Abstract
M.Ed.
South Africa is undergoing a process of transformation. Thus educators should be
alert, ready to face challenges and to keep abreast with developments in education
as a whole. This underscores the role of in-service training (INSET) to maintain
and improve the quality of education. Success of an innovation depends on the
support it gets from the people affected. Similarly, success of the INSET will
depend on the support it gets from teachers. Therefore, teachers' perceptions of the
contributions of the INSET in their area is of vital importance as it will help form
an opinion about the potential of the success of this INSET centre.
Set within the qualitative framework, the research is a case study of Giyani
Science Centre. The aim is to identify teachers' perceptions of the contributions of
the Giyani Science Centre as well as seeking teachers' suggestions for solving the
problem of teachers' resistance to the INSET.
Six high schools from the Giyani region have been selected for participation in the
interviews. Two of these schools are Giyani Science Centre's major schools and
the other four are non-major schools.
The findings revealed a gap between what was intended and what is happening in
practice. The interviewees suggested a need of two-way communication between
the Science Centre and the teachers affected, an active involvement of all the
teachers at all stages, all types of evaluation to be exercised, use of consultants and
also stimuli like salary increment or certificates from the government.