This study focused on curriculum development in biology education. It was based on the
present biology curricula from grade 10-12. The purpose of the study was to investigate the
attitudes of secondary school learners towards involvement in curriculum development and
specific biology content areas of all three grades. The assumption was that future curriculum
planning and development in science (biology) education should consider learners'
preferences, interests and needs. For the empirical investigation, a sample of 666 grades
10, 11 and 12 learners from three different school types (rural, ex-model C and private
schools) in the Northern Province completed an attitude questionnaire. Statistical analysis
of the results led to the following findings, amongst others.
• With regard to willingness to be involved in curriculum development, the results were
as follows:
(a) Significant differences were found between learners when age and school
type were used as moderator variables.
(b) No significant differences were found when grade and gender were used as
moderator variables.
Regarding the attitudes of learners towards involvement in curriculum development
and specific biology content, some low but significant relationships and a number of
significant differences were found between learners' attitudes towards involvement
in curriculum development and specific biology content for all the grades. In each
instance, age, gender and school type were also taken into consideration.
These findings suggest a complete and significant restructuring of the biology curriculum in
secondary schools. A learner-centred curriculum design that actively involves learners in
decision-making will consider the needs and interests of learners. This is seen as appropriate
in an outcomes-based approach and may lead to more motivated learners. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Department of Psychology of Education)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/18112 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Manganye, Hlengani Thomas |
| Contributors | Schulze, Salome |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xx, 298 leaves) |
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