Meta-Analysis of Teacher Demographic Variables and their Association with Pupil Attitude towards Science

This paper purposed to find out whether teacher demographic variables had an association with pupil total attitude towards the teaching and learning of science amongst secondary school students A random sample of 243 pupils 115 girls 128 boys age range 12-17 years comprised the respondents The study was premised on survey paradigm with a self designed and administered questionnaire as the main tool for data collection Meta analysis based on Ho testing was implemented leading to F- ratios at p 0 05 being tabulated and discussed It was found out that teacher experience teacher qualification and teacher gender were significantly related to pupil attitude towards the learning of classroom science It was concluded that science must be taught by well qualified and experienced teachers Institutions of higher learning educating science teachers must envisage gender equity and equality among other

Female teachers teaching sexuality education in the HIV and AIDS curriculum in Zimbabwean urban secondary schools

This study is focussed on female teachers teaching sexuality education in the HIV and AIDS curriculum in Zimbabwean urban secondary schools. In spite of the importance of education and HIV and AIDS education in preventing HIV infections, Zimbabwe secondary school Guidance and Counseling teachers are not engaging optimally with the current Guidance and Counseling, HIV and AIDS & Life Skills education curriculum, and hence, they are not serving the needs of the learners in the context of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. This study, therefore, explored the following research question with its set of secondary research questions: How can Guidance and Counseling teachers be enabled to teach sexuality education within the HIV and AIDS education curriculum suitable for the Zimbabwe secondary school context? What are Guidance and Counseling teachers’ understandings and interpretations of the current HIV and AIDS education curriculum in Zimbabwe secondary schools? What are Guidance and Counseling teachers’ values and beliefs that underpin their approach to teaching sexuality education within the HIV and AIDS education curriculum in Zimbabwe secondary schools? What do Guidance and Counseling teachers experience as challenges to teaching the necessary critical content in sexuality education within the HIV and AIDS education curriculum? How can Guidance and Counseling teachers be enabled to overcome the challenges they experience and teach the necessary critical content in sexuality education in the HIV and AIDS education curriculum? Eight female Guidance and Counseling urban secondary school teachers, conveniently and purposively selected from Gweru district in Zimbabwe, comprised the sample of participants. Situated within a qualitative research design, and informed by a critical paradigm, I used participatory visual methodology, with drawing and focus group discussion as methods for data generation. Participatory and thematic analysis was used to analyse the data which was theoretically framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, as a lens through which I explained the meaning of my findings. The findings, in four themes, revealed that the Guidance and Counseling teachers have an understanding of the Guidance and Counseling curriculum and made their voices heard on how it was designed but also how it should be designed, with whose input it should be designed and why, and how teachers should be supported in implementing it and ensuring that it is appropriate to the context in which they teach. The Guidance and Counseling teachers reflected on and reconsidered their own values and beliefs in relation to the values underpinning the sexuality education within the HIV and AIDS curriculum in order to fulfil their professional role in the context of the HIV epidemic. Even though the Guidance and Counseling female teachers were enthusiastic to teach sexuality education - in the age of HIV and AIDS - in the particular school and community context, they found themselves in an educational system that did not seem to support their work in an optimal way, and in a community with diverse cultures, cultural practices and beliefs of which some seemed to contradict what was supposed to be taught in the curriculum. The participatory visual methodology, however, enabled a process in which the Guidance and Counseling female teachers could reflect on themselves, the context in which they taught, their sexuality education work and also learn from each other. In this way their agency seemed to have been enabled to address the challenges and consider how they could teach sexuality education in their secondary schools in Zimbabwe. The findings have several implications for policy in terms of the Guidance and Counseling curriculum, resource mobilization, pedagogy, engaging with cultural issues, and supporting vulnerable children; and for practice in terms of teacher professional development, teacher training, and for stakeholder contribution. I therefore argue, drawing on Cultural Historical Activity Theory, that the Guidance and Counseling teachers could be enabled to teach sexuality education if the three Activity Systems, namely the Guidance and Counseling teachers, the school system, and the community, work together as one Activity System, engaging with each other in a generative way focused on the same outcome. The Guidance and Counseling teachers could therefore transform their realities if they are enabled to see how their teaching of sexuality education in school is linked to the context of the school and the culture of the community in which they teach and live, and engage with each other to achieve the same objective, namely teaching sexuality education in secondary schools in Zimbabwe, and in so doing enable the learners to make informed choices in the context of HIV and AIDS

Psychosocial stressful life events and academic achievement among high school adolescents

The study examined the relationship between psychosocial stressful life events and the academic achievement among a sample of adolescent students. A Likert scale was used as the main instrument based on an adapted and modified Adolescent Inventory of Stressful Life Events Scale and Adolescent Coping Inventory Scale. Interviews were made to compliment questionnaire items. Two hundred and forty three (243) randomly sampled high school students, 118 males (48,6%) and 125 females (51.4%) served as subjects. They were between 17 and 20 years of age (M =18.5, SD = 0.90). Of the 8 sixth form selected schools, 4 were urban and 4 were rural. The instrument items were reviewed to ascertain reliability. For boys’ and girls’ performance, parental social support, peer influence, health risk behaviour and the effect of self, the Cronbach’s alpha’s on the study were 0.69; 0.74; 0.78; 0.86; 0.71 respectively. Factor Analysis with a factor loading of 0.5 and above, and eigen values of 1 and above were considered valid and reliable for the instrument. The authors attended to all the sampled classes explaining the purpose and procedure of the study. ANOVA tests showed that; for parental social support, (F4df =11.34: p.05), with lower levels of family cohesion acting as a source of stress. For Peer Influence, (F2df=15.43; p<.05), with peer relationships serving as both stressors and stressor buffers. Effects of high stress in boys was buffered by peer relationships and for girls by cohesive family relationships. For health risk behavior, (F2df = 11.98; p<.05). The Self Effect had a weak mean negative correlation coefficient of (r = -0.2031) against academic achievement. It was concluded that psychosocial stressful life events are related to adolescent academic achievement

Selection of science subjects at advanced level by females : aetiology and challenges

This study reports findings from a research carried out on the factors that influence the selection of science subjects by female A level students in Gweru district. A systematic random sampling of sixty (60) students, eighteen (18) parents and fifteen (15) A level science teachers were used. Three schools out of a total of eight (38%) were used. Main design used was Survey. Questionnaires, interview schedules and classroom observations were the main instruments used to collect data. The main factors that influence the selection of science subjects by female A level students included among others subjects stereotyping, type of socialization that the girls experience, and lack of role models. It is recommended that heads of schools ensure that all teachers and staff are gender sensitised; promote science among girls through affirmative action. Publishers are to ensure that the content and style of writings in the text books reflect gender sensitivity. Schools must aim to incorporate positive role models for girl

Students’ misconceptions about bonding and chemical structure in chemistry

This paper sought to find out the students’ misconceptions about bonding and chemical structure in Chemistry at secondary school level. Simple descriptive survey was the main design. Participants were comprised of eighty (80) randomly sampled out Form 3 and Form 4 pupils. A 15 point Likert Scale (test) and a group interview were used as data collection instruments. There was a concordance in the sets of findings using descriptive statistics, inferential statistics and interviews showing that students had misconceptions in strengths of chemical bonds (89%, F4df=11.35;p<0.05), shapes of molecules (75%; F1df =10.39; p<0.05), coordinate bonding (68%, F2df =14.56; p<0.05), molecular / ionic charges (61%, F 2df=11.33; p<0.05) and hydrogen bonding 60%, F4df=10.49;p<0.05). It was recommended that ways of minimizing students’ misconceptions could include use of conceptual chemical models, use of e-learning for example Cyber School. Learning environments should be more visual than conceptual. Science teachers should be equipped with the various strategies for teaching skills so as to improve teaching and learning in science

Implementation of guidance and counselling in secondary schools in Chinhoyi urban

The study endeavoured to find out the current contribution of head teachers and teachers in the implementation of guidance and counselling curriculum in Chinhoyi. The study adopted mixed methodology approach. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from participants about their experiences and opinions. A sample of four head teachers and forty (40) teachers was used in this study. Content analysis and statistical analysis were used to analyse data. The study established that only one school among the sampled schools was implementing Guidance and Counselling programme although other schools claimed to be implementing the programme. The government should provide trained and competent Guidance and Counselling co-ordinators so that they would be posted to various districts in the country

Attitudes of secondary school pupils towards the teaching and learning of science: a Zimbabwean case

The study sought to investigate the attitudes of Zimbabwean secondary school pupils towards the teaching and learning of science. A randomized sample of 243 participants from eight (8) selected schools completed a 5 point Likert type scale. Factorial Analysis using principal components with Varimax Rotation, Kaiser Normalisation and Scree testing were used to determine validity of the scale. Variables with factor loading of 0.3 and above and Eigen values of 1 and above were considered to form main Attitude towards Science (ATS) scale. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and One way ANOVA. It was found out that pupils in lower classes (Forms 1 and 2) recorded a positive attitude towards science than pupils in the upper classes (Forms 3 and 4). There may be a need to re-examine the reasons why attitude declines with form level. Further studies may look at linkage between pupil’s attitude with their science performance in class, career aspirations and perceptions of the world of science at work

Attitudes of secondary school pupils towards the teaching and learning of science: a Zimbabwean case

The study sought to investigate the attitudes of Zimbabwean secondary school pupils towards the teaching and learning of science. A randomized sample of 243 participants from eight (8) selected schools completed a 5 point Likert type scale. Factorial Analysis using principal components with Varimax Rotation, Kaiser Normalisation and Scree testing were used to determine validity of the scale. Variables with factor loading of 0.3 and above and Eigen values of 1 and above were considered to form main Attitude towards Science (ATS) scale. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and One way ANOVA. It was found out that pupils in lower classes (Forms 1 and 2) recorded a positive attitude towards science than pupils in the upper classes (Forms 3 and 4). There may be a need to re-examine the reasons why attitude declines with form level. Further studies may look at linkage between pupil’s attitude with their science performance in class, career aspirations and perceptions of the world of science at work

Implementing developmentally appropriate learning experiences for secondary school learners: the Zimbabwean case

Teacher preparation emphasizes application of foundational issues anchored in psychological, sociological and philosophical underpinnings. With such knowledge, teachers are expected to effectively organise the learning experiences of children accordingly. This study, therefore, sought to find out to what extend in-service teachers were able to organise learning experiences that are developmentally appropriate. The mixed methods approach guided this study, as it was informed by both the positivist and interpretivist paradigms which acted as lenses through which we viewed this study. Questionnaires, interviews and class observations were the methods used as data collecting tools. Twenty participants (13 females, 7 males), were purposively selected from Gweru urban secondary schools of Zimbabwe. It was noted that teachers are not able to implement Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) for various reasons ranging from heavy teaching loads, big classes, low teaching motivation, inadequate DAP knowledge among others. In the midst of other recommendations, it was highlighted that parents were to meaningfully interact with schools to bridge the gap between the home and the school, notwithstanding challenges facing the teacher which require the urgency which cannot be gainsaid

Visual participatory approach to violent behaviour amongst Zimbabwean students: forms and prevalence

This study investigated the perceptions of students on forms and prevalence of violent behavior in Gweru urban district of Zimbabwe. Visual participatory methodology premised on both qualitative and quantitative paradigms was used. Drawings with focus group discussions were the main data collecting instruments. Participants were fifteen conveniently selected students attending a typical urban high school (females = 7, age range 15-17, males = 8, age range 14-18). Data on forms and prevalence of violence were collected from the students. The majority of the participants portrayed physical violence, vandalism and sexual harassment. It was recommended that schools must develop clear policies in an endeavor to reduce or eliminate violence. Schools Psychological Services must provide psychotherapy to individuals concerned. Visual participatory methodology, a new body of knowledge in Zimbabwe, is a vital tool for future researchers