrated into Key Pedagogic Texts
- Authors: Nsubuga, Yvonne
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/373552 , vital:66703 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/122753"
- Description: Natural resource management (NRM) education has the potential to improve the quality and relevance of rural education in South Africa. For this potential to be realised, the various educational resources that are commonly used by teachers and learners in rural schools need to incorporate natural resource management knowledge. Using Bernstein’s concepts of classification and his theories on recontextualisation, a content analysis study was carried out to compare the level of NRM integration within the Grade 10 Life Sciences syllabus, and a Grade 10 Life Sciences textbook. Results from the analysis of the syllabus showed that overall only 9% of all the knowledge statements analysed had a strong link to NRM and related issues. The highest percentage of such sentences was found in the Core Knowledge section of the syllabus (21%). For the textbook, only 8% of the analysed items had a strong link to NRM and related issues, with the highest percentage of such items occurring in the Suggested Activities section (16%). However, the level of NRM integration in both documents increased considerably when sentences that had only an implicit link to NRM and related issues were included. It was concluded that both documents provide ample opportunities for NRM learning, although the extent to which this occurs varies among their different sections. The recontextualising role of the Grade 10 Life Sciences textbook was reflected in its relatively higher level of NRM integration in the Suggested Activities category, and in the Glossary category. This study highlights the need for further strengthening of the position of NRM within the Grade 10 Life Sciences syllabus, and for more Bernstein-based research to inform South Africa’s curriculum reform initiatives in environmental education.
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- Date Issued: 2006