Abstract
M.Ed.
This study aims to investigate the perceptions and experiences of a group of Natural Sciences teachers’ in the Gert Sibande District (Dundonald Circuit and Piet Retief Circuit) in Mpumalanga regarding the inclusion of indigenous knowledge (IK) in the Natural Sciences classroom. This study is important in an era where the ‘decolonialization’ of the curriculum, or the adoption of a more Afrocentric approach in education, is receiving attention. The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) that was introduced in 2005 and the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) in 2012 require teachers to integrate school science with Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). The inclusion of indigenous knowledge necessitates that the teacher has suitable pedagogical content knowledge of the subject, understands the nature of indigenous knowledge (its tenets) and knows how to relate and teach CAPS topics in conjunction with indigenous knowledge in the classroom. Also, a teacher must devise appropriate teaching methods taking cognisance of the nature of science (NOS). According to Grenier (1998), an indigenous knowledge system is the sum total of the knowledge and skills possessed by people living in a particular geographical area that enables them to get the most out of their environment. Warren (1991) defines indigenous knowledge as the ‘local knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society’.
Research shows that many teachers do not possess the academic content knowledge that would enable them to teach indigenous knowledge systems in the science classroom in a competent manner. This research adopted a design-based approach (with some elements of phenomenology, since I captured teachers’ lived experiences of dealing with IK) that provided the richness of data and answers to the research questions (Brink, Van Der Walt & Van Rensburg, 2006: 191), namely - how do Natural Sciences teachers’ experience inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the Natural Sciences classroom and what are the challenges that they face? Purposive sampling was used and the participants were selected from schools in the Dundonald Circuit and Piet Retief Circuit in Mpumalanga Province. Data was collected by means of classroom observations, artefacts (such as teachers’ lesson plans), questionnaires and personal interviews. This study captures the ‘lived experiences’ of a selected...