The influence of an audio–tutorial self–study programme on the knowledge and insight of science educators

Abstract

The majority of learners perform badly at the end of the formal schooling in South Africa. This point is verified by the poor results after almost every Grade 12 Final examination. The statistics of candidates who wrote the Senior Certificate examination at the end of 1996 reflect a 53,9% pass rate and that of 1997, 47,4% (Department of Education, 1999:12). It was also mentioned that the depicted scenario prompted a national outcry from several sectors of the South African community. This study shows that the grade 12 examination results did not reflect a significant change during the years that followed 1997. The study further pinpoints Science as a learning area that learners fail alarmingly. It also goes on to isolate electricity as an area that is difficult for both the learners and the educators to understand, thereby contributing enormously towards the very high failure rate mentioned earlier. The researcher also found that literature revealed that not much in-service education and training has been done to redress the malpractices that may be the contributory factors towards the high failure rate in question. The researcher introduced the audio-tutorial self-study programme to assess its influence on the knowledge and insight of Science educators. Conclusions are made and the recommendations are drawn based on the findings of the study.