Are Grades 10-12 physical sciences teachers equipped to teach physics?
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Date
2012-09
Authors
Basson, Ilsa
Kriek, Jeanne
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Education, University of the Free State
Abstract
South African schools have been confronted with educational reform since the mid-nineties and the
process is still continuing. The concomitant changes put a very high demand on physical sciences teachers
and also have an impact on teacher behaviour. The purpose of this study was to probe whether teachers
could be considered equipped to teach the physics part of the FET physical sciences curriculum. A revised
framework on teacher behaviour, which includes three factors, namely teacher knowledge, teacher views
and beliefs, and teacher attitudes, was used in conjunction with a questionnaire and a survey to analyse
the data from individual and focus group interviews. A total of 68 FET physical sciences teachers from
urban, township and rural schools participated in the research. Our findings indicate that teachers are
positive about the curriculum. However, the problems identified with training, support and resources as
well as the lack of teachers’ subject content knowledge, particularly in rural and township schools, cannot
be blamed on the curriculum and therefore cannot be fixed by curriculum changes.
Description
Keywords
Physical sciences teachers, Physics, Curriculum changes, Teacher behaviour, Teacher knowledge
Citation
Basson, I., & Kriek, J. (2012). Are Grades 10-12 physical sciences teachers equipped to teach physics?. Perspectives in Education, 30(3), 110-121.