Difficulties Faced by Science Teachers in Selected Public Schools in Kuwait: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

There are numerous difficulties associating with the teaching process in the secondary public schools in Kuwait. The aim of the study is to determine some of the difficulties facing science teachers in secondary schools of Mubarak AL Kabeer governorate in Kuwait. The difficulties encountered by science teachers in secondary schools were examined under these issues: curriculum objectives, student assessment system, school management and science laboratory. Seventy-seven science teachers were chosen randomly from secondary schools in Mubarak AL Kabeer governorate. A structured pretested self-administered questionnaire in Arabic was used to collect data for this study. The analyzed data indicated that both male and female science teachers have difficulties with the curriculum objectives, student assessment system, school management and science laboratory. This study suggested number of recommendations for teachers and administrators in secondary schools

Analysis Based on the Three Objective Educational Domains for Final Summative Secondary Examinations of Science Subject (Chemistry, Physics, and Biology)

“…It may be also due to the nature of science as a subject that cannot be represented in an examination for a couple of hours. e result of this research coincided with [12] and [11] in that the objectives of Kuwaiti schools' science curriculum were only focused on the lower cognitive aspects, neglecting the other two domains of learning.…”

“…Further, it was noted in Table 4 that most questions were based on knowing and understanding levels, and the higher levels of thinking questions were not noticeable and unrepresented well in the final examinations of all science subjects. As mentioned in the literature review, [11] concluded that the curriculum objectives tend to focus on the lower cognitive domain. e type of questions, their nature, and the cognitive levels that final examinations measure are the factors that determine the way students take up their study of the scientific knowledge, methods, and practices of science.…”

“…Science majors in secondary school are being prepared to pursue the science field once they finish their secondary school. Science curriculum and structure in Kuwait pursue critical thinking, solving problems, analyzing data, and decision making [11]. Science subjects are being taught in fully equipped laboratories on daily basis in secondary schools.…”

“…Based on the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB), 65.69% of students enrolled in nonscience majors at Kuwait University while only 34.30% chose science majors in the school year 2017-2018. Another study discussed that secondary school students face challenges in learning science due to the methods and the assessment mechanism which decreases their motivation toward science [11,12]. Al-Kandari, Ramdane, and Nordin have reasoned that some of the challenges are related to the misused and limitation of using the cognitive domain [9].…”

“…Al-Kandari, Ramdane, and Nordin have reasoned that some of the challenges are related to the misused and limitation of using the cognitive domain [9]. Nevertheless, a study focused on science secondary teachers stated that science teachers face difficulties with the curriculum objectives, student assessment system, school management, and lack of science laboratories' equipment which reflect negatively on the student outcomes [9,11].…”