Physical sciences teacher attributions to their pedagogical practice and how they influence their professional growth in Umzinyathi District Secondary Schools

Abstract

Science subjects are critical for any country’s economy and South Africa is no exception. The MeerKAT radio station in the Northern Cape, Southern Africa Large Telescope in Sutherland, Northern Cape (largest optical telescope in the Southern hemisphere), and South African Laboratories for Accelerator Based Sciences in the Western Cape are clear testimony of Physical Sciences’ contribution to the South African economy. South Africa’s Department of Basic Education (2003) stresses that sciences not only prepare learners for economic activity, critical thinking, and problem solving, but also channel them towards applied sciences, medical and engineering fields (Collins and Calhoun 2014; Parker 2017). Thus, sciences set the precedence for success as a stepping stone into prestigious occupations. However, this may only happen if their teachers possess appropriate attributions. Attributions are key to classroom pedagogical practice and learner achievement as they influence teacher pedagogic strategies, choice of materials, content and learner activities. Literature abounds on Physical Sciences teachers, however, questions around their attributions to their pedagogies, have not been adequately investigated. Thus, developing an in-depth understanding of Physical Sciences teacher attributions to their pedagogical practice is vital. This study explored Grade 12 Physical Sciences teacher attributions to their pedagogical practices and how these attributions shape their professional growth. Through a multiple-site case study within an interpretive paradigm, data were generated from 16 purposively sampled Physical Sciences teachers in selected rural, township and urban secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal, UMzinyathi district, through face-to-face interviews, document reviews and lesson observations. Data were transcribed and manually analysed through an eight-step open coding process. Two theories – Weiner’s (2005) causal attribution theory and Bell and Gilbert’s (1996) Aspects of Professional Learning – enabled unpacking, understanding, and explaining the data. Findings indicate that Physical Sciences teachers attributed their pedagogical practices to both internal and external factors. The teachers attributed pedagogical practices to their internal, unstable and controllable attributions related to professional knowledge (pedagogical and subject content knowledge), which they could manipulate. External and uncontrollable attributions to their pedagogy related to learner ability, infrastructural and material under-resourcing (which forced them to ‘make-do’), learner attitudes and family background. Findings also revealed that Physical Sciences teacher attributions related to networking, improvisation and innovation influenced their professional growth in pedagogical knowledge and practices, pedagogical content knowledge, as well as context and curriculum knowledge. While the Physical Sciences teachers experienced professional growth, severe under-resourcing in rural schools studied limited their growth. Given the ‘make do’ frame of mind that teachers adopted, this has a bearing on the teaching and learning of Physical Sciences. This study suggests a need for resource support. In relation to the theoretical framework, Weiner’s Attribution theory and Bell and Gilbert’s Aspects of Professional Learning theory in combination make a useful lens to understand attributions to pedagogical practice and teacher professional growth. What I found was that attribution theory on its own was inadequate for understanding attributions and their influence on professional growth. I needed a theoretical way to understand, describe, and analyse data to establish how these attributions influence teacher professional growth. Consequently, Bell and Gilbert’s (1996) theory was adopted. This thesis, therefore, suggests a need for more comprehensive research into the nature of Physical Sciences teacher attributions in their pedagogy and their influence on professional growth, drawing on this combined framework and developing it further to determine its applicability beyond this particular inquiry.