The educational research landscape on GIS integration and challenges – globally and in South Africa

As Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have only been included in the curriculum in the last decade, many educators globally struggle to integrate GIS practice into their teaching strategies. Following the global trend, South African educators might feel ill equipped as they did not receive formal GIS training in a higher education institution. This paper highlights key global and South African challenges regarding GIS integration. To compare the challenges that South Africa faces with those experienced elsewhere, this mixed method study gleaned data from student educators (n=78) who completed a questionnaire regarding their GIS FET Phase education, followed by in-depth interviews with FET Phase educators (n=10) and two provincial heads of Geography for the Department of Basic Education (DBE). Results from this study indicate a clear global and national pattern of barrier categories.

Odour assessment of school toilets in Gauteng, South Africa – before and after bioremediation

Sanitation in school toilets is often considered peripheral to the academic project, yet has a significant impact on productivity and the school experience. A micro-study, pilot project to quantify the perception of odours in toilets at two schools in Gauteng Province, South Africa, using olfactory tests, reveals the presence of select odour-forming compounds. The compounds of butyric acid, indole, p-cresol and dimethyl trisulfide, reconstituted faecal odour and stale urine odour were presented to staff at the two schools in the form of ‘Sniffin’ Sticks’. All the odours were identified in the toilets at levels of unbearable in School A which has a septic tank system, and tolerable in School B which uses a flush system, during the pre-test. A post-test was conducted after an effective bioremediation treatment product was applied. We found that 100% of the participants noted a marked improvement in the odours in the toilets after the treatments were combined with efficient cleaning regimes.

Using ArcGIS Portal to inform decision making for Integrated Coastal Management, KwaZulu-Natal

The coastal environment is one of the most utilised for human activities; providing a diverse range of goods and services such as fisheries, water purification and coastal erosion protection. This results in the need for effective, ongoing management and informed decision making, to ensure long-term sustainability of the coastal environment. However, Goble et al. (2017) highlight that institutional knowledge and capacity are currently limited to achieve the objectives of effective coastal management. This research considers the use of ArcGIS Portal as a component of a Decision Support System (or Info-portal) for coastal management in KwaZulu-Natal, through the development of an online, interactive mapping platform. This platform offers a portal to decision makers to access and interrogate data and information, thus informing decision making. The development of this tool followed a participatory approach, and engagement with end-users throughout the process to ensure that the tool meets users’ requirements. To date, the info-portal has been well utilised by both decision makers and members of the public that are interested in the coast. It offers an excellent example of the power of a spatial tool in improving decision making.

The use of Instrumental Enrichment as a method to teach the analysis of the population pyramid to Grade 7 Geography students.

Action research was conducted to improve the teaching of the analysis of the population pyramid to Grade 7 female Geography students. Instrumental Enrichment was selected as a tool to teach the analysis of the population pyramid. Firstly, the concept of a population pyramid was introduced and taught using an existing teaching method and a baseline assessment was conducted. Instrumental Enrichment was then introduced, and students used the tool to analyse four population pyramids. A concluding assessment measured the improvement in students’ ability to analyse the population pyramid. The use of Instrumental Enrichment did enhance the students’ understanding of the population pyramid. However, they were not able to use it consistently and independently. This agrees with Willingham (2009) that students remember what they think about and the findings of Bellaera (2017) and Adams (1991) that students are not able to develop critical thinking purely by interacting with the subject matter. A refinement of Instrumental Enrichment was proposed considering these principles.

Feminist Pedagogy and the South African Curriculum: The case of Women and Food Security

There is a food security crisis in South Africa and black working-class women are the shock absorbers of this crisis. It follows that where food studies are included in the South African curriculum, the relationship between women and food security should be understood and critiqued by learners. Improvements in gender equality have also been identified as one of the primary drivers of improvements in food security. In this paper, the South African curriculum is analysed in terms of food studies, gender studies and the promotion of gender equality. Using the lens of feminist pedagogy, a set of qualitative indicators were developed to assess the content and praxis of the curriculum. While there is content which deals with gender and with food, these are presented separately. In the Geography and Agriculture curricula, there is a marked lack of focus on gender concerns. This article concludes that the curriculum could be reoriented to include an awareness and critique of the nexus of women and food and that more positive representations of women as active and powerful agents are needed in the South African Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS).