Abstract
M.Ed.
South Africa's democratic government inherited a divided and unequal system of education.
Under apartheid, South Africa had nineteen different educational departments separated by
race, geography and ideology (Department of Education, 2002:4). In this education
system, teachers taught a syllabus and learners were required to meet certain objectives.
These objectives were normally fixed and had to be achieved by all learners within a
certain time frame. Assessment was based mainly on knowledge by means of a test. This
system did not serve the needs of all learners in the country (Pretorius, 1998:1).
Curriculum change in post-apartheid South Africa started immediately after the election in
1994 when the National Education and Training Forum began a process of syllabus revision
and subject rationalisation (Department of Education, 2002:4). The purpose of this process
was mainly to lay the foundation for a single national core syllabus. This brought about the
implementation of Curriculum 2005 in 1998 which marked a watershed in the educational
history of South Africa. The Outcomes-based education (OBE) approach represents a
paradigm shift in education.
Prof. Duan Van der Westhuizen