scholarly journals Problems Faced by the Physical Science Teachers in Doing Practical Work in Higher Secondary Schools at Aranthangi Educational District

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-135
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Physical Science ◽  
Practical Work

scholarly journals Exploring Teachers’ Approaches to Science Practical Work in Lower Secondary Schools in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Siti Shamsiah Binti Sani
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Practical Work ◽  
Science Content ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Teacher Expectation ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Lower Secondary Schools

<p>Practical work in science is a teaching approach that aims to enable students to develop procedural and conceptual understanding and an understanding about the nature of science. Practical work is required by the Malaysian Science Curriculum at all school levels. The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of teachers’ views and practices in conducting practical work in lower secondary schools. This research, which adopted a case study approach, was underpinned by constructivist views of learning and investigated the phenomenon of practical work in three co-educational schools in the state of Melaka. The participants were three science teachers and their classes of about 35 students each. Data were collected through teacher interviews, classroom observations, document analysis and focus group interviews with students. Findings suggest that teachers’ understanding about practical work were aligned with their purposes for conducting practical work. Practical work that teachers offered promoted low levels of inquiry and at best students were developing a view that in science we follow a set of procedures to arrive at a well-known conclusion. Teachers’ practices were constrained by limited resources, prescribed texts, the amount of content to be taught, and their science content knowledge. Student learning was constrained by the limited exposure to authentic science investigation, low teacher expectation, a focus on hands-on rather than minds-on learning, and the language of instruction. The findings have implications for teacher practice and science education policy for lower secondary schools in Malaysia.</p>

scholarly journals Exploring Teachers’ Approaches to Science Practical Work in Lower Secondary Schools in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Siti Shamsiah Binti Sani
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Practical Work ◽  
Science Content ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Teacher Expectation ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Lower Secondary Schools

<p>Practical work in science is a teaching approach that aims to enable students to develop procedural and conceptual understanding and an understanding about the nature of science. Practical work is required by the Malaysian Science Curriculum at all school levels. The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of teachers’ views and practices in conducting practical work in lower secondary schools. This research, which adopted a case study approach, was underpinned by constructivist views of learning and investigated the phenomenon of practical work in three co-educational schools in the state of Melaka. The participants were three science teachers and their classes of about 35 students each. Data were collected through teacher interviews, classroom observations, document analysis and focus group interviews with students. Findings suggest that teachers’ understanding about practical work were aligned with their purposes for conducting practical work. Practical work that teachers offered promoted low levels of inquiry and at best students were developing a view that in science we follow a set of procedures to arrive at a well-known conclusion. Teachers’ practices were constrained by limited resources, prescribed texts, the amount of content to be taught, and their science content knowledge. Student learning was constrained by the limited exposure to authentic science investigation, low teacher expectation, a focus on hands-on rather than minds-on learning, and the language of instruction. The findings have implications for teacher practice and science education policy for lower secondary schools in Malaysia.</p>

scholarly journals Planning skills by heads of science departmentand academic performance in science subjects in public secondary schools in Nandi county, Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfed Cheruiyot ◽  
Viviline Ngeno ◽  
Joash K. Kibett
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Instructional Planning ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Quality Performance ◽  
Training Needs Assessment ◽  
Academic Activities ◽  
Correlation Statistics

Curriculum and instructional planning is important to ensure that academic activities run without interruption in an academic year or term. Heads of departments (HODs of Science) play a pivotal role in implementation of curriculum in secondary schools. Planning is one of the functions vested on HODs to ensure proper implementation of curriculum in their departments. This paper therefore looks at HODs planning skills towards academic performance improvement in three science subjects in public secondary schools in Nandi County, Kenya. The decision to choose HODs of science was due to the importance that is placed on science subject but which has recorded below average performance compared to other subjects in Kenya Certificate of Secondary School. The three science subjects under investigation are; Physics, Biology and Chemistry for secondary schools. The study used mixed method research design. The study had three target populations that comprised of 231 heads of departments, 231 principals and 693 teachers. The sample size of the study was determined using Krejcie and Morgan formulae of determining sample size and comprised of 23 principals, 128 HODS of science and 247 teachers who were selected through stratified random sampling. Data collection was through questionnaires and interview schedule. Analysis of data was performed through quantitative and qualitative methods. The correlation analysis was computed from HODs and science teachers’ data. The study discovered that most of them only planned for science practicals to be conducted on occasional basis by teachers in the department. Moreover, the HODs of Science ensured that the planned activities were conducted as planned. However, the HODs of Science were found not to have proper planning skills on ICT usage, acquisition of instructional material and conducting training needs assessment for teachers. The computed correlation statistics showed that there existed significant influence (p<0.05) between planning skills by HODs of Science and academic performance of students in sciences in public secondary schools in Nandi County. The study recommends that HODs of Science need to be informed by Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (QASOs) that they need to be proactive and not reactive to the responsibilities under their docket. Participatory planning practices needs also to be embraced by HODs of Science for improved implementation and execution of set objectives and targets. Keywords: Planning, Skills, Quality, Performance, Sciences HODs

scholarly journals Attitudes Towards Science: A Study of Gender Differences and Grade Level

2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 599-608
Author(s):  
Susilawati*, Nurfina ◽  
Nurfina Aznam ◽  
Paidi Paidi
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Attitudes Toward Science ◽  
Sixth Grade ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
School Students ◽  
Students Attitudes

<p style="text-align: justify;">It should be noted that learning outcomes are not students’ only achievement; attitude is also the main output in learning. This research explores students’ attitudes toward science learning based on gender and the grade level of schools in Aceh, Indonesia. The participants are 1,023 students from the sixth grade of primary schools and the eighth grade of secondary schools. The total sample includes 16 schools spread across the province. The data have been collected using TOSRA. By using the Likert scale, this questionnaire is useful for obtaining descriptions of the students’ attitudes and assigning scores for a certain group of participants. Based on gender, the results show females reflect more positive attitudes toward science than male students do. According to the grade level of the schools, the data reflect the equality of students’ attitudes toward science between primary and secondary schools. Nevertheless, when primary school students enter secondary school, the majority of students enjoy learning science less. This fact is meaningful feedback for science teachers. This result supports the scholars seeking ways to avoid the gender gap in learning activities. Pedagogical implications are also discussed.</p>

Producing the evidence: Science teachers' initiations into practical work

1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mick Nott ◽  
Jerry Wellington
Keyword(s):  
Science Teachers ◽  
Practical Work
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