Grade 11 agricultural science teachers’ topic specific pedagogical content knowledge in teaching organic compounds: action-research in selected schools in Libode District.

Abstract

In Agricultural Sciences, the teaching of chemistry and especially the topic of organic compounds is becoming an area of concern among Agricultural Sciences educators with poor chemistry background who are teaching in rural schools. These educators’ poor content and pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge of general chemistry and specifically organic chemistry also affect their learners’ understanding of science. This is a concern not only for the Department of Education, as poor results are produced in external examinations, but also for learners who then change career choices from Agricultural Sciences to other subjects perceived to be easier. Agricultural Sciences learners who are taught by teachers who are trained in chemistry are normally exposed to better teaching, as their teachers have good chemistry content knowledge thus minimising alternative conceptions that learners often exhibit. Teachers’ difficulties in understanding and therefore teaching organic chemistry is most visible when they interact with learners while trying to find easier ways of making the content meaningful in their classes. Such interaction is expressed as their topic specific pedagogical content knowledge (TS-PCK). This qualitative study sought to explore Grade 11 Agricultural Sciences teachers’ TS-PCK in teaching organic compounds. There are two research questions in this study. Firstly, what problems do Grade 11 Agricultural Sciences teachers encounter in teaching the topic organic compounds? And then, how can action research help Grade 11 Agricultural Sciences teachers to improve their TS-PCK in teaching organic compounds? It is an action-research study of selected schools in Libode District, Eastern Cape. A qualitative case study approach was chosen. Three Grade 11 Agricultural Sciences teachers were chosen as participants of this study by a purposive sample method, in line with the qualitative research design. Data generation and collection for this study was mainly through interviews with the teachers. The interviews were transcribed, data coded and themes emerged from this data analysis. The findings of the study confirmed that teachers who had not studied chemistry previously at a tertiary institution held more alternative conceptions in organic chemistry than those who had done so. The teachers without chemistry studies at university level were also found to have insufficient content knowledge for teaching chemistry in Agricultural Sciences. The results also confirmed that the use of workshops based on action research was a practical solution in rural areas for supporting teachers and building their confidence with regard to understanding and teaching the difficult chemistry concepts in Agricultural Sciences.