Making sense of science through two languages: a South African case study

Mzamo Senior Secondary School (not its real name) looks like any typical township school in South Africa: modern face-brick classroom blocks which conceal a serious lack of resources, material and human. Under apartheid the disparities in spending on white and African students meant hugely different teaching and learning contexts - including infrastructure, teacher training, pupil: teacher ratios and teaching materials. Today, 10 years into the new democracy and despite government’s efforts to equalize spending, the historic inequalities persist. The school is surrounded by township houses and shacks that reflect the high poverty levels in the Eastern Cape Province. Students at schools like this face an additional but less obvious problem – that of the language medium. Although in the Eastern Cape, Xhosa is the home language of 83,8% of the population and English speakers comprise only 3.7%, the official language medium in schools is English from the beginning of Grade 4 in the majority of schools. South Africa is a multilingual country with 11 official languages recognized in the Constitution of 1996 – 9 indigenous languages and the two colonial languages, English and Afrikaans

Learning science through two languages in South Africa

[From the introduction]: South Africa is a multilingual country with eleven national languages - nine indigenous languages and the two former colonial languages of English and Afrikaans1 - recognised as official languages in the Constitution of 1996 (Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996). Despite these provisions, since the democratic elections of 1994 English has expanded its position as the language of access and power with the relative influence of Afrikaans shrinking, and African languages effectively confined to functions of ‘home and hearth’. McLean and McCormick (1996: 329 in Mazrui 2002: 269) suggest that the constitutional recognition of 11 official languages in South Africa is largely 'intended and perceived as a symbolic statement and that for instrumental purposes, English remains the dominant language in South Africa'

Learning support materials (LSMs) and Curriculum 2005 (C2005): a research paper on the role of learning support materials in Curriculum 2005.

The report examines the role of LSMs in bringing about the change envisaged in Curriculum 2005. It highlights three aspects of the new curriculum that are especially pertinent: resource-based learning, information literacy and lifelong learning. It argues that lifelong learning depends on information literacy, and this literacy can only be acquired through interaction with resources. The new curriculum thus requires resources. The report then examines the way in which LSMs are conceptualised in policy documents. It reveals a lack of clarity both with regard to the nature of LSMs and who is responsible for producing them. It proposes a framework for the description of LSMs, which distinguishes between resources (the ‘raw materials’) and LSMs (resources shaped to a pedagogical purpose). The question of access to resources is then considered. The report argues that access requires a minimum level of expenditure, and points to the fact that spending on LSMs has fallen dramatically over the past four years. To enable access, LSMs must be well-structured, well-prepared and appropriate. They must also reach schools on time and be well-managed when they get there. The report also considers access to libraries and computer technology, both of which are vital in resource-based learning. It reveals severe cutbacks in school and provincial library services, and disparities with regard to access to libraries and computer technology, in particular and to LSMs in general. In multilingual societies, language is a factor that determines access to LSMs. The report reveals that although policy advocates a multilingual approach, increasing numbers of School Governing Bodies are opting for education in English. This will influence publishing in all African languages. The report then turns to the situation in classrooms and finds wide disparities between teaching practices in well-resourced and under-resourced schools with the former being closer to the practices advocated by C2005 than the latter. The report suggests that change will not occur overnight. Resources construct practice and are necessary in order for real change to occur. Low levels of literacy, especially in rural schools are exacerbated by the fact that children are expected to read in an inadequately mastered second language. Consequently, teachers interpret textbooks that are often inaccessible to learners thus setting patterns of rote learning and dependency that persist throughout children’s schooling. Poor basic literacy is also a concern as it is fundamental to the development of more sophisticated literacies required by C2005. The report considers the teacher-textbook debate and challenges its polarity, arguing instead for a hand-in-hand approach: textbooks and other LSMs cannot on their own improve teaching; they must be accompanied by teacher development. It is this view which frames discussion of three important components of teacher competence: use of LSMs; design / production of LSMs; and evaluation of LSMs Research suggests that teachers mediate LSMs and adapt them to existing practice and that teachers do not always share the vision of materials writers nor understand their conceptual goals. They may not even use LSMs when they are available. Nevertheless, international research has shown that carefully designed LSMs can support curriculum change. While policy now requires that teachers produce some of their own LSMs, research reveals wide disparities in their ability to do so. For many the desire to produce their own LSMs does not translate into a practical competence. Some commentators believe that it is unrealistic to expect teachers to produce their own LSMs: they should rather make use of good quality textbooks (which provide the learning programme), and develop their own supplementary materials. However this highlights the importance of consistent, fair and competent book evaluation systems/ practices, an area which research has shown to be currently extremely problematic. In conclusion, the report re-emphasises the importance of resources and stresses their role in capacity building. Concern is expressed that policy documents do not always pay sufficient attention to this. The report also points to the need to increase efficiencies in the system and spend what funding there is wisely. Finally, it highlights the need for more systematic research on what happens in classrooms to inform curriculum planning and implementation

Sun, sea, sand and silicone: mapping cosmetic surgery tourism

This multi-site, mixed methods project charted the experiences of British, Chinese and Australian patients travelling abroad for cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery tourism is a fast developing industry that incorporates novel forms of labour and organisational structures that cross national boundaries, as well as drawing together pre-existing medical and tourism infrastructure. While medical tourism has often been characterised as wealthy patients from the global south travelling to the global north for high quality medical treatment unavailable at home, cosmetic surgery patients often travel from global north to global south, but these patients are on modest incomes. Despite this they can sometimes access upmarket private hospitals beyond their reach back home, made possible by favourable currency rates, cheap flights and lower labour costs outside the richest countries in the world. UK and Australian patients travelled for surgeries that were popular back home – such as breast augmentation and uplift, ‘tummy tuck’, rhinoplasty and liposuction. Others travel regionally, for example within Europe, often also motivated by cost savings. There are important exceptions to this pattern: Chinese patients travelling to South Korea access more expensive but high quality cosmetic surgery unavailable back home. Here patients from abroad often seek particular types of surgery prevalent amongst South Koreans, for example eye or jawbone surgery, or high tech surgery, such as breast augmentation using the patient’s own fat and stem cells. Patients therefore travel from global north to global south, across regional borders, and many are also ex-patriates. UK patients in Spain were most usually already living in Southern Spain or Gibraltar. Monitoring the movements of cosmetic surgery tourists is important in predicting health tourism in the future. As public healthcare systems are increasingly squeezed, patients become consumers in search of cut price procedures, taking on the risks of the choices they make. This research aimed to broaden understandings of surgical tourist experiences, the organisations involved, and the implications for globalize

Retreating to nature : rethinking 'therapeutic landscapes'

There is a long history of removing oneself from ‘society’ in order to recuperate or repair. This paper considers a yoga and massage retreat in Southern Spain, and what opportunities this retreat experience might offer for recuperation and the creation of healthy bodies. The paper positions ‘nature’ as an active participant, and as ‘enrolled’ in the experiences of the retreat as a ‘therapeutic landscape’, and questions how and what particular aspects of yoga practice (in intimate relation with place) give rise to therapeutic experiences

Language and learning science in South Africa

South Africa is a multilingual country with 11 official languages. However, English dominates as the language of access and power and although the Language-in- Education Policy (1997) recommends school language policies that will promote additive bilingualism and the use of learners' home languages as languages of learning and teaching, there has been little implementation of these recommendations by schools. This is despite the fact that the majority of learners do not have the necessary English language proficiency to successfully engage with the curriculum and that teachers frequently are obliged to resort to using the learners' home language to mediate understanding. This research investigates the classroom language practices of six Grade 8 science teachers, teaching science through the medium of English where they and their learners share a common home language, Xhosa. Teachers' lessons were videotaped, transcribed and analysed for the opportunities they offered learners for language development and conceptual challenge. The purpose of the research is to better understand the teachers' perceptions and problems and to be able to draw on examples of good practice, to inform teacher training and to develop a coherent bilingual approach for teaching science through the medium of English as an additional language

Abalone farming in South Africa: an overview with perspectives on kelp resources, abalone feed, potential for on-farm seaweed production and socio-economic importance

The South African abalone cultivation industry has developed rapidly and is now the largest producer outside Asia. With a rapid decline in wild abalone fisheries, farming now dominates the abalone export market in South Africa. Kelp (Ecklonia maxima) constitutes the major feed for farmed abalone in South Africa, but this resource is now approaching limits of sustainable harvesting in kelp Concession Areas where abalone farms are concentrated. This paper gives an overview of the development of the South African abalone industry and analyses how abalone farming, natural kelp beds and seaweed harvesting are interlinked. It discusses options and constraints for expanding the abalone industry, focussing especially on abalone feed development to meet this growing demand. Kelp will continue to play an important role as feed and kelp areas previously not utilised may become cost-effective to harvest. There are many benefits from on-farm seaweed production and it will probably be a part of future expansion of the abalone industry. Abalone waste discharges are not at present regarded as a major concern and farming brings important employment opportunities to lower income groups in remote coastal communities and has positive spill-over effects on the seaweed industry and abalone processing industry.Web of Scienc

Urban civic pride and the new localism

Civic pride relates to how places promote and defend local identity and autonomy. It is often championed as a key value and aspiration of local government. This paper argues that civic pride has been under‐examined in geography, and in particular the emotional meanings of pride need to be better understood. In response, I present an emotional analysis of civic pride and discuss its role in British cities, particularly in the context of urban regeneration and the UK's new localism agenda. In the latter part of the paper I provide a case study of Nottingham in England, where I employ a discourse analysis of recent urban policy and local media to examine how civic pride is being mobilised and contested in the city. Examining civic pride is important because it shapes and reflects the political values that local governments stand for and provides a basis for thinking about how emotions are used strategically (and problematically) in urban policy. This paper complements and challenges existing literature on cities by showing how civic pride shapes, but also obscures, the ideological politics of local government and how, as geographers, we might consider more seriously the ways forms of power, identity and inequality are reproduced and contested through emotions such as pride

Transcultural body spaces: re-inventing and performing headwrap practice among young Congolese women in London

This article examines embodied representation of race, ethnicity, and gender, questioning ideas of cultural appropriation. Using the London-based Congolese transnational fashion brand Kiyana Wraps as a case study, the article addresses how young Congolese designers re-invent their cultural heritage to conceive the label stylisation and construct meanings of Blackness/Africanness. The article also explores the brand’s social spaces, where the headwrap ritual is used by different actors to perform hybrid identities. In addition, wearing the headwrap reveals symbolic metaphors of empowerment, through which intertwined ‘feminist’ and ‘feminine’ identities are evoked. The paper examines how Congolese women are creatively taking inspiration from the environment of London to produce innovative fashion trajectories as lived socio-cultural experiences. It argues how the headwrap ritual signifies an aesthetic and material process through which specific racial and ethnic boundaries are transcended, fabricating transcultural body spaces which encompass individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds

The sexuality-assemblages of young men: a new materialist analysis

This article presents a new materialist exploration of young men and sexuality that shifts the focus away from bodies and individuals, toward the affective flow within assemblages of bodies, things, ideas and social institutions, and the sexual capacities this flow produces. Using data from two empirical studies, we explore the sexuality assemblages of teen boys and young men, and the micropolitics of these assemblages. We find that the sexuality produced in the bodies of young men is highly territorialised and aggregated by various materialities. However, we also reveal how young men resist these conventional sexualities