B. ASSAf Workshop Proceedings and Other Reports
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Proceedings Reports are a verbatim reflection of a live ASSAf event. It is published with consent of all speakers.
Peer-Review Status: Non-Peer Reviewed
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Item Science-based Improvements of Rural/Subsistance Agriculture(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2006) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)This forum on Science-based Improvements of Rural/Subsistence Agriculture is the first in a series that are being convened by the ASSAf Forum steering Committee on Science for Poverty Alleviation. During 2005, the Academy engaged in discussions with the Director-General of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and a number of officials of the Department regarding matters of national interest in the national system of innovation. The Director General indicated that studies by the Academy would be welcomed with a view to providing evidence-based advice that could guide policy development, since this was seen as one of the major roles that the Academy should fulfil in the future. The participants in that discussion identified Science for Poverty Alleviation as a broad general framework in which the Academy might initiate a number of studies. Early in 2006, the Council of the Academy agreed to the establishment of a Committee on Science-based Approaches to the Alleviation of Poverty and identified a number of members of the Academy who would be invited to be members of that committee that would take the matter forward on behalf of the Academy. Prof. Sagadevan Mundree was appointed chair of the committee and was instrumental in organising the forum. Workshops such as this one, operate in the ‘forum mode’, which is a system whereby the Academy brings together leading national and, where appropriate, international scholars in the field to assess the empirical evidence that can be used to illuminate solutions to the identified problem, especially those that will lead to the alleviation of poverty. The purpose of this workshop was to bring together a group of experts in the field of agricultural research and to help identify promising scientific and technological strategies for improving agricultural productivity and food security, specifically for small-scale farmers. The people who were invited to attend the forum were individually considered to be able to make a significant contribution to the topic under discussion. The outcome of the forum and the discussions that flowed from it shows that translation of that knowledge into practical recommendations is in many cases feasible and desirable for the improvement of agricultural productivity and food security.Item Local Economic Development in Small Towns, Housing Delivery and Impact on the Environment. Forum proceedings(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2009) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)This Forum on Local Economic Development in Small Towns, Housing Delivery and Impact on the Environment is the second in a series that are being convened by the ASSAf Forum Committee on Science for Poverty Alleviation. Noting that poverty is a major issue of concern in South Africa; it is a very broad topic that can be addressed as a combination of selected elements. Local economic development in small towns, several cases on this important topic has been tried. The purpose of this workshop was therefore to bring all these cases together and critically address them as a whole. The plenary decided to structure the workshop to consider the following issues that would guide the national strategy: The population in small towns; Creating entrepreneurship culture amongst the youth; Infrastructure and resource development, e.g. railway lines, artisan schools, etc; and look at economic versus physical model approach. The outcome of the workshop is therefore not necessarily a strategy but rather a methodology of how ‘local economic development in small towns’ can be achieved.Item Critical Issues in School Mathematics and Science(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2010) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), as a body of natural and human scientists, has an important role to play in providing government and members of society with evidence-based information that can be used to influence policy and guide decisions for the benefit of society. The ASSAf Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Standing Committee organised a forum to deliberate on critical issues in school mathematics and science education and to make concrete proposals on how the situation can be improved. The state of science and mathematics in South African schools has frequently been termed a national crisis. South African learners have fared poorly in comparative tests of science and mathematics at both international and regional levels and in local bench mark tests. This is true at both primary and secondary levels. These averaged results mark a very wide disparity between our learners: a small minority continue to make significant progress in these subjects, while the majority fail to perform at appropriate levels. As a result, the pool of potential scientists, engineers, health practitioners and future teachers of mathematics and science is severely limited. This, in turn, limits South Africa’s ability to be internationally competitive, as well as its ability to provide the infrastructure needed for the well-being of the majority of its people. 2009 was a seminal year for education in South Africa as the first recipients of the new National Senior Certificate (NSC) entered higher education, and in larger numbers than in the past. The NSC, and particularly the requirements related to Mathematics and entry into higher education (HE), succeeded in releasing what was a considerable blockage to entry to HE. Early indications were that overall student performance in science-based programmes at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) was below that of previous years. The larger intake resulted in larger numbers of students performing very poorly in their mid-year assessments. HEIs have mounted various interventions to prevent a large failure rate of first year students. What has become clear is that the knowledge and skills with which students who obtained an NSC in 2008 entered HEIs were different from either the knowledge or skills that HEIs expect students to have or from those held by entering students in the past. The situation highlighted the need for an in-depth look at school mathematics and science – the curricula, how they are taught, how they are assessed and how teachers are prepared to teach them –and the interface with science and mathematics at higher education level. In the process, issues related to transformation, equity and social justice were also discussed.