Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Instructional Skills Used in the Teaching of Science Subjects: A Self-Evaluation Study

Abstract

This paper will examine the perceptions of the teachers of science subjects in secondary schools in Tehsil Dargai, District Malakand on the instructional skills required in teaching science subjects in schools. The quantitative survey design employed was descriptive, and 50 selected out of 1,458 teachers of science were used to collect the data using a well-designed and professionally validated Likert-scale questionnaire. The description analysis which was done with the SPSS on descriptive statistics showed that the self perceived competence of teachers was always high. Respondents said they had high confidence in the knowledge of their subjects, lesson planning, student motivation, and application of interactive instructional techniques like questions and clarification of concepts. The classroom management practices were also rated very well with a greater emphasis on being able to uphold the discipline and actively engage the student. Although these findings are encouraging, the rather reduced focus on the strategies of reinforcement identify an aspect that needs additional professional focus. Also, the prominent gender inequality of the sample indicates that the findings should be interpreted with caution. Although the study regards a very confident and professionally active community of teachers, it also does not ignore the shortcomings of self-reported data, which could also result in inflated images of reality. The paper emphasizes the significance of a continuous professional growth and suggests that more objective assessment procedures be integrated into future research so that one should obtain more comprehensive and balanced insight on the instructional efficacy in the area of science education.