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Teacher perceptions of the new lower secondary one geography curriculum materials
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Type
Thesis
Author
Low, Yoke Lang
Supervisor
Then, Lian Mee
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to collect information on the perceptions of the classroom teachers towards the Secondary One geography curriculum materials produced by the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore. The purpose was to find out if the perceptions of the teachers in the High Performing and Low Performing Schools towards the materials were favourable or otherwise, as this is one factor that may affect the success or failure in the implementation of the new geography in the the secondary schools. The research also set out to find if there were differences between the two groups in their perceptions of the materials as well as towards some aspects of their school environmental support. The personal background characteristics of the teachers were also considered. Selected characteristics like sex, years of qualified teaching experience and attendance at in-service courses were examined to find out their possible influence on their perceptions of the materials.
Data for the study was collected by means of a teacher questionnaire mailed to 83 teachers in 55 schools out of which only 61 from 50 schools responded. The information obtained was reported in the form of frequency distribution, means, standard deviations, 't' test and one-way variance.
The findings showed that on the whole the teachers from both the High Performing and Low Performing Schools found the geography materials acceptable, although these seemed to be more suited to the needs of the pupils in the High Performing Schools. Both groups were also appreciative of the Pupils' Text and perceived positively the language, presentation, concepts and content of the book. They were however less favourably disposed towards the other component units of the package i.e., the Pupils' Workbooks, the Teacher's Guide and the audio-visual materials. Data analysis also revealed that the teachers from both groups perceived themselves as lacking in physical support as far as facilities and space in schools are concerned but their perceptions of moral support from their principals and peers were definitely positive. Analysis on the influence of background characteristics revealed that generally there was no significant difference between the perceptions of the two groups where sex, academic qualification and membership of professional organisations were concerned. With respect to their perceptions of the audio-visual materials, a statistical significant difference was found between the mean responses of those who had attended an in-service course on the new geography, and those who had not. Towards the Pupils' Workbooks, there was also a statistical significant difference recorded in the mean responses between the group with less than 5 years of teaching experience and the more experienced group with 15 to 20 years of teaching.
Data for the study was collected by means of a teacher questionnaire mailed to 83 teachers in 55 schools out of which only 61 from 50 schools responded. The information obtained was reported in the form of frequency distribution, means, standard deviations, 't' test and one-way variance.
The findings showed that on the whole the teachers from both the High Performing and Low Performing Schools found the geography materials acceptable, although these seemed to be more suited to the needs of the pupils in the High Performing Schools. Both groups were also appreciative of the Pupils' Text and perceived positively the language, presentation, concepts and content of the book. They were however less favourably disposed towards the other component units of the package i.e., the Pupils' Workbooks, the Teacher's Guide and the audio-visual materials. Data analysis also revealed that the teachers from both groups perceived themselves as lacking in physical support as far as facilities and space in schools are concerned but their perceptions of moral support from their principals and peers were definitely positive. Analysis on the influence of background characteristics revealed that generally there was no significant difference between the perceptions of the two groups where sex, academic qualification and membership of professional organisations were concerned. With respect to their perceptions of the audio-visual materials, a statistical significant difference was found between the mean responses of those who had attended an in-service course on the new geography, and those who had not. Towards the Pupils' Workbooks, there was also a statistical significant difference recorded in the mean responses between the group with less than 5 years of teaching experience and the more experienced group with 15 to 20 years of teaching.
Date Issued
1986
Call Number
G76.5.S5 Low
Date Submitted
1986