The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent foundation phase teachers adapt Curriculum 2005. The study was guided by two research questions: (1) What are the critical components of Curriculum 2005 (foundation phase)? (2) What are the adaptations that teachers have made in teaching this curriculum? The specific focus of this study is foundation phase teachers’ initial implementation of the revised version of Curriculum 2005, the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). An Innovation Configuration Checklist was developed identifying the critical components of the RNCS and the variations of each. Using the checklist, foundation phase teachers were surveyed to establish the adaptations being made during implementation. The findings of this study indicate that there is less active learning and more teacher directed activity than is required by the RNCS. Assessment appears to be a problem area. Most teachers understand what is expected of them in terms of assessment and attempt to put it into practice. Assessment has however, proved to be burdensome and time consuming. Teachers’ planning demonstrates a sound understanding of the procedures to be followed. Teachers do however, need support in terms of deeper pedagogical content knowledge. Although teachers comply with the technical aspects of curriculum development they neglect the emancipatory aspects of the RNCS. The situation in foundation phase classrooms might be described as one where much change is taking place, but little transformation is happening at present. Teachers are nevertheless, reflecting on how to improve their teaching and continue to explore ways to adapt and improve the RNCS.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:9486 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Childs, Margaret Mary |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Education |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MPhil |
| Format | vi, 92 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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