THE IMPACT OF RESEARCH ON THE TEACHING OF THE LEARNING AREA: LIFE ORIENTATION

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THE IMPACT OF RESEARCH ON THE TEACHING OF THE
LEARNING AREA LIFE ORIENTATION
K J van Deventer E van Niekerk kjvd_at_sun.ac.za
evn_at_sun.ac.za Department of Sport
Science Stellenbosch University
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RESTRUCTURING THE TEACHING OF THE LEARNING AREA
LIFE ORIENTATION THROUGH RESEARCH

• Reality Teaching within the Higher Education
  environment has changed dramatically over the
  past years.
• The Stellenbosch University (SU) vision for
  2012.
• ? Teaching at SU Continuous renewal of all
  teaching and learning programmes and the
  creation of effective learning and study
  opportunities. (SU Policy on Learning and
  Teaching 2007).
• Reality The working environment that the student
  is prepared for, the Teaching environment, has
  also changed dramatically in South Africa since
  the introduction of Outcomes Based Education
  (1997).
• ? Teaching at schools Teachers that are
  qualified, competent, dedicated and caring.
  Individuals who will fulfill the various roles
  outlined in the Norms and Standards for Educators
  of 2000 (Government Gazette No 20844).

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RESTRUCTURING THE TEACHING OF THE LEARNING AREA
LIFE ORIENTATION THROUGH RESEARCH

• Challenges New challenges have emerged in terms
  of the needs of students within the Higher
  Education environment and the realties for which
  they must be prepared for in order to meet the
  demands of an ever changing professional arena.
• ? Professional preparation Teachers as Learning
  Area/Phase specialists.
• Challenges Realities within society.
• ? Lifestyle and societal changes Teachers /
  Educators that are key contributors to
  the transformation of South African society.

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THE IMPACT OF RESEARCH ON THE TEACHING OF THE
LEARNING AREA LIFE ORIENTATION

• Presentation structure
• The task
• The NCS
• Learning Areas
• Implementation of the NCS
• Problems Motivation for research
• FIRLT Research opportunity
• Pilot study Research findings
• The future

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REALITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE TEACHING OF THE
LEARNING AREA LIFE ORIENTATION

• Introduction background
• The development of any new educational curriculum
  is a major challenge for any nation.
• Through the selection of its content, it
  represents our priorities and assumptions of what
  constitutes good education
• and
• how we see the new form of society being realised
  through our children and learners.

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• BACKGROUND
• What kind of learners are envisaged?
• The curriculum aims to develop the full potential
  of each learner, and seeks to create lifelong
  learners who are confident and independent,
  literate, numerate and multi-skilled,
  compassionate, with a respect for the environment
  and the ability to participate in society as a
  critical and active citizen.
• Challenge?
• To be able to deliver the kind of learners that
  is envisaged by the NCS?

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• How can we achieve the aims and objectives of
  such an endeavor?
• Strategies of the Constitution, Values and Nation
  building find expression in the National
  Curriculum Statement.
• We must however be realistic about what a
  curriculum can and cannot achieve.
• How can a curriculum be successful?
• What is it dependant on?
• - Certain structures
• - Educators
• - Learners
• - ?

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• Educators are key contributors to the
  transformation of education in SA.
• What kind of teachers are envisaged?
• Teachers who are qualified, competent, dedicated
  and caring. Individuals who will fulfill the
  various roles outlined in the Norms and Standards
  for Educators of 2000 (Government Gazette No
  20844).
• Teachers as mediators, interpreters, designers of
  learning programmes and materials, leaders,
  administrators, managers, scholars, researchers,
  community members, citizens, assessors and
  learning area/phase specialists.

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• Realities?
• South Africas fiercest educational battle at
  the moment is the successful and effective
  implementation of OBE
• (Botha, 2002)
• Major problems?
• Inadequate training of teachers to teach in an
  outcomes-based manner
• Lack of financial resources to train these
  teachers efficiently and effectively
• (Chisolm, 2000)

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• The successful implementation of OBE in SA
  schools is hampered by the lack of resources and
  the lack of knowledge and skills of teachers and
  managers
• (Todd Mason, 1999)
• A major challenge for Life Orientation (LO) as a
  new learning area is the preconceptions that
  exists about it. Teachers and especially school
  managers will have to revisit their values and
  attitudes and adjust and innovate their teaching
  practices.

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• RNCS Learning Area Statements (LAS)
• - Each LAS identifies main Learning
  Outcomes to be achieved.
• - Each LAS specifies Assessment Standards
  for Learning Outcomes to be achieved.
• Learning Areas Each a field of knowledge, skills
  and values with unique features as well as
  connections with other Learning Areas and fields
  of knowledge.

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• NCS Learning Programmes
• The NCS Grades R-9 implemented in schools by
  means of Learning Programmes.
• These are structured and systematic
  arrangements of activities that promote the
  attainment of learning outcomes and assessment
  standards for a phase.
• General Education Training Band (GET)
• Foundation Phase Grades R - 3
• Intermediate Phase Grades 4 - 6
• Senior Phase Grades 7 - 9

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• Further Education Training Band (FET)
• Grades 10 12
• The implementation
• Learning Programme guidelines Ensure national
  standards
• Time allocations Ensure delivery within the NCS
• - Foundation Phase Life Skills 25
• - Intermediate / Senior Phase Life
  Orientation 8
• Assessment

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• Life Orientation
• Guides and prepares learners for life and its
  possibilities. Equips learners for meaningful and
  successful living in a rapidly changing and
  transforming society.

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• Life Orientation Five focus areas
• Health promotion
• Social development
• Personal development
• Physical development and movement
• Learners are able to demonstrate an
  understanding of, and participate in activities
  that promote movement and physical development.
• Orientation to the world of work

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• Recently education was depicted in the South
  African (SA) media as being in crisis.
• In the realm of Sport Science, Education
  transformation in SA had far reaching
  implications regarding Physical Education (PE) as
  a school subject.
• Currently with the introduction of Curriculum
  2005 and the NCS, PE as a school subject
  disappeared from the national curriculum.

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• - Where do we stand?
• Physical Education (PE)/Movement Education is now
  resembled by a learning outcome within a
  Learning Area/subject
• The only resemblance that remains
• In the GET Outcome - Physical development
  movement
• In the FET Subject Recreation Physical
  Well-being
• - Our concern?
• Higher Education Institutions (HEI) mostly train
  prospective teachers to deliver a school subject.
  But now the HEI have to train teachers to deliver
  a Learning Outcome within a Learning Area/subject
  related to PE. Quality training practices exist
  at HEI to meet the demands of the Education
  system in SA but

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• The problem?
• PE Specialists are no longer being appointed at
  schools.
• According to the NCS schools have the scope
  to determine what should be taught and how it
  should be taught and confirms the fear is that if
  schools do not have the services of qualified PE
  teachers, learners will not be exposed to quality
  movement experiences.
• Life Orientation is compulsory for all schools,
  but, due to its low priority, no implementation
  and monitoring strategies are in place to ensure
  delivery.With regard to Life Orientation and
  its outcomes, problems are presently encountered
  by schools. The problem seems to be a mismatch
  between sophisticated policies of the Department
  of Education and realities that most schools
  experience.

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• What to do?
• The aim of our research is to determine whether
  the movement Learning Outcome of Life
  Orientation, in the NCS (Grades R 10) is being
  implemented as it should be and to identify the
  problems and needs that are currently
  beingencountered.
• Quantitative date will be captured by a
  questionnaire (report on pilot study data)
• From the information assembled, strategies and
  recommendations will be developed to address the
  needs identified/indicated

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LIFE ORIENTATION (LO) STATUSResearch on the
implementation of LO in selected schools

• How?
• - Opportunity Funds
• The Fund for Innovation and Research into
  Learning and Teaching (FIRLT) at the Faculty
  of Education at the Stellenbosch University
• Method
• A literature review to provide a theoretical
  basis for generating the formulation of research
  questions

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LIFE ORIENTATION (LO) STATUSResearch on the
implementation of LO in selected schools

• Report back of preliminary findings on selected
  content

FP/IP SP Gr 10
Urban schools/ Rural schools 70/30 78/ 22 67/ 33
LO presented at school 100 100 100
Focus areas of LO presented
- Health promotion 100 100 100
- Social development 100 100 100
- Personal development 100 100 100
- Physical development movement 100 100 100
- Orientation to the world of work 82 100 100
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LIFE ORIENTATION STATUS

• In a recent study, Todd and Mason
  (2005)concluded that the implementation of OBE
  in SA would rely heavily on in-service teacher
  education (INSET).
• In SA legislation prescribes precise and
  comprehensive requirements and prerequisites
  regarding outcomes-based teacher education
  (Dreyer Booyse, 2003 Dreyer Booyse, 2004).
  The quality of the teachers, at the end of the
  day, make a huge difference in the class (Mason,
  1999 Talbot, 2001)

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LIFE ORIENTATION STATUSConclusion

• Contributions can made
• By determining the problem areas and needs in
  schools, regarding the implementation of LO,
  certain recommendations can be made.
• Support structures should/can be developed for
  teachers in training, teachers and schools, to
  achieve the standards expected for successful
  teaching and for Education in South Africa.
• Our greatest concern at this stage is
• How best to prepare and guide the teacher in
  training to manage the realities and challenges
  of teaching the movement content in any
  curriculum or teaching environment.

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Thank you / Dankie