Review of the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement

1
Review of the implementation of the National
Curriculum Statement

• Report of the Task Team

2
Background to the Report

• Minister of Basic Education noted the following
• criticism of the implementation of the NCS and
  the manifestation of teacher overload
• the challenge of underperformance of learners in
  local and international assessments
• Minister appointed a panel of experts to conduct
  hearings with teachers to understand the
  curriculum challenges

3
Terms of Reference

• Identify challenges and pressure points in the
  implementation of the NCS Grades R-12
• Investigate how challenges could be addressed
• Develop a set of practical interventions to
  respond to the noted challenges

4
Problem Questions

• Policy and Guideline Documents
• The contribution of the NCS policy documents to
  the overload was investigated
• Transition between Grades and Phases
• This was to identify problems with transition
  from Grade 3 to 4 and from Grade 9 to 10
• Assessment
• This was to establish whether there was clarity
  and appropriate use of

5
Problem Questions Continued

• Teacher Support and Training
• This was to investigate the extent of teacher
  support and training for curriculum
  implementation
• Learning and Teaching Support Materials
• This was to investigate the challenges of the
  development of learning materials and their
  provision to schools

6
Methods

• The panel held public hearings and interviews
  with Teachers, Teacher Unions and Subject
  Advisors across the 9 provinces
• Over 500 electronic and written comments from
  parents, academics, teachers, professional
  organisations, etc, were received in August
• The method also included review of documents

7
Main issues emerging from hearings and submissions

• General support of NCS
• Document proliferation
• Assessment
• Transitions (Grade 3 and 4 Grade 9 and 10)
• Overload
• Contexts of teaching
• Strengths and weaknesses of NCS

8
A Clear, Simple Five Year Plan to Improve
Teaching and Learning

• The plan should provide a vision of a bigger
  picture in terms of what education and the
  curriculum are set to do and achieve
• The plan must offer the support to teachers and
  the improvement of learner performance
• Mechanisms to monitor implementation of the plan
  through external monitoring to assess whether it
  has the desired effects on learner and teacher
  performance

9
A Set of Simple and Coherent Curriculum Documents

• Develop a single Overview Curriculum and
  Assessment policy document for Grade R-12
• The learning area and subject documents to be
  organised around knowledge (content, concepts and
  skills) to be learnt, with recommended texts,
  pedagogical approaches and assessment
  requirements
• Document to address knowledge gaps that have been
  identified

10
A Set of Simple and Coherent Curriculum Documents

• The number of Learning Areas in the Foundation
  Phase should be reduced
• The teaching of English as a First Additional
  Language must be given priority and that English
  should be taught from Grade 1
• Develop separate, special guideline documents for
  ELSEN and multi-grade classes aligned to the
  Curriculum and Assessment Policy documents

11
A Set of Simple and Coherent Curriculum
Documents, Conti

• The Foundations for Learning should be replicated
  in all schools as soon as possible.
• Oversight of curriculum should be centralised
  within the Department of Basic Education and all
  communication should be through the Department

12
Assessment

• Regular external annual assessment of
  Mathematics, Home Language and English FAL in
  Grade 3 6 9
• Finalise promotion and progression requirements
  for Grades R-12 as well as grading descriptors
  for all grades
• The balance between year marks and examinations
  should be 50 50 for Grades 4-9 and 25 year
  mark and 75 exam mark for Grades 10-12

13
Workload

• The requirements of projects as an assessment
  requirement must be reduced to one project per
  learning area/subject
• Rationalise and standardise the levels of
  planning required for teachers in different
  schools and prescribe core requirements for the
  Teacher File
• Learner portfolios as separate, formal
  compilations of assessment tasks must be
  discontinued.
• Evidence of school based assessment for promotion
  and progression must be kept in most appropriate
  mode

14
Teacher Training

• Targeted in-service teacher training must be
  provided where is it needed most
• Principals, HODs, District and Provincial Support
  Staff should be trained on curriculum and content
  and assessment requirements
• HEIs should be required to align their teacher
  training programmes with the national curriculum
  documents with national curriculum
• Teaching for 5 hours per day

15
Clarification of Roles with respect to Curriculum
Production, Dissemination, Monitoring and Support

• Clarify the roles of subject advisors nationally,
  specifying the exact nature of the in-classroom
  and school support they should provide.
• Clarify the roles of the national, provincial and
  district level support for curriculum.

16
LTSM

• Develop a national catalogue of textbooks and
  other LTSM aligned to the Curriculum and
  Assessment Policy Document
• The role of textbooks and other LTSM must be
  reasserted
• Plan for the provision of a textbook for all
  learners (Grade 4-12) for every learning area /
  subject and relevant LSM (Foundation Phase)

17
Plans for 2010

• The Minister of Basic Education has announced the
  following
• Curriculum and Assessment Policy documents will
  be developed and implemented in 2011
• Use of Learner Portfolios will be discontinued
  from 2010
• Only one file for administrative purposes will be
  required from teachers
• Number of projects required by learners will be
  reduced