A Comparative Study of Teaching Methodologies Used by the Primary Teachers in Public and Private Schools
Proposal
1.0 Title of the Study
The working title of this study is initially drafted as A
Comparative Study of Teaching Methodologies Used by the Primary Teachers in
Public and Private Schools.
2.0 Provision for Topic
Based on the working title provided, there are three
topics that the study will explore teaching methodologies, primary level and
public and private schools. There is always the comparison between public and
private schools based on facilities, class size, budgets, administrative
support and of course teaching methods employed, all contribute to the decision
where the child should be educated. Primary education, on the other hand, is
the first stage of compulsory education which aimed to basic literacy and
numeracy.
3.0 Introduction
As already mentioned, primary education thrives for basic literacy and numeracy amongst all pupils. This
level of education focuses on establishing foundations in science, geography,
history and other social sciences. Typically, the pupils are placed in a class
with one teacher who will be basically responsible for their education and
welfare for a whole school year. Continuity with a single teacher and
opportunity to build a close relationship are the most notable feature of the
primary education system. Teaching primary level must be child active and child
focused. It should develop both the manipulative and mental activities of the
pupils. In addition, the primary subjects must concentrate on an aspect child
experiences into which the child can display an interest (Murphy, 2003). With
this, all the necessary elements of classroom learning must be properly
incorporated from teaching methods, attitudes of the teacher, assessment of
science learnings and etc.
Today, the academic world is witnessing the creation of
new learning environments which require an interactive approach to teaching.
Such processes make important both the roles of teachers and students but the
weight is given for the teachers to integrate know-how in curriculum and
instructions. There are two questions that relate to the study of teaching
methodologies: the purpose of education and specific ways to achieve such
purposes. Teaching methodologies should be developed with social principles and
of starting what the students could learn more effectively as its foundation.
Pedagogy is usually the ways by which a teacher can teach hence the teachers
creates materials to be taught and enforces such. Strategies of instruction or
styles of instruction the teachers conform to are diverse.
Amongst the most common methodologies why various
sub-methods are based are: questioning, explaining, demonstrating and
collaborating. Questioning is a teaching method that includes questioning is
similar to testing. A teacher may ask a series of questions to collect
information of what students have learned and what needs to be taught. Testing
is another method of questioning. A teacher tests the student on what was
previously taught in order to identify if a student has learned the material.
Explaining is a teaching method which is similar to
lecturing. Lecturing is teaching, giving a speech, by giving a discourse on a
specific subject that is open to the public, usually given in the classroom.
This can also be associated with demonstrating and modeling. A teacher may use
experimentation to demonstrate in a science class. A demonstration is the
circumstance of proving conclusively, as by reasoning or showing evidence.
Modeling is used as a visual aid to learning. Students can visualize an object
or problem, then use reasoning and hypothesizing to determine an answer.
Demonstrations are done to provide an opportunity in
learning new exploration and visual learning tasks from a different
perspective. Demonstrations can be exercised in several ways. Here Teacher will
be also a participant. He will do the work with his/her Student for their help.
While collaborations are done through working in groups is another way a
teacher can enforce a lesson plan. Collaborating allows students to talk among
each other and listen to all view points of discussion or assignment. It helps
students think in an unbiased way. When this lesson plan is carried out, the
teacher may be trying to assess the lesson of working as a team, leadership
skills, or presenting with roles.
4.0 Problem Statement
The problem focus of this study is the preferences of
primary teachers in public and private schools of the teaching methodologies.
In this way, the study could determine which teaching methodology is preferred
by public school teachers and which method is preferred by private school
teachers. With this said. The following research questions will be given answer
to.
1) Which
among these teaching methodologies are preferred by primary teachers?
2) Why
primary teachers employ and make use of these teaching methodologies
3) How
do the primary teachers perceive the relevance of their teaching methodologies?
4) How
effective are the teaching methodologies employed?
5.0 Aims and Objectives
The main aim of this study is to compare the teaching
methodologies employed in public and private schools in Pakistan particularly
for the primary students. In lieu with this, the following research objectives
will be addressed.
·
Identify the preferred
teaching methodologies of public primary teachers and private primary teachers
·
Evaluate the effectiveness
of the preferred teaching methodology
·
Determine the reasons why
preferred teaching methodologies are being employed
6.0 Importance of the Study
The study will be important because
it will help people understand more about the teaching methodologies
differences and specifically in security-challenged countries like Pakistan. By
doing so, strategies and approaches can be developed by schools in tapping out
the teaching competence of teachers working for public and private schools.
Findings may be important in developing a new curriculum for teacher education.
Knowing which teaching methodologies
the teachers prefer will help the schools administrations in asserting the
technical and professional needs of these teachers. Knowing why teachers make
use of these methodologies in teaching their students could be also relevant in
strategising their pedagogical approach. Finally, knowing the manner by which
teachers interact with their students during lessons could determine the levels
of competencies of the teachers.
This study can also be an important endeavour
in pedagogical literature. Studying this unexplored issue in Pakistan context may
help the academic system in the country and from there, develop and/or create
strategies or suggestions on how to address specific weaknesses or strengths of
the teaching methodologies employed. As I assume a role within the academic
system after I have completed the course, it would be my responsibility to
contribute to the educational literature particularly the literature that concerns
teaching processes and practices inside the classroom.
7.0 Methodology
The study will explore the problem in a positivist view,
using exploratory because it aims to know more about the phenomenon of teaching
methodologies. Exploratory research will enable the study to look at the
problem in both descriptive and exploratory manner. It will look into the
problem by exploring the views of different sets of respondents, as well as by
exploring different literatures related with the study. As such, it will determine
the present facts as well as facts that are not yet explored about the
phenomenon (Saunders et al, 2003).
This research is a study of a particular phenomenon (or
phenomena) at a particular time. (Saunders et
al, 2003) Accordingly, cross-sectional studies often employ the survey
strategy, and they may be seeking to describe the incidence of a phenomenon or
to compare factors in different settings.
The survey method, on the other hand, will be used for
data collection. Surveys are conducted to gather data from the field in order
to generalize results from a sample to a larger population. The primary purpose
and advantage of surveys is to generalize the results. Usually, surveys are
interesting in gathering data from many than in obtaining intensive, detailed
information from a few individuals; therefore, it is seldom for a survey to
consist of one or very few individuals.
The study will survey 100 teachers
from public and private schools in Pakistan. Teachers must be working in the
schools for at least five years, licensed and at the primary level. This paper
recognises the difficulty in conducting survey with the teachers because of the
status of security in the country. Nonetheless, the study also recognises the
challenge to collect information from them. The study will use a 25-item
structured questionnaire.
Secondary data will also be
collated. Literatures will be sought on different education journals. Finally,
all data will be evaluated using the latest SPSS software. The weighted mean
and percentage of the responses will be calculated. The following statistical
formulas will be used:
1. Percentage – to determine the magnitude of the responses to the
questionnaire.
n
% = -------- x 100 ; n – number of responses
N N – total
number of respondents
2. Weighted Mean
f1x1
+ f2x2 + f3x3
+ f4x4 + f5x5
x =
---------------------------------------------
;
xt
where: f
– weight given to each response
x
– number of responses
xt – total
number of responses
References
Murphy, C. 2003,
Report 5: Literature Review in Primary
Science and ICT, Queens University, Belfast: FutureLab Series.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill,
A. (2003). Research Methods for Business Students,
3rd Ed. London: Prentice Hall Financial Times.
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