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Population dynamics is a South African secondary school biology syllabus topic which deals specifically with ecology or concepts within the realm of ecology. It is currently taught in a way which largely emphasises the teaching and learning of facts and concepts, often out of any context to which students can relate. While it is important to convey scientific concepts, it is just as important to address social and political issues regarding overpopulation and the environment. This research involved the administration of a questionnaire to Std 10 biology teachers in the Department of Education and Training (DET), which sought to obtain information about various aspects of teachers' teaching of population dynamics. These included their feelings toward the teaching of the specific sections of the population dynamics syllabus, and their knowledge and views of environmental issues and human population expansion. The findings of the research suggest that population dynamics is an important topic for students to learn about. The traditional teacher-centred approach to teaching is used by the teachers in the research sample. The sections considered by the teachers to be most important for learning were also considered the most interesting and the easiest to teach. The majority of the teachers in the research sample recognised that human population growth is a global and local problem and that South Africa cannot sustain its present population growth. The teachers in the sample show a diversity of opinions about sustainable development, and have a limited understanding of the links between population, poverty and consumption. Important information gained from the research will be significant in the development of a teaching and learning module on population dynamics that reflects the aims and purpose of environmental education.

The purpose of this study is the development of an educational simulation game for use in college classes. The simulation game is based on selected aspects of the population problem. The panel approved or rejected objectives on the basis of their significance as goals for college students. Twelve objectives were approved by a majority of the panel. Upon completion of the exercise, students should be able to compute population increases, to predict population sizes, and to identify birth and death rates that cause a population to increase, decrease, or remain stable. Students should also be able to describe how the following factors affect population size: cultural and religious beliefs, pressure for economic growth, investments of capital, and financial losses. Students should understand the problems of governing a country with a rapidly growing population as compared to problems in governing a country with slower population growth, and they should recognize how rapid population growth can affect the quality of life. Students should recognize decreased birth rates, increased death rates, and increased economic production as possible solutions to the population problem. Finally, students should personalize the population problem and make commitments in seeking and participating in its solutions.