Teachers’ Pedagogical Intricacies in Handling Large Science Classes in Eastern Uganda

The introduction of Universal Primary Education (UPE) in Uganda in 1997 increased the number of students who join secondary education. The beginning of Universal Secondary Education (USE) in 2007 salvaged many learners who could not afford secondary education. This resulted in congested classrooms especially in government-aided schools. The study was prompted by the continued decline in student performance in sciences ever since USE was introduced in Uganda (UNEB, 2008 – 2016) and so the need to establish what really the problem was. A quantitative cross-sectional survey administered questionnaires to head-teachers, science teachers and students in 32 secondary schools in Eastern Uganda was done. The study investigated science teachers’ pedagogical innovative strategies used in teaching science in large classes. It also assessed how students cope with learning science concepts in congested classes. The results show that a majority of science teachers (84.8%) handle large classes in the same way they would do in classes with fewer learners. The students also continued to learn as if they were in an environment of fewer individuals in small classes (62.8%). This lack of sensitivity, creativity and innovations for large classes by science teachers could be the reason why comprehension of science concepts is low in a majority of learners in large USE classes, especially in rural secondary schools. The study recommends incorporation of interactive learner-centered science pedagogical approaches in teacher education programmes and endorsement of the TESSA approaches, use of OER and explicit attention to be given on how to facilitate active learner engagement in large and overcrowded science classrooms. Keywords: pedagogical innovation, creativity, large classe