Establecimiento de propiedades matemáticas de la semejanza

6.2.1 Summary and discussion of the findings for textbook A

Textbook A portrayed a poor representation of the NOS, making reference to only 6 out of the 11 tenets and obtaining a cumulative score of +6 out of a possible +36. This cumulative score is consistent with prior research findings by Abd-El-Khalick (2008) on high school chemistry textbooks, indicating the general lack of attention to NOS aspects in textbooks. Similar findings emerged for South African Life Sciences and Biology textbooks analysed by Padayachee (2012).

The units of analysis of textbook A poorly depicted the NOS tenets, with only implicit representation of the tenets. There were no explicit representations that could warrant a score above +1 as they made no mention to the nature of scientific knowledge. However, the textbook was consistent in its representation of scientific knowledge and there were no conflicting messages about any tenet of the NOS that would warrant a negative score. A score of -2 for instance is awarded when a tenet is represented explicitly in one unit of analysis whilst in another it is misrepresented. It is interesting to note that the ‘myth of the scientific method’ was not represented in the textbook, indicating the authors’ awareness of this erroneous belief. There were, however, misleading statements in the content that could lead to misinterpretations and misconceptions in the learners. Analysis of misconceptions in the textbook is beyond the scope of this study, but is highly recommended for future studies.

Previous research on the NOS in science textbooks has been on a single science domain such as chemistry or life sciences, but this study took research of textbooks a step further by analysing natural sciences, which is an infusion of four science strands. The NOS was not reflected at all in the matter and materials strand and this possibly could be attributed to the authors of the textbooks not inferring the importance of the NOS from the curriculum documents. I use the term “infer” from the curriculum since CAPS presents no explicit reference to the NOS. This implicitness could well be the reason why the NOS is so poorly represented in

93 textbooks, since authors use curriculum statements as guidelines for textbook writing.

6.2.2 Summary and discussion of the findings for textbook B

Textbook B scored a cumulative frequency of +5 out of a possible range of frequencies ranging from -33 to +33. The greater the cumulative frequency is, the more explicit the representation of the NOS. This low score of +5, representing a poor representation of the NOS, is commensurate with studies by Abd-El-Khalick (2008) on high school chemistry textbooks using this same framework.

Textbook B remained silent on the NOS in the energy and change strand. Again, this could be attributed to the authors who did not infer the NOS from CAPS. Once again the matter and materials strand had a poor representation of the NOS, presenting a single inference to the social dimension of science. This single occurrence could have arisen due to chance as textbook B has more units of analysis than textbook A. The possibility of chance cannot be ruled out as the trend noticed by the raters is that the more the units of analysis, the greater the likelihood of encountering units that refer to one or more of the tenets of the NOS.

6.2.3 Summary and discussion of findings for textbook C

Textbook C was unique in the sense that it was not produced for commercial purposes, but by a funded project distributing the textbook for free to public schools and could be downloaded by any individual from the internet. Each of the four strands in the textbook was authored by volunteers comprising school teachers, university lecturers, subject advisors and other specialists in that particular field. Stemming from this assortment of professionals, who provided varied expertise, textbook C had the highest representation of the NOS out of all the three textbooks analysed. In textbook C; each of the four strands was represented, but once again, the matter and materials strand had the least representation.

94 Textbook C had the most pages that were analysed and consequently a greater inference of the tenets of the NOS. This confirms the linear relationship hypothesised by the raters that the more the units of analysis the greater the representation of the NOS. However, the purpose of textbooks in South Africa is not to represent the NOS but to adhere to the content prescribed by CAPS, and when this document does not explicitly mention the NOS neither will it be mentioned in the textbook.

The low cumulative score of +7 for textbook C is once again comparable with the findings of textbooks B and C. This poor representation of the NOS is the case in other countries as well, despite international curriculum reform towards an inclusion of the NOS in curriculum statements.

6.2.4 Conclusion of findings from all three textbooks A, B and C

The three textbooks analysed were at a junior level of science. However, grade 9 is a crucial year for learners in South Africa as it is an exit year from science for those who will not select science for further education and training (FET). All the science such young adults will ever know from school is concluded in grade 9 and according to the findings of this study, the vast majority of the learners will not have an appreciation of what the NOS is or its importance.

Because such a junior level of science textbooks was analysed, the subject content did not include some laws and theories such as the Gas Laws in chemistry, which are encountered in FET. This could contribute to the absence of tenets pertaining to scientific laws or theories, and so there is a need to analyse science textbooks at a higher level of education.

The textbook plays a critical role in the teaching and learning of science and, as McKinney (2013) has shown, there is an over-reliance on textbooks by science teachers. The findings of this study reveal that the textbooks, which are heavily relied upon, undermine the advancements of the tenets of the NOS as they do not contain

95 activities pertaining to the NOS. This subsequently disadvantages the learner of higher order and critical thinking skills associated with activities aligned with the tenets of the NOS.