Content uploaded by Jose M Frantz
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Jose M Frantz on Feb 22, 2015
Content may be subject to copyright.
African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance
(AJPHERD) Supplement 2 (October), 2014, pp. 351-360.
Development of a Life Orientation health education programme
for high school learners
H. JACOBS AND J.M. FRANTZ
Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, University of the
Western Cape, Private Bag X17, Bellville, Cape Town 7535, South Africa. E-mail:
hayley24j@gmail.com
Abstract
This cross-sectional descritive study aimed to develop a health education programme that could
serve as a teaching aid for high school Life Orientation educators. A sequential approach was
used to collect data that would inform the health education program. The study population
comprised high school Life Orientation teachers, as well as subject advisors who were considered
experts in the field of Life Orientation. A total of 31 educators participated in the initial
quantitative survey and this was followed by semi-structured interviews with five (5) experts in
the area of Life Orienation. The content of the health education programme was based on the
information obtained from semi-structured interviews. This study identified barriers to the
teaching of Life Orientation, which included large classroom numbers, a lack of interest in the
subject, and educators who were inadequately trained to teach the subject. The value of Life
Orientation as a subject and the importance of a continually evolving education system with the
aim of improving education for all learners, was identified. The health education programme
designed based on the results of the study can function as an adjunct for Life Orientation
teachers, to enhance the implementation of the subject by guiding educators in terms of the
knowledge that should be transferred to learners. Educators are also provided with methods of
transmitting knowledge to learners.
Keywords: Health education programme, Life Orientation, barriers, teachers.
How to cite this article:
Jacobs, H. & Frantz, J.M. (2014). Development of a Life Orientation health education
programme for high school learners. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation
and Dance, October (Supplement 2), 351-360.
Introduction
The marginalisation of certain sectors of people in the South African society
gave rise to inequalities that have resulted in poor results from learners because
of a lack of resources, a high teacher-to-learner ratio, and poorly trained teachers
(Rooth, 2005). The South African education system is continuously changing to
improve the inequalities that were brought about by the apartheid system which
existed prior to 1994 (Panday, 2007). In order to address and overcome the
shortcomings of the education system in South Africa, the government
introduced Outcomes Based Education (OBE) in the form of Curriculum 2005 in
1997. It was planned that the curriculum would be implemented in all grades by
2005 (Rooth, 2005) and that the most appropriate model upon which to base the
352!Jacobs and Frantz
!
education system was to eliminate the barriers to an equal education for all
(Panday, 2007).
Learners were to be provided with knowledge and skills which could be applied
when they left school such as how to prepare for a job interview. The focus of
the South African education system was to have a holistic approach which
focused not only on the academic aspect of learners but also on the life skills
learners require to be successful (Van Deventer, 2009a). OBE was an approach
that required a paradigm shift, with the introduction of learning areas such as
Life Orientation. Curriculum 2005 was introduced to South African learners and
aimed at developing the learner, with the focus shifting from the content and
introducing learning outcomes which learners had to achieve (Van Deventer,
2008). The barriers to the teaching of content, namely the large learner-to-
teacher ratio, the lack of resources and the poor results of learners, as well as the
inadequate training of teachers, often make it difficult for a subject such as Life
Orientation to be implemented optimally (Rooth, 2005).
Curriculum 2005 was re-evaluated and reviewed in 2000 to address some of the
barriers that were identified. This resulted in the implementation of the National
Curriculum Statement (NCS) to enhance Curriculum 2005. Panday (2007) states
that the aim of the NCS was to ensure that societies in South Africa were
adequately developed in an equal manner. However, as the NCS was still
structured around the comprehensive content and broad outcomes of OBE,
educators were still having problems with the implementation of the NCS. A
policy document – Curriculum and Assessment Policy (CAPS) – was introduced
into the South African education system in 2012 to create more structure in terms
of time allocation to topics, which topics to focus on, and when to teach the
topics.
Life Orientation is a subject which has a holistic approach, encompassing many
spheres of life, varying from health education to preparing students for life
outside of school, and career choices. Rooth (2005) found that teachers were not
trained sufficiently to be considered specialists in the field of Life Orientation.
Teachers lacked the expertise to teach a holistic subject which varied from
physical and health education to career guidance. This lack of skill from
educators, together with large teacher-learner ratios, insufficient resources and
decreased motivation, led to the subject being undervalued. Schools are
expected to create an environment in which learners are equipped with the
knowledge that is essential for a healthy lifestyle. Thus, a subject such as Life
Orientation, with its many facets, should be influenced by its environment in
order to meet the needs of learners, as well as society. The essence of Life
Orientation is to guide and prepare learners for life and its possibilities. It also
equips learners for a meaningful life in a transforming society, by developing
them physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, socially and personally.
Development of a Life Orientation health education programme 353
Therefore, it is a crucial and fundamental learning area. In implementing this
learning area, the Department of Education realised that a number of critical
factors have to be considered in integrating the programme into the school
curriculum, and these include the socio-economic and health status of society.
In the Western Cape, various health risk behaviours that young people engage in
affect the prevalence of chronic diseases of lifestyle, such as diabetes mellitus,
hypertension and obesity, which form a significant part of the Western Cape
burden of disease (Myers & Naledi, 2007). Chronic diseases of lifestyle are a
public health concern which could be reduced by using schools as a platform to
encourage learners to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The Life Orientation curriculum
provides the platform for addressing this public health issue if implemented
properly in the school curriculum.
Hence, the aim of this study was to design a health education programme within
the CAPS framework by establishing the areas of Life Orientation which
educators were comfortable with. The health education programme was designed
as to assist educators with the implementation of the CAPS curriculum.
Methodology
This study, which used a mixed-methods approach, was conducted among high
school Life Orientation educators and subject advisors in the Metro North
education district of the Western Cape. This education district was chosen for the
purpose of convenience sampling. Life Orientation educators in the 57 schools in
the identified district were approached to participate in the study. Ethical
clearance for the study was obtained from the University of the Western Cape
ethics committee (Project number: 11/4/8) and the Western Cape Education
Department. Participants were requested to complete a consent form prior to
their participating in the study and were also informed that consent would be
implied if the questionnaires were completed and returned to the researcher. All
Life Orientation educators from Grades 8 to 12 were included in the study.
The first phase of the study was conducted using a self-administered
questionnaire which was designed by the researcher. The questionnaire was
piloted for content and face validity. The data gathered from the survey was
coded and captured using Microsoft Office Excel. Data were coded and exported
to SPSS for descriptive statistical analysis. The second phase of the study
included the completion of semi-structured interviews with experts in the field of
Life Orientation. The experts in this study were Life Orientation subject
advisors, educators with more than 20 years’ teaching experience, and educators
who were Heads of Department of Life Orientation in the schools. In order to
guarantee that all the participants of the semi-structured interviews received the
same information and uniform questions, an interview guide was designed. The
354!Jacobs and Frantz
!
semi-structured interviews were conducted to ascertain the content that would be
appropriate for a health education programme which could be used as an
additional teaching aid by Life Orientation educators. The data gathered from the
semi-structured interviews were transcribed independently. Following the
transcription of the interviews, common themes were identified and coded. In the
final phase of the study a health education programme was designed based on the
information obtained from the previous phases of the study. Trustworthiness of
the information obtained qualitatively was ensured by transcribing the
information verbatim and providing direct quotes from the transcripts. In
addition, confirmability of the data was achieved by providing participants with
transcripts of the interviews as well as the analysis to ensure accurate
interpretation of data.
Results
Of the 57 schools that were approached to participate in the study, 31
questionnaires were completed, yielding a response rate of 54%. Of the study
participants, 9 were males (29%) and 22 females (71%), with a mean age of 41.9
years (SD = 10.4). The majority of the participants (74%) taught Life Orientation
at Grades 9 and 10, and 35.5% (n=11) had more than 20 years of teaching
experience.
The confidence of teachers was determined for the various aspects of Life
Orientation teaching and 45.2% of Grades 10–12 teachers indicated that they
were comfortable when teaching the aspects of personal wellbeing, while 54.8%
stated that they were uncomfortable when teaching the physical education aspect
of Life Orientation. Teaching experience did not impact significantly on the
levels of confidence in teaching various aspects of the curriculum. Using the
Chi-square test to determine the significance of teaching experience and levels of
confidence, a p-value of 0.255 and 0.469 was calculated for Grades 11 and 2
educators, respectively.
Based on the qualitative information, difficulties in teaching Life Orientation
were identified. The attitudes and comfort levels were identified as themes from
the qualitative data gathered. The study revealed that Life Orientation was
undervalued by both learners and staff members from other academic disciplines.
There was a perception that Life Orientation was only a subject that was used to
fill time in the curriculum. Some of the participants made the following
statements to hghlight this:
“Principals also don’t have a high regard for Life Orientation.”
“They first complete their timetable and say, ooh, we must get in Life
Orientation – this teacher has too few periods we will give Life Orientation to
him or her, whether she’s experienced or doesn’t know anything.”
Development of a Life Orientation health education programme 355
However, amongst educators who were involved with the teaching of Life
Orientation it was regarded as a subject that is critical in South African schools.
Educators felt that it was fundamental to equip learners with knowledge to make
healthy decisions in all the spheres of their lives. They considered that the rapid
decline of society made it essential to educate learners to make good holistic
lifestyle decisions, and they felt that providing learners with sufficient
information would aid in decisions based on good morals and values which
would lead to a healthy society. The following are excerpts of statements by the
educator on the importance of Life Orientation:
“So Life Orientation prepares the children for decision making for long life
learning for all those valuable aspects in life.”
“People that say it does not have value, don’t understand the subject.”
“Sometimes it’s easy academically to see where your kids are because you test
them, but what their morals and values are you don’t see that, you can’t test it
unless you look at it.”
Educators identified time constraints, lack of resources, and lack of qualified
staff as well as over-large numbers of learners, as some of the barriers to the
successful implementation of Life Orientation. Pertinent excerpts are as follows:
“And unfortunately those hours in physical education are sometimes not adhered
to because 90% of people are unqualified in physical education.”
“Secondly you’re sitting with teachers that are teaching Life Orientation but are
subject specialists of all other subjects than Life Orientation.”
Educators were apprehensive about the change to the education system. They
explained that they felt that CAPS was more structured and streamlined. For
example:
“The CAPS document is now neatly repackaged, but repackaged in such a way
that the Physical Education has more emphasis now which is a good thing.”
“CAPS of course will work well because it’s more structured; it’s more pre-set if
I may call it that.”
The education system has content which is relevant in the South African context,
that is a useful guide for educators. Educators reported that they were not always
encouraged to participate in workshops because the timing for training was
usually after school or during school holidays. Some of them indicated:
“And it must take place now after school, which is 3 o’clock, and then they are
tired and not that enthusiastic.”
“The only orientation they received was last year for a day in my case,
specifically on a Saturday.”
356!Jacobs and Frantz
!
Based on the above feedback, a structured health education programme was
designed focusing on health knowledge and skills. The programme consisted of
both learner and teacher guides. Outlined in the health education programme
were the goals, learning objectives, training and learning methods and resources,
as well as evaluation methods. A summary of the design principles is presented
in Table 1, and the weekly activities in Table 2.
Table 1: Health education design principles
Learning Outcomes
Teaching Strategy
Learner Activity
Learner
Assessment
Knowledge
Skills
Transmit/
Inform
Lecture by means of
PowerPoint
presentation.
Question- and- answer
session to clarify and
expand newly acquired
knowledge.
Exam
Question
Engage
Health- related
questions; group work
Identify and interpret
knowledge through case
studies; self-insight
Self and peer
assessment
Practice
Poster design by
means of research
Explore learning through
research; self-insight
Project
design
Application
Presentation
Transfer knowledge
explored; deeper
understanding
Presentation
Table 2: Weekly activities
Week 1 Activity:
Information based
(Facilitated
discussion)
Week 2 Activity:
Group work
(Interactive
discussion)
Week 3 Activity:
Group work
Week 4
Activity:
Presentations
Week 5
Activity:
Assessment
and
revision
Inform
Engage
Practice
Apply
Revise
Present information
regarding chronic
diseases of
lifestyle, unhealthy
behaviours and the
relationship
between these two
factors. What are
chronic diseases of
lifestyle?
• Who suffers from
chronic diseases of
lifestyle?
• How do people
get chronic
diseases of
lifestyle?
• Why is this
Learners are to be
divided into groups
– grouped together
are learners who
identified the same
risk factors. Case
studies: In smaller
groups, learners are
to present their
findings, share
similarities and
differences and
discuss which
factors this could be
attributed to.
Learners are to
identify risk factors
of chronic diseases
of lifestyle. Groups
Homework is to be
presented in small
groups. Learners
are to make a
presentation
(PowerPoint/Poster)
that depicts the
chronic disease of
lifestyle and the
management as
well as a short
exercise
programme.
Group
Presentations:
All the groups
are to present
their findings.
Each group
should have at
least one
question to
ask the group
that is
presenting.
Presentations
can be
assessed by
peers as well
as the teacher.
Revision of
knowledge
and
information
Short quiz
to assess
knowledge
gained by
learners.
Development of a Life Orientation health education programme 357
Discussion
This study found that Life Orientation in schools is generally regarded as a
subject that carries little weight and is of less value than other subjects, which are
a requirement for university entry. Often, this disregard for the subject is seen
not only in the opinions of learners, but also those of fellow educators in schools.
Van Deventer (2009b) states that when teachers are required to teach a subject
for which they do not have adequate proficiency, the learners are aware of the
lack of skill.
In order for the full potential of a subject such as Life Orientation to be attained,
educators require many resources. The implementation of a subject that has a
holistic approach can only excel with the adequate provision of resources. These
resources include equipment, extending from what is needed for physical
education and sport to what is required for educators in terms of health
information. Van Deventer (2008) states that the scanty resources available in
South African schools mean it is difficult for these schools to implement the
curriculum successfully. Prinsloo (2007) points out that educators do not always
have positive experiences when they attend workshops and training seminars,
because the presenters are often not knowledgeable about the practical aspects of
implementation in the classroom setting. In addition, there are insufficient
teaching aids and resources. Therefore, the lack of classroom experience often
results in poor guidance for educators.
In this study, a health education programme for Life Orientation was designed
that is based on relevant literature, consultation with key stakeholders in the field
of Life Orientation, module design principles presented by Donnelly and
Fitzmaurice (2005), and the framework of a pre-designed health education
programme (Frantz, 2011). The health education programme contains the
description of the learning outcomes, the resource materials, the training and
information
important?
Homework:
Learners are to
identify someone
in the community
who suffers from a
chronic disease of
lifestyle. Conduct
an interview with
this person,
recording all the
information. A
guide of questions
can be provided.
to informally
present findings to
allow other learners
to ask questions and
to identify if any
further information
should be obtained.
Homework: Risk
factors of chronic
diseases of lifestyle
and management /
prevention.
358!Jacobs and Frantz
!
learning methods, a brief module description and an assessment standard. The
health education programme is also based on the current situation in South
Africa – in terms of an increasing trend in the acquisition of chronic diseases of
lifestyle – thus it is designed for the learners, and aims to promote a healthier
lifestyle. The framework used could serve as a guide for teaching other topics in
the Life Orientation curriculum (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Framework of teacher guide
Life orientation module: Development of the self in society
Module Description: This 5-week module is designed to provide learners with information
regarding chronic diseases of lifestyle, the risk factors, management, the long term effects as well
as the prevention of these diseases.
Topic: Development of the self in society
Outcomes:
• Plan and achieve life goals: problem-solving skills
• Healthy lifestyle choices: decision making skills
• Role of nutrition in health and physical activities
• Gender roles and their effects on health and wellbeing
The role of the educator is to inform the learner – by means of providing knowledge as well as
guiding the learner to acquire additional knowledge by means of research. The educator then
engages the learner to work with the information. The information is then put into practice and
finally applied.
Module Goals
• To equip learners with the skills required to plan and achieve life goals by using
problem- solving skills.
• To equip learners with decision-making skills that will encourage healthy lifestyle
choices.
• To highlight the role of nutrition in health and physical activities.
• To define gender roles and their effects on health and wellbeing.
Training and Learning Methods
• Interactive presentation
• Facilitated discussion
• Poster presentation
• Individual feedback
• Group work
Logistics
One period per week in the Life Orientation module: Term 1
Method of evaluation
Formal assessment: Presentation
Resources and Materials
• Cardboard /Koki’s
• Projector / Laptop
• Library books – Encyclopaedias etc.
ENGAGE!
ENGAG
E!
PRACTISE!
PRACT
ISE!
INFORM!
PRACT
ISE!
APPLY!
PRACT
ISE!
Development of a Life Orientation health education programme 359
Conclusion
In this study the challenges experienced by Life Orientation educators range
from large numbers of learners in the classroom and lack of resources, to a lack
of interest in the subject. It suggests that educators who are required to teach Life
Orientation do not have the requisite skills and knowledge to be successful. The
development of a health education programme, based on the data obtained, could
be very helpful as an additional resource in the classroom to facilitate the
teaching of the subject.
Limitations and recommendations
The development of the health education programme can be further enhanced by
conducting workshops with educators in order to familiarise them with the
content and to ensure effective utilisation of the teacher as well as learner guides.
Additional training and support for educators who teach Life Orientation is
therefore needed. This study was limited due to the poor response rates of
participants which hindered the prospect of implementing a workshop with Life
Orientation educators. The study population only included 8 education districts
which limited the generalisability of the findings.
References
Donnelly, R. & Fitzmaurice, M. (2005). Designing modules for learning in Emerging Issues in
the Practice of University Learning and Teaching. Dublin: AISHE.
Frantz, J. M. (2011). The impact of a school-based health education programme on knowledge
regarding risk factors for chronic diseases of lifestyle: A pilot study. African Journal for
Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, Supplement, 61 – 69.
Myers, J. & Naledi, T. (2007). Western Cape Burden of Disease Reduction Project. Volume 1:
Overview of the Report. Western Cape: Department of Health.
Panday, D. (2007). Teachers’ Perspectives on the Implementation of Life Orientation as a
Learning Area. Faculty of Education: Port Elizabeth: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
Prinsloo, E. (2007). Implementation of Life Orientation programmes in the new curriculum in
South African schools: Perceptions of principals and life orientation teachers. South African
Journal of Education, 27 (1), 155 – 170.
Rooth, E. (2005). An investigation of the status and practice of Life Orientation in South African
Schools. Unpublished PhD Thesis. Cape Town: University of the Western Cape.
Van Deventer, K. (2009a). Life orientation in the intermediate phase (grades 4-6): A survey in
selected Western Cape Primary schools, South Africa. African Journal for Physical, Health
Education, Recreation and Dance, 15 (3), 459 – 475.
360!Jacobs and Frantz
!
Van Deventer, K. (2009b). Perspectives of teachers on the implementation of Life Orientation in
Grades R-11 from selected Western Cape schools. South African Journal of Education, (29), 127
-145.
Van Deventer, K.J. (2008). Perceptions of Life Orientation teachers regarding the
implementation of the learning area in grades 8 and 9: A survey in selected Western Cape high
schools. South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, 30 (2),
131 – 146.