P. Naidoo et Km. Lewin, POLICY AND PLANNING OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE-EDUCATION IN SOUTH-AFRICA - MYTHS AND REALITIES, Journal of research in science teaching, 35(7), 1998, pp. 729-744
South Africa has inherited a fragmented system of science education wh
ich fails to provide adequate access to the majority of the population
and poorly serves those whom it does educate. Less than 0.5% of South
African students achieve university entrance qualifications in scienc
e and mathematics. Post-apartheid policies have focused on increasing
investment in science education through educating more science teacher
s, providing more access to students to study science at schools, and
supplying more science equipment to schools. Based on findings from re
search conducted in Kwazulu-Natal, we conclude that each of these poli
cy initiatives can be questioned. First, Kwazulu-Natal appears to have
sufficient qualified physical science teachers to meet current demand
. Additional teachers may be needed to cope with expansion, but not to
teach existing students. Second, apparent shortages of qualified teac
hers may arise because of poor deployment; many who are qualified appe
ar to be teaching other subjects or occupying nonteaching posts. Third
, rapidly expanding access appears likely to reduce, rather than incre
ase, pass rates, and divert resources from improvements in quality. Fo
urth, the reasons for differences in performance and poor performance
appear not to be simply associated with levels of resource provision;
more likely it is the efficient and effective use of these resources w
hich is important. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.