Bugingo, Jean Bosco

2 Publications in AERD

Author Publications

Representation of Nature of Science Aspects in Secondary School Physics Curricula in East African Community Countries

By Bugingo, Jean Bosco

For several decades, nature of Science (NOS) has been advocated as the fourth dimension of science teaching and is a fundamental source of in-depth learning and teaching. In addition to improving learning and teaching of science, the explicit inclusion of NOS in science curricula helps the creation of a responsible citizenry. Here, we analyze the representation of NOS aspects in science curricula, particularly in the physics syllabi in four East African Community (EAC) countries: Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. These EAC countries have been purposively selected because of sharing similar culture and history as neighboring countries. To compare NOS representation in the physics content, five major topic areas (mechanics, heat and thermodynamics, oscillations and waves, electricity, and atomic physics) were randomly selected from the syllabi used in advanced level secondary schools. The paper critically analyzes the representation of NOS aspects throughout front matter (introductions and rationales) and back matter (appendices and references), content, teaching methods, and assessment procedures proposed in these physics’ syllabi. Based on the analysis of data, the findings reveal that NOS aspects are not explicitly represented in the four physics syllabi analyzed. This study also found that in four syllabi reviewed, competencies were given much attention without any overt connection to the work of scientists. Finally, we suggest possible ways to improve NOS representation in the science curriculum. © 2022 Society for Research and Knowledge Management. All rights reserved.

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Representation of Nature of Science in Physics Textbooks of Cycle 4 Fundamental Schools in Burundi

By Munezero, Vianney

Guided by the analytical framework in the current literature, whereby ten nature of science (NOS) aspects were targeted, this study aims at assessing the extent to which the three physics textbooks for Cycle 4 of Fundamental Schools in Burundi represent the NOS aspects. The quantitative embedded research design which combines the qualitative and quantitative to both the representations of text and images were applied to collect and analyses data. Three physics textbooks used in this study as textbooks I, II and III (grade 7 textbook, grade 8 textbook and grade 9 textbook) were purposively selected. 65 physics lessons were analyzed in three steps including exploring representations of NOS aspects, representations of NOS teaching approaches and accuracy and completeness of NOS aspects. Data were collected using a guide document analysis and a rubric of NOS scoring and were analysed descriptively. The findings found a considerable deficit of NOS aspects in the physics textbooks. The findings also revealed the critical situation where the few lessons poorly represent the NOS aspects and the majority of them do not include the aspects of NOS. Furthermore, this study suggests the in-charge of quality assurance to evaluate and deliberate on the accuracy and completeness of physics textbooks for Cycle 4 of Fundamental Education in Burundi. © 2022 The Author(s)

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