Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.

za

1
INTRODUCTION
In this unique bibliography, the details of 1 469 diverse science education research publications
are brought together for the first time from a large number of different and dispersed sources.
The indexed bibliography includes major categories of published material related to historical
and recent science education research conducted at South African tertiary institutions, namely
20 books, 91 chapters in books, 462 journal articles, 433 published conference proceedings, as
well as 463 postgraduate degrees (i.e. theses [Master degrees] and dissertations [Doctoral
degrees]). The 70-year period under consideration commences with the year in which the first
science education-related higher degree was awarded in South Africa (i.e. Kok, 1930), and ends
with the latest year for which reliable and accurate university graduation data are available.
In order to select material for inclusion in the bibliography, a working definition of
science education was used. In terms of this definition, any publication that examines aspects
related to at least one of the following themes thus warranted possible inclusion: a) teaching
and learning of the natural sciences; b) teacher development and training in the natural
sciences; c) policy issues related to the provision of a) and b) above; d) methodological issues
related to a) to c) above; and e) public understanding of science (or scientific literacy).
Research was comparatively loosely taken to involve some kind of an attempt to collect and
analyse data, and to then draw conclusions based on the results of the analyses. Textbooks and
other learner support materials have thus been excluded from the bibliography, but position
papers have been included.
Material for inclusion in the bibliography was obtained by systematically searching
for appropriate literature in a number of different ways. First, annual research reports of the
Education and Science Faculties at South Africas 20 universities were inspected for years in
which they were available. Second, various appropriate electronic databases were searched.
These databases include a) Nexus, a database of current and completed research projects for
qualification and non-qualification purposes maintained by the National Research Foundation
(available online at http://star.nrf.ac.za/); b) the Union Catalogue of Theses and Dissertations
(UCTD), a database of South African higher degrees compiled by the Ferdinand Postma Library
at the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (available online at
http://inmagic.puk.ac.za/dbtw-wpd/textbases/gkntqbe.htm); c) the Index to South African

__________

__________

Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za

INTRODUCTION

Periodicals (ISAP) and the South African National Bibliography (SANB) databases provided by,
for example, a commercial vendor such as SABINET; and d) the Educational Resources Information
Center (ERIC) database in the USA (available online at http://askeric.org/Eric/). Keywords used
consistently for the electronic searches comprised natural science disciplines and school subjects
(e.g. physics, chemistry, general science, biology, etc.) in conjunction with education-related
concepts (e.g. educ*, teach*, learn*, curric*, etc. [asterisks indicate the inclusion of words that are an
extension of the root]). Third, a number of inconsistencies and omissions for higher degrees awarded
at South African institutions an important component of the South African science education
research literature were detected amongst the databases used and annual reports consulted.
Details of the degrees were therefore verified by requesting all university libraries in South Africa to
independently obtain information about their holdings of science education-related thesis and
dissertations completed at their institution, and to forward these details to me. Inconsistencies were
then resolved by referring to the title page of the original documents. Fourth, relevant publication
details were collected through personal contacts with researchers.
Afrikaans titles were translated in the few cases where English titles were not already
supplied by the database(s). The abstract of each reference was obtained either from the original
work itself (where available), or from the databases. In older higher degrees where no abstract
had been written, appropriate sections from a summary chapter were used. Titles and abstracts
were then inspected by myself in order to assign keywords to each of the publications.
Although the use of subjectively selected keywords is not unproblematic (e.g. White, 2001),
the use of keywords is nevertheless helpful and functional.
CONTENT
The main purpose of the indexed bibliography is to provide a reference-work that attempts to
combine and consolidate fragmented data of periodical and other major categories of published
material available from a large number of diverse and dispersed sources. Although the
emphasis of the bibliography is obviously on the period 1930 to 2000, a number of references
preceding 1930 have been included. These early works are, however, included here only to add
an interesting historical perspective to science education in South Africa and the coverage of
these earlier works is not meant to be exhaustive.
The bibliography is divided into four chapters. This introduction (Chapter 1) is
followed by the main bibliography in Chapter 2. Here the details of all 1 469 identified
references are listed in alphabetical order, together with any assigned keywords and an abstract
(where available). The subject index in Chapter 3 provides an index of keywords, and in Chapter
4 the author and editor index is given.
The cut-off date for the inclusion of material in the bibliography was December 2000.
USER INFORMATION
Entries in the bibliography conform to a standard format of author(s), date of publication, title,
and other reference details appropriate for books, chapters in books, journal articles, published
conference proceedings, and postgraduate degrees. This is followed by the keywords and an
abstract (where available). The bibliography is ordered alphabetically by author, and the multiauthor hierarchy used complies with the bibliographic convention of the American
Psychological Association format, as detailed in their 5th edition publication manual (2001).
References each have a preceding sequential Master Number by which they are indexed to
subject keywords and authors or editors. I have endeavoured to use the original abstract
wherever possible. The use of abstracts published by other sources (e.g. particular databases) is
indicated in parentheses at the end of such abstracts. All abstracts have been entered as
published in the original. Titles are in the language of the original publication (i.e. either English

__________

__________

SOUTH AFRICAN SCIENCE EDUCATION RESEARCH

or Afrikaans); where the publication is in Afrikaans, an English title follows the original title in
parenthesis. The translated title has been provided, in the vast majority of cases, by the journal
or database concerned containing a particular work. In the relatively small number of other
cases, knowledgeable colleagues have contributed to, or performed the translation.
In general, I hope that users find the entries in the indexed bibliography sufficiently
helpful in order to be able to isolate the literature they require with minimal effort. I also hope
that users will acknowledge this source. Naturally, the references contained in this bibliography
are not intended to replace the actual material, and users are strongly encouraged to read the
original works.
Although references have been checked carefully and individually, I acknowledge
that any possible mistakes are mine and I invite authors to bring errors and/or omissions to my
attention.

Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za

REFERENCES
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
White, R.T. (2001). The revolution in research on science teaching. In V. Richardson (Ed.)
Handbook of research on teaching (4th ed.): 457-471. Washington, DC: American
Educational Research Association.

__________

__________