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An investigation of challenges experienced by Physical Sciences novice 

teachers when teaching Electric circuits in Grade 10 science classrooms: A 

case of Johannesburg North District schools 

A research project submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, in fulfilment of the requirement 

for the degree of Masters in Education 

By 

Hlayisani Tracy Nkuna 

Student number: 1147317 

Protocol number: 2022ECE023M 

Supervisor: Dr Emmanuel Mushayikwa 

 

School of Education 

University of the Witwatersrand 

Johannesburg, South Africa 

June 2023 

 

 

 

 

 



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ABSTRACT 

The National Senior Certificate (NSC) diagnostic reports over the years have shown that 

learners perform poorly in electric circuits in the Grade 12 Physical sciences final 

examinations. This has raised concerns to identify the underlying reasons behind this. The 

learners’ performance is often linked to the teachers’ content knowledge and pedagogical 

knowledge.  This study sought to understand the challenges that physical sciences novice 

teachers experience when teaching electric circuits in Grade 10 as well as the factors that 

contribute to these challenges. In understanding the challenges experienced by the novice 

teachers, this study was underpinned by Bhaskar’s (1978) theory on Critical Realism as a 

theoretical framework to reveal the teachers’ challenges in relation to their content and 

pedagogical knowledge. In conjunction to this, the study was guided by Archers’ (1995) 

constructs of the Social Realist Theory. The two theoretical frameworks were used to analyse 

the data, using stratified levels of reality from critical realism and analytical dualism from the 

social realist theory as an analytical tool. Employed in this study was the qualitative case study 

research design. The data was collected through twenty online questionnaires and five 

individual online semi-structured interviews with physical sciences novice teachers from the 

schools in the Johannesburg North district. These instruments were used to provide an in-depth 

account of the challenges experienced by the novice teachers and their contributing factors. 

The study found that the novice teachers experienced challenges with the lack of specialized 

resources such as fully functional laboratories and content related challenges, such as 

misconceptions, gate-keeping concepts and teacher centred approaches. The findings also 

revealed that despite being technologically oriented themselves. The findings also revealed that 

the novice teachers experienced challenges with the use of ICT in their teaching of electric 

circuits, owing to a variety of reasons related to the context of the school, their pre-service 

training as well as general beliefs about ICT. The study recommends that teacher training 

programmes should perhaps look into firstly, teaching the pre-service teachers more on how to 

improvise, given that most schools lack resources and secondly, the methodology courses need 

to consider focusing on how to equip the teachers with the correct conceptions of the main 

concepts of electric circuits in order to minimise the misconception perpetuated by the novice 

teachers as well as build they confidence in the instruction of electric circuits. The rationale for 

this study was on the grounds that there is not much physical science education research clearly 

accounting for the challenges experienced by the novice teachers post the millennial generation 

and the COVID-19 pandemic. This study provides ground for other researchers to explore the 



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nature of science teaching with this current generation (generation Z). The findings from the 

research study reveal that the current generation experience challenges beyond content 

knowledge, such as a short attention span. In light of this finding, this study suggests that future 

research should be aimed at incorporating the technological aspect of teaching in science topics 

in order to make the science topics interesting and relevant to the learners. 

Keywords: Novice teacher, Content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, Information 

Communication Technology (ICT), Generation Z, Critical realism, Social Realist Theory. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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DECLARATION 

I, HLAYISANI TRACY NKUNA (1147317), hereby declare that this research report is my 

original work and that it has not been submitted prior for assessment for any other academic 

qualification at any other university. All the work cited has been referenced accordingly and a 

complete list of the references has been provided. I acknowledge that the University of the 

Witwatersrand will take disciplinary action against me if the research shows evidence that 

suggests that the work submitted is not my original work. 

 

                                                          

……………………………………………………………………………………………… 

University of the Witwatersrand, June 2023 

Protocol number: 2022ECE023M 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my supervisor: Dr Emmanuel Mushayikwa for 

the professional support, motivations and patience you have given me. I am grateful for the 

times you kept me going even when I felt like giving up. To my parents, Nkhensani and Gezani 

Nkuna, thank you for your immeasurable support. To my brothers, Matimu and Nyiko, you 

have been my sanity throughout this journey. I would also like to thank my academic 

companion, Kushi Kufa, for your constant check-ups and words of encouragement. Thank you 

for walking this journey with me. Lastly to my precious daughter, Vunene Nkuna, thank you 

for being my source of motivation throughout the ups and downs.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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ABBREVIATIONS 

CAPS – Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement 

COVID-19 – Corona Virus Disease of 2019 

DBE – Department of Basic Education (Republic of South Africa) 

ICT- Information Communications Technology 

JN- Johannesburg North 

NSC – National Senior Certificate examination 

NQT- Newly Qualified Teacher 

Wi-Fi- Wireless Fidelity 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Table of Contents 
Title ............................................................................................................................................ 1 

Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 2 

Declaration…………………………………………………………………………………….4 

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………….….5 

Abbreviations………………………………………………………………………………….6 

Table of content……………………………………………………………………………….7 

List of tables…………………………………………………………………………….…....11 

List of figures……………………………………………………………………………...…12 

List of appendices…………………………………………………………………………….13 

CHAPTER 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………….…..14 

1.1.Introduction………………………………………………………………………………14 

1.2 Background of the study…………………………………………………………………15 

1.3 Rationale………………………………………………………………………………….18 

1.4 Problem statement………………………………………………………………………..20 

1.5 Purpose of the study……………………………………………………………….……..20 

1.6 Main research question……………………………………………………………….…..21 

1.6.1 sub-research questions……………………………………………………………….…21 

1.7 Significance of the study……………………………………………………….…...……21 

1.8 Chapter summary…………………………………………………………………..…….22 

CHAPTER 2: Literature review……………………………………………………..…….23 

2.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………….…...…23 

2.2 Who is a novice teacher………………………………………………………………..…23 

2.3 Teacher training vs School 

realities…………………………………………………………………………….……...….24 

2.4 Challenges experienced by novice teachers in the physical science 

classroom……………………………………………………………………………….….…24 

2.5 Teaching electric circuits…………………………………………………………….…...25 

2.6 Challenges teaching electric circuits…………………………………………...…….…..27 

2.7 Chapter summary………………………………………………………………………...28 

CHAPTER 3: Conceptual Framework…………………………………………………....29 



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3.1 

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….….…29 

3.2 What is Critical realism and why critical 

realism?.........………………………………………..………………………………...……..29 

3.3 Differentiated and stratified 

reality…………………………………………………………………………………...…….30 

3.4 Social Realist Theory……………………………………………………………….…....32 

3.4.1 Culture……………………………………………………………………………..…...33  

3.4.2 Structure……………………………………………………………………….……….33 

3.4.4 Agency……………………………………………………………………………...….33 

3.5 Archers’ analytical dualism…………………………………………………………...….33 

3.6 Analytical framework………………………………………………………….……..…..34 

3.7 Chapter summary…………………………………………………………………….…..35 

CHAPTER 4: Research design and 

methodology…………………………………………………………………………...….…36 

4.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...….36 

4.2 Research paradigm………………………………………………………………..….......36 

4.3 Research approach…………………………………………………………………..…....37 

4.4 Case study research design………………………………………………………….....…37 

4.5 Research data collection tools………………………………………………………...….38 

4.5.1 Questionnaire…………………………………………………………………….….…38 

4.5.2 Developing the teacher questionnaire…………………………………………….…....39 

4.5.3 Limitation of the 

questionnaire………………………………………………………………………..…..……39 

4.5.4 Semi-structured interviews………………………………………………………..........40 

4.5.5 Developing semi-structured 

interviews……………………………………………………………………….……..……..40 

4.5.6 Limitations of the semi-structure interviews…………………………………...……....41 

4.6 Research sampling………………………………………………………………...…...…41 

4.7 Rigor: Validity and Reliability…………………………………………………..……….42 

4.8 Data analysis………………………………………………………………………..……43 

4.8.1 Organizing data from the questionnaire………………………………………….……43 



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4.8.2 Organizing data from the semi-structured interviews………………………………….44 

4.8.3 Thematic analysis…………………………………………………………………...….44 

4.9 Ethical considerations………………………………………………………………....…46 

4.10 Chapter summary…………………………………………………………………….....47  

CHAPTER 5: Presentation of findings and discussions……………………………….…47 

5.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………48 

5.2 Findings on the challenges experienced by novice teacher when teaching electric 

circuits………………………………………………………………………………………..49 

5.2.1 Contextual challenges experienced by the Grade 10 physical science novice 

teacher………………………………………………………………………………………..49 

5.2.2 Conceptual challenges experienced by the Grade 10 physical science novice 

teacher…………………………………………………………………………………….….53 

5.3 Factors contributing to the challenges experienced by the novice teachers……………...60 

5.3.1 Lack of well-resourced facilities…………………………………………………….…60 

5.3.2 Teachers’ teaching approaches…………………………………………………...…….60 

5.3.3 Learners’ lack of interest in electric circuits……………………………………..….…63 

5.3.4 Teachers not prepared to teach electric circuits……………………………….….…...64 

5.3.5 Teachers’ attitudes towards teaching electric circuits……………………………….....64 

5.4 How do physical science teachers address the challenges they encounter……………….64 

5.5 A summary of the findings using critical realism………………………………………..68 

5.5.1 The three levels of reality :………………………………………………………….….68 

5.6 Chapter summary……………………………………………………………………...…71 

CHAPTER 6: Summary of findings and conclusions………………………………….…73 

6.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………....…73 

6.2 Challenges experience by Physical science novice teachers when teaching electric 

circuits…………………………………………………………………………………….….73 

6.2.1 Contextual challenges experience by novice teachers…………………………...….…73 

6.2.2 Conceptual challenges experienced by novice teachers……………………………..…76 

6.3 Factors that contribute to the challenges experienced by the physical science novice 

teachers…………………………………………………………………………………….....81 

6.4 How the physical science novice teachers address the challenges they experience….….84 

6.5 Limitations of the study………………………………………………………………......84 



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6.6 Recommendations…………………………………………………………………….….85 

6.7 Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………....86 

6.8 Reflections……………………………………………………………………………..…86 

References………………………………………………………………………………..….88 

Appendices………………………………………………………………………………..…97 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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LIST OF TABLES 

Table 1 Bhaskar’s stratified reality (adapted from Bhaskar, 1978)………………………...31 

Table 2 Summary of the three elements of analytical dualism ……………………...….…..32 

Table 3 Analytical framework adapted from Archer (1995)……………………... ………. 34 

Table 4 The number of tools in the study ……………………………………………..…....38 

Table 5 The themes identified from data analysis……………………………………....…..45 

Table 6 The analytical tool used to analyse the data………………………………...….….46 

Table 7 The themes identified from data analysis………………………………………….48 

Table 8: Shows the teacher’s responses in relation to availability of resources…….……..51 

Table 9: Shows the teachers’ responses to the content related questions…………………..54 

Table 10 Teachers’ responses on the challenges in relation to calculations……………….59 

Table 11: Teacher responses from the questionnaire to the lack of resources……….……..60 

Table 12: Responses on the use of alternative resources…………………………………..65 

Table 13: Responses on the uses of ICT in teaching…………………………………….…69 

Table 14: Display of some findings using the analytical framework…………………...….74 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 



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LIST OF FIGURES 

Figure 1: Image showing the questionnaire responses……………………………….….….43 

Figure 2: A pie chart showing the conceptual understanding response representation….….44 

Figure 3: Image showing an interview transcript and categorisation of data………………45 

Figure 4: Teachers’ responses on the availability of resources……….……………….……50 

Figure 5: Images showing a simple circuit using accessible materials……………………..52 

Figure 6: Teachers’ responses to a content question in relation to voltage…………………54 

Figure 7: Teachers’ responses to the water analogy misconception………………………....56 

Figure 8: Image from the CAPS document for grade 10-12 physical sciences……………...59 

 Figure 9: Teachers’ responses to the question on schematic diagram and realistic 

circuit…………………….………………………………………………………………….63 

Figure 10: Summary of the contextual challenges and its implication for teaching and 

learning………………………………………………………………………………… ……76 

Figure 11: Summary of conceptual challenges experienced by the teachers when teaching 

electric circuits……………………………………………………………………………….77 

Figure 12: A summary of the Teachers’ use of ICT and its implication for teaching and 

learning……………………………………………………………………………………………….80 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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LIST OF APPENDICES 

APPENDIX 1: Interview schedule………………………………………………………....97 

APPENDIX 2: A questionnaire for the Physical sciences teachers….…………………….98 

APPENDIX 3: Questionnaire on the conceptual challenges…………….………………...101 

APPENDIX 4: Sample of interview transcript for Teacher 1………………………….….103 

APPENDIX 5: Sample of coded interview transcript………………………………….….110 

APPENDIX 6: Sample of questionnaire responses………………………………………..112 

APENDIX 7: Information letter for teachers and consent form…………………………...113 

APPENDIX 8: Ethics clearance letter………………………………………………….….115 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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CHAPTER ONE 

1.1 Introduction 

Teachers play a central role in ensuring that effective teaching takes place in a classroom. 

Vygotsky (1978) emphasizes the role of the teacher as a facilitator in the development of 

learners. Piaget (1964) further acknowledges the role of the teacher in the cognitive 

development of the learners. The primary focus of this study is the novice teacher. Novice 

teachers are often defined as newly qualified teachers (NQT) (Ahmed et al., 2020; Cain, 2012 

and Khan, 2018). Farrell (2012) argues that the novice teacher is not limited to NQT but also 

includes those that are new to teaching a particular grade or subject regardless of the number 

of years in the teaching field. 

In this case, it is important to take into account that the term ‘novice teacher’ encompasses a 

variety of identities, for instance, we have the inexperienced teacher, the off-field teachers, 

retired teachers that have resumed duties after being out of practice for a long time, teachers 

that have not taught a particular grade for years and as such may be out of touch with the current 

pedagogical changes within that grade. 

According to Mavhunga & Rollnick (2011), it is important to develop teachers in order to 

ensure that quality teaching and learning takes place in the classroom. In order to develop 

teachers, one needs to first understand the challenges that hinder teachers from performing at 

their full potential. This study focused on understanding the challenges that novice teachers 

experience when teaching electric circuits in Grade 10, the factors that influence these 

challenges and how the challenges are resolved.  

Having been exposed to different philosophical and theoretical perspectives during my 

undergraduate and postgraduate years in university, I found Critical realism and the Social 

realist theory to be the most suitable for my research study. The rationale behind this choice is 

based on the grounds that the critical realism and social realist theory are guided by a depth 

ontology. These two constructs acknowledge that there are underlying generative mechanisms 

that influence the world and how we experience it, furthermore, we experience the world at 

different levels of reality (Bhaskar, 1978). In this study, this means that in order to understand 

the challenges experienced by the novice teachers when teacher electric circuits, one needs to 

understand the factors tangible and non-tangle that influence these challenges, these form part 

of the causal mechanisms. Additionally to understand the world and how we experience it, one 

also needs to explore the interactions of three separate dimensions: Culture, Structure and 

Agency as proposed by Margaret Archer (1995). These three dimensions not only influence 



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the kind of challenges experienced by the novice teachers but also acknowledge how individual 

teachers react and/or overcome the challenges.  

One fundamental aspect in the development of the modern society is Electricity and its uses. 

Most technological innovations if not all, require electricity to operate and thus the concept of 

electricity remains one of the largely explored topics in the South African curriculum, hence 

this study’s focus on electric circuits. Beaty (1996); Hekkenberg et al. (2015) and Moodley 

(2013) argue that, although electricity is a fundamental concept in the curriculum, it is also one 

of the topics that is conceptually difficult for learners to understand across all school levels 

(Grades 8- 12). According to Ogegbo et al. (2019), these difficulties arise as a result of the 

failure to link the concepts learnt with real life circuits as well as from misconceptions. 

Furthermore, the vague understanding of the basic electric circuits concepts contributes to these 

challenges. In essence, challenges are linked to both the content knowledge as well as the 

teachers’ pedagogical decision making. 

Boakye & Ampiah, (2017) assert that a variety of factors may contribute to the challenges that 

the novice teachers experience. These challenges may be peculiar to the school and the 

individual as well. In this line of thought, the teacher’s agency becomes one that is imperative 

to explore. According to Arnold & Clarke (2014), agency refers to an individuals’ capacity and 

will in acting intentionally towards a desired goal. In this instance, although there are a 

multitude of challenges experienced by the teacher in the classroom, however, it is important 

to highlight and also appreciate the role that the teachers’ agency plays in ensuring that 

effective learning takes place. 

1.2 Background of the study 

Over the years, teacher education institutions have seen a rise in the enrollment of students as 

well as graduates into the education field. For example, over the 5-year period 2012-2017 there 

was an increase in NQT from 8000 to 23800 (Department of Basic Education, 2018). Boakye 

& Ampiah, (2017) argue that, the term ‘qualified teacher’ is misleading because obtaining a 

degree does not necessarily mean one is adequately prepared for the school environment. 

Boakye & Ampiah (2017) further argue that the teacher education programs primarily focus 

on the theoretical aspects of the school environments. Moreover, other school realities that 

impact the teacher’s ability to work are rarely considered, such as the availability of resources 

and facilities for effective teaching and learning. 



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Fraser, et al. (2007) posit that many challenges that novice teachers’ experience arise in 

practice. These challenges involve adjusting to the workplace, lack of resources and the lack 

of confidence in their content knowledge among other things (Swart, 2013).  Esau (2017), 

further highlights that in South Africa, teaching and learning is hindered by a number of factors 

both educational and non-educational, for instance, teachers are faced with an increased 

workload, this is including tedious administrative work, assessment tasks, extra mural activities 

as well as classroom management issues. In my experience, I have witnessed that teachers are 

overburdened with these activities instead of the actual teaching and learning. The focus is 

largely on meeting the submission of administrative work rather than effective teaching and 

learning. This is further supported by a survey conducted by Weston (2014) which found that 

in South Africa, only about a third of the teachers’ time is spent on teaching and learning. This 

study further reported that teachers spent a significant amount of time on administrative duties. 

Another challenge reported by Mathevula & Uwizeyimana (2014) and Esau (2017) is 

overcrowded classrooms. Esau (2017) argues that the learner and teacher ratio in the South 

African classrooms is ‘unacceptable’, arguing that in some schools in the KwaZulu-Natal 

province classrooms average about 55 learners per class. Esau (2017) further argues that 

overcrowding hinders teaching and learning because the teacher is unable to give one on one 

feedback to the learners. Having taught at an urban school and most recently at a rural school 

in Limpopo, however only briefly, I have noticed that the science classrooms are considerably 

smaller in urban areas as compared to the rural areas. This leads me to believe that the 

challenges of overcrowding affect the rural areas more. However, even in the small classes, 

teachers struggle with giving one on one attention as the time allocated for teaching and 

learning in some schools is not enough to meet both the syllabi coverage requirement, 

administrative duties and one on one interactions with the learners. 

The challenge of lack of resources affects schools both globally (Fino, 2018; Mathew, 2011; 

Muyambano, 2019) and locally (Botha & Rens, 2018; Fuzani, 2018). In South African schools, 

this is mostly seen in the township and rural areas. Esau (2017) states that most schools in these 

areas lack basic amenities, proper infrastructure and learning resources such as water, decent 

toilets, electricity, libraries, computers and also laboratories to perform experiments. This 

makes the teaching of science difficult, especially to the internet and technology driven learners 

we have in the classroom today. 



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In addition to the challenges experienced by the novice teachers, is the lack of parental 

involvement. Most learners from rural and township areas come from poverty-stricken 

families, with parents that have little or no formal education. This lack of formal education 

limits parents from being educationally involved in their children’s schooling. Rosenberg 

(2004) states that parents struggle to be involved in school interventions because they do not 

know how to help. Holsen (2013) and Singh, et al. (2004) further assert that the socio-economic 

status and parents’ educational levels are factors that affect the children’s education. These 

challenges pose a challenge for novice teachers as they struggle to have interactions with the 

parents with regards to their children’s educational challenges. 

According to Duse & Duse (2016), teachers experience challenges in the teaching of physical 

sciences especially teaching electric circuits to the generation Z cohort.  The generation Z 

cohort according to Duse & Duse (2016) is the generation born from the years 1996 to 2010. 

The generation Z cohort are classified as digital natives. Mckinsey & Company (2018) state 

that digital natives are the generation of individuals who were born and grew up completely 

surrounded by digital devices such as computers, smart phones and other technological devices. 

This generation is characterized by their heavy reliance on technology. Spark & Honey (2015) 

assert that the generation Z cohort spend about 41% of their time outside school on their 

computer, phones and other technological devices. Fino (2018) further argues that the 

generation Z cohort rely heavily on the use of calculators and technology because this group 

was born into the digital world which continuously offers developed software solutions to 

everyday problems and as such are mainly intrigued by digital oriented instruction. Trajkovic 

(2011) asserts that the generation Z learners’ constant use of calculators and other technological 

tools such as computers and phones pose an obstacle for developing conceptual understanding 

of concepts because the learners focus on the mathematical applications rather than the abstract 

reasoning of the concepts. Fino (2018) also states that this is because this generation is 

impatient and driven by immediate gratification. 

The generation Z cohort have easy access to information, for instance, when solving scientific 

questions they can simply get the solutions on the internet as opposed to working out the 

solutions on their own. In my own experiences, when learners are given a take-home 

assessment, most learners first search for the solutions on the internet before attempting to 

solve the questions. In some cases, learners are caught with cell phones during formal 

assessments because they have now become used to getting answers from the internet as 

opposed to actually studying, thus there is a lack of interest in the conceptual understanding of 



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concepts taught in the classroom. In this sense, it is important to align teaching and learning 

with the 4th industrial revolution to cater for the type of learners we have currently. 

The easy access to the internet exposes the generation Z cohort to a lot of information from 

various sources of information such as social media, science fiction, science documentaries, 

fantasy movies etc.  These resources perpetuate some misconceptions as well as alternative 

conceptions to the scientific concepts, for example, learners believe that current is consumed 

in electric circuit and that’s the reason most digital devices stop working when the battery is 

‘finished’, furthermore, that charge is stored in the battery (Fuzani, 2018; Moodley & Gaigher, 

2019). These misconceptions become a challenge for the teacher when teaching electric 

circuits. In light of this background, this study focused on the novice teachers’ when teaching 

the generation Z cohort electric circuits.  

Additionally, teaching in the post COVID-19 pandemic has developed in favour of the 

Generation Z learners. The COVID-19 pandemic has promoted a dual nature of teaching that 

involves both contact and online methods of teaching. This means that there has been a rapid 

inclusion of technology in facilitating teaching and learning (Moloi,2020). The department of 

basic education has developed websites that have digital study material, such as textbooks, 

study guides and exam past papers. Furthermore, the department has pre-recorded as well as 

streamed lessons available for revision purposes, especially for the Grade 12 learners. 

Teachers in the classroom also use online platforms such as WhatsApp groups to share learning 

materials such as videos. There has also been a rise in the teachers using TikTok to make videos 

teaching learners certain topics. These modes of teaching are new to science education and 

little research has been done about their use (Duma, 2021). Over the years the department of 

education has also introduced the use of smartboards to facilitate teaching. One major concern 

is that the teacher training programmes in the tertiary institutions have not developed much to 

include these current trends. As such the novice teachers are not adequately equipped with 

technological knowledge in relation to the teaching of electric circuits and thus they encounter 

challenges in making the topic relevant to the generation Z learners. 

1.3 Rationale 

According to Moodley (2013), South African schools do not have enough qualified science 

teachers. Moodley (2013) further states that only about 40% of science teachers have a degree 

in science and that a number of teachers lack sufficient subject content knowledge as well as 

knowledge to pick up misconceptions and the knowledge to find better teaching methods to 



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help learners understand the science concepts. This is a challenge that poses a threat to the 

quality of teaching and learning in science classrooms. Some other challenges arise from the 

school environment itself, lack of resources, workplace relations etc. (Boakye & Ampiah, 

2017). It is therefore important to identify and understand the challenges faced by novice 

teachers to find potential solutions that will be beneficial not only to the current teachers but 

also to future novice teachers when faced with similar challenges. 

The CAPS curriculum comes after a number of curriculum reformations in South Africa post 

the apartheid era, from Curriculum 2005 to the National Senior Certificate (NSC) and recently 

the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). The NSC focused on the need for 

learners to be critical thinkers and problem solvers by shifting from a teacher centered approach 

to a learner-oriented approach (Gudyanga, 2017). The CAPS document according to Gudyanga 

(2017) is reorganized in such a way that makes the implementation of the NSC easier.   

One of the topics in the CAPS document that has proven to be difficult to teach due to the poor 

performance across all school levels is Electric circuits (Moodley & Gaigher, 2019). The 2022 

diagnostic report for the Grade 12 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination shows that 

the learners performed poorly in electric circuits, obtaining a 41% pass percentage as compared 

to other topics like Newton’s laws of motion and Vertical projectile motion where the learners 

obtained 72% and 61% respectively.  Swart (2013) posits that novice teachers tend to rush 

through or avoid difficult topics at the expense of learner understanding, for example, topics 

such as electrostatics and electrodynamics, thus resulting in misconceptions that learners carry 

with to Grade 12. When teachers’ rush through topics, it leaves learners with little time to fully 

grasp and conceptualize the main concepts of the topic.  

Many fundamental concepts are taught in Grade 10, for example in electric circuits, concepts 

such as current, voltage and resistance are taught in Grade 10. These concepts are then 

reinforced in Grade 11 and then later in Grade 12. When learners lack a strong foundation of 

these concepts from Grade 10, they tend to struggle with the topic of electric circuits in Grade 

12, thus negatively affecting the quality of electric circuits instruction. With deeper insight on 

the challenges that the novice teachers experience and ways to solve these challenges, novice 

teachers will be at a better position to effectively teach electric circuits. 

  

 



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1.4 Problem Statement 

Challenges encountered in the classroom during instruction may hinder the conceptual 

understanding of science concepts. Research reveals that novice teachers are most susceptible 

to experiencing challenges when teaching science due to a number of reasons as mentioned in 

section 1.2.  Muyambano (2019) argues that these challenges contribute to the novice teacher’s 

poor performance as well as lack of confidence in their skills as teachers. The difficulties as 

experienced by novice teachers negatively impact on the content delivery and as a result the 

quality of the Physical sciences education. 

Although a lot of research has been done on the challenges that novice teachers face in the 

classroom both globally and locally, there is little research that focuses on the challenges 

specific to the teaching of electric circuits, more especially when teaching the generation Z 

cohort. This research study also draws significance of the influence of technology and the 

internet on the type of learners that occupy the classrooms today with regards to teaching and 

learning. 

The study seeks to understand the exact challenges experienced by physical science novice 

teachers with respect to electric circuits teaching, factors contributing to these challenges and 

how the challenges are currently being addressed and how they can be addressed properly. 

These challenges were identified through semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire with 

the novice teachers in order to get in-depth information on the teachers’ experiences. 

Understanding the challenges that novice teachers’ experience and addressing these challenges 

may result in an increase in the quality passes as well as an increase in the number of learners 

enrolling in the Physical sciences classroom. 

1.5 Purpose of the study 

The main aim was to understand challenges, if at all, experienced by physical science novice 

teachers within school contexts, specifically, when teaching electric circuits in science 

classrooms. Secondly, it was to unearth factors that contributed to the experienced challenges 

by the Physical science novice teachers and to examine ways in which the experienced 

challenges were addressed, in order to improve teaching and learning of electric circuits. 

 

 

 



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1.6 Main research question 

The aim of this study was to answer the following main research questions: 

How do grade 10 novice physical sciences teachers perceive the challenges they encounter 

while teaching electric circuits to generation Z learners?  

1.6.1 Research Questions 

This research study was guided by the following sub-questions: 

1. What challenges do the Physical science novice teachers say they experience when teaching 

Electric Circuits to generation Z learners in Grade 10 science classrooms?  

2. What factors do the Physical science novice teachers attribute to the challenges experienced 

during their teaching of electric circuits? 

3. How do Physical sciences novice teachers address these challenges? 

 

1.7 Significance of the study 

The knowledge obtained from this study may contribute information about the challenges 

Physical sciences novice teachers face when teaching electric circuits in Grade 10. 

Furthermore, knowledge from this study could give insight to teacher professional 

development programs and institutions aimed at developing novice teachers on how to better 

prepare the novice teachers in order to not perpetuate the challenges being faced by the current 

novice teachers.  

The knowledge gained from this study may shed light on how school environments can adjust 

in order to respond to the challenges that novice teachers face or to limit the challenges faced 

by novice teachers altogether. The knowledge gained from this study is not only limited to 

novice teachers as it could also help experienced teachers experiencing the same challenges. 

According to Thijs & Van den Akker (2009), it is important to gain information on existing 

issues and the possibilities to improve them. Therefore, it became important to identify the 

challenges novice Physical science teachers experienced when teaching electric circuits in 

order to address them promptly. 

 

 

 



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1.8 Chapter Summary 

This chapter introduced the study, as well as the objectives of the study. The reviewed literature 

thus far suggests that novice teachers experience numerous challenges when they get into the 

field. These challenges include adjusting to the workplace setting, lack of resources, lack of 

confidence in the content knowledge to name a few. 

A lot of research has been conducted on novice teachers, however, most research largely 

focused on interventions rather than on identifying the challenges that made the intervention 

necessary. It is evident that although novice teachers experienced general similar challenges, 

however, there are challenges that are specific to the subjects that the novice teachers teach and 

thus research focusing on novice teachers needs to be tailored to their specific subject and 

individual needs. The challenges experienced by science novice teachers may potentially be 

solved by providing sufficient induction and mentoring programs focused on their specific 

needs. In the next chapter, a detailed review of literature to understand the challenges that 

Physical science novice teachers experienced when teaching science is provided. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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CHAPTER TWO 

                                                       LITERATURE REVIEW 

2.1 Introduction 

This chapter aimed to review the literature that has been written about the challenges Physical 

science novice teachers experience when teaching in a science classroom as well as to identify 

the gaps not explored by the previous researchers. The literature review looked at the 

difficulties teachers experienced when teaching science, specifically when teaching electric 

circuits. The central focus of this study was novice teachers and this concept is also explored. 

2.2 Who is a novice teacher? 

The term novice teacher, according to Boakye & Ampiah, (2017) and Kim & Roth (2011)   

refers to a teacher with five or less years of teaching experience. In contrast, in the South 

African context (Barret et al, 2002 and Lewis et al, 2006) define the novice teacher as one with 

less than three years of teaching experience. However, from both these definitions, there is a 

general consensus that a novice teacher is one with a limited number of teaching experience 

years. Lewis et al (2006) argues that defining novice teachers according to the number of 

teaching experience years is a limited view and that there exists a variety within the term, 

“novice”. Farrell (2012) posits that the term ‘novice teacher’ extends beyond the number of 

years in the teaching field, but rather refers to anyone teaching something new for the first time, 

including veteran teachers. 

According to Farrell (2012), a teacher may have many numbers of years in the teaching field 

but possess just 3 years’ experience in teaching a particular grade or subject. In this sense this 

teacher can be considered a novice in that grade or subject. The COVID-19 pandemic saw 

teachers teaching subjects outside their qualification scope, as result of adhering to the social 

distancing protocols, for example, in my school, I was allocated a Mathematical literacy 

classroom despite not having this as one of my teaching subjects. In this sense I can be 

considered a novice teacher in Mathematical literacy despite having four years of teaching 

experience. As such, in this study, the definition of a novice teacher is not only limited to newly 

qualified teachers but also includes off-field teachers, teachers resuming duties after being 

retired for a long time and teachers with little experience in the teaching of physical science 

Grade 10 (Lewis et al, 2006). 



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A study conducted by Corcoran (1981) found that when teachers first enter a new teaching 

context, they experience what they term a period of ‘transitional shock’, where they realise that 

they have to perform duties same as the experienced teachers. Moreover, the novice teachers 

struggle to socially integrate within the school environments and are often burdened with the 

challenging classes (Whitaker, 2001). 

Novice teachers need to get support from their colleagues and other support structures (the 

school districts) through mentoring and inductions as well as engage in self-driven learning 

through reflections and attending subject matter workshops (Swart, 2013). Swarts (2013) goes 

on to say that, without guidance, the first years of teaching in a new context can become 

overwhelming to the novice teachers and this may cause challenges in their teaching. However, 

it is important to note that every individual is different and thus will have different experiences 

of the teaching profession. Taking this into consideration, as much as there are differences there 

also exists similarities with regards to the challenges faced in the classroom. This study 

intended to draw out these challenges and use them as a scope to enhance the learners’ 

understanding of electric circuits. 

2.3 Teacher training vs school realities. 

Literature, Fantilli, & McDougall (2009); Georgalak (2013) and Mkandawire et al. (2016), 

points out that there is a mismatch to how the teachers are trained and to the realities of the 

teaching profession. Novice teachers struggle to adjust to the workplace setting (Sharplin et al, 

2010); furthermore, the difference in environment is amongst some of the reasons that 

contribute to the ‘transitional shock’ that novice teacher’s experience. Swarts (2013) states that, 

novice teachers are not always adequately prepared for the school world. Universities primarily 

focus on the theoretical aspects of the teaching profession and pay little attention to the social 

dynamics that come with the profession. However, it is imperative to also note that the scope 

to which the university can prepare individuals socially for the workplace is limited, because 

universities are not able to recreate environments that will resemble the actual workplace 

(Allen, 2009). 

2.4 Challenges experienced by novice teachers in the physical science classroom. 

According to Boakye & Ampiah (2017), there are quite a number of challenges that teachers 

experience in the physical sciences classroom. He & Cooper (2011) conducted a study to 

identify the type of challenges novice teachers experienced generally and came up with a list 

as follows; testing pressures, lack of administrative support, lack of up-to-date resources, lack 



25 | P a g e  
 

of parental involvement, restrictions in time allocation as well as the difficulty in balancing 

their professional responsibilities with their personal lives. One of the biggest challenges 

documented by Mel nick & meister (2008) was classroom management, citing that the newly 

qualified teachers are generally not well prepared in handling behaviour problems in the 

classroom.  Similarly, Muyambano (2019) found that the novice teachers also struggle with the 

lack of interest from the students and generally dealing with different personalities in the 

classroom. 

Boakye & Ampiah (2017) assert that challenges experienced by novice teachers are not only 

limited to novice teachers and that veteran teachers experience these as well. Furthermore, 

physical science is seen as a difficult subject and some challenges also lie in finding ways to 

make the subject interesting for the learners especially with the lack of resources as is the case 

in most South African schools (Legari, 2004). Teachers also struggle with completing the 

science syllabus, moreover, some teachers lack confidence in their content knowledge. He & 

Cooper (2011) propose that some of these challenges can be prevented if the novice teachers 

receive proper guidance and support from the relevant structures in order to induct them 

professionally into the teaching context. 

This study aimed to identify some of the challenges novice teachers are experiencing when 

teaching one of the core topics in the CAPS curriculum (grade 10 Electric Circuits) so as to 

better prepare the novice teachers and consequently improve their instruction of electric 

circuits. Over the past years, the National Senior Certificate (NSC) diagnostic reports have 

shown that learners perform poorly in the topics relating to electric circuits. This leads one to 

believe that learners have a poor understanding of the topic and thus there is a need to explore 

challenges that teachers experience when teaching this topic. A focus on a specific topic 

enables the researcher to get an in-depth understanding of the difficulties related with the 

teaching and learning of that topic. Ndlovu (2017) acknowledges that it is necessary to research 

on specific topics as challenges experienced may differ from topic to topic.  

2.5 Teaching electric circuits 

Teachers hold a lot of views of how teaching should be approached in the classroom. Many 

physical sciences teachers agree that electricity is one of the most conceptually challenging 

topics in the CAPS curriculum (Hekkenberg et al, 2015), as well as on an international level 

(Saglam & Millar, 2006). This topic forms one of the important topics worldwide and 

understanding it may positively contribute to an overall conceptual understanding of science 



26 | P a g e  
 

(Ogegbo et al, 2019). Studies dating as early as Driver & Easley (1973) show that learners 

carry with them many misconceptions about electric circuits. These also arise from 

preconceptions originating from different cultures as well as experiences. The topic of electric 

circuits is taught throughout the CAPS curriculum and thus the poor understanding of pre-

existing knowledge is carried with to Grade 12 (Kriek et al, 2011). 

A study conducted by Mulhall et al (2001) in Australia found that there were a number of issues 

relating to the teaching of electricity. Teachers had difficulties with discussing their own 

conceptual understanding of basic concepts such as voltage and current. Teachers also 

struggled with defining the term potential difference and their incorrect use of terminology 

contributed to the misconceptions learners developed. Furthermore, teachers felt it was easier 

to teach electric circuits using algorithmic methods resulting in conceptual understanding being 

ignored (Farrell, 2012). 

In relation to the South Africa context, Moodley & Gaigher (2019) and Kriek et al (2011) argue 

that teachers have little awareness on how their teaching contributes to the learners’ 

misconceptions and confusions of words such as current, charge, energy, power as well as 

potential difference as they use these words interchangeably. Some of the confusion of these 

words comes from how they are used in everyday experiences, for instance energy and power 

are mostly interchanged in everyday conversations outside the classroom. Drawing from my 

experiences, I have also noticed that some learners do not know the meaning of these terms in 

the scientific context as they have never been exposed to them, for instance the term potential 

difference. 

Fuzani (2018) asserts that some teachers have a poor understanding of the basic concepts of 

electricity and as such struggle to conceptually teach them. Esau (2017) further posits that 

another challenge in teaching electric circuits, is that most schools lack resources as the 

equipment is either old, damaged or non-existent, furthermore, most schools do not have a 

laboratory to conduct the related experiments especially in the rural and township schools. The 

lack of resources results in teachers using traditional teaching techniques. In this instance the 

textbook becomes the main resource during instruction (Fuzani, 2018; Ramnarain & Moosa, 

2017). 

During my secondary schooling, my physical science teacher relied on videos from the internet 

to show how the experiments in electric circuits and other topics are conducted to enable us to 

do the assessment tasks and as such we never got a hands-on experience of handling electric 



27 | P a g e  
 

circuits. As such, I was only exposed to practical work when I got to tertiary level. Situations 

such as these rob learners of getting a holistic experience of the science subject. 

Studies in Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) according to Moodley & Gaigher (2019) 

provide a strong emphasis on the link between learner understanding and how learners are 

taught. Teachers’ perceptions of electric circuits are related to how they teach the topic and 

thus poor understanding of the content knowledge may be detrimental to the learners’ 

conceptual understanding of the basic concepts. 

2.6 Challenges teaching electric circuits 

According to Burde & Wilhelm (2019), learners encounter problems with understanding 

electric circuits as well as analyzing simple circuits due to an excessive focus on concepts such 

as current and resistance. Burde & Wilhelm (2019) further argue that, when learners analyze 

electric circuits, they tend to do it through the use of current and view voltage as a “property” 

of current and not an independent physical quantity, consequently they have difficulties 

understanding the relationship between current and voltage. Burde & Wilhelm (2019) state that 

simple circuits are not simple for the learners as learners often have a poor grasp of the concepts 

of current, resistance and voltage. The learners also struggle to understand the complex 

processes such as the movement of electrons as these are abstract. Majority of these problems 

according to Moodley and Gaigher (2019) are caused by the traditional methods employed 

when teaching electric circuits. Moodley & Gaigher (2019) posit that most of these traditional 

methods involve a huge focus on the quantitative aspects of electric circuits such as Ohm’s 

law. Moodley & Gaigher (2019) further argue that a number of the teachers, especially in the 

South African context do not teach science conceptually but rather prefer to focus on 

algorithmic teaching and thus learners’ conceptual understanding of electric circuits remains 

underdeveloped hence the learners lack a conceptual understanding of the display of the Ohm’s 

law.  

According to Burde & Wilhelm (2019), one major concept learners struggle with is voltage, 

further arguing that not only do learners struggle to understand voltage as potential difference 

but also the effect of this voltage on the simple circuits. As such, the learners solely focus on 

understanding electric circuits only via current. Moodley and Gaigher (2019) concur that the 

focus on current poses a problem because a conceptual understanding of voltage is important 

in analyzing electric circuits. The constant misguided focus on current robs the learners of 

conceptual understanding. Burde & Wilhelm (2019) propose that the difficulties in 



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understanding the concept of voltage are also as a result of how the concepts of electric circuits 

are traditional presented in the textbooks. 

In addition Moodley & Gaigher (2019) argue that one of the central problems to teaching 

electric circuits is misconceptions carried by both the learners and the teachers. Mavhunga & 

Rollnick (2011) state that misconceptions hinder the understanding of science concepts. 

Furthermore, even though teachers may be aware of the misconceptions but they are not aware 

of the origins of the misconceptions and how these impact their teaching. Another concern 

raised by Burde & Wilhelm (2019) was that teachers and some textbook authors showed a poor 

understanding of electric circuits as a result, many teachers are not comfortable in discussing 

their own understanding of key concepts such as current, voltage and resistance. Furthermore, 

most teachers have an inadequate understanding of potential difference and thus this 

contributes to the misconceptions and the challenges experienced by the novice teachers. 

2.7 Chapter Summary 

The literature review above revealed that novice teachers have encountered numerous 

challenges in the teaching of physical sciences and electric circuits and therefore it becomes 

important to further identify challenges that current novice teachers experience. This study 

aimed to understand the challenges that the Grade 10 physical science teachers experienced in 

teaching electric circuits, especially to the generation Z learners. In the next chapter I discuss, 

the conceptual underpinnings of this study 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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CHAPTER 3 

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 

 

3.1 Introduction 

The literature review has highlighted some of the challenges as well as perceptions held by 

teachers in the teaching of electric circuits. This chapter describes the conceptual underpinnings 

of the study.  

Identifying and addressing the challenges experienced by the physical science novice teachers 

in the teaching of electric circuits involves looking at the context, content knowledge as well 

as pedagogical knowledge of the teachers. In looking at the context, this study focused on the 

availability of teaching and learning resources and infrastructure such as laboratories. The 

content knowledge aspect considered the concepts that were challenging for the teachers, 

consequently identifying the content gaps in the novice teachers in relation to electric circuits. 

Lastly the pedagogical aspect was more concerned with the teachers’ knowledge of learner 

prior knowledge and the teachers’ teaching approaches. In all these aspects, this study was also 

interested in the factors that contribute to the challenges and how the teachers resolved these 

challenges. The aim of this study was to improve the teaching and learning of electric circuits 

in Grade 10. Keeping this in mind, this study was underpinned by Roy Bhaskar’s’ (1978) 

Critical realism in conjunction with Margaret Archers ‘(1995), Social realist theory 

This chapter begins by discussing the constructs of Critical realism and why it was chosen for 

this study followed by a discussion on the Social realist theory and its analytical tools used in 

this study. According to Akabor (2020), these two theories “focus on identifying hidden causal 

mechanisms, how they work, whether they are active or not, and the conditions under which 

they become active” (P.8). 

3.2 What is Critical realism and why critical realism? 

In looking for a framework that would better meet my research study goals, I discovered that 

positivist and idealist philosophies were unable to assist me in achieving my goal of gaining a 

deeper understanding of the challenges experienced by novice teachers when teaching electric 

circuits and what factors influence these challenges. This was on the grounds that the idealists 

view knowledge as stemming from only human aspects that are forced on the phenomenon 

whilst on the other hand positivists view the world as a sequence of events that represent the 



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world (Bhaskar, 1978). Hence, the use of these two epistemological and ontological 

assumptions would have resulted in an explanation of the novice teachers challenges that is 

solely based on what I as a researcher view. In this case reducing the reality of the challenges 

to my truth of it (Akabor, 2020). Critical realism gives an alternative in contrast to positivism 

and idealism in that it isolates the events that takes place and what is experienced from these 

events (Bhaskar,1978). Therefore, I chose this framework on the grounds that its philosophical 

underpinnings provided a kind of ontological depth which aligned with my aims for this study. 

Brenton & Craib (2001) assert that in critical realism, viewing the world at a surface level is 

deceptive as there is underlying mechanism at play that influence events in the world. Mingers 

(2000) further proposes that in most cases we may experience the same phenomenon, however 

differently at different levels. In this sense Mingers (2000) argues that our views of reality are 

tentative and subject to change. Bhaskar (1978) posits that it is this tentative nature of reality 

that dismisses the empiricist and idealistic notions of the world. Critical realism aims to 

comprehend and make sense of the world beyond the surface level. 

Critical realism notions are on the grounds and acknowledgement of an outside world that 

exists autonomously of our encounters of it (Bhaskar, 1998). The nature of the world as it is 

and what it resembles is not impacted by our experiences or views of it. Benton & Craib (2001) 

further extend this idea that the outer world also frequently opposes our intentions to 

comprehend and transform it according to our perspectives. The ontological notions of critical 

are based on the idea that the reality is differentiated and stratified. These notions are discussed 

in detail in the sections that follow. 

3.3 Differentiated and stratified reality 

Critical realism views reality in layers that are differentiated or stratified. Bhaskar (1978) terms 

these layers: Empirical, Actual and Real to distinguish between these three layers of reality. 

Bhaskar (1998) fostered the idea that reality is layered and showed that each layer is emanant 

from the one preceding it. The stratified nature of reality implies that reality can be seen in 

multiple aspects, beyond what can be observed or experienced with the limitations of our sense 

abilities.  

Bhaskar’s (1978) views on reality enable science to be explanatory, focusing on explaining the 

“why” and looking for the unknown cause of phenomena of the world which influences our 

experiences of it. According to Elder-Vass (2008), the empirical level comprises of our 

perceptions and experiences. These are tangible aspects of the world and are often defined by 



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facts. Given the notions that our knowledge of the world is subject to change this level of reality 

is thus “unstable” and “fallible. This is because as new knowledge is formed through research, 

our perspective of the world also changes, for example the perceptions of traditional schooling 

has changed over the years with the change in generations and influenced by new developments 

in technology, a classroom can no longer be limited to an actual room with desks and chairs 

but now also encompasses a virtual setting where learning takes place. 

In this study the empirical level refers to the contextual factors that visibly cause challenges 

for the teaching and learning of electric circuits. This includes the availability of resources and 

school’s social context. These factors are what is responsible (on the surface level) for the 

challenges experienced by the novice teachers. Bhaskar (1978) introduced the level of the 

actual and the real which go deeper beyond the empirical level. The actual emerging from the 

empirical. 

The level of the actual comprises of the events that lead to what is observed in the empirical 

level. The actual level exits whether it is experienced by the individuals or not (Danermark, 

2002). According Bhaskar (1978), events at this level are not always observable like in the 

empirical. Examples of events in this study include learner prior knowledge and the choice of 

teaching approaches. The events at this level are as a result of social structures and mechanisms 

at the level of the real. 

The level of the real, also the deepest level of reality refers to the effects on the individual as a 

result of the experiences of the empirical and actual levels. In this study, the real consist of 

attitudes towards electric circuits, the effects of the lack of resources, the processes involved in 

the teaching of electric circuits. The level of the real is divided into three mechanisms although 

separated into different mechanisms namely cultural, structural and agential (Archer, 1995). 

The table below represents the summary of the three layers of reality. 

Table 1: Bhaskar’s’ stratified reality (adapted from Bhaskar, 1978) 

 



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In aligning with the ideas of critical realism to guide my study. I have decided to use Margret 

Archers’ (1995) social realist theory, in conjunction with critical realism to understand the 

novice teachers’ challenges. Archer’s (1995) social realist theory allows the research to 

consider a methodology that accounts for the different layers of reality involved in the 

challenges experienced by the novice teachers. Given the dense knowledge accompanying 

critical realism, Graton (2015) asserts that one does not necessarily have to apply every aspect 

of the theory and thus only the facets that suit the purpose of the study can be used. This study 

focused on Bhaskar’s (1978) ideas of a stratified reality, also drawing on Archers’ (1995) social 

realist theory, specifically the analytical dualism aspect. Archer’s (1995) work builds upon the 

notions of critical realism and this has developed an analytical framework that looks at the 

social interactions between culture, structure and agency. 

3.4 Social Realist Theory 

The ideas of social theory acknowledge the interplay between structure and agency and the 

strengths that each of these holds. Archer (1995) termed this, analytical dualism. Analytical 

dualism argues that social parts of life such as structure, culture and agency can be separated 

in order to understand social reality, Archer (1995) asserts that social reality is multifaceted and 

involves three elements. The table below shows summary of the three elements 

Table 2: Summary of the three elements of analytical dualism 

Element Description 

Culture Encompasses the values, attitudes and beliefs of social life 

Structure Encompassing the material things such as resources, social roles and 

positions. 

Agency Encompassing human aspects such as “who is doing what and to whom’ 

 

 

These elements although viewed in isolation, however are intertwined and have a direct impact 

on each other. In this study these elements are viewed within the critical realist perspective, 

doing this enabled me as the researcher to unearth the underlying factors that resulted in the 

challenges experienced by the novice teachers. The three mechanisms are discussed in detail 

in the sections that follow. 

 



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3.4.1 Culture 

The culture element consists of the beliefs, attitudes and ideas of society. These beliefs 

influence the events at the level of the actual and the level of the real. This study aims to explore 

the underlying mechanisms in the cultural element at the level of the real. According to Archer 

(1995), analysis of the cultural element involves first understanding the mental processes, such 

as the beliefs and attitudes of the society. These mental processes are largely influenced by 

those in power. Archer (1995) argues that these influences constrain the actions of the people, 

however they also do not guarantee the society’s conformity to the influences. In essence, 

Archer (1995) states that the cultural element involves “all things capable of being grasped, 

deciphered, understood or known by someone” (P.104). 

3.4.2 Structure 

Archer (1995) asserts that the analysis of the structural level involves identifying the tangible 

objects, human relations and the powers that these have on the society. The structural element 

of the society consists of the causal powers that are exercised or unexercised on the people 

Archer (1995). Furthermore, Archer (1995) proposes that when looking at structure, you can 

look at it either through the positional level, which involves looking at how society is structured 

as a result of the distributed resources or the structures of institution, which involves examining 

the interactions of the relations of different institutions in the society. 

3.4.3 Agency 

Agency acknowledges that people have influence on the how the society is shaped. According 

to Archer (1995), agency consist of the purposeful actions of people, meaning the decisions 

that people make. These decisions can either reproduce the existing structures and cultures or 

change them. Archer (1995) argues that, although there are constraints from the cultural and 

structural mechanisms imposed on the society. However, we also need to consider that people 

are not passive members of the society. People are active participants of the society through 

engaging in reflexive actions. 

3.5 Archers analytical dualism 

Archer (1995) proposed an analytical framework that acknowledges the differences between 

structure and agency and their strengths. This was referred to as analytical dualism. Analytical 

dualism acknowledges that in society, the social entities of life can be separated into “parts and 

people”. The “parts” aspect involves the structure and culture and the “people” refers to the 



34 | P a g e  
 

agency. As such, Archer (1995) asserts that social reality can be understood according to three 

elements which are culture, structure and agency. In elaborating the three elements, Archer 

(1995) argues that they are not separable in real life and are in fact intertwined. However, for 

the purposes of analysis, Archer encourages that the three elements be viewed separately as 

this provides ground for a deeper understanding of their individual societal influences. In this 

study, these three elements are explored via critical realism. Doing so enabled me to gain an 

in-depth understanding of the challenges experienced by the novice teachers and the factors 

that contribute to these challenges. 

3.6 Analytical framework 

The notions of critical realism and social realist theory discussed above enable me to take into 

considerations the challenges and their causal factors experienced by the novice teachers when 

teaching electric circuits. The social realist theory was used to unearth the underlying meanings 

and impact of these challenges and how the teachers resolve the challenges. The table below 

shows the analytical framework used in this study 

Table 3: Analytical framework adapted from Archers (1995) social realist theory 

Challenges experienced by novice teachers when teaching electric circuit 

Empirical Observable challenges experienced by teachers as a result of tangible factors 

Actual Events happening at the school that lead to the empirical level regardless 

whether the teachers experience these events or not 

Real  Cultural mechanisms Structural 

mechanisms 

Agential 

mechanisms 

Looking at the beliefs, 

ideas and attitudes 

influencing the challenges 

experienced by the 

teachers 

Looking at the 

pedagogical methods 

and school process 

that led to the 

challenges 

experienced by the 

teachers 

Looking at how the 

teachers overcome or 

react to the challenges 

they experience 

 

 



35 | P a g e  
 

The table above shows how the critical realism concepts of a stratified reality and Archers’ 

(1995) concepts of analytical dualism have enabled me to analyze the different levels that the 

challenges experienced by the novice teachers when teacher electric circuits manifest 

themselves in the schools. 

3.7 Chapter Summary 

This study used the Critical realism constructs as proposed by Bhaskar (1978) and Archers 

analytical dualism (1995) as an analytical framework to understand the challenges experienced 

by novice teachers when teaching electric circuits, as well as the challenges they encounter in 

their contexts. The chapter briefly outlined the two theoretical constructs, which were used as 

an analytical tool to make sense of the data that was collected. In the next chapter, the research 

design and methodology guiding this study is described 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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CHAPTER 4 

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 

4.1 Introduction 

The aim of this chapter was to provide an overview of the processes used in this study that 

were aimed at meeting the purpose of the study. This includes aspects such as the research 

paradigm, research method, data collection procedure, data analysis tools as well as rigor. 

Ethical considerations are also discussed in this chapter. 

4.2 Research paradigm 

The Critical Realist paradigm served as an organising principle in which the challenges 

experienced by the Grade 10 physical science teachers were explored. According to Bhaskar 

(2008), Critical realism has a layered ontology and is often termed the ‘under labourer’. It is 

this layered ontology that enables the researcher to interrogate the educational practices, with 

the main aim of understanding both the nature of the practices and how these practices evolve 

over time. Bhaskar (2008) asserts that   in order for one to understand and in turn effect change 

in the social world, one needs to have an understanding of the structures that cause reactions in 

the social world. In this sense, if one is to understand the challenges faced by the novice 

teachers, it also becomes crucial to understand the factors that result in these challenges. 

Drawing on this aspect of critical realism, the researcher is able to go deeper in to the layers of 

meaning that go beyond the surface of the challenges experienced by the physical sciences 

novice teachers. This study was concerned with the challenges that stemmed from the novice 

teachers’ interactions with content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge in relation to 

teaching electric circuits. According to Clarence (2013), when analysing and making sense of 

our experiences in the social world, we need to look into the deeper mechanisms that are 

actualised during these experiences. As such Critical realism provides a framework that allows 

the analysis of these deep mechanisms that result in the challenges experienced by the novice 

teachers. Critical realism in conjunction with the social realist theory (discussed in chapter 3) 

provided the conceptual tools that enabled the researcher to analyse the challenges experienced 

by the novice teachers. 

 

 



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4.3 Research approach 

McMillan (2012) sates that there are three types of research approaches, namely: qualitative, 

quantitative and mixed methods which involve the combination of the first two approaches. 

According to Cresswell (2012) & McMillan (2012), the qualitative approach involves 

analysing data through qualitative means such as, organising the data into recurring themes and 

providing detailed descriptions of the data. In this sense, qualitative methods are concerned 

with in-depth understanding of the phenomena being studied (Cresswell, 2012). On the other 

hand, the quantitative approach uses statistical means to analyse the data. In essence, it is 

numerical in nature. In this study, qualitative methods were employed in analysing the data. 

This is because the study did not concern itself in the measurement of any variable but rather 

was aimed at understanding the challenges experienced by the novice teacher (Duma, 2020).  

Given that the study aimed to “identify” and “understand” the challenges experienced by the 

novice teachers, qualitative methods seemed more suitable for this study, as it allowed the 

research to employ in-depth analysis of the data collected. Furthermore, this method allowed 

for an interpretive perspective of the overall study. 

4.4 Case Study research design 

Every educational research consists of a research design, which essentially provides a plan as 

to how the research study will be conducted. Babbie and Mouton (2007) argue that there are 

three types of qualitative research designs, these being: life histories, ethnography and lastly 

case studies. The life histories design concerns itself with the development of life of one or 

multiple individuals, meanwhile ethnography involves looking at larger units of analysis such 

as communities, populations, cultural groups etc. As such, these two research designs were not 

suitable for this study. This research study used the case study research design. Case studies, 

according to Cohen et al (2018) are concerned with a specific group or setting, such as a specific 

context or institution, moreover, they are clearly defined by boundaries. In this study, the focus 

was on Grade 10 novice teachers in the Johannesburg North district schools. 

Linking with the qualitative approaches, case studies are descriptive in nature, therefore 

allowing for in-depth analysis of the phenomena being studied. Babbie & Mouton (2010), 

assert that cases studies enable the researcher to make causal links within the data collected, in 

relation to this study, this involved identifying the challenges experienced by the novice 

teachers as a result of contextual and content related factors. In this regard case studies can be 



38 | P a g e  
 

viewed as an empirical inquiry concerned with investigating the phenomena in a specific social 

situation (Yin, 2013). 

In addition, this study can be considered a collective cases study. According to Njie & Asimiran 

(2014) a collective cases study involves a number of cases that are investigated in conjunction 

with the aim of understanding a particular phenomenon. In this study the participants were 

studied individually and the data consolidated collectively given that they were from the same 

research site, The Johannesburg North district. This collective study included 20 Grade 10 

physical sciences teachers, each teaching in different schools located in the Johannesburg North 

District. 

4.5 Research data collection tools 

Data collection in this study includes 20 teacher questionnaires to survey the teachers on their 

experiences of teaching novice teachers as well as semi-structured individual interviews with 

five teachers. The two data collection tools were used to increase validity of the data 

(Macmillan & Schumacher,2010).  

Table 4: The number of tools used in this study 

Participant Data collection tool Number of responses 

Teacher Questionnaire 20 

Teacher Semi-structured interview 5 

 

4.5.1 Questionnaire 

Huysen (1994) asserts that questionnaires are used when the researcher seeks to obtain and 

understand the opinions, beliefs, attitudes as well as experiences of the participants. Rugg 

(2007), posits that a questionnaire consists of a list of comprehensive questions prepared by 

the researcher prior to the commencement of the research study with the aim of meeting the 

research purposes. In this study, the questionnaire was chosen because it is easy to administer 

as well as complete, which makes it suitable for gathering information from a somewhat large 

number of participants. This study gathered information from 20 respondents. In developing 

the questionnaire, the researcher consulted relevant literature with the aim of gaining 

knowledge of how research questionnaires are designed. Furthermore, the drafted questions 

were shared with my supervisor in order to modify them in accordance with the research 

questions. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. Section one focused on the participants 



39 | P a g e  
 

demography, teacher profile, school context and the teachers’ school experiences. Section 2 

was concerned with the teachers’ conceptual experiences (content knowledge & pedagogical 

reasoning). 

4.5.2 Developing the teacher questionnaire 

The questionnaire consists of three sections. Section one focused on the demographics of the 

participants such as the gender, age, qualification type and the number of teaching experience. 

The second section consisted of the contexts of the school, this included the location and the 

type of resources available. The third section involved questions regarding the teachers 

experiences with the content knowledge, teaching methods, problems with calculations.  This 

section consists of attitudes as well as beliefs regarding the teaching of electric circuits. The 

questions consisted of both positively and negatively worded statements, in order to increase 

validity. These statements took the form of a five-point Likert-scale to guide the preference of 

the participants. The preferences ranged from strongly agree to strongly disagree (see appendix 

2). In the last section the questions were based on the actual content knowledge and 

misconceptions teachers may have about electric circuits. This section also included an open-

ended question, which was based on an analogy (the water analogy) and how the teachers 

would explain this analogy to avoid misconceptions about charge. This open-ended question 

intended to understand teachers’ knowledge about charge and how they explained it to the 

learners. 

4.5.3 Limitations of the questionnaire 

According to McLeod (2014) questionnaires may have limitations such as, participants not 

being truthful when responding to the questions. Another limitation is that, it is difficult getting 

a good number of responses as participants are reluctant to spend a few minutes of their time 

on questionnaires. McLeod (2014) also argues that the researcher needs to be mindful of the 

language used when developing the questionnaire, the language should match the participants 

social backgrounds and educational level. One major limitation of using a questionnaire 

according to MacMillan & Schumacher (2010), is that questionnaires normally consist of 

closed-ended questions and thus limits the researcher’s interpretations of the participants 

perspective. In light of this limitation, the semi-structured interviews were also conducted in 

order to get more information of the novice teachers’ experiences when teaching electric 

circuits. 

 



40 | P a g e  
 

4.5.4 Semi-structured interviews 

Cresswell (2011) posits that there are three different types of interviews: structured, semi-

structure and unstructured. Each of these interviews have their own strengths depending on the 

nature of the research. Structured interviews, consist of pre-prepared questions, for example, 

questionnaires, often involving pre-determined choices. In contrast the semi-structured 

interviews, are characterized by open ended questions that are guided by a specific intention 

and are somewhat objective in nature. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews allow the 

researcher to probe the participants in order to elaborate on certain aspects. The unstructured 

interviews are largely open-ended and subjective in nature. The semi-structured interviews 

were chosen to be more suitable for this study. In this study, online interviews were conducted 

individually with five different novice teachers from the JN district schools, with the aim of 

identifying the challenges they experienced when teaching electric circuits. 

 The semi-structured interviews also enabled the researcher to probe the participant in order to 

understand their reason behind some of their pedagogical decision making, such as the teaching 

approaches they used when teaching electric circuits. These interviews were audio recorded 

and later transcribe verbatim, firstly to get thick descriptions of the data and secondly to allow 

the researcher to repeatedly analyses the data outside the interview setting so as to ensure that 

important data is not overlooked. Although the online semi-structured interviews enabled the 

researcher to gather the necessary data and gain insight to the challenges experienced by the 

novice teacher. However, face-to face interviews would have been preferred to illicit 

information from nonverbal, behaviour and gesture responses (Zulu, 2018). The interviews 

with the participants ranged from 25-30 minutes to give the teachers enough time to express 

their experiences.  

4.5.5 Developing the semi-structured interviews 

The semi-structured interviews were guided by an interview schedule (see appendix 1). The 

schedule consisted of 16 questions addressing all the three research questions, which were: the 

challenges experienced with regards to content knowledge, teaching approaches, factors that 

contribute to these challenges and how the teachers resolved the challenges. These questions 

were used as a guide in order to gain perspective of the teachers’ experiences. The questions 

also allowed me to probe the participants further depending on how the participants responded. 

 



41 | P a g e  
 

4.5.6 Limitations of the semi-structured interviews 

Although the online semi-structured interviews enabled the researcher to gather the necessary 

data and gain insight to the challenges experienced by the novice teacher. However, face-to 

face interviews would have been preferred to illicit information from nonverbal, behaviour and 

gesture responses (Zulu, 2018). Furthermore, Macmillan & Schumacher (2010) argue that semi 

structured interviews are time consuming and also involve interviewer bias that the researcher 

needs to be mindful of. In reducing the interviewer bias the interviews were audio recorded to 

enable thorough account of the participants perceptions about their experiences in teaching 

electric circuits. 

4.6 Research sampling 

Cohen et al (2007) asserts that the quality of a research study lies both in the selection of 

appropriate researcher methodology and the sample strategy used. In essence, the researcher 

sampling strategy needs to align to the purpose of the study. Given that this research study 

focused on the challenges experienced by the physical sciences teachers in the Johannesburg 

North district, the participants of the study were from high schools locate in the Johannesburg 

North. Being a novice teacher myself, gathering data from the participants was easy to do as 

most of the participants were my former school mates. As such, the JN district was chosen for 

its familiarity to the researcher, as this is where I received most of my pre-service training. 

Moll et al (1992) asserts that in qualitative study the researcher tends to collect data in settings 

where they would normally spend their time. Moreover, it was easy to understand the 

challenges experienced by the novice teachers as the context is one that is familiar to the 

researcher. 

According to McMillan & Schumacher (2010), in qualitative research studies, participants are 

selected purposively. The purposive selection allows the researcher to consciously choose who 

participates in the research and when. This study used criterion sampling where the participants 

were selected based on the specific characteristics. The characteristics included that the 

participants had to be grade 10 teachers, teaching physical science with less than five years of 

experience teaching Grade 10 electric circuits. 

This study involved 20 teachers that teach grade 10 physical sciences from the Johannesburg 

North district schools. All 20 teachers responded to the online questionnaire. Within these 20 

teachers, 5 teachers were selected for the semi-structured interviews to get an in-depth account 

of the challenges experienced by novice teachers in the teaching of electric circuits. The 



42 | P a g e  
 

participants of this study all had less than five years teaching experience in teaching electric 

circuits. This was done taking into consideration that the research study focused only on novice 

teachers. 

4.7 Rigor: Validity and Reliability 

According to Gunawan et al (2015), trustworthiness is an important aspect in a research study 

as it improves the quality of the research study. Athanasou et al. (2012) argues that increasing 

the sources of validation, improves the validity of the research study. Sources of validation, 

according to Cresswell et al (2015) is termed as triangulation and consists of the use of a variety 

of information sources. In this study data was collected through interviews and an online 

questionnaire. The findings from these sources were then made accessible to the participants 

to ensure that the data was accurately interpreted. Furthermore, assistance was sought from my 

supervisor to help validate the appropriateness of my research design and methodology in 

relation to the research topic as well as assess the analysis of the data. 

Lincoln & Guba (1985) proposes that in ensuring validity and reliability in the research study, 

the researcher needs to consider the following: credibility, transferability, dependability and 

confirmability. In making this study credible, accurate presentation and descriptions of the 

study’s findings as well as methodology used to generate these findings was provided, to 

understand the issues concerning the study. To further ensure credibility, the interviews were 

audio recorded to ensure that transcripts were more accurate (Betram & Christiansen, 2014). 

Lincoln & Guba (1985) refer to the ability of the research findings to be transferred to other 

similar contexts as transferability. In ensuring transferability, this study provided detailed 

descriptions of the context, research methods and analysis frameworks, for other researchers 

to consider when transferring findings from this study to other contexts.  

According to Anney (2014) dependability involves the findings being reviewed by the 

participants to ensure that the interpretations of the data was accurate. In this study, the 

participants were provided access to the findings so as to confirm the researchers’ 

interpretations of the data. Lastly, confirmability aims to avoid bias in the research study. 

Confirmability in this study was ensured by comparing the data from the interviews against the 

data from the questionnaire. Moreover, an audit trail was provided for anyone interested to 

verify the findings. 

 



43 | P a g e  
 

4.8 Data analysis 

4.8.1 Organising data from the questionnaire 

Data was collected through means of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The 

questionnaire was conducted through an online platform that automatically generated the data. 

The data from section A (appendix 2) of the questionnaire was organised into tables showing 

the number of participants and the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with the statements 

given. Below is an example of how the data from the questionnaire responses were organised. 

 

Figure 1:  Image showing the questionnaire response presentation 

 

The above table enabled the researcher to be able to compare the findings from the 

questionnaire with those from the interviews to draw out patterns for analysis. Furthermore, 

the data from section B of the questionnaire (appendix 3) was organised into pie charts. Below 

shows an example of how the responses from the conceptual understanding sections was 

organised 



44 | P a g e  
 

 

 

Figure 2:  showing the conceptual understanding response representation 

 This organisation made it easier for the researcher to interpret the data and make links with 

findings from the interview responses. Data analysis from the both the interviews and 

questionnaire was guided by Bhaskar’s’ (1978) Critical realism and Archer’s (1995) social 

realist theory. 

4.8.2 Organising data from the semi-structured interviews 

The data analysis process of the semi-structured interviews, firstly involved listening to the 

interview audio recordings multiple times in order to transcribe them verbatim. Matheson 

(2017) refers to this transcribing method as “listen and repeat”. The transcripts were then coded 

categories according to recurring similarities. These similarities were then collapsed into 

emerging themes to enable a thematic analysis. Thematic analysis was used to understand all 

5 interviews. 

4.8.3 Thematic analysis 

According to Caufield (2020), thematic analysis is commonly used in analysing qualitative 

data. This analysis enabled the researcher to interrogate the teacher responses with the aim of 

addressing the sub-research questions. Akabor (2020) asserts that qualitative analysis takes 

place in three different phases, the generative phase, which involves a thorough look of the 

data word by word, comparing similarities and differences arising from the data. In this study 



45 | P a g e  
 

this was done through listening to the audio recording and going over the transcripts multiple 

times, highlighting the key points and making notes emerging patterns (see image below) 

 

Figure 3: Image showing an interview transcript and categorisation of data 

The second phase is the interpretive phase. The phase involves organising the codes generated 

in the generative phase into their respective themes. In this phase there is a shift from the 

highlighted coded notes to now developing themes in which to bases your research analysis in 

alignment to the research questions.  

Table 5: The themes identified from data analysis 

Five themes with their related categories from the analysis process 

Contextual 

challenges 

Conceptual 

challenges 

Teaching 

approaches 

Lack of interest ICT 

incorporation 

• Availabili

ty of 

teaching 

material 

• Functiona

l basic 

infrastruct

ure 

• Key 

concepts of 

electricity 

• Teachers 

content 

gaps 

• Difficulties 

with 

representati

ons 

• Direct 

instruct

ion 

• Lack of 

practica

l 

activiti

es 

• Learner

s easily 

bored 

• Low 

attentio

n span 

• Choice 

of 

teaching 

• Use of 

online 

videos 

• Distractio

n for 

learners 

• Teacher 

beliefs 

about ICT 



46 | P a g e  
 

• Lack of 

mathematic

al skills 

• Learner 

prior 

knowledge 

approac

hes 
• Lack of 

technolog

ical 

knowledg

e 

 

The third and last phase is the theorising phase. This phase consisted of expanding the themes 

into theoretical explanations. In this phase the social realist theory came into play to enable me 

to link the data with the research questions. In order to make sense of the themes I used the 

analytical framework generated from critical realism notions, where I used the knowledge of 

the empirical and the actual to explore the knowledge that gave rise to the level of the real. I 

have also drawn on Archer’s (1995) analytical dualism to comprehend the underlying 

mechanisms that influenced the challenges experienced by the novice teachers. Archers’ (1995) 

analytical tool consisting of the three elements: culture, structure and agency allowed me to 

gain insight to the research problem. 

 I used the cultural mechanism to refer to the attitudes, believes that the novice teachers have 

towards teaching electric circuits and its challenges, the structural mechanisms referred to the 

lack of teaching and learning resources that affected the teachers pedagogical decision making 

and the agency mechanisms consisted of the ways in which the novice teachers reacted to the 

challenges which resulted in either an improvement in the teaching experience or the teachers 

reproducing the same challenges  in their instruction. Table 6 below displays the third phase of 

analysis. 

Table 6:  The analytical tool used to analyse the data. (adapted from Archer (1995) 

Challenges experienced by novice teachers when teaching electric circuit 

Empirical Observable challenges experienced by teachers as a result of tangible factors 

Actual Events happening at the school that lead to the empirical level regardless 

whether the teachers experience these events or not 

Real  Cultural mechanisms Structural 

mechanisms 

Agential 

mechanisms 

Looking at the beliefs, 

ideas and attitudes 

influencing the challenges 

Looking at the 

pedagogical methods 

and school process 

that led to the 

Looking at how the 

teachers overcome or 

react to the challenges 

they experience 



47 | P a g e  
 

experienced by the 

teachers 

challenges 

experienced by the 

teachers 

 

4.9 Ethical Consideration 

Ethical considerations are important in a qualitative study as the researcher often engages in 

face-to-face interactions with their participants. Furthermore, ethical considerations enhance 

the quality and trustworthiness of the study (Colnerud, 2013). In this study, I first started by 

submitting an application for ethical clearance at the University of the Witwatersrand ethics 

committee. After obtaining the ethical clearance, the chosen participants were given 

participation consent forms, furthermore, the data procedures as well as expectations were 

explained fully. In this study confidentiality and anonymity were important in maintaining the 

dignity of the participants and thus was maintained throughout the study. This was done by the 

use of pseudonyms. 

Given that the researcher was the only one involved in the analysis of the data, in order to avoid 

researcher bias, I was wary to not allow my own bias as a novice teacher to influence the 

findings of this research study. At all times a conscious effort was employed to maintain the 

perceptions of the participants by using inductive analysis methods and looking at the data and 

literature review through an iterative process. In addition to this, I worked closely with my 

supervisors to ensure a correct interpretation of the data as they acted as external auditors, 

giving constructive feedback and meaningful contributions to the overall research study on a 

regular basis. 

4.10 Chapter summary 

The research methods employed in this study are guided by the critical realism paradigm. The 

research method I found to be suitable for this study is the qualitative case study method. The 

data was collected using semi-structured interviews and an online questionnaire distributed to 

20 novice teachers. Five novice physical sciences teachers from the Johannesburg North district 

were the participants for this study for the semi-structured interviews. 

 

 



48 | P a g e  
 

 

CHAPTER 5 

PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND DISCUSIONS 

5.1 Introduction 

The reviewed literature suggests that novice teachers face challenges when teaching physical 

sciences. It is important to further explore these challenges, in order to improve physical 

science instruction in the classrooms. As such, in this chapter I present and analyse the teachers’ 

interview and questionnaire responses on the challenges experienced by Grade 10 physical 

sciences teachers when teaching electric circuits. The data is analysed against the theoretical 

framework discussed in chapter 3. In understanding these challenges, the study was guided by 

the following research questions: 

1. What challenges do the Physical science novice teachers say they experience when 

teaching Electric Circuits to the generation Z learners in Grade 10 science classrooms?  

2. What factors do the Physical science novice teachers attribute to the challenges 

experienced during their teaching of electric circuits? 

3. How do Physical sciences novice teachers address these challenges? 

 

The findings discussed in this chapter were generated from the data collected through 5 

participant semi-structured interviews as well as responses from 20 participants from the 

teacher questionnaire. Responses from both the questionnaire and semi-structures interviews 

were analysed using thematic analysis processes. The thematic analysis process is explained in 

full in chapter 4. 

 

In analysing the data collected, I first generated codes, aligning them to the relevant research 

questions. These codes were then grouped into certain categories and later into themes. See 

table 7 below. 

Table 7: The themes identified from data analysis 

Five themes with their related categories from the analysis process 

Contextual 

challenges 

Conceptual 

challenges 

Teaching 

approaches 

Lack of interest ICT 

incorporation 

• Availabili

ty of 

• Key 

concepts of 

electricity 

• Direct 

instruct

ion 

• Learner

s easily 

bored 

• Use of 

online 

videos 



49 | P a g e  
 

teaching 

material 

• Functiona

l basic 

infrastruct

ure 

• Teachers 

content 

gaps 

• Difficulties 

with 

representati

ons 

• Lack of 

mathematic 

skills 

• Learner 

prior 

knowledge 

• Lack of 

practica

l 

activiti

es 

• Low 

attentio

n span 

• Choice 

of 

teaching 

approac

hes 

• Distractio

n for 

learners 

• Teacher 

beliefs 

about ICT 

• Lack of 

technolog

ical 

knowledg

e 

 

Caufield (2020) asserts that when doing a thematic analysis, it is important for the researcher 

to go back and forth between the identified categories and the data multiple times in order to 

capture the participants perspectives. When I was done coding the data, I grouped the codes 

according to similar recurring patterns. Through this process five themes emerged: 

1. Contextual challenges 

2. Concept challenges 

3. Teaching approaches 

4. Motivation 

5. ICT incorporation 

The findings in this section are guided by the themes identified and also according to the 

research questions. 

 

5.2 Findings on the Challenges experienced by novice teachers when teaching electric 

circuits 

5.2.1 Contextual challenges experienced by the Grade 10 Physical novice teachers 

This theme focuses on the contextual factors that influence the teachers teaching of electric 

circuits. Emerging from the questionnaire and interview responses were the factors relating to 

the availability or lack thereof of resources as well the basic facilities for science teaching such 

as fully equipped laboratories. Legari (2004) asserts that without such facilities the teaching of 

science remains at an abstract or theoretical level. Therefore, the lack of teaching material and 

facilities is a concerning factor for the teaching of electric circuits. 



50 | P a g e  
 

 

Figure 4: Teachers’ responses on the availability of resources 

The data from the questionnaire responses as shown by Figure 4 above, indicates that a 

significant number of the schools have adequate resources and facilities, such as electricity, 

water, Library room and laboratory centres as well as sufficient textbooks for basic instruction. 

However, the data also shows that although some of these schools have these basic facilities, 

but they are not properly furnished with the necessary equipment to optimise their use for the 

teaching of electric circuits, for example, figure 6 shows that 70% of the schools have a 

laboratory however, only 15% of the teachers stated that their laboratories had enough 

laboratory equipment. Fu