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Science Education and Curriculum in South Africa pp 45–69Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

My Becoming and Unbecoming: Life as a Child, Learner and University Science Student

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Part of the book series: Curriculum Studies Worldwide ((CSWW))

Abstract

The author captures his lived experiences during childhood, as a learner at both primary and high school, and as a university student of science. He discusses his ‘becoming’ by examining the effect of his childhood experiences on his later life. The author argues that his school and university experiences were rooted in fundamental pedagogics, the authoritarian educational doctrine of the former apartheid regime, which advocated separate educational systems for black and white learners and students. The effect of having these behaviourist core values instilled into his consciousness through what Nietzsche terms the ‘teacher- or parent-speak’ phenomenon was stifling. This experience-oriented study demonstrates that our perception of life and understanding of science are deeply rooted in the way we were taught by our teachers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Kuils River, South Africa

    Oscar Koopman

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  1. Oscar Koopman
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Koopman, O. (2017). My Becoming and Unbecoming: Life as a Child, Learner and University Science Student. In: Science Education and Curriculum in South Africa . Curriculum Studies Worldwide. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40766-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40766-1_3

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40765-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40766-1

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