Through the Lens of Teachers: The Use of Geography CAPS Textbooks, Concomitant Challenges and a Reimagining of the Textbook

The latest school curriculum offering in South Africa, has been the introduction of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in 2011 and this has logically been followed by the production of new textbooks in 2013 aligned to the current education syllabus requirements. This paper examines the use of the Geography grade 11 and 12 CAPS textbooks and the challenges experienced by teachers (as articulated by them) in their use in two poor provinces that lie on the eastern coast of South Africa. The data emanates from a northern and southern hemisphere Geography Textbook and Pedagogy mixed methods study involving Norway, South Africa (SA), Swaziland and Zimbabwe. This paper utilizes the data generated from two instruments namely questionnaires and interviews from the South African data sets in the following two poor provinces: Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Selected theoretical filaments deriving from Bates and Poole’s (2003) SECTIONS model (a refinement from Bates, 1995, ACTIONS model) and Kasule’s (2011) ‘readability’ of a textbook, were of significance. The findings on the CAPS textbook use reveal an immense dissatisfaction amongst the Geography teachers. They bemoaned the lack of learner access to textbooks. It was evident that textbook shortages negatively impacted on effective teaching and learning thereby affecting learner performance in the final years of schooling. Teachers also expressed their disappointment at many of the textbooks’ quality with respect to inadequate and insufficient geographic content, decontextualised material, extraneous examples and some incorrect information. There were concerns that some of the current textbooks did not adequately acknowledge the needs of learners for whom English is a second language in these provinces. The authors recommend a reimagining of the CAPS textbooks by stakeholders to address some of the existing challenges in their use

Towards a Theory of Critical Consciousness: A New Direction for the Development of Instructional and Supervisory Leaders

COVID-19 and the demand for racial justice caused the dark underbelly of white supremacy to be laid bare during 2020. These events call for a reexamination of the ontological and epistemological frameworks in academe and specifically within the field of educational leadership. The legacy of white supremacist ideology prevails as the existing and accepted ontological and epistemological perspectives of history offered in PreK-12 through post-secondary education. The political, economic, and social context highlights the need for instructional and supervisory leaders to be culturally responsive school leaders. This requires that programs preparing these leaders must grapple with and problematize the existing narratives purported in PreK-12 and post-secondary education; and recognize that racism, implicit bias, discrimination, and anti-Blackness are foundational issues in the field. Reimagining preparation programs by incorporating critical theories and liberatory praxis to support the development of culturally responsive instructional and supervisory leaders is imperative

Finding Umoja: Reimagining Mentoring of New Black Teachers

Abstract In the United States approximately 20% of new teachers leave within the first 3 years (Hayes, 2004 and Henke et al., 2000), and within 5 years up to 50% leave the profession (Ingersoll, 2003). Attrition rates were highest in urban schools and schools serving low-income and minority students leading to an inequitable distribution of quality and experienced teachers (Lankford et al., 2002, OECD, 2005 and Provasnik & Dorfman, 2005a). The purpose of this study was to reimagine mentoring as a part of the induction program, the Umoja Model, to support new Black teachers as they join urban educational environments. This qualitative study was conducted over five months. An action research framework in conjunction with grounded theory framework was used to understand what was happening to and with new Black teachers in an urban school. Using face-to-face interviews, observations and collected artifacts, an understanding of the supports necessary to reduce the attrition of new Black teachers from urban schools was sought. Attributes necessary for participation included Black teachers who were novice, 1 to 3 years teaching in the urban school. The data collected in this study showed that participants required four things in order to have a successful first year: consistency, personal connections, affirmation of their racial identity and experiences, and self-care. These themes contributed to the development of a reimagined mentoring program called the Umoja Model, which included two components: 1) best-fit mentorship; and 2) an induction program specifically tailored to new Black teachers

Reimagining Ability, Reimagining America: Teaching Disability in United States History Classes

In service to the FAIR Education Act (2012) and the awareness-raising mission of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008), this project reviews historical and educational literature about disability in the United States and provides a curriculum guide for teaching Human Rights Education (HRE) and disability studies (DS) at the high school level in California. This project traces the historical development of deficit attitudes toward disability back to the colonial era, uncovering the dichotomy between the vast resources in DS and the ableist omission of disability from K-12 curricula. Survey data and interviews further show how teachers lack the resources or knowledge to incorporate disability history into their syllabi despite their willingness to engage in the topic. In response to participants’ expressing the need for primary source materials and professional development resources related to disability, “Reimagining America: Reading U.S. History through Human Rights and Critical Disability Studies” was created, containing a glossary of key terms, an accessibility checklist, and a standards-aligned syllabus with seven lesson plans for bringing HRE and DS into an 11th- grade U.S. History course. Suggestions are provided for bringing DS into other core classes in K-12 settings

Southern African Strides in Geography Education

For the purposes of this Editorial, I want to sub-title it, ‘A Focus on Geography Education Research: North and South’. My reasons for reflecting on this topic will become clear in the course of the Editorial.Geography Education, at times termed Geographical Education, has been a growing tangent discipline of Geography internationally. There is a plethora of literature in the discipline of Geography Education (GE) from the global north but limited literature comparatively from Africa, especially in the southern African region. Literature does indeed abound from countries taking stock of GE in for example, the United States (Bednarz 2002; Bednarz 2008; Brysch 2014), United Kingdom (Lambert & Morgan 2010; Morgan 2011), France (Graves 2001), Australia (Robertson 2003), Turkey (Şahin & Karabağ 2005; Karabağ & Şahin 2007a; Öztürk 2005; Karabağ & Şahin 2007b; Taş 2007) and Korea (Seo & Kim 2012). There are also cross-country analyses of aspects of GE, such as between Turkey and the USA (Demirci 2004); Europe and the USA (Bednarz & Schee 2006) or on concerns on environmental education (Rickinson & Lundholm 2008; Marcinkowski 2009; Morgan 2015). Eight years ago, Yecit (2010) undertook an international study on research in Geography Education between the period 2000 - 2009 by accessing archives, magazines and papers submitted to national and international conferences in addition to post-graduate and PhD theses

The Sons of Emmett Till: Addressing Black Male Masculinity in Urban High Schools in New Orleans

This dissertation explores how Black boys in New Orleans’ urban high schools develop, define, and do masculinity. Beginning with a narrative literature review, this study provides themes common among the six peer-reviewed articles that are specifically written on the subject of Black boys’ masculinity in urban high schools in the United States. Analyzed using Critical Race Theory, the themes discussed in these six articles were used to formulate interview questions for 10 Black male students in New Orleans high schools. The empirical portion of this study found that Black boys in New Orleans urban high schools develop masculinity at birth, define it as person’s character traits, and perform masculinity according to society’s standards, enacting a cool pose (Majors & Billson, 1992). These findings lead the researcher to utilize Critical Race Theory in conversation with Feminist Standpoint Theory and Queer Theory to provide scholar-practitioners with the tools to re-evaluate the conversations that take place behind closed doors in relation to Black boys and their development, definition, and expression of masculinity

Work-in-Progress: Mobile Assisted Gains Through Innovative Curriculum for Students in the Thermal-Fluids Science Course

A learner-centered higher education ecosystem is essential to effective educational outcomes and societal advancement. Mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and tablet computers enable learning anytime and from any location, blurring the boundaries between formal and informal learning. When paired with effective pedagogy, mobile technologies can positively impact the teaching and learning experience for students in high-demand science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, increasing the flexibility and ease with which they are able to pursue their education while developing their professional identities as engineers. Student retention remains a problem in STEM programs. In engineering, many students do not even make it past their core courses. This poster reports on initial efforts of a two-year research study to utilize mobile technologies and a technology-enhanced curriculum to improve student engagement and learning in STEM undergraduate courses. Guided by a social-constructivist theoretical framework and the Triple E framework (Engagement, Enhancement, Extension) this work in progress poster describes a quasi-experimental mixed methods study on implementing mobile devices (iPad and Pencil) and a technology-enhanced curriculum in an undergraduate thermal-fluids engineering course. The technology-enhanced curriculum will be fully integrated in the thermal-fluids course to deliver content and to facilitate student engagement with the content, instructor, and peers. This approach applies the social-constructivist perspective on learning and supports a connected community of learners with classroom peers and co-construction of knowledge where the instructor’s role is that of a subject matter expert who facilitates learning. To examine the impact of mobile devices on student learning, in this two-year study (started in Fall 2021), the following research questions will be addressed, hypothesizing improvements in the areas of engagement, learning outcomes, and extension of learning goals to real-life problems: (1) Does mobile device use facilitate engagement in thermal-fluid science course content? (Engagement), (2) Does mobile device use increase learning of identified difficult concepts in thermal-fluid science courses as indicated by increased achievement scores? (Enhancement) and (3) What are student perceptions of using mobile devices for solving real-life problems? (Extension). This poster will provide an overview of the research plan and describe some preliminary research efforts

Primary Preservice Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Practical Work in Remote Learning Environments

Science practical work is renowned for providing authentic environments for science learning in ways that reduce the abstractness of concepts. Significant resources are used to provide facilities such as laboratories to ensure that practical work is implemented in science learning. Practical work is important for primary preservice science teachers, who in turn will implement the instructional strategy in their future classrooms. The rise in remote learning has prompted researchers and instructors to reimagine ways of facilitating practical work in ways that involve human-machine interactions in significant ways. This study used an interpretive paradigm and an explorative single-case-study design to explore primary preservice science teachers’ perceptions of conducting practical work in remote learning environments. A framework based on the Internet of Things- (IoT) enabled tools was used to mediate the understanding of the study findings. Data were collected from 25 preservice teachers by means of experiment reports and observation of practical work activities. The findings of the study showed that in the absence of proper systems for conducting practical work remotely and limited internet connectivity, the participating preservice teachers used internet searches to inform them of how to conduct experiments using household materials. The experiment reports comprised experiment demonstrations developed through the use of filmmaking applications, cloud computing tools, and social media collaborations. The paper makes recommendations to expand preservice teachers’ technological competencies to include the use of virtual laboratories to conduct practical work in remote learning environments

Leveraging OER and Open Pedagogy to Promote EDI in the Classroom

In the context of promoting equity for students, the open educational resources (OER) movement has shifted from just cost savings to addressing the larger issue of decolonizing education and promoting social justice for marginalized students. Studies suggest a lack of inclusiveness and diverse perspectives in educational materials despite the diverse demographic of students in post-secondary institutions. Open education advocates have argued that students need “windows and mirrors” to fully engage in their learning – course content they can relate to and content that offers different perspectives from their own. This research paper is the author’s capstone project for the 2022-2023 SPARC Open Education Leadership Program that she participated in. The paper explores how OER and open pedagogy can help promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) for students in the classroom. These questions are addressed: 1. Who can benefit from OER? 2. Why should educators consider adapting or creating OER through an EDI lens? 3. How can OER and open pedagogy improve EDI for equity-deserving students and support learning for all students? 4. When does open not serve students or a community? 5. What is decolonizing and Indigenizing education in the context of open? To help generate ideas and foster discussions on promoting EDI through OER and open pedagogy, the paper provides considerations and additional resources for faculty and academic leaders