Attitude of teachers towards lesson planning, classroom management perspective : The case of selected public secondary schools

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitude of public Secondary School teachers towards the use of the lesson plan in teaching. The study was conducted in the six selected public secondary schools of Kitwe District of (Copperbelt Province, these were Helen Kaunda, Kitwe Boys, Mukuba, Mitanto, Ndeke and Malela Secondary Schools. The sample consisted of 48 Teachers, 10 Departmental heads and 6 Head teachers from selected schools. This study used the descriptive design and employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches, the research instruments used to collect data were questionnaires, lesson observation, document analysis and interviews. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically; where the identified key ideas were codified and organized into themes, the Microsoft office package was used to analyze quantitative data from questionnaires which generated frequency tables, graphs and percentages. The results of the study showed that the majority of participants had favourable attitudes towards leaching through lesson plans. However, what was discovered was that those teachers who divorced lesson planning found heavy workload as a major obstacle in doing so. On the other hand, some teachers felt that lesson planning took too much time. Lesson planning was also often dismissed as a bother, even as irrelevant, leased on the findings, the study recommended that teachers be sensitized about the importance of utilizing a lesson plan in classroom to enhance quality leaching. Periodical refresher seminars should be initiated and coordinated by Education officers to remind teachers on the usefulness of lesson planning, finally, but not the least, teachers should engage in collaborative lesson planning to develop their skills and knowledge, to improve their expertise, and to benefit from the expertise of their colleagues.