An analysis of student teachers' understanding of integration of science and technology activities

The research reported on in this article was conducted to determine if student teachers enrolled in a Bachelor of Education programme at a South African University are able to integrate science and technology in their teaching. The participants were a cohort of students registered for a course aimed at preparing them to teach grades 4 to 6 in the primary school. The theoretical framework applied in the study is Rogan's Zone of feasible Innovation (ZFI) which uses the analogy that curriculum strategies are good when they proceed just ahead of current practice. Students' understanding of integration of two learning areas was compared to their knowledge base. The findings suggest that students who have very little knowledge of science and / or technology have difficulty in understanding what the scientific and technological processes mean and without this understanding are unable to integrate science and technology effectively in their teaching. It is recommended that the B. Ed programme at this university focuses more on providing opportunities for students to acquire sound knowledge of the two disciplines before attempting any form of integration.