Differentiated computer science syllabuses : a fundamental pedagogic perspective

Abstract

South Africans are confronted by social and economic problems of magnitude and complexity that cannot be ignored by curriculum planners. Increasing population statistics, plummeting gold prices, disinvestment, unemployment and political uncertainty continue to make economic and social ventures hazardous in their undertaking. Man accesses his world through education, and curriculum planners should, therefore, anticipate the future socio-economic structures of this country, and beyond, thereby providing meaningful school curricula that will prepare learners for the technologyintensive workplaces of modem times. Curriculating wisdom would include the: * needs of the learner as he prepares for adulthood; * demands of society for utilitarian citizens; and * structuring of knowledge that encourages learning rather than discourages it. The secondary school adolescent is career oriented and progresses towards a state of independent thought and behaviour. The school is obliged to address the situation of the adolescent and provide learning opportunities that will prepare him for a meaningful place in society. Selected themes from the discipline of computer science have been evaluated according to the essences of the pedagogic school structure. Differentiation of the subject content has been indicated so that pupils of all academic abilities can benefit from the learning experiences offered by the content. A questionnaire, sent to Education Departments in South Africa, determined that computer science was available to a very small percentage of pupils for matriculation creditation. A sample of these pupils completed a questionnaire designed to determine their regard for the subject and the influence it had on their choice of career. Three pupils were interviewed to assess, primarily, the role that computers played in their family and peer relationships. All investigations confirmed that computer science is a highly desired subject, skilfully able to fulfil the needs of the adolescent as he prepares for his place in society in the most meaningful, contemporaneous and dignified manner.