Question NW664 to the Minister of Basic Education

Reply:

There is no policy or practice that supports rote learning over critical thinking for learners. Our policy statement, encapsulated in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), underscores the significance of prioritizing critical learning. It clearly states that "The National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12 serves the purposes of facilitating the transition of learners from education institutions to the workplace." It further states that it "aims to produce learners that can identify and solve problems and make decisions by using critical and creative thinking."

Three Stream Model (TSM)

The DBE has introduced the Three Stream Model (TSM), which refers to multiple learning pathways for schooling within the academic, vocational, and occupationally oriented streams for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) in the South African schooling system.

The vocational and occupational streams emphasise practical skills development. Learners can acquire hands-on skills relevant to various industries.

This focus on skills equips learners with competencies needed for the changing nature of work, including those driven by global trends and technological advancements such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

The TSM curriculum aligns with national policy imperatives, including the National Development Plan (NDP).

The model contributes to the broader vision of sustainable development and a skilled workforce.

The TSM represents an investment in South Africa’s future. In diversifying education and emphasising on skills development, it has the potential to create adaptable, versatile, well prepared and equipped generations of learners, who will appropriately respond to the country’s clarion call for an able and skilled workforce towards a dynamic and responsive economy.

Entrepreneurship in Schools

Following four years of research from 2010 -2014, on 02 April 2014, the Deputy President and key cabinet Ministers of the Human Resource Development Council South Africa (HRDC SA), approved the recommendations tabled by the “Enabling Entrepreneurship” Technical Task Team to include Entrepreneurship Education into the National Formal Education of all learners from Grades R-12. As a result, the HRDC mandated the DBE to implement the recommendation.

In response to the mandate received from the HRDC, the DBE, after due consultation within the Basic Education Sector, developed draft Sector Plan on Entrepreneurship in Schools to 2030. On 4 June 2015, the Council of Education Ministers approved Sector Plan and launched it at the DBE Sector Lekgotla on 22 January 2018.

The Sector Plan aims to lay a sound foundation within the schooling system for future entrepreneurs with a strong focus on skills for a changing world. The Entrepreneurship, Employability and Education Programme referred to as DBE - E³ (ECUBED) Programme was developed as per prescripts of the Sector Plan.

The DBE - E³ Programme aims to the address unemployment in South Africa and help learners succeed and thrive once they become adults.

The vision of the DBE - E³ Programme is of a South African schooling system that creates an enabling and caring environment where learners feel confident, have autonomy and the agency to be innovative, creative, curious, take risks, and learn from mistakes.

This initiative does not in any way change the underlying Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) of the National Curriculum Statement. Rather, through the introduction of collaborative teaching methodologies, it will enhance the development of entrepreneurial skills, problem-solving, and action-oriented mind-sets. In this way it will promote more practical, creative, caring, competent, and confident individuals. This will result in young people being better equipped for the working world, be it as employees, business owners or social entrepreneurs working towards social upliftment. Improving the quality of education requires careful management and support from all interested parties. 

It is important to note that these skills are listed as principles of teaching and learning in Section 1 of the CAPS as follows: 

• identify and solve problems and make decisions.
• work effectively as individuals, with others as members of a team and promoted inclusivity.
• 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 environment and the health of others; and
• demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem solving contexts do not exist in isolation.

Extensive international research has shown the effectiveness of the project-based learning approach makes learning more engaging, increases learners’ interest in schooling and develops the core fundamental skill sets needed to be successful in today’s global economy. This research shows this approach results in more employable graduates from the school system, as well as more successful entrepreneurial start-ups. We believe that this initiative can have the same result for South African learners.

Hence, the DBE-E³ Programme is using Project Based Learning methodology among others to activate 21st-century competencies in every learner so they can leave school employable, engaged in further education, and be entrepreneurial.

Entrepreneurship means being able and ready to imagine, plan, organise and run a business; and handle the uncertainties that come along the way. An entrepreneurial mindset or way of thinking is something that everyone has inside them and the right classroom environment, and way of learning can help unlock this in each child. An entrepreneurial mindset is a problem-solving way of thinking that can help a person participate in the economy when they leave school or finish studying.

All stakeholders: schools, teachers, principals, provincial officials, businesses, and social partners to seize this unique learning and teaching opportunity and to continue to work together in the spirit of creating an employed and an entrepreneurial nation.

Coding and Robotics

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has finalised the Coding and Robotics (C&R) Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), which Umalusi has approved and the DBE plans to fully implement in Foundation Phase (FP) in 2025.

The teaching and learning of Coding and Robotics (C&R) aim to develop the following for the learner to be able to:

• develop computational thinking skills to solve problems.
• advance design thinking to develop creative and human-centred approaches to solve problems.
• become part of a generation of creative, innovative systems thinkers that can use coding, robotics, and digital competencies to express their ideas.
• foster creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and innovation.
• function ethically and effectively in a digital and information-driven world.
• develop a critical awareness of how technologies impact society at large.
• instil self-efficacy and confidence to deal with situations requiring computational thinking, design thinking and problem solving.
• prepare for future careers in STEAM related fields.
• adopt a culture of being self-directed, life-long learners who can apply their skills in a wide range of contexts and situations (adaptable, flexible, and resilient).

The C&R CAPS is competence-based - focuses on a combination of knowledge skills, attitudes, and values which is reflected in behaviour that can be observed, measured, and evaluated. It refers to the ability to perform a specific task successfully and efficiently or in a manner that yields desirable outcomes.

Furthermore, the curriculum is grounded in the Science of Learning and Deliberate Practise.

Using the Science of Learning which stipulates that learning happens through practise and regular retrieval (spaced & interleaved), it enables the DBE to identify the most effective teaching and learning strategies based on empirical evidence, and that has been shown to improve long-term retention of information and enhance learning outcomes.

Deliberate practise involves setting specific goals, receiving feedback (e.g. from teachers and peers), and making focused efforts to acquire and improve knowledge, skills and performance. It involves purposeful repetition, feedback-driven metacognition, and gradual extension to improve performance.

The C&R CAPS is also informed by Literature re teaching and learning C&R, Activity Theory, Discovery Learning, Problem-based learning, and Cooperative Learning.

All the above proves that the DBE’s emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and are committed to ensure that learners acquire the necessary competencies to flourish in the modern job market.