INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE: A NEGLECTED APPROACH IN TEACHING LIFE SCIENCES?

In this case study, three university Life Sciences teacher educators were interviewed to explore their perspectives of the Life Sciences knowledge integration in the teacher training and education programme which was a driving force towards the process of curriculum design and development as charged by the DHET (Department of Higher Education and Training) through the espoused curriculum for teacher training and development in the South African universities. Such perspectives were the determinants of what the Life Science teacher educators’ conceptions and perceptions of knowledge integration were perceived in this study as contributing to the extent of how they view the principle of knowledge integration and subsequent effect these would have on the selection of topics for the discipline knowledge for preservice teaching of Life science students, to ensure their depth and competencies required for teaching Life Sciences disciplines when they exit the programme. Again, the choice of models and philosophical foundations of knowledge production based on knowledge discipline were seen as a fulcrum of how they presented the integrated manner as expected. This view necessitated the researcher to conduct an in-depth interviews to solicit such information in order to understand how they interpreted the policy MRTEQ ((minimun requirements for teacher education qualifications) in developing their learning programmes for Life Sciences given that the Life Sciences is multidisciplinary subject. Selecting a qualitative methodology in a form of a case study meant that from face to face interactions would afford a researcher an opportunity to get clarity on issues based on the semi-structured interviews where clarity was needed. A case study in a South African Institution of Higher Education was pursued with the aim of identifying the dominant trends contributing to how such perspectives affected the conceptualization of Life Sciences curriculum design and development for knowledge integration. In the absence of a pilot study that was planned in the conception of the study, the institution where the researcher is employed conveniently provided data which was useful for testing research instruments as well as a springboard for the broader doctoral study conducted in the other 6 South Africa universities. The results of this research were thematically analysed and based on the synthesis of literature with the data collected and analysed, recommendations were made. The study unveiled the fact that integrated Life Sciences disciplinary knowledge has had an influenced on the participants’ perspectives of knowledge integration. Even though the institutions were at different stages of curriculum design, others had already started with the implementation process of the espoused curriculum. It was also clear some that lecturers dependent on their teaching styles and philosophical inclinations informed their practice. The choice of themes in their learning programmes also demonstrated a possibility of biasness driven by the passion of teacher educators’ disciplines of their specialty.