scholarly journals ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF COLLABORATION BETWEEN NATURAL SCIENCE SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICIALS AND PRIMARY SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHERS IN SOUTH AFRICA

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 586-598
Author(s):  
Bongani D. Bantwini
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Natural Science ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
School Science ◽  
The State ◽  
Policy Document ◽  
Effective Collaboration

Collaboration and synergy among education stakeholders is a fundamental pillar for any educational reform success. The reported research analyses the state of collaboration and work dynamics that existed between natural science district officials and primary school teachers in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Data were collected through interviews conducted with science district officials and teachers and policy document review. The results focuses on past previous experiences with officials as barrier towards effective collaboration, work dynamics between science district officials and science teachers in their districts, impact on and implications for curriculum reform implementation and professional development. It is argued that effective collaboration between district officials and teachers is a hallmark of curriculum reform success, teacher growth and success in the workplace, which result in student academic achievement. Effective collaborations are built around trust in individual’s professional integrity and are characterised by professional candour, appreciation of individuals and understanding. In conclusion, it is imperative for district officials and teachers to improve communication and strive for effective collaboration, mutual respect, and power sharing rather than domination of one group by the other. Key words: district officials, science teachers, primary schools, collaboration, South Africa.

scholarly journals A snapshot of the use of reading methods in primary schools in three provinces of South Africa

Per Linguam ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-44
Author(s):  
Anna Johanna Hugo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Intermediate Phase ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Primary School Teachers ◽  
Know How ◽  
Reading Methods ◽  
Teaching Of Reading

The teaching of reading is not as easy as it may seem. It requires specific knowledge and the use of reading methods by teachers. Learners’ reading needs and learning styles also have to be considered. According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS) results for 2016, the reading abilities of South African learners are far below the international standard as set out by PIRLS. There is a lack of research about the strategies and methods that primary school teachers use to teach reading. In this article, the feedback regarding reading methods – gathered from 36 primary school teachers in three provinces – is discussed. The data revealed that most of the Grade 1 to 7 teachers who participated in the research knew and used some of the six reading methods under discussion. However, the results did not indicate how well the teachers applied these methods and how versatile they were in using the different reading methods. The data revealed that Foundation phase teachers used some of the methods statistically significantly more often than the comparison group of Intermediate phase teachers in a nonexperimental static-group observational design study. According to Spaull (McBride 2019:1), a well-known researcher in South Africa, one of the three main reasons why Foundation phase readers are struggling with reading is that their teachers do not know how to teach reading systematically. Teachers do not know how to change and adapt the methods that they use to teach reading and not enough research has been done to address the problems with the teaching of reading in the classroom specifically. Often the reading problems experienced in the Foundation phase are carried over to the Intermediate phase.

How Low-Carbon Issues are Addressed in Primary School Textbooks

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-269
Author(s):  
M. N. Hudha ◽  
I. Hamidah ◽  
A. Permanasari ◽  
A. G. Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Environmental Literacy ◽  
School Science ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Additional Material ◽  
Science Textbooks

This study aims to examine the existence of learning material related to educational issues regarding low-carbon levels. Through the content analysis, 26 primary school science textbooks from ten publishers in Indonesia were reviewed, focusing on the study covering the selection, presentation, provision of supporting materials, and low-carbon issues. The research method used is the qualitative content analysis process method with research steps: 1) Data collection; 2) Data analysis textbook; and 3) Ethical considerations. The results showed that sixty one point six percent of teachers said the book was under the curriculum's coverage. The sixty point six percent of the relevance of content to student experiences was appropriate, so is the fifty three point five percent of the relevance of examples and exercises with learning objectives and the material presented. It is also found that fifty five point six percent of various questions and discussions were adequate for testing students, the other fifty one point five percent had included supporting questions and exercises, and sixty point six percent of teachers said there was a teacher's guide. Then fifty point five percent, according to the teacher, students' awareness of low carbon is still relatively low, and forty six point six percent of the content coverage regarding low carbon is still considered sufficient by the teacher. This study concludes that there was too little coverage of low-carbon issues and a lack of additional material related to the low-carbon content in primary science textbooks. The topic of low carbon is still implicit in the environmental literacy found in textbooks. The follow-up that can be done is providing a low-carbon concept to science textbooks in primary schools so that our students and society will have low-carbon awareness and increased environmental literacy.

scholarly journals Primary School Science Teachers’ Creativity and Practice in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 346-364
Author(s):  
Norazilawati Abdullah ◽  
Zainun Mustafa ◽  
Mahizer Hamzah ◽  
Amir Hasan Dawi ◽  
Mazlina Che Mustafa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
School Science ◽  
School Location ◽  
Teaching Aids ◽  
Creative Pedagogy ◽  
Primary School Science

Creative pedagogy has been explored extensively, and previous research suggests that there is a gap between the level and practice of creativity of science teachers, and that it varies by school location. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of creativity, and creativity practice of primary school science teachers, and differences in the levels of creativity and creativity practice of primary school science teachers based on school location. The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) were used to acquire qualitative data from 20 participants, and a questionnaire of creativity practice in science teaching was used to collect quantitative data from 409 participants. The qualitative data were analyzed according to the TTCT scoring technique and the quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 26. This study found that, that while overall teacher creativity was low, the teachers perceived that they employed highly creative practices. No difference was found in relation to environment, teaching aids, skills and science process skills of teachers in urban and rural areas. However, teachers in rural areas were more knowledgeable about creativity, while teachers in urban areas were better at practising it. This research provides baseline evidence on current practices in creative pedagogy of science teachers nationwide.

scholarly journals Refractive status primary school school children in Mopani district, Limpopo Province, South Africa

2006 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 125-133
Author(s):  
R. G. Mabaso ◽  
A. O. Oduntan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Primary School ◽  
School Children ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Vision Screening ◽  
Vision Correction ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Right

This article reports part of the findings of a study carried out to determine the causes, prevalence, and distribution of ocular dis-orders among rural primary school children in Mopani district of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Three hundred and eighty eight children aged 8 to 15 years were randomly selected from five randomly selected schools. Non-cycloplegic retinoscopy and auto-refrac-tion were performed on each child. The preva-lence of hyperopia, myopia, and astigmatism was 73.1%, 2.5% and 31.3% respectively. Hyperopia (Nearest spherical equivalent power (FNSE) ranged from +0.75 to +3.50 D for the right and left eyes with means of +1.05 ± 0.35 D and +1.08 ± 0.34 D respectively.Myopia (FNSE) ranged from –0.50 to –1.75 D for the right eye and –0.50 to –2.25 D for the left eye with means of –0.75 ± 0.55 D and –0.93 ± 0.55 D respectively. Regression model for myopia, shows that age had an odds ratio  of 1.94 (1.15 to 3.26), indicating a significant increased risk of myopia with increasing age. Correcting cylinders for the right eyes ranged from –0.25 to –4.50 D (mean = −0.67 ± 0.47 D) and for the left eyes from –0.25 to –2.50 D (mean = −0.60 ± 0.30 D). With-the-rule (WTR) astigmatism (66.5%) was more common, followed by against-the-rule (ATR)astigmatism (28.1%) and oblique (OBL) astigmatism (5.4%). With-the-rule astigmatism was more common in females than males; ATR astigmatism and OBL astigmatism werecommon in males. Regular vision screening programmes, appropriate referral and vision correction in primary schools in Mopani district are recommended in order to eliminate refractive errors among the children.

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