Thesis (DEd (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / This study aimed at examining the Life Sciences teacher educator’s perceptions and perspectives
of knowledge integration in the espoused curriculum prescribed by the South African
Department of Higher Education and Training through the policy of Minimum Requirements for
Teacher Qualifications (MRTEQ). The qualitative research design was adopted for data
collection procedures. The selection of the sampling was purposive, in the sense that the Higher
Education Institutions (HEIs) who participated were classified into two categories. The first
category consisted of three historical or traditional universities and the second category was
formed by three higher education institutions that emerged after the merger of Teacher training
Colleges, Technikons and universities. The study targeted lecturers, senior lecturers and
professors in the field of Life Sciences Education who participated in the development of
curriculum for Life Science teacher education and training. The interviews were conducted to
elicit data on the experiences and perceptions that influenced the process of designing and
developing the curriculum blue print which came out as a product to be adopted by the
institution.
The results of the empirical study were analysed by using qualitative procedures, which are;
coding of data, classification of data into categories and the identification of themes and issues.
The contesting views and perceptions were summarised in the results highlighted follows:
The school Life Science curriculum requires teachers who are capable of integrating knowledge
from various domains of scientific knowledge but the study demonstrates that the Life Science
teacher educators who participated in the study had views and perceptions that are not congruent
with those of the curriculum as it presently stands. This could imply that the Life Science
teachers educated and trained for the school Life Science curriculum could experience problem
with its implementation in classrooms. The twenty first century teacher could be expected to
demonstrate competences such as; critical thinking, creative thinking, logic and independent
thinkers.
The study further concluded that there are academics in Science Education departments who still
adhere doggedly to the traditional ways teaching their own disciplines. This study confirms the
importance of breaking the artificial disciplinary boundaries to facilitate interdisciplinary knowledge construction. This study endorses the emerging trend of knowledge integration in
Science Educations.Finally the study suggests that collaborative and collegial deliberations
among Science teacher educators and experts in various knowledge domains could be a way of
finding common ground on issues highlighted in the study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/2629 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Booi, Kwanele |
| Contributors | Khuzwayo, ME |
| Publisher | Cape Peninsula University of Technology |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/ |
Page generated in 0.0021 seconds