More than a thousand Grade 10 Physical Science learners from four South African provinces participated in a study that probed their conceptions of energy. The purpose was to determine the learners' conceptual resources, i.e. their initial conceptions, and identify the potentially productive resources from which they may construct physics concepts.…

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…

A study found first-year physics students at the University of Namibia (UNAM), considered to be a select group of students, to be as prepared for laboratory work as Australian tenth-graders. Comparison with students of Potchefstroom University (South Africa) found UNAM students deficient in both cognitive and affective aspects of laboratory work.…