Assessment of physics teaching competencies in selected secondary schools in Kakamega North District

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to assess teaching competencies of secondary school physics teachers in Kakamega North District. The areas assessed were the degree of preparedness before teaching by secondary school physics teachers, their level of mastery of physics subject content, the teaching strategies used by secondary school physics teachers and the relevance of secondary school physics teacher education to the teaching of 8:4:4 physics syllabus of education. Reviewed literature indicated that students' physics performance in Kakamega North District was poor. The literature on student's performance in physics national examinations, the physics subject content, role of physics teachers, strategies used in secondary school physics teaching, physics teacher education and the literature concerning the experiences of secondary school physics teachers in relation to the length of service as physics teachers. The literature revealed a gap which this study sought to fill.

The study adopted a survey design. The study involved participants sampled out from the selected secondary schools physics teachers, students, principals and district education officers in charge of quality assurance and standards in the district. The participants were sampled out using the stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data from the sampled participants was collected by use of questionnaire and interviews. Data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics. It was organized using frequency tables, percentages, graphics and measures of central tendency. Study findings indicated that physics teachers in secondary schools in the district had an average to good mastery of the physics course contents and were on average able to teach the subject. There were many factors that contributed to secondary school physics teaching which included competence of the teachers, availability of teaching materials, facilities and well equipped laboratories, motivations and extra assistance to the students. Using up to date and workable methodologies to impart knowledge about the subject matter to the students was also an important factor. The commitment of physics teachers in the district was questionable since most of their class attendance was irregular. Strategies such as class experiments, demonstrations, discussions, and excursions or field trips were employed to impart physics knowledge. Physics teachers had undergone necessary training but this training required updating as some of the methodologies were outdated.