The Relevance of the Teacher Education College Physics Curriculum to Second Cycle Primary Physics Education: A Study in the Amhara Region
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Date
2001-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The national policy expects teacher educalion colleges to make their programs appropriate
and relevant for the second cycle primwy (SCP) education. The plllpose of this study is to
examine, via one subject (physics) in Gondar College of Teacher Education, the extent 10
which these expectations are achieved. To increase the study's likely wider applicability,
reliable and valid sources of data were built in. The sources were 17 of the college's
graduate physics teachers who have taugh' in SCP schools, the 17 school principals, 3
physics instructors, college dean, 6 officials at the Amhara Regional Education Bureau and
Zonal Education Departments, and an expert at the Institute for Curriculum Development
and Research. Instruments used to collect data were questionnaires, an interview guide and
observation checklist.
The findings indicate that the college physics objectives over-emphasize theOlY and are
narrowly focused; are either strongly mismatched with ETP (1994) and somewhat with the
SCP schools objectives. There is a fair coverage of content and balance between the topics
of the college and primwy, but the College '.I' focus is theoretical and inclined more towards
higher education than teaching physics in SCps. Again the method~ used by trainers do not
enable teachers to teach primwy physics effectively. The equipment in the college physics
laboratory is barely sufficient and its use during the training is not sufficient. The duration
for teaching practice is not enough to prepare teachers to teach physics in SCPS
appropriately. The physics teachers also needed some support in the early periods of their
career, but later had confidence and efficiency to teach general science and physics.
However, they seldom used learner-centred methods and instructional equipment in their
teaching
The recommendations include: the college physics course objectives should derive from the
objectives of the ETP (1994) and of the SCP; the physics courses should relate more to SCP
than to higher education and emphasis be given to varied methods appropriate to the
college and primary physics curricula; trainers should use equipment as befits the
curricula; the college physics laboratOly should be replenished; teaching practice should be
longer and strong links with primary schools made; school-based staff training programs
should be organized and stakeholders should assess the training program at regular, set
intervals.
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Physics Education: A Study in the Amhara Region