The study reported on here sheds light on the contribution of teachers’ qualifications on the teaching and learning of the subject, life sciences. Life sciences teachers in 1 sub-district in the Mpumalanga province lacked the relevant qualifications and expertise to teach the subject, and that influenced learner performance in the subject. Systemic issues, such as the post provisioning model (PPM), small schools’ staffing, and relevant teachers’ qualifications, resulted in many life sciences teachers being regarded as underqualified and lacking expertise to teach the subject. A qualitative research design was used where a sample of 20 life sciences teachers was purposefully selected. Two focus groups and 1-on-1 interviews with 10 participants were used to source data. The findings of this research are that life sciences teachers’ lack of relevant qualifications to teach the subject has led to teachers’ low self-efficacy in the teaching of the subject – something that affected learner performance. I recommend in-service training and continuous professional development to empower teachers on new developments in the subject content, as well as revisiting policy for placement of teachers in schools.

https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v45ns2a2576

ORCiD iD of author:
Florah Teane - https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7141-7127