The value of quality science education to developing countries is widely accepted and has prompted an investment in school science education. But concerns about instructional quality and student achievement are becoming acute. Why is there so much emphasis on learning by rote? Do teachers lack confidence in their own understanding? How can their training be improved?

A study from the University of Leicester, UK considers how primary teacher training could be improved to increase trainees' content knowledge and provide them with greater confidence to teach science. The research took place in a government primary teacher training institution in Fiji and focused on the instruction of one component of the science programme, ‘Change of State’.

Although research into science education in Fiji is rather limited, there is strong evidence to suggest that much of the teaching in science places considerable emphasis on rote learning with little opportunity for students to carry out practical activities. Most primary teachers appear to stick rigidly to the textbooks and some may even omit activities with which they are not confident, possibly because of their own inadequate background in science.

The component ‘Change of State’ was selected as it is central to an understanding of science and is often poorly understood. Research studies consistently report that some students have great difficulty explaining the nature of substances and observable changes between substances. In particular, students have trouble with understanding gases, for example they commonly believe that gas has no weight.

The study made a baseline assessment of the trainees’ understanding and misconceptions about 'Change of State' which was used to inform the development of the subsequent teaching programme. The experimental class was taught using a constructivist pedagogy using strategies such as finding out prior knowledge, using analogies and collaborative group work while a comparison class was taught via the more traditional didactic approach.

The study found:

• significant improvement in knowledge and understanding of ‘Change of State’ among the experimental class
• the comparison group made little progress in developing their understanding and there was regression on over a third of the items tested
• exposure to a strong visual representation right from the outset of the programme helped reduce the extent of a number of misconceptions held prior to instruction
• learning was reasonably long-lasting among the experimental group based on comparison between the results of tests given immediately after the programme and qualitative interviews held eight weeks later.

Improving the science content knowledge of primary teachers is crucial if science education in Fiji is to advance however a didactic approach, commonly used in developing countries, appears to do little to enhance trainee teachers’ understanding.

Considerations for policy-makers include:

• moving from traditional transmissive approaches to science teaching, towards more innovative teaching methods which improve teachers’ knowledge and confidence
• recognising that confident teachers are likely to be more innovative in their approach to science and may engender more enthusiasm for this subject in their pupils.

Source(s):
‘Some learning outcomes from a science program for pre-service primary teachers undertaken in the context of a developing country’, Evaluation and Research in Education, Vol 15, No 4, by N. Taylor and K. Lucas, 2001 Full document.

Funded by: Australian government scholarship

id21 Research Highlight: 29 November 2002

Further Information:
Neil Taylor
School of Education
University of New England
Armidale
New South Wales 2351
Australia

Tel: +61 (2) 6773 5064
Fax: +61 (2) 6773 5078
Contact the contributor: ttaylor6@pobox.une.edu.au

University of New England, Australia

Other related links:
'Good in theory? Practical activity in secondary science'

'Elementary science teaching in the Pacific: national, regional or imported models?'

'Does practice make perfect? Teacher training in Trinidad and Tobago'

'Future scientists? Innovations in teaching science'