This study explored science teachers’ views of the nature of science (NOS) and the implications on their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The study follows a qualitative approach and uses a single case study design that followed 11 science teachers. The study uses PCK for science teaching as a framework, where the participants were requested to complete the views of NOS questionnaire (VNOS-D+) and each was observed two times in their science classrooms. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of teachers’ PCK in teaching science. The study found that the majority of the participants reflected informed views of NOS. Although the majority of the teachers had a good understanding of the goals and objectives of science education and their solid content knowledge. They had poor knowledge of learners’ understanding of science, choice of instructional strategies, and choice of assessment techniques for scientific literacy.

This study explored grade 10 life sciences learners’ views on the integration of indigenous knowledge (IK) into IK-related topics using a cooperative learning approach. The study was underpinned by social constructivism theory, whereby a qualitative single-case study design was used. Eight grade 10 life sciences learners from a school in Moroke Circuit, Limpopo Province, participated in the study. Document reviews and observations were used to collect data. The findings revealed that the teaching methods under the cooperative learning approach are efficacious in integrating IK in the life sciences classroom. The findings further revealed that the integration of IK in life sciences classrooms improved participation, learning, and comprehension of life sciences topics and that when learners are given space and a voice, they are able to express critical and independent views from which teachers can draw a lot from. The study recommends changes towards curriculum development, teacher training, classroom strategies and community engagement.

Thirty-two years into democratic liberation, the integration of indigenous knowledge (IK) remains a curriculum priority within South African Life Sciences education. However, less is known about the affordances that IK integration offers for teaching and learning in specific Life Sciences topics. Hence, this study explored how the integration of IK into Grade 11 Life Sciences lessons supported learners’ understanding of fermentation. The work was guided by Situated Learning Theory (SLT) and employed a qualitative case study approach. The participants were drawn from 42 Grade 11 Life Sciences learners from a school in Capricorn South District within Dimamo circuit, South Africa. Data were collected through participant classroom observations and documents reviews and analysed using categorical aggregation. The findings revealed that drawing on IK helped learners make sense of fermentation concepts, with caregivers also playing a notable role in shaping this understanding. The study recommends that future research emphasise cooperative learning strategies, embed IK more systematically within the curriculum to create authentic learning contexts, and further examine the influence of caregivers.

This study explored natural science (NS) teachers’ views of the nature of indigenous knowledge (IK) for their classroom pedagogy. The research study used Shulman’s pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) as a framework, where both the qualitative research approach and a single-case study design were used. The study worked with 6 NS teachers who were invited to fill out the views of nature of IK questionnaire (VNOIK), where science classrooms were used to observe each teacher twice. The study found that most of the NS teachers reflected informed views on IK and that the teachers’ views on IK had no influence on their classroom pedagogy. The recommendations drawn from this study included the consideration of the use of learner-centred pedagogies as well as cultural relevance in teaching and curriculum policy alignment. This study contributes to scholarship on IK in science education by highlighting that, although most Natural Science teachers hold informed views of IK, critical gaps remain in their understanding of its experimental and creative dimensions, areas underexplored in South African contexts.

This study explored the use of a constructivist teaching approach to enhance grade 10 Life Sciences learners’ understanding of line graphs, where social constructivism served as a lens through which the findings were interpreted. The study made use of a qualitative research approach where a single case study and purposive sampling were used as research design and sampling technique, respectively. In a population of 54 Grade 10 Life Sciences learners, 19 learners were sampled to participate in the study, where the study used both participant observations and document review to collect data. The findings from both classroom observations and document analysis show that learners had limited knowledge of line graphs. However, through a constructivist approach, the learners’ graph creation skills and engagement, where their articulation of graphing processes, such as proper point charting along the axes of x and y, as well as knowledge of the relationships between variables, were enhanced. Amongst other things, the study recommended that researchers consider exploring interdisciplinary and longitudinal studies, as well as studies that would explore Life Sciences learners’ cultural experiences and how prior knowledge influences their interpretation and building of line graphs. This study extends scholarship on science in South Africa by exploring Grade 10 Life Sciences learners’ understanding of line graphs, thereby addressing a gap in the literature where graphing has been studied largely in mathematics rather than disciplinary science contexts.