Best Practices for Teaching for Scientific Literacy? An Investigation of Instructional Practices in Barbados

• In Event: 14.028 - Educational Change: Examining Policies and Practices in the Caribbean and Africa

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which the instructional practices of science teachers in Barbados are congruent with best practices for teaching for scientific literacy. A representative sample of 519 students and 15 teachers participated in the study. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire, an observational schedule and field notes. It was found that while problem-solving and questioning were mainly used in the classroom, the use of experiments was among the least popular teaching strategies. Additionally, results showed that teachers’ display of the knowledge of the characteristics of scientific literacy was unsatisfactory. Generally, the findings indicate a gap between teaching for scientific literacy as forwarded in the literature and current instructional practices in secondary science classrooms in Barbados.

Author

• Ramona Ericka Archer-Bradshaw, Erdiston Teachers' Training College