Abstract

This paper is derived from activities carried out by CASME (Centre for the Advancement of Science and Mathematics Education) in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. CASME aims to address historical, systemic imbalances inherent in the South African education system by improving and sustaining the quality and accessibility of Mathematics and Science education. It does this in a three-pronged way: in-service training; school based support and the provision of resources for Mathematics and Science teachers in poorly resourced teaching communities. CASME concedes that educator change is a long-term project, but that it is a necessary precursor to gains in learners’ performance. The focus of this paper is an evaluatory account of CASME’s Dinaledi Life Sciences intervention programme. This programme functions within the context of curriculum redress and a variety of national and provincial strategies for addressing deficiencies in the teaching and learning of mathematics and science in South Africa. We used the educators’ and tutors’ experiences of this programme and their reasons for their particular experiences to provide data to evaluate the programme. A naturalistic, mixed mode case study approach was used. 101 Life Sciences educators and 5 tutors were the participants in this research. Data collection instruments included test papers, questionnaires and tutor programme reports.  Findings suggest that many educators rated the organisation; content and facilitators work in the programme as good. Of significance is that 99% of the educators’ content knowledge was improved as evidenced by the pre-test and post-test data. The educators and tutors also made suggestions about how the programme could be improved. We conclude with implications of professional development interventions on the sustainability of science education and the role that independently funded University outreach units can play in achieving the objective of sustainable development in Science Education. 

Key words:  science education, professional development