Teaching in rural schools is frequently marked by challenges ranging from restricted technological infrastructure and geographical remoteness to sparse professional development. Guided by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this paper reports findings from a sequential explanatory mixed-methods study that investigated…

In many Global South countries, including South Africa, the adoption of Virtual Lab (VL) remains largely conceptual. This paper emphasizes the necessity of understanding teachers' perceptions of VL before implementation to mitigate risks of abandonment or underutilization post deployment. Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989),…

Despite the promising advantages of cutting-edge technologies like virtual laboratories (VL) for enhancing science education, a significant gap remains between their theoretical benefits and practical application, particularly in rural schools in the Global South. This article argues that the effective integration of VL is largely dependent on…

The advantage of VLs lies in their capacity for simulating real-world lab experiences within a fully immersive digital environment, yet the uptake in rural schools in developing countries remains low. To understand this paradox, this study explores the perceptions of seven secondary school science teachers in a rural district in South Africa.…

There is a scarcity of studies that focus on how South African high school physical sciences teachers are grappling with chemical laboratory safety (CLS). This is despite the fact that the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements in the South African school system increased emphasis on laboratory activities in the physical sciences. Department…

This article reports on the introduction of a simple, portable, low-cost, and hands-on spectral tool for first-year chemistry students to use inside the laboratory and its spontaneous dissemination outside of the laboratory. The Mini Spec is a refinement of the Schwabacher minispectroscope in terms of simplicity and language load on the students.…

Background: This article presents the findings of a pilot study introducing students to emerging educational technologies to enhance their physics laboratory learning experiences. This follows a design-based laboratory approach in which the students move from constructing and developing their laboratory reports in a traditional cookbook…

To become scientifically literate, students must learn to proficiently utilise and fluently integrate a suite of specialised and contextualised multimodal literacy practices. While the frequency of explicit reading and writing instruction in the sciences is increasing, the wider range of multimodal practices are often not adequately addressed. We…

Practical work is ubiquitous in science education, but its enactment is challenging in remote teaching contexts. The situation was exacerbated due to a moratorium on contact classes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic that necessitated strict health protocols. Home-based practical work (HBPW) became a significant option as academic institutions…

The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) reforms in the South African school system came with an increased emphasis on laboratory practicals for the physical sciences. While reform implementation is known to be fraught with a myriad of challenges, for science teachers such significant changes in the practical components magnified the…

The study reported on here was undertaken to understand the impact of mentoring novice science teachers. The study was conducted within the Gauteng province, because there have been many debates and concerns on the necessity to devise ways of improving the understanding of science in schools in the province. The purpose of this study was to…

This research reports the assessment of pre-service teachers' reception and attitudes towards virtual laboratory experiments in Life Sciences with the aim of advancing adaptability to digital learning. Using sequential mixed-methods in a quasi-experimental design, 68 pre-service teachers in the 3rd year of a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) program…

Background: Students' well preparedness for laboratory sessions is of importance for a number of reasons including them being able to engage in and learn from the session and in acquiring the necessary laboratory skills needed for the scientific community and for possible further work in industry. To enhance the preparedness of the students an…

Manu Prakash, the developer of the foldscope microscope reported on in this paper, stated that it is important to use tools that can support open-ended inquiry in the classroom, without dumbing down those tools. Scientific equipment in the school laboratory is often very expensive and only available to those who can afford it. "Frugal…

This paper elaborates a process followed to characterise manifestations of cognitive regulation during the collaborative planning of chemistry practical investigations. Metacognitive activity was defined as the demonstration of planning, monitoring, control and evaluation of cognitive activities by students while carrying out the chemistry task.…