Scielo RSS http://www.scielo.org.za/rss.php?pid=2223-038620130001&lang=en vol. num. 9 lang. en http://www.scielo.org.za/img/en/fbpelogp.gif http://www.scielo.org.za http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862013000100001&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862013000100002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en One of the greatest challenges facing people in the process of becoming South Africans today is that of building a cohesive national identity out of diverse and competing national, cultural and ethnic aspirations and identities that were never imagined as belonging to a single nation-state. This challenge has been made worse by the fact that the advent of the post-apartheid dispensation came with liberal democratic values of diversity, tolerance and various forms of freedom such as those of choice, association and speech. All of these freedoms have brought about an impediment to the cultivation of the spirit of patriotism, common belonging and unity among the peoples meant to become South Africans. While a number of obstacles have been identified in the quest to develop a sense of common belonging among the peoples who occupy the cartographic space known as South Africa today, the question of knowledge production and its divisive role in the making of South Africa has not yet been comprehensively addressed. This gap needs to be addressed urgently with specific reference to the field of producing historical knowledge because the manner in which historical events and narratives are imagined and reconstructed in South Africa today has the potential to constrain and/or enhance common belonging. This article is a decolonial epistemic perspective on the production of historical knowledge in South Africa and it argues that a decolonised historical narrative can possibly lead to the emergence of a cohesive South African national identity. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862013000100003&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en A growing body of research shows that the overall quality of teaching and learning is improved when learners have the opportunity to become actively involved in the learning process through which ample opportunities are given to question, apply and consolidate new knowledge. With the dawning of a new South Africa in 1994, more emphasis was placed on learner-centred instruction and assessment which is the reason why policy documents such as the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) and the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) endorsed this educational approach. The aim of this study is to investigate through the observation of trainee teachers to what extent History and Social Sciences teachers have adjusted from their predominately traditional educational paradigm of transmitted and absorbed knowledge by passive learners to employ different learner-centred instructional and assessment practices that emphasise the responsibility of learning into actively engaging learners. By means of a structured questionnaire a small scale study (n=51) was done in urban, rural, township, and private schools in the North West and Gauteng provinces. The findings, inter alia, suggest that although History and Social Sciences teachers showed a willingness to utilise some of the learner-centred instruction strategies, their tendency to implement the traditional teacher-centred instruction strategies were much stronger. The findings further show that teachers preferred to be the primary assessors of the learning results. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862013000100004&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for History (2011) encourages an active and critical approach to learning. This principle requires History teachers to structure learning environments that will enable active learner participation and meaningful learning. This article reports on a quantitative research study conducted in schools in the Free State Province to establish the extent to which History learners are exposed to the different characteristics of a powerful learning environment (PLE) as espoused by both De Corte and Masui (2004) and Donovan and Bransford (2005). Findings revealed that History learners are exposed to the different aspects of PLEs, albeit at different levels. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862013000100005&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The insistence that presentation technology should be incorporated into all areas of the curriculum applies to the teaching of History equally as to other subjects. Although technology has been placed in the hands of teachers, little training on how to adapt the technology to History has come with it. Three explanatory research questions were formulated for this study dealing with South African History teachers' experiences of presentation technology as teaching and learning tool, and the format of more history-friendly PowerPoint slides to maximise History learners' long-term retention and comprehension of the subject content. The purpose of this study was to put forward History teachers' opinion on the role of presentation technology as a mediator of learning, and to use the outcomes of the empirical study to identify ways in which PowerPoint slides can be best designed and used to improve the learners' long-term retention and comprehension. A qualitative intrinsic case study research design was used for the study. Individual one-to-one interviews were conducted with two teachers. A deductive approach was used for the data analysis. The results of the data analysis revealed that both of the interviewees experienced the use of PowerPoint presentations as an improvement in their classes. However, both indicated that one of the greatest disadvantages of the use of PowerPoint slides was the lack of interactivity and discussions during the slide shows. Johnson's (2011) history-friendly PowerPoint pedagogy (interactivity, nutshell narratives, meta-cognition and timelines and flow charts) was put forward to promote interactivity and discussion during PowerPoint slide shows. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862013000100006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article discusses the philosophical ideology advocated and promoted by the academic, anthropologist and politician, Dr WWM Eiselen, during different periods of history in South Africa. The central focus is on the ideology that influenced his academic writings and the consequent influence of this academic knowledge on government theory and practice. The need to preserve Bantu institutions and the emphasis of language to promote ethnic culture were central aspects of his political project has been demonstrated. Further it is pointed out that these recurring themes had a significant influence on the crafting of education for Bantu people. In conclusion Eiselen's pronouncements and writings, which were underpinned by his philosophical and political theories, should be understood in terms of what was happening at that particular period in South Africa's history. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862013000100007&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article discusses the philosophical ideology advocated and promoted by the academic, anthropologist and politician, Dr WWM Eiselen, during different periods of history in South Africa. The central focus is on the ideology that influenced his academic writings and the consequent influence of this academic knowledge on government theory and practice. The need to preserve Bantu institutions and the emphasis of language to promote ethnic culture were central aspects of his political project has been demonstrated. Further it is pointed out that these recurring themes had a significant influence on the crafting of education for Bantu people. In conclusion Eiselen's pronouncements and writings, which were underpinned by his philosophical and political theories, should be understood in terms of what was happening at that particular period in South Africa's history. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862013000100008&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article discusses the philosophical ideology advocated and promoted by the academic, anthropologist and politician, Dr WWM Eiselen, during different periods of history in South Africa. The central focus is on the ideology that influenced his academic writings and the consequent influence of this academic knowledge on government theory and practice. The need to preserve Bantu institutions and the emphasis of language to promote ethnic culture were central aspects of his political project has been demonstrated. Further it is pointed out that these recurring themes had a significant influence on the crafting of education for Bantu people. In conclusion Eiselen's pronouncements and writings, which were underpinned by his philosophical and political theories, should be understood in terms of what was happening at that particular period in South Africa's history. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862013000100009&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article discusses the philosophical ideology advocated and promoted by the academic, anthropologist and politician, Dr WWM Eiselen, during different periods of history in South Africa. The central focus is on the ideology that influenced his academic writings and the consequent influence of this academic knowledge on government theory and practice. The need to preserve Bantu institutions and the emphasis of language to promote ethnic culture were central aspects of his political project has been demonstrated. Further it is pointed out that these recurring themes had a significant influence on the crafting of education for Bantu people. In conclusion Eiselen's pronouncements and writings, which were underpinned by his philosophical and political theories, should be understood in terms of what was happening at that particular period in South Africa's history. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862013000100010&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article discusses the philosophical ideology advocated and promoted by the academic, anthropologist and politician, Dr WWM Eiselen, during different periods of history in South Africa. The central focus is on the ideology that influenced his academic writings and the consequent influence of this academic knowledge on government theory and practice. The need to preserve Bantu institutions and the emphasis of language to promote ethnic culture were central aspects of his political project has been demonstrated. Further it is pointed out that these recurring themes had a significant influence on the crafting of education for Bantu people. In conclusion Eiselen's pronouncements and writings, which were underpinned by his philosophical and political theories, should be understood in terms of what was happening at that particular period in South Africa's history. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862013000100011&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article discusses the philosophical ideology advocated and promoted by the academic, anthropologist and politician, Dr WWM Eiselen, during different periods of history in South Africa. The central focus is on the ideology that influenced his academic writings and the consequent influence of this academic knowledge on government theory and practice. The need to preserve Bantu institutions and the emphasis of language to promote ethnic culture were central aspects of his political project has been demonstrated. Further it is pointed out that these recurring themes had a significant influence on the crafting of education for Bantu people. In conclusion Eiselen's pronouncements and writings, which were underpinned by his philosophical and political theories, should be understood in terms of what was happening at that particular period in South Africa's history.