Conducted in urban and rural schools in two provinces of South Africa, the present study reports biology learners' understanding of concepts about genetics and inheritance. Participants were Grade 11 and 12 learners, aged 15-16 years. The tools included a written questionnaire, interviews, pre- and post-paper and pencil tests and focus group…

A survey of the scientific literacy of selected high-school leavers at the secondary/tertiary educational interface in South Africa revealed that taking Physical Science in grade 12, in contrast to Biology, plays a more significant role in the achievement of scientific literacy by these students. An explanation for this result was sought by…

Lack of student motivation to learn and study has become a problem to education institutions the world over. Numerous factors contribute to this situation in South Africa. Research has found that in spite of student potential, as well as resources and facilities found in schools and in higher education institutions, students are not inspired to…

This study reports on the teaching of life sciences (biology) to blind and visually impaired learners in South Africa at 11 special schools with specific reference to the development of science process skills in outcomes-based classrooms. Individual structured interviews were conducted with nine science educators teaching at the different special…

The new political dispensation and socio-economic transformation in South Africa do not, unfortunately, guarantee jobs for those who wish to enter the labour market after school. Indications are that only between 5-7% of successful Grade 12 candidates in the country find employment in the formal sector. The problem of unemployment and ways to…

This paper discusses some results of South African (SA) grade 12 pupils on an international test of mathematical literacy, administered in the framework of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Three questions are…

Universities and technikons have been struggling to meet the demands of growing numbers of students who enter higher education with limited skills. Higher Education literature abroad provides an exhaustive range of theory about the reasons for students leaving (cited in Strauss & Volkwein 2002), as well as proposals for positive intervention.…

In face-to-face teaching, the educator is able to directly mediate learning and gauge the level of the learners' English proficiency. Teleteaching makes this virtually impossible, as learners are invisible and thus immediate intervention in learning or estimations of proficiency are much more difficult to achieve. TELETUKS Schools 1--a community…

This study, using a non-experimental, exploratory and descriptive method, established learners' and educators' views about factors that contribute to poor performance in mathematics and physical science. Participants were purposefully selected from seven schools with poor pass rates in District 3 of Tshwane North. Focused group interviews with ten…

Using text, activities, cartoons, and prose, the publication encourages junior and senior secondary students to examine the history of colonialism in Africa and the importance of colonialism in Africa today. Chapter 1 provides an overview of 500 years of colonialism. Chapter 2 describes pre-colonial Africa from the year 1000 to 1442. The focus of…

Examined secondary school students' (n=364) attitudes toward time use. Three constructs of time-use attitudes were identified: passive fatalistic, egoistic, and conscientious. Several significant developmental patterns of time-use attitudes were found for males and females in grades 8, 10, and 12. (Author/NB)

This volume of the 27th International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education Conference includes the following research reports: (1) Improving Decimal Number Conception by Transfer from Fractions to Decimals (Irita Peled and Juhaina Awawdy Shahbari); (2) The Development of Student Teachers' Efficacy Beliefs in Mathematics during…