1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Terms of reference of the Technical Committee

1.1.1 Government Gazette No 17724

In the Government Gazette, No. 17724, dated 19 January 1997, reference is made to the Department of Education's:

• efforts to develop new learning frameworks and learning programmes for education to comply with the outcomes-based approach of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF)
• aim to phase in the new learning programmes from January 1998.

The writing of learning programmes is to be based on the specific outcomes developed by the eight Learning Area Committees (LACs). It was, however, necessary to refine and delineate these specific outcomes for each of the phases of the NQF, namely Adult Basic Education and Training, General Education and Training and Further Education and Training. A Technical Committee was convened to assist the Department of Education with this task.

The duties of the Technical Committee were described as follows:

"... to assist the LAC and phase co-ordinating committees" and the following tasks were included:

• The writing of specific learning outcomes
• The clustering of these outcomes
• Investigating the devised levels of achievement and
• The development of assessment criteria ..." (par. 5).

1.1.2 Technical Committee's interpretation of its brief and terms of reference

After analysing the above-mentioned paragraphs of the Gazette it was decided that the brief could be achieved by:

• refining the outcomes of the eight learning areas;
• deciding on a model;
• taking the model through to its logical conclusion; and
• providing examples in the form of outcomes, assessment criteria, and range statements in order to test the hypothesis.

The Technical Committee received a further brief midway through its term of office. This brief was to complete the task of writing outcomes, assessment criteria and range statements and indication of levels for the General Education and Training Band (Foundation, Intermediate and Senior Phases).

The Committee decided that the further brief could only be achieved through the inclusion of a reference group derived from the Learning Area and Phase Co-ordinating Committees.

1.2 The roles and functions of other role players

1.2.1 Department of Education

The Technical Committee was provided with administrative and logistic support by the Department of Education. Individual members of the Department served on the working groups as Learning Area representatives.

1.2.2 Reference Group

On 26 February a reference group consisting of three members from each learning area committee as well as two practising teachers, met with the Technical Committee in an advisory and consultative capacity.

1.2.3 Support group

The need for subject and phase expertise led to the nomination of a number of Reference Group and LAC members to assist the Technical Committee with their task from 3 March 1997. This group was referred to as the Support Group.

1.2.4 SAQA

Two facilitators were provided by the South African Qualifications Authority to facilitate and guide the Technical Committee in its task of developing learning programme guidelines.

1.2.5 Co-ordinating Committee

The Co-ordinating Committee, which included representatives of the provinces, the different phases, ABET and ELSEN, convened on 10 and 11 March to consider the work of the Technical Committee completed up to that point. Their comments and recommendations were considered as a basis for the further work of the committee.

1.2.6 Canadian Support Team

During the first two weeks of the process, a team of six Canadian education specialists assisted the Technical Committee in providing guidelines and examples of outcomes-based education. Their inputs were invaluable. The team was especially sensitive to the need for South Africa to create its own model for the local context.

2. POLICY BACKGROUND

2.1 Educational Focus

2.1.1 General Education and Training Band

The General Education and Training band comprises:

• Foundation Phase
• Intermediate Phase
• Senior Phase

Foundation Phase

The development of curriculum policy for the foundation phase, which includes the Early Childhood Development (ECD) phase, has been based on the following national policy documents:

• White Paper on Education and Training (March 1995)
• Interim Policy for Early Childhood Development
• Curriculum Framework Document.

The White Paper on Education and Training (1995:33, par. 73) acknowledges that:

"The care and development of young children must be the foundation of social relations and the starting point of human resources development strategies from community to national levels."

ECD is defined as:

"...an umbrella term which is applied to the processes by which children from birth to nine years grow and thrive, physically, mentally, emotionally, morally and socially." (Ibid. p. 33, par. 73)

It is acknowledged that policy is ongoing and developmental. The overall goal of the curriculum is to provide children with opportunities to develop to their full potential as active, responsible and fulfilled citizens who can play a constructive role in a democratic, non-racist and equitable society. The development of the child in totality should lead to a balanced personality so that he/she may be equipped with the necessary life skills.

Some of the key principles guiding curriculum development for the ECD are:

• Integration
• Holistic development
• Relevance
• Participation and ownership
• Accountability and transparency
• Child-orientated approach
• Flexibility
• Critical and creative thinking
• Progression
• Anti-biased approach
• Inclusion of children with disabilities, out-of-school children and other children with special educational needs.

Intermediate Phase

In the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 to 6), teaching and learning, while still highly contextualised and largely integrated (cross-curricular themes or topics), could begin to move in the direction of those individual areas of learning informing General and Further Education and Training. Learners in this phase are beginning to understand detailed relationships between materials, incidents, circumstances and people, and are able to infer the consequences of such relationships. This has significant implications for the selection of learning content and teaching and learning activities, which should develop these abilities to the full.

It is also important to note that peer acceptance is extremely important to learners in this phase. Group work, project work and peer assessment should, therefore, feature prominently in their learning.

Senior Phase

The Senior Phase (Grades 7 to 9) of the General Education and Training Band is the last phase of the General Education and Training Certificate. Learners are increasingly able to reason independently of concrete materials and experience. They are able to engage in open argument and are willing to accept multiple solutions to single problems. The learning content offered in this phase would, therefore, be less contextualised, more abstract and more area specific, than in the previous two phases.

At the same time there should be clear evidence that learners are being prepared for life after school, i.e. life in the world of work, at institutions for further learning and for adult life in general. Learning programmes should create opportunities for learners to be informed about career and further learning opportunities, about ways and means of realising their expectations for the future, and about their rights and responsibilities as citizens in a democratic, multi-cultural society.

Because this phase concludes with national assessment and the possibility of obtaining national qualifications (the General Education and Training Certificate), there is a danger that the importance of attaining the unit standards required for this qualification becomes so important that it will have a negative effect on holistic teaching and learning in general, and the integration of education and training, theory and practice, and related areas of learning in particular.

Curriculum developers, formal providers and teachers need to ensure that integration, of subjects and of theory and practice, still takes place.

2.1.2 Further Education and Training

Further Education and Training (FET) is made up of NQF levels two to four. This band will be non-compulsory. Various providers are involved in this band of education and training, such as:

• senior secondary schools
• technical colleges
• NGOs
• regional training centres
• private providers and private colleges
• private training centres
• private companies
• industry training centres
• community colleges.

At this level learners should be prepared for higher education, vocational education, careers and self-employment. Standards and curriculum on this band will have to be carefully co-ordinated, as the National Qualification Framework is based on the principle of integration of education and training, and the accumulation of credits across different institutions. These credits could consist of core units and optional units in different combinations, undertaken in a variety of modes.

A Further Education and Training Committee has been appointed to draw up recommendations on the way forward for FET. The Technical Committee did not go into the details of the FET band, as it did not want to pre-empt the findings of the FET Committee.

2.1.3 Adult Basic Education and Training

Adult Basic Education and Training comprises three benchmark levels below the General Education and Training Certificate. The ABET learning continuum therefore covers ABET Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4, with ABET Level 4 as equivalent to NQF Level 1 (GETC level).

The ABET sector has been engaged in a consultative standard-setting process for several years. The National Interim Guidelines document (Department of Education, ABET Directorate, August 1995) put forward outcomes for Language and Numeracy at ABET Levels 1-4 in order to provide transitional guidance for the ABET field. SAQA has agreed that there should be Unit Standards for ABET below GETC level, although this is not the case for formal schooling. Unit Standards for language and numeracy are currently being written on the basis of the outcomes in the National Interim Guidelines, taking into account work done by the Department of Education's Learning Area Committees in these two areas. Processes for developing unit standards at ABET Levels 1 - 3 in other learning areas are under way.

These unit standards will provide a pathway which will enable adult learners to achieve a GETC. While unit standards from the eight learning areas at GETC level will be the same for the ABET sector, as for schooling, rules of combination for qualifications for adults need to be flexible. Adult learners may well make up a GETC with unit standards which are taken from fields of learning other than the eight learning area for schools. Issues regarding rules of combination for qualifications on GETC and beyond, and the relationships between unit standards taken from the twelve fields put forward by SAQA, are still under debate.

2.1.4 Education for Learners with Special Education Needs (ELSEN)

The highly academic nature and simplistic approach to assessment, forced schools which provided ELSEN to adapt the previous curriculum to make it more "learner friendly" and skills oriented. Thus a parallel 'lower academic level' system developed.

The new outcomes-based approach has taken the requirements of learners with special education needs (ELSEN) into account in the process of developing learning programme guidelines. For learners who experience problems with the basic functions of reading, spelling, writing and calculations, alternative means of assessing will be provided to evaluate their true potential and level of knowledge. The focus on demonstrations and alternative assessment methods, varying from complete exemption from all reading or writing inputs, to partial exemption by using tape recorders, amanuensis, etc., bears testimony to this paradigm shift.

The gifted learner has not been neglected either. The individualistic nature of OBE, where each learner will be working at his/her own pace, will enable the learner to accelerate through the curriculum. Each province, however, will determine its own policy whether acceleration or enrichment or both will form the basis of education for the gifted.

2.1.5 The Eight Learning Areas

The report refers to the eight Learning Areas adopted by SAQA. These are:

• Language, Literacy and Communication
• Human and Social Sciences
• Technology
• Mathematical Literacy, Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences
• Natural Sciences
• Arts and Culture
• Economics and Management Science
• Life Orientation.

3. CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK: EXPLANATIONS OF TERMS

The overall structure of the curriculum process is outlined in Annexure A.

3.1 Critical Outcomes

The critical outcomes which form the backdrop to this report are the broad, generic cross-curricular outcomes which underpin the Constitution and which are adopted by SAQA. These outcomes will ensure that learners gain the skills, knowledge and values that will allow them to contribute to their own success as well as to the success of their family, community and the nation as a whole. There are seven critical outcomes proposed by SAQA with an additional five outcomes which support development.

SAQA has proposed the following outcomes:

Learners will:

1. Identify and solve problems and make decisions using critical and creative thinking
2. Work effectively with others as members of a team, group, organisation and community
3. Organise and manage themselves and their activities responsibly and effectively
4. Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information
5. Communicate effectively using visual, symbolic, and/or language skills in various modes
6. Use science and technology effectively and critically showing responsibility towards the environments and the health of others
7. Demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem solving contexts do not exist in isolation.

In order to contribute to the full personal development of each learner, and social and economic development at large, it must be the intention underlying any programme of learning to make an individual aware of the importance of :

1. Reflecting on and exploring a variety of strategies to learn more effectively
2. Participating as a responsible citizen in the life of local, national and global communities
3. Being culturally and aesthetically sensitive across a range of social contexts
4. Exploring education and career opportunities, and
5. Developing entrepreneurial opportunities.

3.2 Rationale

The eight learning areas relate to the Critical Outcomes and derive from SAQA's thirteen fields of learning. In order to explain the connection to these, it has been decided to include a rationale that clarifies:

• why the learning field is seen as important to include in the curriculum;
• what constitutes the essential elements of the learning field; and
• how the learning field contributes to the achievement of critical outcomes.

3.3 Specific Outcomes

Outcomes refer to the specification of what learners are able to do at the end of a learning experience. This includes skills, knowledge and values which inform the demonstration of the achievement of an outcome or a set of outcomes. The focus of outcomes-based education and training is the link between the intentions and results of learning, rather than the traditional approach of listing of content to be covered within a learning programme.

In each Learning Area, it was found that a set of Specific Outcomes describes what learners will be able to do at all levels of learning. The differentiation between different phases of learning would be addressed by different levels of complexity in the processes learners engage in and in the kinds of evidence through which learners demonstrate outcomes.

It will be left to learning programme designers to select and cluster certain outcomes for inclusion in learning programmes.

Certain specific outcomes are followed by explanatory notes. These notes are included to assist the reader to understand the purpose and intention of the outcome. The explanatory notes do not have any other status or function than to clarify the outcome.

3.4 Assessment Criteria

The assessment criteria provide evidence that the learner has achieved the specific outcome. The criteria indicate, in broad terms, the observable processes and products of learning which serve as culminating demonstrations of the learner's achievement. The assessment criteria are derived directly from the specific outcome and form a logical set of statements of what achievement could or should look like. To the extent that specific outcomes take the form of statements that "Learners will..." (verb + noun) the assessment criteria generally indicate that learners have achieved the point where "nouns are passive" verb + qualifier.

The assessment criteria are broadly stated and so do not themselves provide sufficient details of exactly what and how much learning marks an acceptable level of achievement of the outcome. For this reason the assessment criteria are explained and detailed in the range statement. The assessment criteria provide a framework for assessment, while the range statement fleshes out the substance of what assessment will be applied to.

3.5 Range Statements

Range statements indicate the scope, depth, level of complexity and parameters of the achievement. They include indications of the critical areas of content, processes and context which the learner should engage with in order to reach an acceptable level of achievement. While the range indicates the areas of content, product and process, it does not restrict learning to specific lists of knowledge items or activities which learners can work through mechanically. The range statements provide direction but allows for multiple learning strategies, for flexibility in the choice of specific content and process and for a variety of assessment methods.

The range statement describes the level of complexity and the extent of rigour that learners are expected to master. While it is possible that the assessment criteria for an outcome may read the same for different phases and grades, they will be differentiated in the range statement through the descriptions of progressively increasing complexity and sophistication as learners progress to higher grades.

The range statement is an expansion and explanation of the critical terms and categories of the assessment criteria. The salient nouns and verbs of the assessment criteria are described in sufficient detail to assist in the planning of learning programmes and assessment strategies.

The range statements have the additional function of ensuring that balance is maintained between the acquisition of both knowledge and skills and the development of values.

The range statement should also describe the broad contexts of learning. It should provide broad indications that guide the choice of a range of methodologies and teaching and learning strategies that will support achievement of outcomes.

3.6 Performance Indicators

The Assessment Criteria and the Range statement give only broad indications of what evidence learners need to present before they are seen as having achieved the specific outcome. There is therefore a need to provide much more detailed information about what learners should know and be able to do in order to show achievement. We also need to ensure that learners have formed opinions and assumed values through their learning. Because the outcome is the culmination of the learning process there is a need to provide learners with indicators by which they can plan and measure their progress towards the achievement of the outcome.

Performance indicators provide the details of the content and processes that learners should master, as well as details of the learning contexts in which the learner will be engaged. This will provide practitioners and learners with a breakdown of the essential stages to be reached in the process of achieving the outcome. Performance indicators will help in the planning of the learning process, the tracking of progress and the diagnosing of problems.

The performance indicators will show the level of achievement that the learner finally achieves. It will allow assessment of whether the learner has achieved the outcome or not. They will also allow statements to be made about the quality of achievement, that is, whether the achievement is at the level required or whether the learner has surpassed this level.

3.7 Learning Programmes

Learning programmes are the vehicles through which the curriculum is implemented at the various sites of learning, such as schools. They are the sets of learning activities in which the learner will be involved while working towards the achievement of one or more specific outcomes.

4. ISSUES AND NOTES

4.1 Rules of Combination

As yet, there is not much clarity on what "Rules of Combination" will look like in practice and what their role will be. It is therefore difficult to discuss these in detail.

It appears positive that learners have some freedom in choosing combinations of Unit Standards that reflect their interests. However, some guidelines for combination will have to be written. It is not clear who should be involved in the writing of these, but it seems obvious that at least representatives from tertiary institutions and other post-secondary places of learning should be involved, together with representatives from secondary institutions. Other relevant interests will also need to be identified.

At this stage, only some further issues can be raised for consideration:

• Are the "Rules of Combination" applicable to GET, or do they start operating from the FET phase onwards?
• Will "Language" be compulsory to some extent in any "Rule of Combination"?
• Is there a need to identify other Learning Areas or parts thereof, as being to some degree compulsory?
• Will learners indeed be given the freedom to choose a "Combination"?
• What will the effect be on the curriculum of tertiary institutions, regarding the possibilities and limits in "Combinations", and the OBE curriculum as a whole?
• How will the interested parties who should take part in the writing of the "Rules of Combination" be identified?

4.2 Levels/Grades and Phases

Phase Requirements/ Levels

Outcomes-based education (OBE ) emphasises progress according to individual potential. It is based on developmentally appropriate practices. Levels should therefore, be viewed not as restrictive but rather as a guideline as to what should happen by the end of the phase concerned. Learners should be :

1. supported in the attainment of these levels through a variety of learning strategies;
2. encouraged to function beyond these levels according to optimum potential; and
3. provided with multiple learning opportunities.

Levels in this model are located within the range statements. However, due to the differing learning areas, levels are also, in some instances, evident in the assessment criteria.

In order to provide the flexibility required, levels are suggestive and not prescriptive and are associated with phases rather than individual grades. There must be progression across the phases.

Grades / Phases

Since levels are pegged at the end of phases and not at grades, thereby affording the learner flexibility to develop at his/her own pace both within and across phases, multigrade/multi-age grouping may be one useful form of classroom organisation that needs to be explored.

Multi-grade/multi-age grouping is the vertical age grouping of learners within the classroom for educational and pedagogical benefits. Various forms of multi-grade grouping are prevalent in both primary and secondary schools throughout South Africa and the world.

This kind of classroom organisation helps the teacher to focus on the learner and not the curriculum. Evaluation is based on observational techniques, thereby eliminating the need for annual promotions according to the same prescribed work for all children. It aids both continuous learning and continuous entry. This form of classroom organisation may lend itself to peer teaching and parent/ community involvement.

4.3 Clustering

Clustering as a mechanical and permanent grouping of outcomes is not considered desirable. However, there is a need to organise learning programmes in an integrated way which draws on elements of the different learning areas.

Recommended principles when clustering

• The purpose of Clustering is to encourage an integrated approach to learning.
• The selection of specific outcomes must be done in such a way that the essential conceptual and thematic ambience of particular learning areas is not lost.
• A learning programme may have a primary focus on one or more learning areas but should also draw on specific outcomes, content, process or context elements from other learning areas.
• Learning programmes should not follow a permanent formula for clustering outcomes. This should rather be a dynamic process to be followed by different material developers in different situations.

4.4 Note on Religious Education

The South African Constitution (Act No. 108 of 1996), Section 15 (2), and the South African Schools Act, (Act No. 84 of 1996), Section 7, provide for the conducting of religious observances at a public school. The report strongly supports the provision of, and recognises the benefits of, religious education in the formal school system. The report does not, however, recommend the definition of specific outcomes, assessment criteria or range statements in respect of religious education in a way that leads to the achievement of assessable outcomes and subsequent accreditation by SAQA.

The report recommends that mechanisms be put in place to facilitate the development of learning programmes for religious education by individual religious communities, in conjunction with education authorities, for delivery, on a free and voluntary basis, in public schools.

4.5 The curriculum and vocational education

An integrated approach to education and training is a major focus of the NQF. Some learners will leave school after the GEC to enter the world of work. There is a need for addressing vocational(-ly oirented) education in the senior phase to accommodate these learners' needs. Learning Programmes for the senior phase should be developed with a view to preparing learners for all possible further education and training modes, such as general, technical and vocational education and training, as well as industry training, etc.

4.6 Interim arrangements for certification

It is recommended that an interim strategy be devised for the consideration and accreditation of certificates. If GEC students are to offer combinations of vocational, training, general, ABET and training unit standards, it is unclear how this will be accommodated in the present rigid structures. At present the accreditation/recognition of newly designed learning programmes is problematic.

4.7 Recommendations regarding INSET

It is recommended that:

• INSET must be of the correct type, i.e. not 'telling' teachers about OBE but involving them through workshops and small group discussions in order to reach a shared understanding.
• Use is made of experienced teachers as trainers - OBE experienced, (i.e. people already involved in the process) and having area expertise. These people must receive proper education as TRAINERS.
• Classroom teachers must receive experience of the Workplace/Field as out-of-class experiences.
• Teachers must be supported in the classroom, including during regular Curriculum days in schools.
• Teachers must be provided with skills training, inter alia, with regard to Classroom Management, Assessment Strategies and Methodologies.
• Action Research must be conducted on how to implement OBE.
• NB. Grade 1 and Grade 7 teachers must be given priority.
• Since the Provincial Department employs the teachers, it must accept responsibility for this and be held accountable.
• A tendering process to find the most suitable providers for this process must be properly instituted. College of Education staff, as well as staff of many other institutions, can be drawn on. The criteria for selection must be carefully applied.

4.8 Finalisation of Document

It is suggested that this discussion document be referred to the provinces for stakeholder input through LAC structures. A two- to three-month period needs to be allocated for this process, which will be important in ensuring wider consultation, discussion and ownership of the document prior to its finalisation into national policy. This time frame is the minimum required in terms of the logistical realities of transport and communication in the provinces.

Once this provincial process has been completed, the contributions of the stakeholders will need to be fed into the document. For the sake of continuity, and the need for a team with the appropriate expertise and experience in the outcomes-based education (OBE) developmental process, team members should be appointed to assist in both the redrafting and finalisation of the document and in any campaigns to publicise the document in the provinces.

4.9 National Statement

There are always discrepancies in the way a new curriculum is interpreted by educationists. This is more so when there is a complete paradigm shift as we have in our country. There will be a need to give some direction for a more-or-less uniform approach by the majority of teachers and learners. This can be done through a National Statement - i.e. each Learning Area provides a National Statement approved by the Department.

The purpose of this Statement is to provide a framework around which provinces and schools may build their learning programmes. It identifies important components of education for South African learners. It is descriptive rather than prescriptive. It does not provide a syllabus, and should not be used as such. The applications of such a statement are wide-ranging and may be used by all educationists and curriculum developers. It is suggested that the department appoints two or three people in each LAC to draft these National Statements.