Influence of National Senior Certificate Examinations on classroom practice: Experienced teachers’ pedagogical choices in teaching chemical equilibrium

• Published in: South African journal of education Vol. 42; no. si1; pp. S1 - S13
• Main Authors: Kolobe, Lebala, Hobden, Paul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bloemfontein Education Association of South Africa (EASA) 01.12.2022; Education Association of South Africa
• Subjects: Certification; Chemistry; Classroom practice; Classrooms; Concept Teaching; Conceptual knowledge; curriculum and assessment policy statements; Education & Educational Research; Education, Scientific Disciplines; Entrance examinations; Equilibrium; Exit Examinations; Foreign Countries; good matriculation results; High Stakes Tests; high-stakes examinations; Inconsistency; Instructional Effectiveness; instructional strategy; Knowledge Level; multiple case study; National Senior Certificate; Pedagogy; Physical Sciences; poor conceptual development; Science Instruction; Science Tests; Scientific Concepts; Teachers; Teaching; teaching chemistry; Teaching Methods; South Africa; teaching chemistry; high-stakes examinations; multiple case study; curriculum and assessment policy statements; good matriculation results; National Senior Certificate; instructional strategy; poor conceptual development
• ISSN: 0256-0100; 2076-3433; 2076-3433
• DOI: 10.15700/saje.v42ns1a1982

Learners who pass the South African National Senior Certificate (NSC) physical sciences examination generally show a weak conceptual understanding of chemistry at university. This inconsistency was investigated by examining strategies used in the teaching of chemical equilibrium in schools. A combination of on-site observations, journaling and teacher interviews was used in a survey of 4 teachers in 3 well-resourced schools whose learners regularly achieve good results in the subject. In this article we argue that, whereas the study reported on here revealed a high degree of consistency in basic concept teaching approaches calculated to help learners pass the NSC examination, focus on the examination comes at the expense of in-depth exploration of concepts. We found that Grade 12 chemistry teachers value learners’ success in the NSC examination more than their understanding of concepts and ability to use those concepts beyond the examination. Reasons for, as well as consequences of this strategic choice were identified and are discussed.