Background: The development of context-based science curricula has been identified as one of the most effective curricular innovations to develop interest and better conceptual understanding of many areas in science. However, such a curriculum can be more fruitful if it starts with the assessment of learners' contextualized knowledge about the…

Despite growing consensus regarding the value of inquiry-based teaching and learning, the implementation of such a pedagogical practice continues to be a challenge for many South African teachers, especially at rural schools. The research reported in this article concerns the interaction between Grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers' beliefs about…

The choice of which language strategies to use in schools in Africa is the subject of much debate. In the Life Sciences, cultural issues associated with the use of biological terminology add to this debate. In our study, we examined the language choices made by Grade 7 Natural Sciences teachers in South Africa during their teaching of human…

The purpose of this study was to find out teachers' preferred teaching sequence for basic chemistry topics in Physical Science in South Africa, to obtain their reasons underpinning their preferred sequence, and to compare these sequences with the prescribed sequences in the current curriculum. The study was located within a pragmatic paradigm and…

Teachers are actively encouraged to plan their lessons such that there is maximum classroom talk, namely accountability talk. However, many lessons do not display sufficient accountability talk. This study attempted to better understand the level and quality of accountability talk in six science lessons. The study aimed to provide teachers with…

The literature on science education reveals a worldwide decline in young people's interest in the study of sciences. This lack of interest has resulted in low enrolment rates in science-related courses at tertiary level. Researchers have suggested, among other innovations, the use of context-based teaching approaches as a way of motivating…

This mixed-methods research investigated teachers' perceptions of intrinsic factors (personal attributes of the teacher) and extrinsic factors (environmental) influencing the implementation of inquiry-based science learning at township (underdeveloped urban area) high schools in South Africa. Quantitative data were collected by means of an adapted…

Research suggests that there is a need for better training of prospective teachers on information and communication technologies (ICTs) in order to encourage their use for teaching and learning in schools. This paper presents findings on the self-perceptions of competence by pre-service teachers to use ICTs for teaching science content. A mixed…

An adequate understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS) has become increasingly important for science teachers in the context of the recent curriculum revisions being implemented in Grades R-9 in South African schools. This study explored the NOS conceptions and the influence of these conceptions on the classroom practice of two groups of…

It is commonly accepted that Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) has a topic-specific nature. However, its implementation in teacher education programmes has remained generic and tacit. This paper reports on an attempt to improve the quality of PCK in chemistry pre-service teachers in a specified topic--chemical equilibrium. By locating PCK at a…

Electronic tutors able to respond appropriately to a user's input have been shown to be effective in improving learning in a number of contexts. This study extends this research into the context of conceptual change during in-service science teacher workshops. Quantitative data were collected from 1,049 South African grade 12 physical sciences…

The incidence and prevalence of alternative conceptions in science have been reported by a number of researchers. This article reports findings of a study involving the development and implementation of two intervention programmes to address alternative conceptions related to interference and diffraction of waves among 133 first year university…

This paper reports on the autonomy Grade 9 learners (13-14 years) are given when doing science investigations. The study adopted a mixed methodology research design which involved the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were collected by means of questionnaires which were administered to 55 teachers. Qualitative…