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

Mkimbili, Selina Thomas; Tiplic, Dijana; Ødegaard, Marianne

doi:10.1080/18117295.2017.1333752

Cited by 24 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 65 publications

(246 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This was supported by another teacher who said "It is not possible; theory goes hand in hand with practicals". This finding is in line with the study done by Mkimbili, Tiplic and Odegaard (2017) in Tanzania. They found that teachers' views are that resources were a contextual factor that has an impact on the way in which practicals are done in schools.…”

Section: Views Of Teachers On the Availability Of Resources And Infrasupporting

confidence: 93%

Decolonising continuing teacher professional development in the teaching of physical science through improvisation in rural areas

Mabasa

Singh

2020

SAJHE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Calls for the decolonisation of higher education in the world and South Africa in particular, has gained momentum since the student protests in 2015 and 2016. This takes place after some efforts have been made to transform and democratise the higher education landscape. Efforts made include: National Commission on Higher Education, White Paper 3 1997, The Higher Education Act of 1997 and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) Act of 1995 which led to the creation of National Qualification Framework (NQF). The policies had promises on issues of access, equity, equality, inclusivity and social justice. After 20 years of democracy, students started to question the progress or lack thereof in the transformation of higher education in South Africa. They started to make demands for access, free education, decolonisation of the curriculum, changes in the pedagogy and epistemic practices. They also demanded the removal of certain statues on some of the campuses. The protests jolted some academics to start debating and writing about the decolonisation of higher education in South Africa. This was done by picking up different aspects that were made points of focus in terms of decolonisation. Consequently, some academics focused on the decolonisation of the curriculum, some on the higher education system whilst others focussed on teacher education. In this article, we intend to contribute to the debate by focusing on Continuing Teacher Professional Development (CTPD) that is an aspect within teacher education. The focus on CTPD was prompted by the fact that not much has been done on the decolonisation of CTPD in South Africa. Furthermore, this is a critical area, because unless teachers are empowered and reskilled to drive the decolonisation process, they may resist and ultimately render the whole process unworkable. It is based on the study that was conducted, focusing on CTPD in the teaching of physical sciences in some of the rural schools in Limpopo Province. The choice of physical sciences was because physical sciences is a gateway subject and most physics sciences teachers in Limpopo Province are based in rural areas. Generally, Mabasa and Singh Decolonising continuing teacher professional development 147 these schools do not have the appropriate facilities and equipment to teach physical science. Physical sciences teachers also face many challenges such as negative perception about the subject, lack of resources, limited room for professional development, poor teacher training, and inadequate support from within the school and the Provincial Department of Education. This study focussed on creativity and teacher empowerment by enabling physical sciences teachers to reflect on their implementation of science inquiry. Physical sciences teachers were empowered to be creative in handling scientific inquiry especially in the absence of the necessary scientific equipment. The study was conduct at a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Limpopo Province where teachers, from rural schools, are specifically invited ...

show abstract

Section: Views Of Teachers On the Availability Of Resources And Infrasupporting

confidence: 93%

Decolonising continuing teacher professional development in the teaching of physical science through improvisation in rural areas

Mabasa

Singh

2020

SAJHE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This problem is even more serious currently as the increase in enrolment in secondary schools in Tanzania has resulted in larger class sizes of up to 100 students per class (Kinyota et al, 2019). Moreover, given the pressure from high-stake testing and an overemphasis on national examinations, many science teachers prefer lecture methods, as it ensures a larger content is covered within a short period (Kafyulilo & Tilya, 2019;Kinyota & Kavenuke, 2018;Kitta & Tilya, 2010;Mkimbili et al, 2017). Additionally, many schools in Tanzania, especially the newly established ones, are not equipped with sufficient laboratory resources to enable students to carry out scientific experiments (Kafyulilo & Tilya, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, language barriers need to be addressed. The use of English as a LoI has been found to be a barrier to science learning in Tanzania (Mkimbili et al, 2017;Semali & Mehta, 2012). Thus, the use of Swahili language could offer a better ground for integrating IBST and NOS.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Only a few studies (e.g. Mkimbili et al, 2017) have focused on this subject in Tanzania. Specifically, Mkimbili et al (2017) investigated the extent to which science teachers practice IBST.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mkimbili et al, 2017) have focused on this subject in Tanzania. Specifically, Mkimbili et al (2017) investigated the extent to which science teachers practice IBST. They found that teachers rarely incorporate IBST in their teaching due to challenges such as resource constraints and overemphasis on high stakes testing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The status of and challenges facing secondary science teaching in Tanzania: a focus on inquiry-based science teaching and the nature of science

Kinyota

2020

International Journal of Science Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although Inquiry-Based Science Teaching (IBST) and the Nature of Science (NOS) are well documented as important aspects of teaching science subjects in schools, little research has been undertaken to understand how these aspects feature in secondary school science curricula in Tanzania. Thus, this study examined the extent to which IBST and NOS are featured in secondary school curriculum documents for science subjects. In addition, the challenges facing the integration of IBST and NOS in science teaching in Tanzanian secondary schools are highlighted. By analysing five curriculum documents and the Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania, the study established that IBST and NOS are neither formally recognised as important aspects of science education, nor given due attention in curriculum documents. Moreover, a lack of coherence among various elements of the curriculum, which can affect the integration of IBST and NOS, was observed. Finally, it was established that several challenges such as larger class sizes, insufficient time allocation and overemphasis on content coverage need to be addressed so that IBST and NOS could be fully integrated into science teaching in Tanzania. The study does not only highlight the theoretical trends related to IBST and NOS, but also discusses their theoretical and practical implications for science teaching.

show abstract

Effectiveness of virtual laboratory vs. paper-based experiences to the hands-on chemistry practical in Tanzanian secondary schools

Manyilizu

2022

Educ Inf Technol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Science subjects at pre-tertiary and tertiary education levels are important for socio-economic and industrial development of any country; however, they are difficult for students to construct their concepts. In Tanzania, insufficient or lack of practical experiments are major challenges for science subjects due to insufficient or lack of laboratories, apparatus, expertise or reagents. Thus, this research assesses the effectiveness of paper-based against virtual laboratory experiences towards improvement of real (hands-on) chemistry practical in Tanzanian secondary schools focusing in Dodoma region. Chemistry virtual laboratory was developed and being deployed at Dodoma Secondary School for students who were never done practical sessions before to avoid biasness towards the study. The students were divided into three groups, namely paper-based and real laboratory as control groups (CG) and virtual laboratory as the experiment group (EG). Each group was further divided into two groups for the rest approaches forming six (6) groups. For EG, students were taught based on instructional approach which was enriched by computer animations in the computer laboratory. Results indicate that students who firstly attended virtual laboratory performed better in real laboratory than those who firstly attended real laboratory. Furthermore, the best progressive learning and performance for real experiments appears when the virtual laboratory preceded paper-based practical experiments. Thus, virtual laboratory is a very useful tool for learning chemistry practical not only to schools without laboratories but also to those with laboratories; and it should be considered by all the pre-tertiary schools in Tanzania and other schools in similar situations.

show abstract

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

Cited by 24 publications

References 65 publications

Decolonising continuing teacher professional development in the teaching of physical science through improvisation in rural areas

Decolonising continuing teacher professional development in the teaching of physical science through improvisation in rural areas

The status of and challenges facing secondary science teaching in Tanzania: a focus on inquiry-based science teaching and the nature of science

Effectiveness of virtual laboratory vs. paper-based experiences to the hands-on chemistry practical in Tanzanian secondary schools

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About