An Exploratory Study of the Relationship between Learners’ Attitudes Towards Learning Science and Characteristics of an Afterschool Science Club
- Agunbiade, Esther, Ngcoza, Kenneth M, Jawahar, Kavish, Sewry, Joyce
- Authors: Agunbiade, Esther , Ngcoza, Kenneth M , Jawahar, Kavish , Sewry, Joyce
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/483279 , vital:78739 , https://doi.org/10.1080/18117295.2017.1369274
- Description: The Khanya Maths and Science Club (KMSC) is an afterschool science/maths enrichment programme for learners in Grades 7–12 supported by postgraduate students and academic staff volunteers. This research seeks to explore the relationship between participating learners’ attitude toward learning science and the characteristics of this afterschool science club. The study draws from Wenger’s community of practice model to explore the features. Six learners participating in the KMSC were interviewed and their journal entries were analysed inductively, resulting in three themes. The study revealed that learners’ attitudes towards learning science were associated with the club’s instructional characteristics, facilitators/environmental characteristics and the level to which science was connected with everyday life. These characteristics are also related to the community of practice elements. It was concluded that incorporating the community of practice model in structuring afterschool science activities could have a positive influence on learners’ attitude towards learning science.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Agunbiade, Esther , Ngcoza, Kenneth M , Jawahar, Kavish , Sewry, Joyce
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/483279 , vital:78739 , https://doi.org/10.1080/18117295.2017.1369274
- Description: The Khanya Maths and Science Club (KMSC) is an afterschool science/maths enrichment programme for learners in Grades 7–12 supported by postgraduate students and academic staff volunteers. This research seeks to explore the relationship between participating learners’ attitude toward learning science and the characteristics of this afterschool science club. The study draws from Wenger’s community of practice model to explore the features. Six learners participating in the KMSC were interviewed and their journal entries were analysed inductively, resulting in three themes. The study revealed that learners’ attitudes towards learning science were associated with the club’s instructional characteristics, facilitators/environmental characteristics and the level to which science was connected with everyday life. These characteristics are also related to the community of practice elements. It was concluded that incorporating the community of practice model in structuring afterschool science activities could have a positive influence on learners’ attitude towards learning science.
- Full Text:
Integrating Afrocentric approaches for meaningful learning of science concepts
- Chikunda, Charles, Ngcoza, Kenneth M
- Authors: Chikunda, Charles , Ngcoza, Kenneth M
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436248 , vital:73252 , ISBN 978-3-319-45989-9 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45989-9_
- Description: Economic and social development in any modern country re-lies heavily on a sound scientific and technological base. Es-sentially, science constitutes an area of any nation’s education system where many of the skills that are needed to stimulate development are learned, such as securing good health, fighting diseases, protecting the environment, farming and de-veloping agriculture and developing new industries and tech-nologies and even building resilience to climate change. There is a need therefore for a country to harness the intellectual and scientific capacity of its young people. Ironically, however, sci-ence (especially physical sciences) is one of the least popular areas within the educational system of most developing countries. Research shows that students’ and especially girls’ low interest in science and their relatively negative attitudes are at least partially attributed to the way science is taught at school.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Chikunda, Charles , Ngcoza, Kenneth M
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436248 , vital:73252 , ISBN 978-3-319-45989-9 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45989-9_
- Description: Economic and social development in any modern country re-lies heavily on a sound scientific and technological base. Es-sentially, science constitutes an area of any nation’s education system where many of the skills that are needed to stimulate development are learned, such as securing good health, fighting diseases, protecting the environment, farming and de-veloping agriculture and developing new industries and tech-nologies and even building resilience to climate change. There is a need therefore for a country to harness the intellectual and scientific capacity of its young people. Ironically, however, sci-ence (especially physical sciences) is one of the least popular areas within the educational system of most developing countries. Research shows that students’ and especially girls’ low interest in science and their relatively negative attitudes are at least partially attributed to the way science is taught at school.
- Full Text:
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