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Science Teachers' Beliefs and Teaching Practices in Tanzanian A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details Science teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices in Tanzanian secondary schools Albert Tarmo Thesis submitted for PhD Examination at the University of Sussex September 2017 1 Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis has not and will not be submitted in whole or part to another University for similar or any other degree award. Signature 2 Acknowledgements The completion of this thesis was the result of tremendous amount of support and cooperation of many individuals and organizations. I would like to express my gratitude to all who contributed in one way or another to make the study success. The list is extensive to acknowledge but the following deserve special attention. • My supervisors Prof. Kwame Akyeampong and Dr. Naureen Durrani for their thoughtful guidance, patience, and encouragement throughout this study. I feel privileged to have supervisors who could genuinely uncover both the sweet and bitter tastes of my work. Indeed, they were critical friends without whom it would have been very hard to accomplish this thesis. • Commonwealth scholarship commission in the UK for funding this study. • University of Dar es Salaam for granting study leave and supporting fieldwork in schools. • Teachers in the study schools for volunteering to participate in the study. • Doctoral students and friends at Sussex for sharing ideas. • Finally, my family, especially my wife Irasaeny for her tolerance and moral support throughout the research. Her love and constant support were crucial during hardships when my confidence and enthusiasm had declined. 3 Summary UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX Albert Tarmo, Doctor of Philosophy Science teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices in Tanzanian secondary schools Recent attempts to improve science teaching and learning in Tanzania required teachers to adopt a learner-centred pedagogy. Although researchers widely acknowledge a lack of sustained success in science teachers’ adoption of learner- centred pedagogy, the reasons for teachers’ reluctance to adopt learner-centred pedagogy remain debated. Various contextual constraints, including resource shortages, overcrowded classrooms, ineffective teacher education, and high-stakes exams, render learner-centred pedagogy unsuccessful. However, in the Tanzanian context, teacher educators and researchers seem to overlook the critical role science teachers’ beliefs about science knowledge, teaching, and learning play in their teaching practices. Thus, attempts to identify and address Tanzanian science teachers’ deeply held beliefs are uncommon. Therefore, I interviewed six secondary school science teachers to explore their beliefs about science knowledge, teaching and learning and to show how these forms. I also observed their lessons to examine how the teachers’ beliefs manifest in their classroom practices. The findings showed that teachers largely espoused ‘traditional beliefs’ about science knowledge, teaching, and learning. They viewed science as a fixed body of discrete facts that mirrors natural phenomena. They believe the body of science knowledge is absolute and handed down by omniscient authorities, such as textbooks and teachers. The teachers consistently described teaching science as conveying textbook facts for students to accumulate and reproduce during exams. 4 Social and contextual factors, including teachers’ childhood, schooling, and training experiences, as well as the bureaucratic demands, paradoxical curriculum, and students’ reticence reinforced these beliefs. Teachers’ beliefs, though consistent with their teaching practices, were largely antithetical to the principles and practices of learner-centred pedagogy. Therefore, I propose that Tanzanian secondary school teachers consider their beliefs and the social and contextual conditions of the schools in adopting learner-centred pedagogy. They weigh their beliefs against the social and contextual conditions to decide how to teach. These results suggest that teacher educators and policy makers should seek to transform teachers’ beliefs about science knowledge, teaching, and learning through learning trajectories that require teachers to articulate and interrogate their beliefs. Such attempts should consider the social, cultural, and material contexts of the schools in which teachers teach. 5 Table of contents DECLARATION .................................................................................................................. 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................. 2 SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... 3 Table of contents .................................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE ....................................................... 9 1.0 Introduction....................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Personal motivation ........................................................................................................................ 9 1.2 Pedagogical reform: Introducing learner-centred pedagogy in Tanzania ............................10 1.3 Science teachers’ beliefs and their teaching practices ...........................................................15 1.4 Research questions ........................................................................................................................18 1.5 Thesis overview ..............................................................................................................................18 CHAPTER 2: CONTEXT ................................................................................................ 20 2.0 Introduction......................................................................................................................................20 2.1 About Tanzania ...............................................................................................................................20 2.2 Education system in Tanzania .....................................................................................................21 2.2.1 Formal education system .............................................................................................................. 21 2.2.2 O-level secondary education......................................................................................................... 22 2.2.3 O-level secondary education curriculum ..................................................................................... 23 2.3 Science teaching and learning in secondary schools .............................................................28 2.4 Constraints to the adoption of learner-centred pedagogy ......................................................29 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 35 3.0 Introduction......................................................................................................................................35 3.1 Science teacher beliefs: Meaning ................................................................................................35 3.2 Nature of belief: Overview .............................................................................................................36 3.3 Formation of teacher beliefs .........................................................................................................38 6 3.3.1 Cultural norms of the society ......................................................................................................... 38 3.3.2 Socio-cultural context of the school ............................................................................................. 44 3.3.3 Past schooling experiences........................................................................................................... 47 3.3.4 Teacher education .......................................................................................................................... 48 3.3.5 Teaching practice experiences ..................................................................................................... 50 3.3.6 Cognitive disequilibration ............................................................................................................... 52 3.4 Argument for teachers’ beliefs in teaching reforms .................................................................53 3.5 Relevant beliefs in the context of teaching reforms .................................................................54 3.5.1 Beliefs about science knowledge ................................................................................................. 55 3.5.2 Beliefs about teaching science
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