Context-based teaching and learning practices in upper primary science classrooms in East Gojjam administrative Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to examine teachers' self-perceived practices of context-based science teaching and learning in science classrooms. To achieve this purpose, a cross-sectional survey design was employed. The data were collected from 360 upper primary science teachers in East Gojjam Administrative Zone, Ethiopia. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select the participants. A Context-Based Learning Environment in Science (CBLES) instrument was adapted and validated to measure teachers' self-perceived practices of contextbased approach in science classes. Factor analysis unveiled the confirmation of the four-factor structure of the instrument with good reliability coefficients ranging from 0.891 to 0.945 and the constructs had adequate discriminant validity as the mean correlation coefficient (r) values were less than 0.80. Results revealed that the components of context-based teaching and learning were moderately implemented in upper primary school science classrooms as perceived by teachers. In comparison, biology teachers in the emphasis component, urban teachers in the re- ABOUT THE AUTHORGebeyaw Teshager is a PhD candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at Bahir Dar University. He has about 20 years of experience in higher education. He has published several articles related to teacher education, teachers' competencies, instructional approaches, etc. Alemayehu Bishaw is a Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies at Bahir Dar University. He has been teaching at Undergraduate and Graduate programs for the last 30 years. His main areas of research include teacher education, professional development, multicultural education, instructional approaches, assessment, etc. He has published more than thirty articles in both national and international journals. Asrat Dagnew is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies at Bahir Dar University. He has been teaching at Undergraduate and Graduate programs for 18 years. His main areas of research include teacher education, professional development, instructional approaches, etc. He has published thirty six articles.

Effect of context-based approach on students’ scientific reasoning on heredity concepts

“…As Joshi and Verspoor (2013) mentioned, among other pressing problems, the overloaded curriculum nature in Ethiopia is accounted for the implementation of unsuccessful instruction, which is also one of the consequences for student's poor performance in reasoning. In Ethiopian context, the effort to make learning context-based is minimal (Gebeyaw et al, 2021) and, as a result, students find no meaning or relevance in what they learn. Scholars suggest that science learning, in whatever method delivered, should be context-and culture-based (Bennett et al, 2006;Gilbert et al, 2011).…”

Effects of context-based approaches on high school students’ epistemological beliefs

“…This might be due to the fact that teachers might not be competent enough to address context-based teaching learning in the classrooms. Teshager et al (2021) revealed that science teachers in Ethiopia could not lead children's context-based inquiries; besides, they failed to understand how knowledge in science evolves (i.e., with uncertainty) and is subjected to cultural and societal influences. Teachers themselves are unwilling to incorporate curriculum relevance into their research, and they place unreasonably high expectations on their students to exhibit certain traits and behaviors in their instruction (Meskerem, 2017).…”