Recognition of astronomy as an essential discipline at all levels of education in Tanzania

Abstract

With decreasing interest in pursuing pure science programs, the onus is on Primary and Secondary schools to attract and maintain interest of students to pursue science subjects. Misunderstanding fundamental concepts leads to misconceptions about how processes work in nature. Many decades of teaching science to children without recourse to practical and hands on activities has led to disillusionment among learners that science is difficult to comprehend. It is discussed in this paper that this phenomenon is not restricted to the East African region but has also been documented and tackled in developed countries. It is proposed that introducing astronomy as a subject at all levels of education can revive interest in science and provide hands on experiences that can assist to remove fundamental misconceptions about processes in nature.

Keywords: – Astronomy, Education, Science, Concepts, Misconceptions