Amani, Jaquiline

2 Publications in AERD

Author Publications

Supporting the Development of Students’ Scientific Literacy

By Iddy, Hassan

Science teachers are increasingly encouraged to critically engage their students with scientific knowledge and expertise, with the expectation that such instructional practices will support the development of scientific literacy (SL). Drawing on Bildung framework, this qualitative study was conducted in Tanzania to explore how science teachers’ classroom practices facilitate the development of students’ SL. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and non-participant classroom observations with science teachers and students from six secondary schools. The study has identified five instructional practices that were used to support students’ development of SL, namely guided reading, code-switching, educational print and visual aids, science experiments, and science projects. While there is evidence that the instructional practices used provided opportunities for students to contribute their thinking, experience and understanding to the science learning, the instructional practices were mostly print-based, paper-based and teacher-led, resulting in little engagement in active scientific thinking and literacy learning. Overall, the knowledge base developed by this study is of practical use to science teachers and educators in making decisions about appropriate instructional practices and what should be the regular focus of pre-service teacher education and professional development programs. © 2024 Association for Science Teacher Education.

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Understanding the Motives for Pursuing Postgraduate Studies and Causes of Late Completion: Supervisors and Supervisees' Experiences

By Amani, Jaquiline

This article is a product of a study that deployed a qualitative research approach to examine what motivates students in Tanzania to undertake postgraduate studies, and the causes of late completion of such studies. A total of 47 participants were involved in this study through focused group discussions and semi-structured interviews. The results revealed five distinct reasons why postgraduate students enter a doctoral or master's degree course: employment prospects, better salary, career progression or change, personal development, and prestige or self-actualization. Moreover, it was found that the determinants of late completion were both institutional and personal. Institutional factors included a non-supportive learning and research environment, cumbersome thesis and examination process, heavy supervisors' workload, supervisors' lack of motivation, and low entry qualifications by candidates. On the other hand, personal factors were poor educational background, social and financial problems, lack of good communication skills, research incompetence, low commitment, and partial study leave. The study concludes that efforts to improve the quality of postgraduate training should address the potential systemic, institutional and individual barriers. In the light of this, it is recommended that the institutional conditions and policies should be re-examined to ensure that supervisors and those they supervise are effectively facilitated in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities, so that postgraduate research produces good and timely quality results.

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