This book explores the impact of the socio-historical political and economic environment in
South Africa both during and after Apartheid. During this time the South African education
system demonstrated an interest in a specific type of knowledge which Koopman refers to as 'a
science of government'. This 'science of government' leaves the learners with a blurred
understanding of science that is disconnected from external nature and human nature and is
presented as a series of abstract concepts and definitions. The book also investigates the
dialectical tensions between the science curriculum and the role of the teacher as an active
implementer of the curriculum. The book draws on the work of various phenomenological scholars
namely Edmund Husserl Martin Heidegger Merleau-Ponty and Max van Manen to discuss these
tensions.
