Abstract:

This study investigates the challenges South African teachers face in delivering Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) as an integrated subject in the Senior Phase (Grades 8-9). While curriculum policy intends for EMS to holistic commercial literacy through the seamless integration of Financial Literacy, Economics, and Entrepreneurship, teachers struggle to enact this integration effectively. Framed by Rogan and Grayson’s (2003) Theory of Curriculum Implementation, this qualitative case study examines the experiences of seven EMS teachers in a resource-constrained context. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and curriculum document analysis.

Findings reveal that integration is undermined by three interconnected factors: structural, systemic and pedagogical. First, structural impediments emerge from prescriptive pacing guidelines and assessment frameworks enforcing fragmented, siloed delivery of Accounting, Economics, and Entrepreneurship, directly contradicting the integrative policy goal. Second systemic constraints reflect inadequate implementation capacity. Teachers reported insufficient instructional time, absence of basic resources, and poorly designed professional development programs that fails to model integrative pedagogy. Third, pedagogical challenges stem from teachers limited disciplinary expertise across all three EMS components. Many teachers lack formal training in all three focus areas: Accounting, Economics or Entrepreneurship resulting in diminished confidence and competence in integrating unfamiliar content. Teachers consequently prioritise familiar over more demanding areas such as financial literacy, further undermining the subject’s integrative intent.

The study concludes that these challenges represent a systemic policy-practice gap, where the aspirational vision of integration is defeated by a lack of contextual support and structural coherence. The resulting fragmentation not only compromises learner preparedness but also constrains the pipeline of students entering commerce-related fields, thereby subverting EMS’s broader socio-economic mandate. The findings underscore the urgent need for aligned policy frameworks, context-responsive professional development, and enhanced resource allocation to realize the integrative intent of EMS education.

Keywords:

Economic and Management Sciences, Curriculum Integration, Teacher Challenges, Policy-Practice Gap, South African Education, Curriculum Implementation.