New Perspectives in Science Education

The pursuit of quality education has led to a rising student population undertaking the Cambridge International Curriculum (CIE) in South African schools, often alongside students following the local Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS). This co-existence within the same eco-learning space creates significant learning cultural conflicts for the CIE students. A notable conflict stems from CAPS' common features such as Continuous Assessments contributing to final marks, reliance on past examination papers for study, and the provision of specific examination guidelines. While both curricula fundamentally emphasize inquiry-based knowledge construction, the examination-driven learning culture fostered by CAPS practices poses challenges for CIE students. CIE candidates do not benefit from continuous assessment marks and are not provided with explicit examination guidelines, demanding a different, more self-directed approach to study. However, faced with most of their peers pursuing the CAPS curriculum, CIE students tend to adopt the dominant CAPS study habits and learning culture. This case study, conducted in a single school offering both curricula, reports on the dilemma faced by CIE students. They are effectively crossing curricular borders, caught between the study and learning culture dominated by CAPS practices, and the distinct requirements of the CIE examinations.