Ilkogretim Online - Elementary Education Online, 2021; Vol 20 (Issue 6): pp. 1507-1521 http://ilkogretim-online.org doi: 10.17051/ilkonline.2021.06.151 1507 | Tebogo Mogashoa Teachers’ Understandings Of The Implementation of The Curriculum And Assessment Policy Statement Insecondary Schools Teachers’ Understandings Of The Implementation of The Curriculum And Assessment Policy Statement In secondary Schools Tebogo Mogashoa, Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, University of South Africa, mogasti@unisa.ac.za, Orcid: 81264056 Abstract. The research aimed at determining teachers’ understandings, ascertain and simplify potential obstacles concerning the application of Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in secondary schools.The qualitative method was used to gather information from the participants on how the new curriculum is implemented and managed. The core information gathering methods were interviews. The research established that teachers experienced problems that are connected to shortage of resources, training of teachers, resisting to changes, classroom sizes, shortage of allocated time, teacher specialized empowerment, irrational workload for Head of Departments, organizational empowerment, mentoring and language as an obstacle especially on the part of the students. Capacitation for teachers in any recently presented curriculum must be adequately done. The Department of Basic Education must guarantee provision of resources and infrastructure to institutions of learning on time in order for teaching and learning to begin promptly as soon as they open. Keywords: Student assessment, Curriculum development, Teacher involvement, Teacher perceptions, Professional development. INTRODUCTION Curriculum is not static in nature, but always evolving through phases of changes. These changes and developments impact on how teachers respond to implementation in their daily praxis. Teachers are compelled to implement curriculum changes. With reference to the South African context, several curriculum changes were implemented. As it hadoccurred in several democratic countries in the West over the previous manyyears,with reference to the post-apartheid South Africa which isexperiencing educational transformations as well. Thus curriculum seems to be at the centre of development and education. The National Ministry of Basic Education Department’sMrs Angie Motshekga, couldn’t have employed a board of specialists to examine the extent of the problems and challengesteachers were experiencing in the application of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), if this was not the case(Motshekga 2009). People (Teachers or Stakeholders) have to take into account thegoal behind the Department of Education’sFive Years Planfor educational reforms as part of the National Development Plan (2030). Ifthe Five-Year Plan program was not at the centre of educational transformation, there wouldn’t be any information on the evaluation of the NCS in early 2009. Consequently the educational changes in the Republic of South Africa suggested a model from a teacher-contentfocusedprogramto an outcomes-based and student- focusedtype of learning and teaching progamme. Open Rubric Open Rubric