Abstract
M.Ed.
This dissertation took as point of departure the problem definition of the report of the HSRC Working Committee on Curriculation and a great deal of attention was given to the curriculating role of the teacher at micro (classroom) level. The researcher tried to determine from available literature on this subject, what the viewpoint of other researchers were on the teacher's curriculating task at micro level. Almost without exception researchers were convinced that the teacher should play an important
part as far as curriculum design, implementation and development are concerned.
The researcher came to the conclusion that a lot of the reseachers are of the opinion that the word "curriculating" or "to curriculate" is part and parcel only of the meso (departmental) level, but in actual fact this term can only be relevant at the micro level. It is only the teacher who can actually "curriculate". People involved in curriculum development at the meso level can be called curriculum designers. Both teachers and curriculum designers are making use of the principles related to curriculum design, but they apply it in different ways. The second chapter was dedicated to the participants at the micro level. The two parties that play an active role at micro level are the teacher and the pupil, but there are also other people who are involved in the politics of education at micro level. Special attention was given to the teacher's role as curriculating and curriculum development agent in this regard. A proposal which flows from this dissertation is that student teachers and acting teachers must in one way or another be educated/trained to handle curriculum development as an applied skill. A training model for student teachers is also proposed, which should enable them to handle any given curriculum in a skilful way. In chapter 4 the assumptions that were made in the beginning of the study were tested against data obtained by means of an empirical
survey. The data which has been obtained, confirmed the point of view that teachers feel that they have no say in matters related to the curriculum; that they are not trained properly in the handling of curricula and because of this they can not act as professionals. If the authorities were willing to adopt the recommendations proferred
in this study it should lead to a more professional approach to curriculating, teaching and learning.