School science for six-year-olds: a neo- Vygotskian approach to curriculum analysis

This article examines the forms of knowledge that constitute ‘science’ in the early school curriculum in South Africa. We examine curriculum excerpts which represent the subject ‘science’ in key curriculum texts for Grade R, the year in which learners are generally sixyears- old. Drawing on neo-Vygotskian theory, these representations are described in relation to simple scientific concepts, i.e. concepts that are consistent with scientific criteria and function as entry level concepts leading to the acquisition of more complex scientific concepts. The study found that these key curriculum texts do not represent any science concepts in ways that conform to the criteria for simple scientific concepts. Instead, these texts represent most science knowledge in terms of everyday concepts while a few concepts are introduced in a way that could potentially prompt the Grade R educator to translate an everyday concept into a simple scientific concept, i.e. as ‘potential’ scientific concepts. The implications are that the curriculum is not oriented to giving Grade R learners the opportunity to acquire the form or content of scientific knowledge or to develop the cognitive skills required for formal schooling.