The reality of biology teachers' practice of the constructivist theory principles in the middle school stage from the supervisors’ perspective

Abstract

The constructivist approach represents a theory that explains how knowledge is constructed within a student’s cognitive framework through experience and experimentation. The current research aimed to explore the extent to which middle school biology teachers’ practicing the principles of constructivist theory, as perceived by supervisors. The research population consisted of 34 male and female supervisors specializing in biology, distributed across three directorates of Education in Rusafa district (directorate of Education of first Rusafa, directorate of Education of second Rusafa, and directorate of Education of Third Rusafa) and three directorates in the Karkh district (directorate of Education of  First Karkh, directorate of Education of  Second Karkh, and directorate of Education of  Third Karkh).

The research tool, represented by a questionnaire, was applied to assess the extent to which female biology teachers at the middle school level practice the principles of constructivist theory, as observed by subject supervisors. The questionnaire items were designed to cover the fundamental principles of constructivist theory, resulting in a total of( 41) items that reflect the general principles of the theory. The validity and reliability of the tool were established, and appropriate statistical methods, including the arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and percentage weight, were utilized to evaluate the reality of the practice.

The research findings indicated that the level of practice of constructivist theory principles by male and female biology teachers at the middle school level was low. This result does not meet the anticipated level necessary to achieve educational outcomes characterized by high efficiency and quality. While some principles of the theory were practiced at a moderate level, others were practiced at a low level.