Evaluation of senior certificate Biology in Soweto secondary schools as an aspect of curriculum improvement

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies)Education must be seen as dynamic, that is responding to the demands made on it by science, technology and society. According to Fay (1975: 19) natural science has provided men with a certain kind of knowledge by means of which they can control their natural environment by making it more hospitable and more productive. It is for this reason that technology and science are seen as exercising a great influence on our daily lives. Changes in the nature of high school population and the geometrically - increasing quantity of scientific knowledge are identified as causes leading to the changes in the high school Biology; curriculum (Falk, 1971: 21). The introduction of the new senior Biology syllabus to Soweto secondary schools should be seen as a reaction to changes in the nature of scientific knowledge. According to a report of a Workshop held by SCISA (Science Curriculum Initiative for South Africa) at Michael house, 11-12 January 1989, it was realized that the current syllabus, and syllabus development and implementation processes are "out of balance and in need of review, This implies that the current syllabus fails to meet the needs of the learner as well as those of society