The availability, use, and impact of instructional materials in the teaching and learning of life sciences in secondary schools in the Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga

Abstract

The teaching and learning of Life Sciences requires teachers to use various teaching tools, but it becomes a challenging task when the resources are not available or when they are available but are not being utilised. To promote the conducive teaching and learning of Life Sciences, it is necessary for educators to improvise and utilise instructional resources in their classrooms. This study was conducted in the Ehlanzeni School District, in Mpumalanga to determine the availability, use and impact of instructional resources in the teaching and learning of Life Sciences. The study adopted cross-sectional survey research design in which closed-ended questionnaire was administered to 75 Life Sciences teachers; randomly selected from the 15 Education circuit. The data was collected for a period of seven weeks. A Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 27 was utilised for analysing the data. Descriptive statistics were used and resulted presented in form of graphs, percentages as well as frequency counts. Inferential statistics were utilised to make inferences and generalisations of the research findings. All the inferential statistics tests were calculated at a p < 0.05 level of confidence. The results from this study showed that there were more visual instructional resources in secondary schools than audio and audio-visuals. For instance, the study found out that there were 98.7% textbooks, 90.7% chalkboards and 84.0% charts that were available in Ehlanzeni District's secondary schools. The findings also revealed that there is a statistical significance between the availability and utilisation of instructional materials as x2(4) =38.865, p= <.001. Through the utilisation of various instructional materials, the learners might improve their academics and educational efficacy in the Life Sciences. The findings illustrated that projectors, models and microscopes were available in schools yet they resources were rarely used and some of the teachers lacked skills in using some of the instructional materials. The research recommends that the Department of Basic Education must support the schools by providing them with audio-visual instructional materials especially smartboards and Edu boards. The educators must also be equipped through training on how to effectively utilise the various teaching materials during the delivery of the lessons.