Upper Primary Students’ Engagement in Active Learning: The Case in Butajira Town Primary Schools
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the level of upper primary students’ engagement in active learning. The study involved an in depth analysis and interpretation of the on-going classroom activities and events. A total of 48 science and social studies lessons conducted by 24 teachers of grades 6 and 8 classes were observed and tape-recorded. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed to analyze and interpret the data obtained from the field. The findings of this study reveal the existence of a very low level of students’ engagement in active learning. The level of students’ engagement in active learning was higher in grade six classes than in grade eight classes. However, no significant subject- wise variation in engagement rate was found in this study. The results seem to suggest that the policy has set expectation on schools to implement a pedagogical innovation that demands more than what they actually can at the moment. Therefore, provision of more enabling conditions such as instructional resources, favorable working regulation, and continuous and relevant in service training for primary teachers is highly essential in order to narrow down the existing gap between curriculum (policy) intentions and the actual pedagogical practices in the classrooms.
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References
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Stodolsky ,S.S.(1988) .The Subject matters: Class room Activity in Math
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Tekeste Negash (1990). The Crisis of Ethiopian Education. Appsala:
Appsala University Press.
White, R.T. and Gunstone, R.F. (1992). Probing for Understanding.
London: Flamer Press.
Willey, D.E. (1973). Another Hour, Another Day; Quantity of Schooling :
A Potent Path for Policy Studies of Educative Processes. Chicago:
University of Chicago.
Willey, D.E. and Harnishfeger, A. (1974). Explosion of Myth: Quantity of
Schooling and Exposure to Instruction, Major Educational Vehicles.
Educational Researcher, 3, 7-12.
Wood, D. and Wood, H. (1988). Questioning Versus Student Initiative. In
J.T. Dillon (ed). Questioning and Discussion. Nonvood, NJ:Ablex.
Verspoor, A. (1989). Pathways to Change: Improving the Quality of Primary
Education in Developing Countries. World Bank Discussion paper, No. 53.
Bonwell, C.C., and J. A. Eison, (1991). Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education, Washington, D.C.: George Washington Univ., Washington, D.C. http://www.ntlf.com/
Borich, G. D. (1996). Effective Teaching Methods (Third ed). New York: Prentice Hall Inc.
Bourke, S. (1986). How Smaller is Better: Some Relationships between Class Size, Teaching Practices and Student Achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 23, 558-571.
Nunan, David. (1992). The Learner-Centered Curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Breslow,Lori. (1999). New Research Points to the Importance of Using
Active Learning in the Classroom. http://web.mit.edu/tll/tll-library/teachtalk/
Bronfenhrenner U.(1979). The Ecology of human development.
Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridg: Harvard University Press.
Chin, C. et. al ., (2002). Student Generated Questions: A meaningful Aspect of Learning in Science. International Journal of Science Education, 24(5).
Dillon. J.T. (1988) Questioning and Discussion: A Multidisciplinary Study. New Jersy: Ablex.
Elmore, Richard. & Spillane, James. (1996). Curriculum Policy. In Jackson, Philip W. (1996). Handbook of Curriculum Research. NewYork: Simon and Shuster Macmillan
Evertson, C. M., and Folger, J. K. (1989). Small Class, Large Class: What do
Teachers do Differently? Paper presented at the meeting of the
American Educational Research Association, San Francisco.
Finn, .1. D., & Achilles, C. M. (1990). Answers and Questions about Class
Size:A statewide experiment. American Educational Research
Journal, 27, 557-577. Finn, iD. (1989). Withdrawing from School: Review of Educational Research, 59, 117-142.
Finn, I. D., and Achilles, C. M. (1993). School Engagement and Students at
Risk. Washington, DC:National center for Education Statistics.
Finn, J.D. and Rock, D.A. (1997). Academic Success among Students at
Risk. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(22) 1-234.
Goodlad, J.I. (1984). A Place Called School: Prospects for the Future.
New York:McGraw Hill.
Good, T. L., et al. (1987). Student Passivity: A Study of Question Asking in
K-12 Classrooms. Sociology of Education, 60, 181- 199.
Hailu Fulas (1974). Knowledge and its Attainment in the Ethiopian Context.
The Ethiopian Journal of Education, 7(1).
Kerry, I. (1987). Classroom Questions in England : Questioning Exchange,
10, 32-33. Kiser-Kling, K. (1995). Life in a Small Teacher-Pupil Ratio
Class. Unpublished Ed.D. Dissertation. University of North Carolina,
Greensboro.
Lockheed, M.E. and Verspoor, A. M. (1991). Improving Primary Education
in Developing Countries: World Bank Publication. Oxford
University Press.
Marks, H. M. (2000). Student Engagement in Instructional Activity.
American Educational Research Journal, 37 (1).
Marx, R., and Walsh, J. (1988). Learning from Academic Tasks. The
Elementary School Journal, 88(3), 207-219.
MOE (2002) Education Sector Development Strategy II. Addis Ababa: MoE.
Newmann. F.M. (Ed.). (1992). Student Engagement and Achievement in America Secondary Schools. New York Teachers College Press.
Newmann, F.M. and Wehlege, G. G. (1992). The Significant and Sources
of Student Engagement. In F. Newmann (Ed.). Student Engagement
and Achievement in America secondary schools. New York College
Press.
Nystrand, M, and Gamoran, A. (1991). Instructional Discourse, Student
Engagement, and Literature Achievement. Research in the Teaching
of English, 25, 26 1-290.
Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality. New
Heaven:Yale.
Powell, AG., FalTar, E. and Cohen D.K. (1985). The Shopping Mall High
School. New York : Simon and Schuster.
Patricia M. R. (1995). Perspectives on Pedagogy in Teacher Education: The
Case of Namibia. International Journal of Educational
Development, 55(1).
Prince, Michael (2004). Does Active Learning Work? A Review of the
Research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93(3).
Savage, T. (1991 ).Discipline for Self-control. Englewood cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Shernoff, D. J. et.,al., (2003). Student Engagement in High School
Classrooms from the Perspective of Flow Theory. School Psychology
Quarterly, http://www.pmachine.com/
Shemoff, D.J., Schneider, B., and Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2001, April).
Assessing Multiple Influences on Student Engagement in High School
Classrooms. Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American
Educational Research Association, Seattle, Washington. http://www.pmachine.com/
Sizer, T.R. (1984). Horace’s Compromise: The Dilemma of the American
High School. Boston : Houghton Mifflin.
Steinberg, L. (1996) .Beyond the Class room : Why School Reform has
Failed and What Parents Need to Do. New York : Simon and
Schuster.
Stodolsky ,S.S.(1988) .The Subject matters: Class room Activity in Math
and Social Studies. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press
Tekeste Negash (1990). The Crisis of Ethiopian Education. Appsala:
Appsala University Press.
White, R.T. and Gunstone, R.F. (1992). Probing for Understanding.
London: Flamer Press.
Willey, D.E. (1973). Another Hour, Another Day; Quantity of Schooling :
A Potent Path for Policy Studies of Educative Processes. Chicago:
University of Chicago.
Willey, D.E. and Harnishfeger, A. (1974). Explosion of Myth: Quantity of
Schooling and Exposure to Instruction, Major Educational Vehicles.
Educational Researcher, 3, 7-12.
Wood, D. and Wood, H. (1988). Questioning Versus Student Initiative. In
J.T. Dillon (ed). Questioning and Discussion. Nonvood, NJ:Ablex.
Verspoor, A. (1989). Pathways to Change: Improving the Quality of Primary
Education in Developing Countries. World Bank Discussion paper, No. 53.
Published
2006-06-01
Section
Articles