DefinePK

Abstract

The importance of science education cannot be denied. The purpose of the study is to analyze science education at secondary level in District Ziarat, Balochistan.  A mixed method consisting of quantitative and qualitative methods was adopted for conducting the study. The researcher collected the data with the help of questionnaire and semi-structured interview. The structured and closed ended questionnaire consisted of demographic questions and a 5-point likeret scale questions. The questionnaire was distributed among 330 male and female students of the secondary classes of both Government and Private schools located in the urban and rural areas of District Ziarat. It was filled out by 327 (99 percent) students studying in Class IX and X. The semi-structured interviews were held with 28 secondary school science teachers of different schools of District Ziarat. The quantitative data obtained through questionnaire were analyzed with the help of SPSS (Version 21) whereas thematic analysis was used for the interpretation of the semi-structured interview. The study discovered that majority of the secondary schools of District Ziarat do not have well-equipped science laboratory. The quality of the science textbook is also very poor as they contain outdated and irrelevant contents. It was also discovered that the teaching methodologies used by the science teachers are out-fashioned. The science teachers do not conduct regular science experiment. Technology is also not incorporated in the provision of science subjects. There are several challenges faced by students and teachers in the secondary schools of Ziarat. Language barriers, Class size issues, and shortage of qualified science teachers are the challenges. The quality of science education in Ziarat can be improved with the help of certain measures.