A survey of perceived hindrances to junior secondary school science teaching

Jk Eminah

doi:10.4314/ajesms.v2i2.38594

Abstract

This study investigated situations which Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) teachers perceived as hindrances to their teaching functions. A 30-item questionnaire with a 5-point scale was used to collect data from 116 science teachers who taught in private and public schools. The schools were based in rural and urban settings. An examination of the rank ordered hindrances showed that large class sizes, heavy teaching load, lack of funds to purchase materials and inadequate treatment of certain topics in the pupils' textbooks hindered JSS science teachers the most. It was also found that different percentages of teachers perceived each of the situations (the main instrument described) as a serious hindrance. The percentages varied from 68.1 (heavy teaching load) to 14.6 (lack of knowledge in biology). Statistical analysis of the data using the z-test for 2-sample cases showed no significant difference between the hindrances perceived by three compared groups of teachers namely, teachers in rural and urban schools, teachers in private and public schools and teachers who specialised in science and their colleagues who did not. A significant difference was however found between the hindrances perceived by male and female teachers. One major finding of the study is that due to the lack of science teachers in the public schools, teachers who taught other non-science subjects such as Cultural Studies, Life Skills, Social Studies and English Language were assigned to teach science. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Vol. 2(2) 2004: 51-63

Highlights

The need for a purposeful educational system coupled with the general dissatisfaction with the unproductive system of education bequeathed to Ghana by the colonial government resulted in the development of the New Educational Reform Programme
In an attempt to strengthen the capability of Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) science teachers to cope with certain role expectations under the Reform Programme, intensive training of trainers courses were organised for selected teachers at the Kumasi Technical Institute in January, 1990
The item mean response score (IMRS) for each item in the Hindrances Assessment Schedule (HAS) was computed from all the responses for each item

Summary

Introduction

The curriculum materials that were developed to ensure the smooth take-off of the JSS science programme included a syllabus, pupils’ textbooks and teachers’ handbooks. In an attempt to strengthen the capability of JSS science teachers to cope with certain role expectations under the Reform Programme, intensive training of trainers courses were organised for selected teachers at the Kumasi Technical Institute in January, 1990.

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion