Abstract:

The purpose of this research was to examine learners’ perceptions of their teachers’ application of basic science process skills to the teaching of geography in secondary schools in the Free State Province, South Africa. Based on the literature review, a questionnaire on the application of basic science process skills in the geography classroom was developed. A quantitative approach was adopted because it provided learners with an opportunity to rate the frequency at which teachers applied different basic science process skills in the classroom. The objective was to establish learners’ perceptions of their teachers’ application of basic science process skills in the teaching of geography. A systematic sample was used to select the sample. Every 22nd school was selected until a sample of fourteen schools was reached. Fifty questionnaires were sent to each selected school with an instruction to the school principal that ten questionnaires be given to the learners of each grade. Of 700 questionnaires mailed, 355 were returned which represented a return of 51 percent. A literature survey revealed that some researchers were of the opinion that basic science process skills were suitable and effective to the teaching of geography at secondary school level. Literature also indicated that basic science process skills were linked to the objectives of geography and could be realized and achieved as observable and demonstrable objectives. The empirical research showed that learners were of the opinion that their teachers applied basic science process skills to the teaching of geography. The results also showed that according to the learners’ perceptions, tasks in which teachers encouraged learners to communicate were given most of the time. Exercises in which teachers linked the work in geography on graphs to learners’ everyday lives were applied less.

Keywords:

Learners’ perceptions, sciences process skills, basic science process skills, geography teaching, geography learning.