Students’ perception of mathematics and science plasma lessons in Ethiopian government high schools

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to disclose some of the issues surrounding the implementation of plasma television program and to investigate the reactions of school level actors- especially students to the nature of the pedagogic reform of the federal ministry of education. The data were collected from 22 high schools in four regional states namely- Oromia, Amhara, SNNPR and Tigray. A self administered questionnaire was filled by 14,080 students. The result of the study revealed that even though the innovation was introduced into secondary schools about four years back, a large number of students did not know the exact share of time given to school teachers for introduction and summary of lessons. It could be possible to argue that given the key role of introduction and the limited time set for teachers to do so, lack of knowledge of teachers’ share in this regard would have implication to their extent of use of this time and ultimately on the quality of the lesson understood by the students. Thus in this study it is recommended that effective utilization of time and preparation of modules must be implemented so that students have time to follow the lessons appropriately. Moreover, on regular basis the ministry of education should make appropriate mechanisms for the improvements of the lessons. In addition to this, trainings should be given to high school teachers for maximum utilization of the technology.

Keywords: education, plasma TV, mathematics, science, high school