FOMENTO Y APOYO DE LAS INICIATIVAS DE DESARROLLO LOCAL AYUDA PERMANENTE

The outcomes-based education model in South Africa, which is similar to the global efforts described above, has the following underlying principles for curriculum reform. The principles of outcomes-based education as described by the Department of Education (2008b:12), are:

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integration of education and training, all learners will succeed, times will no longer control the learning process. This means that not all learners will succeed at the same time, instead, learners will be able to develop at their own pace. Learners will be expected to show what they have learnt in different ways and examination will no longer be the only determent for progression or promotion. Outcomes will be assessed in other ways on an ongoing basis. Assessment is an integral part of the whole system and learners will not get marks just for remembering subject content. Different aspects of the learners‟ abilities, such as their creativity and critical thinking will also be assessed. Learners will know what they are learning and why and they will be encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. This will help to motivate them because they will be able to see the value of the programme.

The above mentioned principles thus demand of the educators to be familiar with them and understand the various mechanisms of outcomes-based assessment. These include critical outcomes, specific outcomes, assessment criteria, range statements and performance indicators.

3.6.1.1 Critical outcomes

According to Department of Education (2008b:7) critical outcomes are broad, generic cross- curricular outcomes. Bondenstein (2007:327) states that critical outcomes are the broad skills, competencies and attitudes that are valid for all disciplines at an overarching level. Naicker (2007:97) outlines these outcomes as follows:

Learners should be able to:

 Identify and solve problems and make decisions using critical and creative thinking;  Work effectively with others as members of a team, group, organisation and community;  Organise and manage themselves and their activities responsibly and effectively;

 Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information;

 Communicate effectively using visual, symbolic and/or language skills in various modes;  Use science and technology effectively and critically showing responsibility towards the

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 Demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem solving contexts do not exist in isolation.

Furthermore, Naicker (2007:98) states that to contribute to the full personal development of each learner and to social and economic development at large, the intention underlying any programme of learning should be to make an individual aware of the importance of the following: reflecting on and exploring a variety of strategies to learn more effectively, participating as responsible citizens in the life of local, national and global communities, being culturally and aesthetically sensitive across a range of social contexts, exploring education and career opportunities as well as developing entrepreneurial opportunities.

Educators had to ensure that they are familiar with the critical outcomes as they have important implications for teaching and learning in the classroom. The rationale for each learning area, the learning area outcomes and specific outcomes are all based on the critical outcomes. Curriculum 2005 was informed by twelve critical outcomes, which are in turn informed by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and have been approved by the South African Qualifications Authority. The first seven outcomes encourage the development of reflective, independent and productive citizens. It is the responsibility of educators to ensure that the school‟s curriculum policy is designed in order to achieve the critical and developmental outcomes mentioned above (see 3.6.1.1). These cross-curricular outcomes form the basis from which the learning outcomes are derived.

3.6.1.2 Learning area outcomes

Learning area outcomes specify the sequence of the core concepts, content and skills to be taught in each Grade level (Department of Education (2008b:7). These are the general skills, abilities and values, which a learner will be expected to demonstrate in that learning area (Lubisi et al 2006:48). Instead of teaching the traditional participants in isolation from each other, outcomes- based education endorses a more holistic approach where integration of learning content is emphasised. In order to facilitate integration, the new, balanced curriculum is developed on the basis of learning areas. Every learning area has its own broad outcomes, which are called learning

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area outcomes. The specific outcomes are informed by the learning area outcomes and thus will assist educators in the planning of teaching and learning activities.

3.6.1.3 Specific outcomes

According to Department of Education (2008b:8) specific outcomes are derived from the learning areas and specify what learners are able to do at the end of a learning experience. They are not Grade specific but teachers are expected to assess learners in each Grade against these sixty six outcomes. Bondenstein (2007:339) explains that specific outcomes describe the knowledge, skills and competencies that are determined and acquired within specific fields and disciplines. Each learning area consists of specific outcomes which help the educators to assess whether learners have achieved the desired outcomes for the learning area or unit of the work. Specific outcomes are derived from the broad learning area outcomes and are context specific. They provide guidance to educators in terms of devising learning programmes or learning experiences. The specific outcomes describe the competence which learners must demonstrate in various contexts and particular levels of learning. These sixty six specific outcomes are derived from the critical outcomes. Specific outcomes assist educators in making academic judgement and assist learners who must prove that they possess the skills and knowledge they claim. According to Naicker (2007:98), specific outcomes in turn provide direction for the eight learning areas, with each learning area having a number of its „own‟ specific outcomes. Each of this learning area is compulsory for the whole General Education and Training band. The eight learning areas are the following:

 Language Learning, Literacy and Communication (LLC)

 Mathematical Literacy, Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences (MLMMS)  Human and Social Sciences (HSS)

 Natural Sciences (NS)

 Economic and Management Sciences (EMS)  Life Orientation (LO)

 Arts and Culture (AC)  Technology (Tech)

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It would have been better if the specific outcomes were Grade specific because of learners‟ different levels of learning. The specific outcomes should clearly indicate the type of content needed for the learners to achieve such outcomes.

3.6.1.4 Range statements

According to Department of Education (2008b:8) range statements indicate the scope, level, depth and parameters of achievement of outcomes. Naicker (2007:99) states that range statements provide important guidelines to educators for the following reasons:

 A range statement indicates scope, depth and level of complexity of the outcome each learner is expected to demonstrate, as well as the context in which the outcomes will be demonstrated;

 Range statement therefore also delineate the critical areas of content, the processes and the contexts educators and learners should work with;

 Range statements ensure a balance between the acquisition of knowledge and skills and the development of values;

 Range statements provide the direction, but allow for multiple learning strategies and for flexibility in the choice of teaching methodologies and strategies;

 A range statement helps educators to determine how far a learner needs to progress towards each of the sixty six specific outcomes in one phase.

These range statements unpack specific outcomes so that educators can be able to analyse and understand the learning process. Assessment criteria function within these range statements, that is, they are informed by the range statements.

3.6.1.5 Assessment criteria

According to Department of Education (2008b:9), assessment criteria indicate in broad terms, the observable processes and products of learning which serve as culminating demonstrations of the

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learner‟s achievements. The Education policy on assessment further states that in order to achieve the assessment criteria (evidence of the achievement of the outcome), the assessment task has to be appropriately designed in terms of form, use, level of difficulty, frequency, timing and feedback, if it has to make a positive contribution to learning (Department of Education 2008b:9). Naicker (2007:99) indicates that assessment criteria assist the educators in the following ways:

 Assessment criteria describe the learner‟s behaviour that would partial evidence of the learner demonstrating the specific outcomes. Taken together, all the assessment criteria for a specific outcome should enable an educator to determine whether a learner does indeed demonstrate achievement of an outcome;

 Assessment criteria indicate what kind of assessment will be applied;

 Assessment criteria therefore refer to observable processes and products of learning.

The assessment criteria are ways of fine-tuning the performance indicators (Tilley & Goldstein 2006:10). The goal of teaching is to help the learner to learn. In order to do so, the educator and the learner must know how well he or she is doing in reaching the educational outcome desired. Assessment criteria give educators more details on how a learner is progressing.

3.6.1.6 Performance indicators

According to Department of Education (2008b:9), performance indicators provide educators with further guidelines on how the learner is progressing towards each outcome. Performance indicators provide details of the content and processes that learners should master. They allow statements of the quality of achievement. Education policy on assessment states that performance indicators help to plan the learning process, track progress and diagnose areas of weakness (Department of Education 2008b:9). Naicker (2007:99) states that performance indicators are important for the following reasons:

 Performance indicators describe essential developmental stages or stepping stones towards ultimately demonstrating the outcome;

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 They provide detailed information about what learners should know, feel and be able to do as well as about the learning contexts;

 Educators use performance indicators to plan learning and assessment in more detail.

The performance indicators are ways in which educators can ultimately see whether the learners have achieved the set learning outcomes and if not, what should be done in order to assist them to demonstrate achievement of those outcomes.

According to Cross, Mungadi and Rouhani (2002:175) the critique of the outcomes-based curriculum has been waged with reference to the following dimensions: its origin and conceptual basis (borrowing of an outcomes based strategy without considering the contextual changes needed to make the strategy effective), its policy nature (political imperatives are given primacy over policy imperatives), its knowledge and pedagogical features (it was not clear what clusters of knowledge or content should be brought together to facilitate learning, in what sequence, and at what level of competence) and its position in the context of schooling (lack of alignment between curriculum development, teacher development, selection and supply of learning materials). Generally, policy reviews can serve the following functions: to provide accountability mechanisms for governments and/or donor agencies with vested interests in a particular policy initiative or programme, to enhance existing policy, and to establish a new policy (Cross et al 2002:14). In South Africa the Curriculum Review Committee was required to investigate steps to be taken in respect of the implementation of the new curriculum in Grades 4 and 8 in 2001, key success factors and strategies for strengthened implementation of the new curriculum, the structure of the new curriculum, and the levels of understanding of outcomes-based education by stakeholders (Cross et al 2002:183). At a more practical level, the committee had to investigate how enabling C2005 was for achieving its stated critical outcomes.