The status of and challenges facing secondary science teaching in Tanzania: a focus on inquiry-based science teaching and the nature of science
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Taylor & Francis
Abstract
Description
Although Inquiry-Based Science Teaching (IBST) and the Nature of
Science (NOS) are well documented as important aspects of
teaching science subjects in schools, little research has been
undertaken to understand how these aspects feature in secondary
school science curricula in Tanzania. Thus, this study examined
the extent to which IBST and NOS are featured in secondary
school curriculum documents for science subjects. In addition, the
challenges facing the integration of IBST and NOS in science
teaching in Tanzanian secondary schools are highlighted. By
analysing five curriculum documents and the Basic Education
Statistics in Tanzania, the study established that IBST and NOS are
neither formally recognised as important aspects of science
education, nor given due attention in curriculum documents.
Moreover, a lack of coherence among various elements of the
curriculum, which can affect the integration of IBST and NOS, was
observed. Finally, it was established that several challenges such
as larger class sizes, insufficient time allocation and overemphasis
on content coverage need to be addressed so that IBST and NOS
could be fully integrated into science teaching in Tanzania. The
study does not only highlight the theoretical trends related to
IBST and NOS, but also discusses their theoretical and practical
implications for science teaching
Keywords
Curriculum; inquiry-based learning; nature of science; Tanzania