Transformation of assessment of the pre-service life sciences teachers: issues of curriculum development in education and training in South Africa

Abstract

The Department of Higher Education intends to transform the traditional education theories and practices in the education and training of teachers for the twenty-first century. The attributes of a competent and qualified teacher underpin the envisaged changes in the curriculum to aptly prepare teachers. However, the realizations of the intentions of the department appear to be in vain. Accordingly, the current case studies conducted through qualitative procedures aimed to investigate how teacher educators adhere to the proposals of the Minimum Requirement of Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ). The data gathered through the analysis, of course, guides intended to search for the link between the Life Science curriculum content knowledge and the plan to assess the competences promulgated by the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA). The findings pointed out that the course guide indicated learning outcomes, critical outcomes, and course and module outcomes; however, the assessment criteria were not aligned to the learning outcomes, module outcomes, and assessment techniques or tools. Therefore, the study recommends that academics in teacher education should explore and reflect on the models that could explicitly measure the performance of competencies (foundational, practical, and reflexive) authentically and reliably.