How Grade R pupils make sense of the ‘scientist’ and ‘science’
South African Journal of Childhood Education
| Field | Value | |
| Title | How Grade R pupils make sense of the ‘scientist’ and ‘science’ | |
| Creator | Ramnarain, Umesh Dewnarain | |
| Description | In this article we report on the ‘sense-making’ by children of a ‘scientist’ and ‘science’. We investigated these conceptions through drawings by using the Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST) developed by Chambers. We conducted the research in two urban schools; a public school located in a low-income previously designated black (African) suburb, and a private school in an affluent suburb. In theorising on the sense makingof a ‘scientist’ and ‘science’ by children from these diverse learning contexts, we examined the notion of ‘semiotic mediation’, which is a central idea in Vygotsky’s work. The results of the study show that children in the previously designated black school have little or no conception of science or a scientist. The significance of these findings needs to be considered against the inequities in education, and in particular in science education in this country due to the apartheid system. Despite Grade R being the first year in the twelve-school career of children we believe that the findings of this study do signal that concerted steps need to be taken so that children developstronger conceptions of science and a scientist. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2011-12-31 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/sajce.v1i2.90 | |
| Source | South African Journal of Childhood Education; Vol 1, No 2 (2011); 14 pages 2223-7682 2223-7674 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/90/36
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