Practical Activity in Ethiopian Secondary Physical Sciences: Implications for Policy and Practice of the Match between the Intended and Implemented Curriculum 1

Abstract

This paper reports on a study which examined the secondary
physical sciences curriculum in Ethiopia with a particular focus on practical
work. It describes the intention and realization of the science curriculum in
terms of that which is.intended by policy makers and curriculum developers
and that which is implemented by classroom science teachers. Ethiopia's
new Education and Training Policy and Sector Strategy (EMPOA, 1944a
and b) advocates - as did its predecessors - that science be taught
emphasizing a problem-solving, practical approach in the classroom. The
main methods used by the study to gather data were: analysis of documents
- policy statements, textbooks, examination papers; classroom observation;
and analysis of 80 science lessons in four sample schools, enriched through
interviews with a range of those involved - from policy makers to students in
schools. The study revealed that the link between policy and practice in
secondary science with regard to practical work was always tenuous. Broad
and specific curriculum objectives as well as the teaching and learning
activities prescribed in the textbooks were neither internally coherent nor
congruent with the stated policy objectives. Furthermore, assessment
practice and school practice did not match intentions. As a consequence, '
Ethiopian secondary students do not receive the practical experiences
specified in the official science curriculum.