Physical science teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and practices of inquiry method at three selected senior secondary school level, Khomas education region
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Date
2022
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the Physical Science teachers’
pedagogical knowledge and practices of inquiry method at three selected senior
secondary school level in the Khomas education region, Namibia. This study
employed a qualitative, exploratory research design to explore the pedagogical
knowledge and practice of Physical Science teachers regarding inquiry method. The targeted population for this study was 104 Physical Science teachers in 34 senior secondary schools in the Khomas education region.
Extreme case sampling method was used to select one secondary school among the top ten performing schools and two secondary schools that were at the bottom of the rank in the Khomas education region for the NSSCO Physical Science results of the year 2018. Purposive sampling was used to select two Physical Science teachers at each school on the basis that they have taught Physical Science for more than three years.
Among the three participated schools, only one teacher from the second bottom
performed school and two teachers from each of the other two schools agreed to take part in the study. Hence, the total sample of this study consisted of five (5)
participants. Three research instruments were used namely: a questionnaire,
observation checklists, and structured interviews/ schedule. After the collection of data and coding, qualitative thematic analysis method was employed to analyse and interpret the data.
The findings from this study revealed that all the participants used the inquiry method when teaching Physical Science, of which four (4) of the participants had received training on how to use the inquiry method during their teachers’ training at the university or college. However, only one participant was not trained to use the inquiry method. The findings from this study also revealed that Physical Science teachers needed further training on the inquiry method of teaching. The participants suggested that continuous professional development should focus on how to use inquiry method in large classes and with learners of different abilities. This study recommended that the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture together with the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) should provide workshop trainings to Physical Science teachers on the use of the inquiry method. Further research should also be conducted to investigate the impact of the inquiry method to learners’ academic achievement in Physical Science.
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education (Science Education)
Keywords
Pedagogy, Secondary schools, Physical science