Identifying relevant factors in implementing a chemistry curriculum in Botswana
Date
2009-07-08T11:08:52Z
Authors
Tawana, Lesego
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Abstract
A general concern in science education is that change in the curriculum has had little
impact on the classroom practice. Following the introduction of a new curriculum
called the Botswana Government Certificate in Secondary Education (BGCSE)
curriculum in Botswana senior secondary schools, this study set out to investigate
issues relating to implementation of the proposed curriculum, that is, mapping
teaching effectiveness intended to improve students’ learning of chemistry compared
with teaching during the old curriculum. This thesis reports the extent to which some
chemistry teachers in Botswana senior secondary schools are implementing classroom
methodologies that focus on learner-centred and hands-on activities.
This investigation involved working with eleven chemistry teachers in four secondary
schools in Botswana. The case study research methodology included observations and
semi-structured interviews. The sub-constructs from Rogan and Grayson’s (2003)
theory were used to guide data collection as well as analysis and interpretation of
data. From the categories, it was possible to identify level of operation for the schools
as well as the Zone of Feasible Implementation (ZFI) which spelt possible routes for
interventions in individual schools.
There were common areas observed about the teachers and the schools, in that they
· All possessed the right qualifications to teach chemistry at senior school level.
· All were relatively young in the teaching field
· According to Rogan and Grayson’s (2003) scale, the teachers are operating at a
very low level in the science practical and contextualisation dimensions.
· Classroom dimensions were characterized by patches of rich interactions for most
teachers. These were evidenced by some teaching interactions at level 3 on Rogan
and Grayson’s operational levels. Some teachers’ lesson activities were more
interactive in that there were presentations that encouraged the use of various
communication skills. Learners presented organised information to support their
positions, showing there had been a search for information before presentations.
The other teachers limited involvement by learners, as their focus was on articulating the content. · Otherwise teachers were generally operating at lower levels in Rogan and
Grayson’s (2003) scale. This is a clear indication that to some extent the teachers
are not doing much in implementing the teaching ideas intended by the new
curriculum. Mind and hands-on activities are still limited. Though teachers
possess the right qualifications, there seems to be little desire to try new things.
According to the operational levels on classroom interaction, practical work and
contextualisation, it was found that teachers generally operated moderately on Rogan
and Grayson’ scale. Though interviews results showed that teachers saw the need to
have practical work as a way to actively engage learners, classroom observations
showed that it was not a favoured method. Classroom observations revealed that the
lecture method was still the favoured approach. Some learner-engaging activities in
the form of group discussions, group experiments and demonstrations were practiced.
Contextualizing of science was still generally low in all schools.
The study also looked at the construct of capacity to support innovation. The three
sub-constructs which were investigated in this study were physical resources, teacher
factors and ecology and management systems. These factors had a great impact on
how the sub-construct on profile of implementation panned out. The three factors
were found to be higher on the Rogan and Grayson’s (2003) scale than the profile of implementation. This was found to be linked with a great deal of improvement of
infrastructure by the Botswana government soon after the curriculum implementation
e.g. science related facilities (laboratories, apparatus, chemicals) and teacher
qualifications. Though this was the case, it was found out that classroom
implementation was not as inflated as the resources on ground seemed to suggest.
Several influential factors were found to be linked to the unfolding of a curriculum
inside the classroom such as departmental contexts. The contexts were found to relate
closely with the nature of communities that existed in science departments, which
were linked to how teachers were distributed within departments.
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Keywords
Curriculum, implementation, operational level, innovation, capacity, construct, subconstruct