Investigating Lesotho junior secondary science teachers' perceptions and use of laboratory work.
Date
2010-11-09
Authors
Monare, Thulo Julius
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Abstract
This study investigated Lesotho junior secondary science teachers’ perceptions and use of laboratory
work in teaching. Teaching is described as engagement in a relationship between a person called a teacher
and another person called a student with the purpose of facilitating the student’s acquisition of content
which the student previously lacked (Fenstermacher, 1986). Using the constructs of scientific inquiry and
inquiry-based instruction and constructivism as theoretical lenses the study empirically explored the
Junior School Science teachers’ perceptions of the aims of laboratory work and how the teachers used
laboratory work in their teaching. At the centre, the investigation sought to understand whether there was
any relationship between teachers’ perceptions of the aims of laboratory work and their use of laboratory
work. The sample of the study consisted of fifty science teachers (n=50) conveniently selected from 12
schools in the Butha-Buthe district of Lesotho. Data were collected through closed and open ended
questionnaires (n=50), semi-structured interviews (n=5), and laboratory lesson observations (n=2). Data
were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and qualitatively using a combination of
typological and interpretational analysis. The results show that as a group the sampled teachers held the
view that the most important aim of laboratory work was to promote conceptual understanding. In their
teaching, most of the sampled teachers use laboratory work to verify theory through largely
verificationist, expository and non-inquiry laboratory instructional practices and strategies. The following
barriers were reported by the teachers as limiting their use of inquiry oriented and student centered
teaching strategies: limitations of resources; time constraints; large classes; pressure to complete the
prescribed curriculum; safety issues; and preparations for external examinations. The results also suggest
that the teachers’ seeing laboratory work as important for developing conceptual understanding is
associated with their use of verificationistic teaching approaches. It is recommended that; Lesotho science
curriculum be reviewed, and that teachers should participate in curriculum development to enhance
successful implementation of inquiry instruction, professional development programmes be established,
and the enactment of inquiry instruction be systematically monitored and evaluated. It is recommended
that curriculum developers facilitate teachers’ transformation from expository to inquiry instruction.
Description
Keywords
Laboratory work, Scientific inquiry, Constructivism, Teachers' perceptions, Instructional practices, Assessment, Inquiry teaching, Conceptual understanding