The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa ISSN: (Online) 2415-2005, (Print) 1817-4434 Page 1 of 9 Original Research Teachers’ experiences of teaching Accounting in the context of curriculum changes in South Africa Authors: Accounting as a subject is plagued by persistent changes because of shifts in the discipline Jabulisile C. Ngwenya1 1 originating from the developments in the profession. This study focuses on teachers’ Nosihle V. Sithole Mercy Okoli1 experiences of teaching Accounting as a subject during the time of curriculum change. It adopts an interpretive qualitative case study design to get a thorough understanding of Affiliations: Accounting teachers’ experiences. Data were obtained through reflective journals and semi- 1Department of Commerce, structured interviews from five purposively selected Accounting teachers. The results of the Faculty of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, findings indicated that Accounting teachers often struggle to teach new content as learners Durban, South Africa lacked adequate background knowledge needed to learn Accounting in succeeding grades. The unique language of the subject, shortage of textbooks and insufficient assessment activities Corresponding author: in the textbooks constrained the teaching of Accounting. In addition, school management and Jabulisile Ngwenya, ngwenyaj@ukzn.ac.za Accounting specialists were found wanting in terms of the support offered to teachers as well as and providing regular advisory services to them because of insufficient knowledge of the Dates: subject and inadequate supervision skills. The study recommended that heads of departments Received: 02 May 2020 Accepted: 04 Feb. 2021 should be fully trained on curriculum changes in their subjects to be able to provide guidance Published: 12 Apr. 2021 and supervise teachers under their leadership. On-going support should be provided by the subject advisors in schools to assist teachers with challenging topics and teaching strategies. How to cite this article: Ngwenya JC, Sithole NV, Keywords: accounting; accounting teachers; curriculum changes; language of accounting; Okoli M. Teachers’ teachers’ experiences; teaching of accounting; teaching resources. experiences of teaching Accounting in the context of curriculum changes in South Africa. J transdiscipl res S Afr. Introduction 2021;17(1), a873. https://doi. org/10.4102/td.v17i1.873 The South African educational landscape has gone through a number of changes over the past two decades. It is worth noting that the introduction of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) Copyright: in 2006 and the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in 2014 in the Further © 2021. The Authors. Education and Training (FET) band resulted in redesign and the reconceptualisation of all subjects Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the offered in the FET phase. Curriculum changes were necessary to foster the skills needed for a Creative Commons democratic society and the globalised world.1,2 The changes that were reflected in Accounting as Attribution License. a school subject were intended to better align it with the international Accounting standards in the Accounting profession.3,4 As such, it altered the misconception teachers and learners had whereby they regard Accounting accounting as a routine subject that is only centred on the process of bookkeeping and recording of transactions.5,6 Another major change in Accounting was the introduction of new topics which gave rise to a shift in the prescribed subject content and the movement of topics within the grade and across the grades.7 Addition of new content resulted in expanded breadth and depth in the Accounting curriculum. Consequently, Accounting is now inclined towards cognitive levels which require description and understanding of the relationship between concepts as well as complex reasoning.6,7,8,9 Myers4 notes that these changes and subsequent restructuring in the Accounting curriculum have had serious implications in terms of adjustment of teaching, learning and assessment. Makunja10 argues that whilst implementation of the change in curriculum has to be resource- intensive to succeed, the teacher remains the key driver of a successful curriculum transformation. In line with this view, Okoth11 advocates that failure to align teacher-training methods to the needs of teachers can restrict the development of their content knowledge. This failure may lead to unsuccessful implementation of curriculum reforms by the teachers, which is then attributed to Read online: their poor conceptual understanding of reforms in their specific subjects. 1,11,12,13 Whilst teachers do Scan this QR undergo training to keep abreast of new developments in education, the extent to which training code with your smart phone or prepares them is questionable. This is particularly the case in Accounting where teachers were mobile device expected to change to a conceptual approach in teaching of content knowledge. With research to read online. indicating teachers’ difficulties in implementing the curriculum changes1,10,14,15 and students’ high http://www.td-sa.net Open Access Page 2 of 9 Original Research failure rates, conducting a study that focuses on teachers’ Teaching of Accounting experience of teaching in the context of the curriculum Research in Accounting Education3,4,5,18 highlights that changes is clearly important. changes in the Accounting curriculum required teachers to modify their teaching and assessment methods to align them Furthermore, research has shown that ever since the with the demands of the new curriculum. The assumption implementation of the CAPS in the FET phase in South was that the adoption of diverse teaching approaches could Africa, very little research has been embarked on in lead to advancement of accounting proficiencies that are Accounting.6,8,9 This paucity makes the findings reported in required in order to succeed in the profession. This is this article particularly notable as it adds to knowledge in the confirmed by Thomson and Washington,16 who found that current research in Accounting Education, predominantly using alternative teaching strategies encouraged the regarding teachers’ experiences of teaching the subject in the development of the critical thinking skills learners need in context of the curriculum change. The question that guides solving financial problems. However, with regards to the research is as follows: What are the teachers’ experiences assessment, Ngwenya and Maistry27 that there are problems of teaching Grade 12 Accounting in the context of curriculum with teachers’ understandings and interpretations of changes in South Africa? assessment in schools. Accounting is a discipline that requires more practice than most others because of its practical Literature review nature.3,5,16,18 Erasmus and Fourie18 advise that a range of Teachers’ experiences of implementing assessment tasks should be given to learners to involve them curriculum changes in discussion whilst encouraging them to think creatively. This means that in Accounting, assessment activities must Research has shown that effective implementation of a cover the entire content of the subject as well as the variety of curriculum in schools hinges on school-based skills that cover a range of cognitive levels to cater to different condition.10,11,12,13,16 Almost all the authors mentioned learner abilities. previously emphasise that most hindrances in the effective implementation of the new curriculum are found within the However, research has revealed that formative assessment is schools. Makunja10 and Okoth11 highlight the fact that not understood by teachers because of a lack of conceptual insufficient teaching and learning materials to support the understanding of Accounting.5,18,27 This has an impact on implementation is a major challenge to curriculum effectively teaching it. The situation is worse in rural schools implementation. Textbooks offer teachers structured and where teachers are faced with the challenges of large classes thorough presentation of the subject matter. However, and a shortage of resources, especially textbooks. Because of numerous studies have found that teachers were not this, many learners attain poor outcomes. Whilst in provided with enough textbooks.10,11,12 Accounting, learners are confronted with scenarios that entail multiple and different solutions, providing feedback Shilling12 points out that teachers’ lack of adequate content was found to be challenging as learners struggled to knowledge is one of the main hindrances to the effective formulate solutions because of language impediment.6 In delivery of a curriculum. This calls for necessary teacher addition, it was difficult for teachers to write diverse lengthy development because successful implementation of any comments when providing feedback to large classes in rural curriculum is reliant on the teachers’ potential to translate schools. Teaching and assessment in Accounting requires the written curriculum into classroom learning experiences. understanding and using a variety of teaching and assessment However, lack of teachers’ professional development has strategies. been identified in literature as one of the obstacles to curriculum implementation.12,13,17 As the curriculum changes Theoretical framework and implementation affect teachers in significant ways, This study was framed with the curriculum implementation training the teachers who are expected to make the curriculum theory developed by Rogan and Grayson.19 The theory a classroom reality is of utmost importance. involves profile of implementation, capacity to support innovation and support from outside agencies as its three If relevant support is not provided to teachers to cope with main concepts. the additional demands because of changes in content, the execution process will be ineffective. Makunja10 regards The profile of implementation permits one to recognise the frequent supervision of teachers as one means of monitoring degree to which the new curriculum is executed in the implementation of the curriculum. Makunja adds that it is classroom.19 According to Rogan and Grayson,19 factors to the obligation of the heads of departments and head teachers consider during a curriculum change include knowledge of to supervise curriculum implementation. However, research how to execute change, learners’ prior knowledge, language suggests that because of incompetent school leadership and use and classroom interaction. Capacity to support innovation management, there is often a failure to offer sufficient support recognises how the school context can support or hinder and monitoring of actual execution of curriculum changes in curriculum implementation in terms of physical resources, the classroom.10,12,13,17 school ethos and management, teacher factors and learner http://www.td-sa.net Open Access Page 3 of 9 Original Research factors.19 Fullan20 argues that access to physical resources is omitted in the interviews; in that way, relevant information essential because inadequate resources can inhibit the ability was gathered. Teachers were asked to write their experiences of the teachers and learners to successfully implement the of implementing Accounting changes in their personal curriculum. journals. According to Rogan and Grayson,19 outside agencies interact Thematic analyses were utilised to analyse the data obtained with a school to provide external support with the aim of from face-to-face interviews and reflective journals.21 The facilitating curriculum implementation. These outside data analysis process began by transcribing face-to-face agencies could be government departments, NGOs and interviews to textual data. The transcripts were then read unions that may provide material and non-material support several times to identify units of meaning, in order to access and monitoring on the curriculum changes in the school the deeper meaning of the responses received. The categories context. In this study, external support will focus on non- were established by means of open coding. Categories were material support offered through professional development. then revised and grouped into specific themes to report the This kind of support is crucial in supporting and monitoring findings. Themes that developed from the interviews were the recurring implementation changes in Accounting. employed to analyse reflective journals. Research methodology and design Findings The interpretivist paradigm using a qualitative case study The findings will be reported through the following two strategy was adopted in the study, as we were interested in themes: factors influencing implementation in the classroom understanding the experiences of Accounting teachers in and capacity and support to implement a new curriculum. teaching Grade 12. The choice of the interpretivist paradigm Verbatim quotes are used to capture participants’ experiences. is based on our belief that there are multiple, socially constructed realities, which affect our decisions regarding the Factors influencing implementation interpretation of data.21,22 As the aim was to obtain a thorough in the classroom understanding of Accounting teachers’ experiences, adopting Teachers found that learners’ background knowledge or a qualitative case study design was deemed suitable.23 In preparedness, instructional language and unique language accordance with the main assumption of the case study, in of Accounting and assessment in Accounting were found to this study the bounded system23 was a group of five be the main factors that hampered the implementation of Accounting teachers. changes in the Accounting curriculum. The choice of schools was based on the accessibility of the Learners’ background knowledge in Accounting participants to us as researchers as well as their willingness Prior knowledge and perceptions that learners arrive with in to participate in the study. This necessitated confining the the classroom form the foundation for new knowledge they study to neighbouring schools where we work. Therefore, construct. In Accounting, learners’ background knowledge five schools in Umlazi South district were chosen as they is crucial as each topic builds on the previous knowledge. were easily accessible and willing to participate.24 Five Findings showed that teachers were worried that learners Accounting teachers who were teaching Accounting in Grade had not acquired adequate background knowledge in 12 were handpicked (one teacher per school) as they shared previous grades as they lacked understanding of the basic common characteristics.21 The number of participants is Accounting principles. Brian further explained that lack of supported by Farrugia,22 who argued that in qualitative background knowledge might be because of the way the sampling the researcher selects a small number of Financial Literacy content is structured in Grades 8 and 9. participants who will provide in-depth information about a The topics are not taught consecutively: ‘In Economic and given phenomenon under study. Management Sciences (EMS) there are three components and Financial Literacy topics are scattered and not taught Semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted to in one term’. probe the Accounting teachers’ experiences of teaching Accounting in Grade 12. Interviews that lasted approximately Teachers mentioned that the Accounting content in Grade 45 min each were conducted at the participants’ workplace 9 is too simple to give learners the relevant skills they need during their free periods. Prompts were used to ensure for further learning in the subject. As a result, they get uninterrupted conversation. In addition, the interviews were inadequate exposure to knowledge and skills they are tape-recorded after obtaining the assent of each individual expected to acquire before they get into the FET phase. participant. Recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim Zuzeka added that when learners got to Grade 10, they to ensure that the participants’ views were captured correctly lacked sufficient understanding of foundational concepts during transcribing. Participants’ experiences of teaching and principles that were pertinent in learning Accounting in Accounting in Grade 12 were supplemented through teacher the subsequent grades: reflective journals. Also, the use of teacher reflective journals ‘What I have seen in all the years of teaching Accounting in allowed us to capture information that may have been the FET phase, when learners get in to Grade 10 they can name http://www.td-sa.net Open Access Page 4 of 9 Original Research Accounting terms but they do not understand, they just Teachers were of the opinion that it was their responsibility memorise theme and this affects their learning in Grade 11 to explain the text in the mother tongue first and then revert and 12.’ (Zuzeka, FET Accounting teacher, 22 March 2019) to English in an attempt to clarify new concepts and to assist learners in understanding the task requirements. Teachers In Accounting, students learn better when they build on believed they were compelled to use the learners’ home preceding knowledge, which helps them reinforce the language to facilitate the learning of Accounting. Therefore, connections between present knowledge and the new they make use of code switching in teaching Accounting to concepts about to be learnt. Teachers concur that because overcome the challenge and to encourage learning. This is many learners come to Grade 12 with limited previous what Beauty (FET Accounting teacher, 01 April 2019) said: ‘I knowledge, textbooks should give them the full background always code switch. It helps a lot especially when I’m knowledge needed to learn Grade 12 content. However, introducing new topics. I always explain each word on the teachers raised concerns about the information found in topic in English and IsiZulu’. textbooks with respect to previous knowledge that a learner is required to possess prior to learning the new topic. Furthermore, teachers were concerned that learners were Teachers’ responses revealed that textbooks fell short in often passive in the classroom and rarely engaged in providing support regarding previous knowledge: meaningful discussions as they were required to respond in English. However, teachers found group discussions to be a ‘Our learners are not well-prepared, even though they face the learning space that provided support in allowing learners to challenge of forgetting. Especially in new topics there is nothing share their ideas and thoughts freely within their groups in the textbook that reminds me about previous knowledge of using their home language. learners. I use my experience.’ (Zama, FET Accounting teacher, 22 March 2019) Teachers raised concerns that although the use of code Language of instruction and the unique language of switching helped in clarifying new concepts, other Accounting Accounting concepts could not be explained in IsiZulu. There Teachers experienced language as one of the serious were words that did not have an equivalent in the learners’ impediments in the teaching of Accounting in Grade 12. mother tongue because they originated from another Teachers explained that learners who were not fluent in the language apart from English. As a result, teachers had to use language of instruction often found it difficult to comprehend visuals like pictures to illustrate the new concepts. Whilst the new concepts. Although the language of teaching visuals were believed to be of great help in enhancing the learning of new and unfamiliar concepts, teachers raised hindered effective learning of Accounting, teachers believed concerns that pictures that were meant to enrich learning of that the unique language of the subject intensified the new concepts were hazy in the textbooks they were using. challenges. This had major consequences for the teaching Furthermore, teachers expressed their discontent that schools and learning of the subject. Teachers mentioned that the do not have funds to buy Accounting posters that are language of Accounting is unfamiliar to learners, and pertinent in illuminating unfamiliar concepts: terminology encountered in the subject is difficult to master ‘In the books, there are pictures and other graphics to emphasise and comprehend. This is confirmed by Senzo who added that new concepts and help learners understand. But they are in because Accounting is a subject with its own distinctive black and white and they are not clear. Posters are better.’ language, learners often fail to understand new knowledge (Zuzeka, FET Accounting teacher, 22 March 2019) as they find it difficult to make sense of the unique concepts ‘We raised the issue of putting up posters with terms and of the subject. The situation is worsened when the language pictures, but the principal said there is no money.’ (Senzo, FET of teaching Accounting is the learners’ second language: Accounting teacher, 25 March 2019) ‘You know language is the reason why my learners fail Accounting because in Grade 12 or any other Grade, Accounting has its own Sometimes teachers are compelled to use the learners’ home vocabulary which learners must get used to. If they do not language to facilitate the learning of Accounting as the understand simple English it becomes difficult to understand the language of instruction was a barrier to learning. As a result, subject.’ (Senzo, FET Accounting teacher, 25 March 2019) teachers on many occasions had to switch to the mother tongue for further explanation of new concepts. In addition, Teachers said the language barrier added to learners’ they used the learners’ everyday experiences and immediate challenges in solving financial problems. Zama noted that environment to clarify new knowledge. learners often could not analyse financial information because of an inadequate understanding of the language of Accounting. Assessment in Accounting Learners frequently struggle to provide sound solutions to the Accounting teachers explained that the practical nature of financial problems. Although they understand the information the subject requires learners to undertake repeated and provided, they often find it challenging to formulate responses frequent written activities and tutorial exercises. These help because of linguistic limitations in communicating in English: teachers to consolidate the learning of new knowledge and ‘In most cases they find it difficult to answer questions in tests. check the learners’ level of understanding. In Accounting, It is difficult to come up with the answers in English’ (Zama, different forms of assessment should be used to allow FET Accounting teacher, 22 March 2019). students to practice what they have learnt. However, teachers http://www.td-sa.net Open Access Page 5 of 9 Original Research raised concerns that teaching and assessment of new replaced and, as a result, there were not enough for all the knowledge was a challenge because there were insufficient learners in class. activities in the textbooks to allow students to review what had been learnt in class: Teachers felt that understanding accounting concepts ‘We normally encounter problems when teaching new topics. depended on the information found in the textbooks. What is There are fewer activities in the textbooks to practise.’ (Senzo, remarkable though is that prescribed textbooks do not FET Accounting teacher, 25 March 2019) provide a detailed explanation of the unique concepts. Teachers mentioned that they encountered problems when Whilst it is imperative for learners to be equipped with critical preparing lessons, especially for new topics, because they do skills in class to prepare them for examinations, teachers were not have enough teachers’ textbooks to consult to get different perturbed by the shortage of problem-solving activities in the perspectives on the topic. Teachers indicated that other textbooks. Teachers indicated that there were too few activities textbooks did not have sufficient content, and as a result, that allowed learners to evaluative financial information and show creative cognitive thinking. On the same issue, Zama they found it problematic to prepare lessons: (FET Accounting teacher, 27 March 2019) highlighted that ‘Textbooks should give us more knowledge about new activities found in the textbooks were mostly on the lower- and accounting terminology when doing lesson plans. Definitions middle-order cognitive level as they require learners to apply are there but do not give full information; [for example] the procedural knowledge: ‘I always have a problem when I want buyback of shares is not explained clearly.’ (Beauty, FET to give my learners more work in problem solving. The Accounting teacher, 01 April 2019) activities are not challenging learners. They are very easy’. This shortcoming compelled Senzo (FET Accounting teacher, Whilst examination papers cover all cognitive levels, teachers 25 March 2019) to use more than one textbook to teach new were worried that activities found in their textbooks did not concepts. It is however unfortunate that he had to buy other match the standard of questions in the National Senior Accounting textbooks using his own funds because the Certificate examination papers in terms of the level of school could not afford to buy additional textbooks: ‘I bought challenge. This challenges learners when they are writing two books because they explain new terms clearly but I do examinations because they are not sufficiently equipped to not have a teacher’s guide. The school does not have money answer the higher order questions: to buy them’. ‘Evaluation and creativity are not covered adequately. There are no higher-order activities to help teachers to prepare learners for Teachers expressed concerns about the coverage of content the examinations.’ (Beauty, FET Accounting teacher, 01 April 2019) within the main topics. They indicated that whilst the new topics appeared in the textbooks, information provided Teachers felt that the level of challenge of the activities was not comprehensive enough for learners to understand given in class failed to prepare learners for examinations. Teachers therefore use past examination papers and the the topic. In addition, textbooks do not provide teachers examination guideline. with sufficient content to explain the topics thoroughly in class. Capacity and support within the school School management Accounting teachers expressed their views on how physical In this study, all teachers were Accounting specialists with resources and support from school management and learners adequate qualifications. Although teachers were well hampered or supported the implementation of curriculum equipped and had relevant expertise to teach Accounting, changes in school. they were concerned about major changes in the CAPS Accounting curriculum. Teachers mentioned that the Physical resources introduction of new topics was seen as a huge change in Teachers regarded textbooks as the main resource they Accounting. Although they had been teaching some new needed to support the implementation of the CAPS topics, they were still not confident to teach others. Accounting curriculum. They further explained that when Teachers added that Accounting is not about calculations the new curriculum was implemented in 2014, enough anymore; it requires understanding of theory to be able to textbooks were ordered for the number of learners who were analyse financial information and to solve financial in Grade 12 in that specific year. However, teachers mentioned that there was a shortage of textbooks because of the increased problems. They often found it challenging to equip learners number of learners: with the analytical skills needed to analyse financial information. Their main concern was that they often did ‘Because there are more learners in my class than the previous not get adequate support from the school management: years, other learners do not have textbooks.’ (Zuzeka, FET Accounting teacher, 22 March 2019) ‘There are different topics that have been added: Buying back of shares and calculation of average price. There is more theory and Beauty confirmed that when textbooks were lost or when learners have to understand it. If I ask my HoD, she does not know the number of learners increased, textbooks were not these new topics.’ (Brian, FET Accounting teacher, 30 March 2019) http://www.td-sa.net Open Access Page 6 of 9 Original Research Beauty (FET Accounting teacher, 01 April 2019) added that Professional development other new topics were not easy to introduce; she does not get All five teachers agreed that they had received training on enough support from management. The situation is the changes in Accounting, but said it was not enough. They exacerbated by the fact that the Commerce Head of Department were concerned also about the time allocated for the (HoD) was not an Accounting specialist: ‘My HoD does not workshops, saying it was insufficient to grasp all the help me much; she did not know much about Accounting, she information on new content. They had this to say: majored in Business Studies’. ‘Yes, I did get some training … it helped me because I was Because teachers do not get the support they need from officially informed about these curriculum changes in Accounting management, they rely on other Accounting teachers in but the time was not enough.’ (Senzo, FET Accounting teacher, the cluster: 25 March 2019) ‘I get help from the cluster coordinator, who is very good in ‘For me there was little time to unfold every change that took Accounting.’ (Zuzeka, FET Accounting teacher, 22 February 2019) place. I had to train myself on some topics, so that was a challenge for us.’ (Zama, FET Accounting teacher, 27 March 2019) Zama said her HoD had limited understanding of the changes in the Grade 12 curriculum, as he was not teaching that grade: Senzo was discontented over the way the workshops were conducted. He stated that those who were conducting ‘My HoD never supported me with the challenges I had in CAPS workshops seemed not to be adequately knowledgeable. He Accounting content; instead, he gave me permission to consult cluster colleagues.’ (Zama, FET Accounting teacher, 27 March 2019) added that the workshops were not practical enough to help teachers with classroom implementation: The fact that teachers got insufficient support from their ‘Subject advisors were mostly telling us about changes in the heads of department was concerning. They indicated that Accounting curriculum. Practical examples were not given. I met their principals were very supportive even though some did with other teachers. We discussed all our problems and they not fully understand the curriculum being implemented. gave me methods of explaining the new concepts.’ (Senzo, FET Accounting teacher, 25 March 2019) Learners’ parental support Senzo was not satisfied with the workshop, and saw Whilst parental involvement in learners’ learning is of workshops primarily as a space for advanced networking. paramount importance, teachers were concerned that parents did not support their learners. Learners from certain He commented that the space provided him the opportunity backgrounds were less likely to get sufficient support. to discuss his challenges with other Grade 12 teachers. This Teachers mentioned that most learners do not get the assisted him in developing classroom strategies to handle necessary guidance and support in the completion of school difficult concepts. tasks because they come from grandparent-headed and child-headed families. A number of learners were grappling Teachers were of the impression that after attending with multiple and competing responsibilities as they were workshops, consistent monitoring should have been also expected to take up parenting responsibilities and provided to support them with implementation. They household duties. This is what teachers said: expressed concerns that the DBE did not offer constant monitoring. Zama added that there had never been school ‘In my class there are children who live with their grannies. They are old and they do not come to school when you call them.’ visits by the subject specialists to attend to individual (Zama, FET Accounting teacher, 27 March 2019) teacher’s challenges with the implementation, especially as there were continuous changes in Accounting: ‘In my district, ‘Our learners do not have time to do homework because when they come back from school they have to cook, and do washing monitoring never took place; subject advisors were coming for other children and some have no parents to support them.’ to school if there has been a request or if a school is failing’. (Zuzeka, FET Accounting teacher, 22 March 2019) Teachers were only invited to attend workshops informing Teachers added that some learners normally do not do them about the dates for common examinations and the homework because of problems emanating from their home review of the past year’s results at the beginning of the year. context. Teachers commented that they do not receive They normally saw the workshop space as an opportunity to support from many of the parents in successful share information about different Accounting topics and implementation of curriculum changes. Some of the children, how to teach them creatively. when they get home, are required to take up family responsibilities and daily errands. As a result, they do not Discussion have enough time to focus on their schoolwork. The purpose of the study was to explore teachers’ experiences of teaching Grade 12 Accounting in the context of curriculum Capacity and support from outside the school changes in Umlazi South district in South Africa. Teachers regarded in-service training offered by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) as the main factor According to Ajani,25 if students don’t have sufficient affecting support received outside the school. related knowledge, they are likely to have difficulties in http://www.td-sa.net Open Access Page 7 of 9 Original Research understanding new content. Therefore, he underscores Teachers confirmed that a lack of thorough in-service training the importance of background knowledge in learning to prepare teachers for curriculum changes is one of the new knowledge. According to this study’s findings, major challenges affecting the successful implementation of Accounting teachers found that that inadequate learners’ the curriculum.10,11 Although teachers were invited to attend background knowledge contributed to a delay in the workshops, teachers found them to be ineffective in providing successful implementation of the subject in the classroom. them with the knowledge they needed to understand new content. There was not enough time allocated for training for For Accounting learners to grasp key financial transaction, as facilitators to address and clarify all the changes adequately, well as analysis, interpretation and communication of and attend to individual teacher’s challenges. Although they financial statements, they must understand Accounting did not learn much from the DBE workshops, the five language and fundamental concepts of principles and teachers said that these workshops provided a platform for practice.26 Language was pronounced a main hindrance in teachers to speak out and ask for support and guidance from teaching Accounting, as Grade 12 learners failed to teachers outside their own schools. They were less interested understand financial information and were unable to make in the workshop content itself; instead, the gathering sound decisions. Findings revealed that for second language rendered informal networks of support. speakers of English, the type of scenarios and the unique language of accounting impeded the effectiveness of teaching Findings revealed that facilitators for the workshops lacked and learning in this subject. Learners were normally scared to adequate understanding of the new content in Accounting. talk in class because their command of English as the medium As such, teachers got an opportunity to consult other of instruction was not good enough. The teachers’ views and teachers in the cluster on issues pertaining to content experiences are consistent with Myers,4 who found that delivery that may need further clarification. It is worth students had to first translate Accounting concepts into noting that supervising curriculum implementation English and then translate them into unique meanings in the through provision of advisory services and regular Accounting world. To accommodate learners, teachers had to monitoring assist in fostering the professional development use group discussions as a strategy to encourage them to of teachers.14 Such services provide teachers with share their ideas and thoughts. This created a learning space appropriate information for their professional advancement that provided support in allowing learners to express their whilst promoting good pedagogical practices. Nevertheless, views freely within their groups using their home language. findings revealed that advisory support was not offered to Accounting teachers in the teaching of new content in In KwaZulu-Natal, schools are allocated funds to purchase schools. Teachers indicated that subject advisors seldom one prescribed textbook for each learner. Because of a shortage provided follow-up visits to schools after teachers had of funds to buy more books for teachers, most teachers rely on attended workshops and to monitor implementation of this prescribed textbook to teach. Makunja10 regards textbooks curriculum changes. as one of the teaching and learning resources whose availability can sustain the implementation of a curriculum. However, the teachers reviewed in this study experienced a shortage of Conclusion textbooks and this hindered effective implementation of Stemming from the continuous curriculum changes in changes in Accounting, as they were viewed as essential Accounting and the need for teachers to implement the teaching and learning material. In addition, teachers found changes, this article sought to explore Accounting teachers’ textbooks wanting in helping them with sufficient information experiences of teaching the new Accounting curriculum in required to teach the new content. schools. The outcome of this study indicated that numerous factors were experienced by teachers as hindering their Findings revealed that support from parents was lacking in efforts to successfully implement curriculum changes in various home conditions. Whilst the subject required learners Accounting. to do practice activities at home, teachers had the challenge of learners not doing their homework. Whilst advisory support was important during the execution phase of frequent curriculum changes in Teachers reported that heads of departments did not provide Accounting, findings from this study indicated that regular sufficient and effective support they required owing to supervision and continuous support was not offered to insufficient subject knowledge and inadequate supervision teachers by relevant DBE stakeholders. This frustrated skills. This is in line with Sabola17 who found that it was teachers’ attempts to get to grips with new content and difficult for heads of departments to provide supervision on ensure effective instruction. a subject they did not specialise in. Sabola’s finding is confirmed in this study as Commerce HoDs were not Keeping in mind that Accounting is regarded as a subject that confident enough to offer advisory support to the Accounting necessitates regular practice because of its practical nature, teachers because they did not understand the new content. there was an outcry from teachers who participated in this The situation was aggravated by the fact that some of the study regarding the shortage of textbooks. Furthermore, Commerce HoDs were not Accounting specialists. textbooks were found deficient in guiding and supporting http://www.td-sa.net Open Access Page 8 of 9 Original Research teachers with adequate activities and a relevant questioning well as the participating Accounting teachers. Other style. ethical procedures, procedures, which informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity, and voluntary participation If the above obstacles can be addressed accordingly, it could were explained to the participants and adhered to throughout lead to a better teaching experience for Accounting teachers the duration of the study. All participants were kept as well as a more successful implementation of curriculum anonymous by giving them pseudonyms (Zama, Beauty, changes. For instance, if on-going support was provided by Brian, Zuzeka and Senzo). subject advisors in KwaZulu-Natal schools to assist teachers with challenging topics and teaching strategies, teachers Funding information would gain more confidence in their skills, and this would enhance their teaching greatly. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Drawing from the findings presented, making textbooks available to teachers in addition to the prescribed one is Data availability recommended to assist in enhancing authentic teaching and Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data learning and in seeing concepts from different perspectives. were created or analysed in this study. The study also recommended that heads of departments should be fully trained on curriculum changes in their subjects to be able to provide guidance, supervision and Disclaimer other support services to teachers under their leadership. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or This study is, however, limited in that the findings only position of any affiliated agency of the authors. represent the experiences of five teachers from five schools in one district. Therefore, results cannot be generalised References beyond this sample. 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