Exploring curriculum and instructional design in selected South African primary schools

Abstract

In the last two decades, the South African educational system has undergone extensive changes. However, despite the South African government's efforts to improve educational processes, infrastructure and resources in the country, numerous problems and anomalies still litter the education landscape. The researcher looked into the school system and teacher’s training by exploring curriculum and instructional design in selected South African primary schools. The aim of this study was to explore and determine how the curriculum and instructional design of selected primary schools could give new insights into the school system and teacher’s training in South Africa for the common good of learners in South Africa. The core of the research was that the researcher wanted to answer the question to herself: What could be done to enhance teaching and learning and to prepare primary school learners in South Africa for the demands of the 21st century. First, a literature study was conducted to identify the current state of and also education problems different quintile primary schools representing the diversity of the contexts in South Africa in particular. The literature was also explored to get clear insights into the curriculum and instructional design of schools in South Africa and the Netherlands, teacher’s training programmes, teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and skills regarding curriculum implementation and instruction in the different primary school phases. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model was used throughout the study to apply the literature and also the data findings and a qualitative-methods study located within interpretivism as a paradigm was conducted. Interpretivism as worldview emerge from the following categories: actions, circumstances (situations) and results (consequences) and exist in social, historical and political situations. Information-rich participants from pre-primary and primary schools were purposefully selected. A multiple case study design was employed. Five (n=5) selected teachers from the Netherlands and 23 (n=23) primary school teachers from South Africa, comprising ten (n=10) from selected primary schools from Gauteng and 13 (n=13) and primary school teachers from the Eastern Cape. The selected primary schools in South Africa from different quintiles ensure a fair representation of the population in South Africa. In addition to the above selection, five teacher education lecturers from the Netherlands, and 13 departmental officials from the Eastern Cape (an underperforming province) and from the Gauteng Department of Education (a good performing province) were selected to participate. Semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and document analysis were employed as qualitative data gathering instruments. The researcher analysed and interpreted the data and came to the following main themes which included a number of sub-themes: determining factors of learners and context in selected South African schools, problems around proficient teacher’s training for primary school teachers in South Africa, challenges in terms of curriculum and assessment, problems within the education system and a lack of 21st century skills and equipment. The themes with the most sub-themes were problems around proficient teacher’s training for primary schools (11 sub-themes), problems within the education system (10 sub-themes) and challenges in terms of curriculum and assessment with 9 sub-themes. Finally, based on the findings, the researcher compiled a framework derived from her insights about primary school education and primary school teacher’s training in South Africa. The suggested framework must be applied and upgraded to a model to enhance curriculum and instructional design in primary schools in South Africa.