Viewpoint: Towards an IK-SCIE integrative model, A theoretical reflection on the agricultural college curriculum in Zimbabwe

Investment in agricultural training in Zimbabwe occurs against a backdrop of scarce resources. Therefore, an insight into the suitability and quality of the curriculum in agricultural colleges will benefit students, their communities and the nation at large. The curriculum is a key determinant of the quality of agricultural training. Researchers have argued that the curriculum in the agricultural colleges is largely based on the scientific knowledge system, representing the western worldview. Furthermore, this curriculum neither recognises the variations among the people with regard to their knowledge of agricultural practices, nor does it consider the different worldviews that students bring into the classrooms. Relevance in agriculture, like in any science subject, encourages students to participate in classroom processes more deeply, learning in their own ways and bringing together their ideas, interests and experiences. The incorporation of cultural practices into learning also facilitates environmental sustainability. This study explores several curriculum models to explore these claims and suggests an integrative indigenous knowledge–science (IK-SCIE) model that can be used in crafting a curriculum relevant for the contextual setting of Zimbabwe. Based on this theoretical reflection, it is recommended that if indigenous knowledge is integrated in the agricultural curriculum, more research on indigenous practices would be promoted, leading to acceptance, documentation and the possible integration of these indigenous practices, hence making them accessible to a larger readership

Engaging Indigenous Knowledge Holders in Teaching Preservice Teachers in IKS Food Production and Practices: Implications for Higher Education

This paper explores preservice science teachers’ views and reflections of science, Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and their perspectives on the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge holders as teachers in the academy, in the context of teaching Environmentally sustainable development practices. Forty-nine preservice teachers were engaged in a Science Education university module that prepared them for transformative pedagogy for the new South African school Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) curriculum. This module included the teaching and learning of IKS, scientific issues pertaining to IKS, and preparing students to establish gardens on campus and in their communities, using agriculturally sustainable practices. Two African izinyanga (medicinal knowledge holders) shared their knowledge and skills of agriculture and sustainable development during the teaching of the Science Education module. Data were collected from 49 preservice teachers about their views of science and IKS using open-ended questionnaires, and 29 reflections on the inclusion of IKS holders as indigenous knowledge teachers in the academy. The data were analysed for the emergence of major themes or issues. The findings indicate that preservice teachers’ views of science, IKS and their relationships are complementary. The study has implications for planning responsive and innovative pedagogies in Higher Education curricula

Mössbauer study of the hyperfine magnetic field and electric field gradient at Fe sites in synthetic diamond.

Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1992.Mossbauer Spectroscopy has been used to investigate the site of Fe inclusions in a suite of synthetic diamonds (de Beers MDAS). Information on the hyperfine magnetic fields and electric field gradients at Fe sites in the diamond grains were obtained from Mossbauer Spectroscopy of diamond grains ranging in size from 25 to 250 um. The Fe inclusions in these samples resulted from the synthesis of the diamond grains in which Fe was used as a catalytic solvent. The Mossbauer measurements were carried at room temperature with a constant acceleration spectrometer operating in transmission geometry. The samples with the largest grain size of 180-250 um gave a well defined six component magnetically split spectrum, similar to the Zeeman split sextet obtained for natural iron. As the grain sizes decreased the intensity of the magnetically split components became greatly reduced and a strong paramagnetic component appeared. At grain sizes 105-45 um the spectra are dominated by a central single line with some evidence of an asymmetric doublet. For the finest grain size 38-25 um, the reappearance of the six magnetic hyperfine splitting components together with the strong central single paramagnetic component was observed. The change in the Mossbauer patterns observed with decreasing grain size suggest that a rapid phase transition of the Fe inclusions from ferromagnetic to superparamagnetic takes place. The analysis of Mossbauer spectra yielded a value of the hyperfine magnetic field of Bhf = -32.4(4) T and an electric field gradient in the range of Vzz = 1.4(4) 1.8( 7) X 10'8 V.cm- 2 at the site of the probe s7Fe nucleus. These values compare favourably with other measurements

South African primary school teachers' scientific and indigenous conceptions of the Earth-Moon-Sun system

Twenty-nine Zulu-speaking primary school teachers were enrolled for a certificate in-service science education course. Initially, informal classroom discussions with these teachers pointed out poor conceptual knowledge in basic astronomy. This study investigated teachers' scientific and indigenous conceptions of the Earth-Moon-Sun (E-M-S) system, namely, the motion of Earth relative to the Sun, the day/night cycle, Moon phases and seasons. It examined teachers' astronomical experiences from a socio-cultural constructivist perspective through individual and focus group interviews. The phenomenographic approach was used to analyse the data. The findings of the study are in conformity with the global literature in science education where primary school teachers hold a number of incorrect conceptions of the E-M-S system. In addition, teachers also hold indigenous conceptions of the E-M-S system related to African traditional and agricultural practices

Rural Basotho preservice students’ cultural and indigenous experiences of astronomy (ethnoastronomy) and implications for science education

This paper is a case study of rural Basotho preservice students’ cultural and indigenous experiences of astronomy (ethnoastronomy) explored through focus group interviews conducted at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The study uses a Vygotskian social-cultural lens in viewing how the different ways that astronomical phenomena, namely, events linked to the moon, sun, stars and season are woven into students’ cultural and indigenous beliefs arising from their daily practices. The data obtained is qualitatively analysed using the phenomenographic research approach-a perspective based on different ways of experiencing phenomena. This study reveals that Basotho rural students have experiences that are embedded in meaningful contact with their natural surroundings and through social interactions with their peers and elders, ethnoastronomical knowledge is shared and transmitted. Their experiences of ethnoastronomy are holistic and are linked and integrated with their daily practices of agriculture, religion and community way of life. The data in this study support the view that rural Basotho students have enhanced observational skills and authentic astronomical experiences that they can share with students at university. This paper has implications for the inclusion of ethnoastronomy in science education

Physical Sciences Preservice Teachers’ Religious and Scientific Views Regarding the Origin of the Universe and Life

This paper explores final-year physical sciences preservice teachers’ religious and scientific views regarding the origin of the universe and life. Data was obtained from 10 preservice teachers from individual in-depth interviews conducted at the end of the Science Method module. Their viewpoints were analyzed using coding, sorting, and categorizing. They attributed the origin of the universe and life to a blend of theistic, intelligent design or scientific beliefs. Moreover, their academic backgrounds, exposure to topics in Cosmology in the Science Method module, and classroom dialogues did not significantly influence or change their original religious beliefs. However, the dialogues did create an awareness of their own reflected positions regarding the tenacity of beliefs in religion and their inadequate cosmological understandings. The paper has implications for Science Education in addressing preservice teachers’ religious beliefs in contrast to scientific evidence

Cultural Production, Reproduction and Subversion of Gender Stereotyping among Pre-Service Science Teachers: Insights from Science Educators

We perceive contestations between science, education and women’s engagement and have raised disruptions in their act of knowing and mobility in science education. This study explored science educators’ views, beliefs and actions of reproduction and subversion of gender stereotyping at a teacher education college in Nigeria. Six science educators were selected based on comprehensive gender information that facilitated conduction of the study. The six educators were purposively selected out of 11 educators who completed and returned the questionnaire. A qualitative approach and case study framed the research using instruments such as questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observation schedules. Thematic analysis and coding were done. Educators consciously and unconsciously reproduced gender stereotypes beliefs and practices. Educators explicitly and implicitly engaged in unequal distribution of cognitive activities amongst pre-service teachers influenced by their practice of cultural norms and patriarchal ideology. The findings revealed multiple oppressions females faced, contradictory science classrooms, and political and democratic classroom space for negotiating and renegotiating discriminatory classroom beliefs, perception and views of educators during science engagements. However, several possibilities such as political advocacy, productive activism and transformative resistance for educators to re-negotiate discriminatory gendered space through constructive gender equality awareness for freedom and intellectual growth in science education could be emancipatory possibilities

The Variation of University Physics Students’ Experience of Plus and Minus Signs in 1D Vector-kinematics Revisited

This article revisits and expands upon a previous phenomenographic study characterising the qualitatively different ways in which South African undergraduate physics students may experience the use of +/– signs in one-dimensional kinematics (1DK). We find the original categorisation as applicable for interpreting Swedish university-level students’ responses to 1DK questions. However, by way of a typology of potential learning outcomes associated with +/– signs in 1DK, our review of the topic reveals that the original study’s treatment misses the implications of +/– signs related to time rate of change and graphical shape. We also add to the description of students’ experience of +/– signs in 1DK by incorporating ideas from the Variation Theory of Learning and by focusing on some of the aspects of +/– signs in 1DK that were underemphasized in the original study. Our analysis thus provides a template for physics educators to support students’ conceptual understanding of sign conventions in vector kinematics