Elaine Browne.pdf - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

assessment, I don’t think ... is not quite easy”. Another respondent remarked that “whenever
what I have done, when we make a mask, I am going to multiply 25 by 4 to make it 100. So I am
cheating. This Arts and Culture, I am not doing this properly”. Her words, “This is not proper
teaching. The learners must do something by themselves, not just push them and gave them
marks” show the inability of this participant to engage with the assessment of a visual arts
project.
The teachers’ uncertainty with regard to administration of assessment was also clear. In
addition, it was evident that they were overwhelmed by the extensive range of activities
requiring assessment. As a result, important aspects inherent to the arts discipline are merely
neglected: “Daar is te veel aspekte wat ‘n mens moet asseseer”. Another participant
complained that “Somtyds is dit hopeloos te veel, want daar moet vir dans punte uitgewerk
word, vir drama moet daar punte uitgewerk word, vir musiek moet daar punte uitgewerk word,
vir visual art moet daar punte uitgewerk word. En ons verstaan nie altyd hoe die goed gedoen
moet word nie 6 ”.
Sub‐theme 1.2 Extent of the curriculum
The wide range of the curriculum and many aspects to be covered posed serious challenges to
the teachers. According to the respondents, the Arts and Culture learning area is “cramped with
too many things”. As a result the respondents felt that they could not cover all the required
components for a certain grade in one year. It appeared that teachers merely simplified the
6 There are too many aspects to assess. Sometimes far too many, because we need to determine marks
for drama, music, visual art. And we do not always understand what we need to do.
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