When educators make STEM subjects look scary
Science education is said to be important for students - and that it is the backbone of the nation.
A country that invests in an industrial economy needs skilled scientists to accelerate transformation, according to experts.
However, they say that even though social science subjects are also important, the shortage of professionals is mostly felt in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
This, they say, is because many students have instead of being nurtured to develop a passion and desire in the subjects, are being intimidated by some of their teachers thus dropping out of science career options.
As soon as Mr Juma,* a physics teacher entered a Form Two classroom, he did not bother to greet his students. Instead he shouted instructions to the class. “I have set questions here and I’m sure 90 percent of you will not even attempt to do them because this subject is not for everyone,” he said.
This was the last day for Abineir Magesa, 23, to pursue his interest in physics.
“It was not the first time that Mr Juma was intimidating us about the subject. In fact, I was afraid of failing so I decided to forego the subject when I reached Form Three,” Magesa explains.
Magesa, who had a dream of becoming a pilot, says he began to hate physics, and this is when he started failing terribly even though he previously was performing well in the subject.
Magesa is one of many students who wanted to opt for a career in STEM subjects but he was disappointed by people who were required to encourage him in pursuing the studies.
Thomas Mwasalanga, says his teachers gave more priority to students they perceived to be doing well in the subjects. The rest were left unassisted.
Mwasalanga, who is a second-year university student, says the division made them isolated in many aspects.
“In fact, in all my life at O-Level I found myself hating science subjects especially mathematics, because I never got any help. Whenever I asked a question to understand more, the teacher would insult me saying I was poor in the subject so I had to remain silent,” Mwasalanga says.
A Form Six student, Rajabu Mohamed, regrets abandoning his favourite physics subject since he was in O-Level.
He says his teacher assured him he would not do well in the exam because it was difficult for him.
“The teacher whom my parents trusted as my mentor advised me to take English Literature, which I did not like, saying physics would be difficult at Advanced level and would therefore prevent me from qualifying to university.”
This is among challenges that make science subjects seem difficult thus prompting many students to abandon them.
“If you look at a subject like mathematics, there is still a great need. Many students do not opt for the subject because of intimidations. Even those who decide to take the subject fail to do well because it is believed to be difficult,” says Dr Triphonia Ngailo, a mathematician from Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology.
Another way in which curiosity for STEM has been driven out is through testing pressure.
Pressures on a school to perform well or students to get good grades have driven inquiry and curiosity out of the science classroom, according to experts.
They say the very attitudes and dispositions that draw many to a science or engineering career are not easily measured and therefore are not part of the school curriculum.
“Due to the schools’ competition in science subjects, both students and teachers do not think about how to make the science into the realities of life but how to compete and get good grades. This has removed the desire and created pressure on students,” she notes.
Dr Jackson Mtambarike, a consultant in Dar es Salaam notes that as a result, the current stock of graduates with secondary and tertiary-level skills are highly skewed towards humanities and social sciences, while the proportion of students in STEM averages less than 25 percent.
The other side of the coin
Experts say that over the last three decades, a global wave of market liberalisation has produced an interconnected world economy that has brought about unprecedented structural changes.
“The abilities of nations to master and exploit STEM is a key determinant of economic growth, development and security but a majority of young people who could help are being disappointed half-way,” says Dr Mtambarike.
The African Union through the decision on the Science Technology and Innovation captured in the Consolidated Plan of Action, has been encouraging its members to spend one percent of their GDP on research and development to enhance STEM innovations.
Even though science subjects are given paramount importance in the curriculum and policies related to education, right from pre-primary to tertiary levels and are the core subjects in both primary and secondary school curricula, a large number of students still struggle to understand the subjects.
“This struggle is reflected in the poor performance in national examinations and this is due to memorization rather than inner instinct to love these subjects,” Dr Mtambarike adds.
Bringing students back on track
Experts say currently there are increasing numbers, and a growing diversity, of partnership arrangements where scientists, mathematicians and technology professionals can interact directly with teachers and students in schools.
“There have been challenges for a long time where science lecturers do not have alliances with science teachers at the grassroots level. We need this partnership to exist. It will help us to prepare skilled scientists,” says Dr Mohamed Ali Mohamed from the State University of Zanzibar.
He says in order to raise a generation of scientists, there must be programmes where students spend time in research and industrial laboratories, or where STEM professionals interact over time with teachers and students in classrooms to share experience for better results.
Dr Mohammed notes that research over the past decade has identified significant outcomes from a range of partnerships that involve scientists working with schools.
Through this, STEM professionals with interested teachers are encouraged to develop a program that meets the school’s needs.
“This enhances a range of very significant benefits for students. These include increasing engagement with STEM learning and reasoning, increased interest, enjoyment, knowledge and confidence in STEM subjects, and a greater awareness of how scientists and mathematicians think and work and of potential careers,” Dr Mohamed tells Success over the phone.
He says partnerships would enable both teams to enjoy and professionals would trigger a passion in communicating their STEM knowledge to a new generation of students, increased understanding of and confidence in promoting public understanding of STEM.
He says as a result, students both girls and boys would raise curiosity and their capacity to tell stories about what it is like to work and think scientifically and what can be achieved using mathematics.
Dr Said Sima, from the Mathematics Association of Tanzania says it is imperative that action is taken in primary schooling to influence the mindsets and thinking of both students and teachers.
Both need to engage with “real world” math and science, in the sense that mathematicians and scientists are engaged with solving contemporary problems, he suggests.
“We have long identified problems with engaging students in deeper learning, largely due to the way science is taught in a very abstract way in the classroom, this scares more students. Universities now need to go down to schools and change the narrative,” Dr Sima says.
He adds that parents, teachers, peers, university professors, and others, who play a part in encouraging, nurturing, and mentoring the successful scientist or engineer, need to be engaged.
