Characteristics of Practical Work in Science Classrooms in Namibia

“Practical Work as It Says Practical is Something Students do by Themselves…”

“…This means they do not understand what procedural understanding is. This finding was also reported by Kapenda et al (2002). Pekmez et al (2005) found that there is need "... to develop a deeper understanding of the procedural knowledge base amongst a significant proportion of science teachers".…”

The Role Played by Contextual Challenges in Practising Inquiry-based Science Teaching in Tanzania Secondary Schools

“…In African contexts, as well, studies have reported that the practice of practical work and inquiry-based teaching is limited (Hattingh et al, 2007;Kapenda, Kandjeo-Marenga, Kasandra, & Lubben, 2002). For instance, the survey study by Hattingh et al (2007) in South Africa observed that lower level practical work, such as teachers' demonstrations and recipebased practical work, was more frequently offered than were higher levels of practical work, such as designing investigations.…”

“…For instance, the survey study by Hattingh et al (2007) in South Africa observed that lower level practical work, such as teachers' demonstrations and recipebased practical work, was more frequently offered than were higher levels of practical work, such as designing investigations. Another study was conducted in Namibia by Kapenda et al (2002), in which data were collected by the use of several methods including review of lesson plans, students' worksheets and students' work, as well as classroom observations. The study reported that a quarter of the teachers in the sample did not provide any practical work to students, while other teachers offered little practical work.…”

Some factors influencing the quality of practical work in science classrooms

“…According to Kapenda et al (2002) the desirable characteristics of practical work in developing countries have been highlighted by authors such as Kahn (1990) and Swain, Monk and Johnson (1999). However little is known about what practical activities are actually executed in most African classrooms, and even less about factors which might facilitate their implementation.…”