Open AccessExploring the recontextualisation of biology in the CAPS for Life Sciences
Author(s) -
Kathryn Barbara. Johnson,
Edith R. Dempster,
Wayne Hugo
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0259-479X
DOI - 10.17159/i60a04
Subject(s) - curriculum , inclusion (mineral) , mathematics education , humanism , pedagogy , sociology , epistemology , social science , psychology , political science , philosophy , law
This study is concerned with the recontextualisation of biology in the most recent version of the South African Life Sciences curriculum, the CAPS (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements). The following aspects of the curriculum were assessed: the balance of canonical and humanistic material, the inclusion and weighting of the core concepts of biology, and the overall curriculum coherence. The results were compared with those for earlier versions of the curriculum, and the implications for South African students are considered. The study reveals that, according to these criteria, the content material of the CAPS faithfully reflects the hierarchical nature of its parent discipline biology.