Grade 9 EMS teachers’ constructs of Accounting and their pedagogical reasoning
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Date
2021
Authors
Dlamini, Siphesihle Nokuthokoza
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Abstract
Financial literacy is taught as part of the Economic Management Sciences (EMS)
curriculum from Grade 7 to 9 in all South African government schools. It is grounded
in the principles and methods of the discipline of accounting. Research has shown that
in order for teachers to be able to teach a subject they need to possess a knowledge
base comprised of subject matter knowledge, knowledge of the curriculum, knowledge
of learners and pedagogical content knowledge. EMS teachers who teach financial
literacy have different teaching qualifications and subject specialisations. Some EMS
teachers studied to teach EMS in their Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree, others
did a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). PGCE graduates may or may not
have majored in cognate subjects for EMS, and may or may not have experience in
the field of finance. This qualitative research study was based on the premise that
EMS teachers’ constructs of accounting may influence the way that they teach the
financial literacy section of the EMS curriculum. The study explored Grade 9 EMS
teachers’ constructs of accounting and their pedagogical reasoning for teaching
financial literacy. It did not include observation of the teachers’ practices. Data was
gathered through semi-structured interviews with eight Grade 9 financial literacy
teachers who teach in the north of Johannesburg, in government schools. The study
found that a teacher’s construct of the subject influences their understanding of the
knowledge structure of the subject they teach, and this impacts on the teacher’s
reasoning about how to teach financial literacy to their learners
Description
A research report submitted to the Wits School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Education (M.Ed), 2021