Ghanaian primary school pupils’ conceptual framework of energy

Abstract

This study investigated the conceptual framework of pupils on the topic ‘energy’ which is one of the popular topics taught in the Basic Schools in Ghana.  A teaching model comprising teaching and learning activities depicting concepts of energy was tested on some primary school pupils.  The study was based on a structured questionnaire and a test designed and served on some Ghanaian primary school pupils (N=186) in the age range of 11 and 12 years.  The results of the tests were correlated for pupils’ performances on conceptual –type and algorithmic-type questions by a Chi square test.  The results showed that there exists statistically significant difference between conceptually oriented and algorithmic pupils at the p= 0.10 confidence level.  It came to light that majority of pupils depended on rote learning than on learning for conceptual understanding.  Recommendations are, therefore, made for improving the teaching and learning of science in the primary schools.

Keywords: Basic Schools, Basic education Certificate Examination, misconceptions, perception of energy, conceptual change, high order cognitive skills, algorithmic and conceptual-type test, rote memory skills.