Community Participation in Building the Science Curriculum for Intermediate School - Thesis Proposal Example

Community Participation in Building the Science Curriculum for Intermediate School Community Participation in Building the Science Curriculum for Intermediate School Abstract Intermediate school level is where students learn how to put their theoretical knowledge into practice. The core curriculum and instruction are designed in a manner that more experimental activities are involved and student-centeredness is more promoted. The main aim of the study is to find out how the community contributes towards better science in the middle school. The objectives include: finding out the number of science lessons per week in each school; parents-teachers contribution to science; student science projects within the school and the type of activities carried out by the community members. The study will benefit the ministry of education, science and technology, students, stakeholders and the community. The sample size intended to be used is 200 involving teachers, community members and students. Questionnaires will be used for data collection where the results will be analyzed using statistical packages for social scientists. Introduction Background Information Intermediate level, also called the middle school level, is where pupils are taught more on what they learnt while in the lower school level. Here, both the teachers and the students communally work together so that the goals and objectives of the level are achieved easily, with all students satisfactorily attaining their desired grades, teachers feeling the positive impact of their contribution. Students in the intermediate level participate in activities that involve experimentation, demonstration and field tours, as well as, community activities (DeBoer, 2010). The skills they acquired in the lower school level, for example, language, communication and creativity skills are further developed. Students get the opportunity to learn foreign languages and other new units to enhance their educational development and growth. Teachers work in unison so that they can develop proper plan of activities in each grade, curriculum and co-curricular activities. Different teachers take different units in this level; therefore, the students get the opportunity to be exposed different learning and teaching strategies since each teacher has their own way of doing things. Students are expected to attain higher grades in all subjects: mathematics, languages, social studies, arts, and sciences (Hayden, Meyer, and Sanford, 2002). Physical education is essential where students are expected to improve their on their flexibility, learn how to coordinated body parts with some activities and the necessity of such activities to the body organs like the heart and lungs as well as its positive impact in reducing the chances of some health implications. Much of these physical activities are related to science courses where students put into practice their theory knowledge. Participation in individual and group projects, active involvement in science clubs and science congress as well as visiting science related stations and demonstration fields are some of the main activities teachers expose their students to at this level (Bybee, 2002). Core curriculum for middle school science has been put down so that the teachers and other instructors in the area can have an easy time while organizing the curriculum, assessment and instruction. Core curriculum is prepared with an aim of addressing the skills, knowledge and the substance to be administered and tested by the middle school level. With this, it is assumed that the content in the core curriculum had been earlier taught to the students while in their lower level (Hayden, Meyer, and Sanford, 2002). Instructions should at its minimum focus on the students memorizing what they learn but to emphasize on proper understanding of the procedures, systems, relationships and how to apply the concepts to real life issues. The community also has a role to play in developing curriculum and instructions in the field of science (Berg, 2007). Purpose: the main purpose of this study is to find out the way the community participates in building the Science curriculum for intermediate school. Specific objectives 1. To assess parents-teachers contribution to science education in intermediate school level 2. To identify the kind of activities the community practices 3. To find out the impacts of the community’s activities on the education of the students in the middle level 4. To find out science projects the students carry out within their schools. 5. To find out the contribution of the ministry of education, science and technology on science education in the intermediate level. 6. To find out the number of science lessons per week in each school Research questions 1. How do parents and teachers contribute to science education of the intermediate level? 2. What kind of activities does the community practice? 3. What are the impacts of the community’s activities on the education of the students in the middle level? 4. What kind of science projects do the students carry out within their schools? 5. How does the ministry of education, science and technology contribute on the science education in the intermediate school level? 6. How many science lessons are there per week in each school? Hypothesis H0: students do not carry out any science projects within their schools H1: students carry out science projects within their schools Significance/justification of the study The study will enable the researcher identify and establish the participation of the community in building a science curriculum in the intermediate level. The researcher will also be in a position to identify the community’s activities, students’ projects and the way the teachers and parents relate in order to achieve their goals in the subject. The study will benefit the students; they will be able to make use of the available activities within the community, therefore, advancing their projects and improving on their science grades. The teachers will benefit from the findings because they will be able to learn on the importance of incorporating the community into their school programs, for instance, having their students visit their firms or having one of the professionals give talks and carry out demonstrations to the students so that they can expand their knowledge. The ministry of education, science and technology will also benefit from the documented findings because they will have firsthand information on the gaps within the field of study, hence, they will act appropriately in improving science education in the intermediate field. The stakeholders of the schools will also have a chance to access the findings, which will enable them improve their administrative policies and principles. The community leaders will also benefit from the findings. Limitations of the study The study as it is anticipated to be of high significance, several limitations are associated with it. The researcher will incur a lot of costs while going round collecting data from schools and the community. Convincing the community to fill in questionnaires might be a difficult task. Since some of the community members are not English natives, it might be challenging to have them fill in the questionnaires on their own. Some community members might not fill the in questionnaires as expected. A lot of time will be spent on this task. Resistance from some community members may also arise because they may feel the study will be of no importance to them. Methodology This chapter explains the methods employed in the research. The study utilizes both qualitative and quantitative method of research approach in testing for the hypothesis. The section also explains how the results for testing the hypothesis will be obtained and explains the way in which the findings of the study will be analyzed. The scope of the study, sample size and the target group is discussed under methodology section. Methodology section is of high significance in any research because it explains the technique of the research, which enhances follow up, and a detailed understanding of the study. Research design Research design in everyday life involves experimental, quasi, non-experimental and descriptive methods. This research will involve the use of descriptive method of research where both qualitative and quantitative data are collected (De Vaus, 2001). The approach is preferred because it allows the use of questionnaires, surveys and interviews to be administered. The research approach also enables data collection, analysis and validation using statistical packages. Sample size and sampling procedures Probability method of sampling will be employed in this study where every individual has equal chance of being selected. Random sampling method, which is under probability, will be adopted. A sample size of 200 will be used for the survey: 100 of the sample will be from the community and the remainder will be students and teachers. Ten schools within the region will be selected where ten persons will be selected from each school, four teachers and six students. Gender balance will be witnessed since the selection will be done repeatedly until a balanced sample is attained. To ensure that non-bias sample is selected, racial, ethnic and tribal aspects will be taken into consideration so that discrimination does not occur. Data Collection Instrument Interviews and questionnaires are highly recommended methods of data collection; they are simple, easy and cheaper to administer (Connaway and Powell, 2010). Questionnaires will be used to collect the data from the students, teachers and the community members. Both open ended and closed ended questions will be formulated in the questionnaire. Administration of the questionnaires will take between 15-25 days so that they can be analyzed. Data analysis The findings will be analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists for more accurate, efficient and reliable results. SPSS reduces the amount of time used as well as its ability to generate output as instructed (Hammerman, 2006). References Berg, B. F. (2007). New York City politics: Governing Gotham. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers Univ. Press. Bybee, R. W. (2002). Learning science and the science of learning. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press. Connaway, L. S., & Powell, R. R. (2010). Basic research methods for librarians. Santa Barbara, Calif: Libraries Unlimited. De Vaus, D. (2001). What is research design? The context of design. Pp 1-16. Retrieved from :< http://www.esf-agentschap.be/uploadedFiles/Voor_ESF_promotoren/Zelfevaluatie_ESF-project/De%20Vaus%20ch%201.pdf> on 19 April 2012. DeBoer, G. E. (2010). The role of public policy in K-12 science education. Charlotte, N.C: Information Age Pub. Hammerman, E. L. (2006). 8 essentials of inquiry-based science, K-8. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press. Hayden C., Meyer J., & Sanford A. (2002). Intermediate Level Science: Core Curriculum Grades 5-8.Intermediate Science, pp 6-32. Retrieved from :< http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/pub/intersci.pdf> on 19th April 2012 Read More