Secondary science teachers’ perspectives of teaching outside their subject specialisation

The National Achievement Survey (NAS) class X (NCERT, 2015), that was conducted on a sample comprising 2,77,416 students in 7,216 schools across 33 States /Union Territories (presently, India has 28 states and 8 Union Territories) reveals that only two percent of students could achieve above seventy-five percent marks. The Ministry of Education, Government of India has entrusted the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to conduct a nationwide achievement survey of students at the end of Class X, on a sample basis. The survey reveals that there is a need for significant improvement in the teaching-learning of science at the secondary stage. Their low achievement is a matter of concern to all the stakeholders. Various reasons may be attributed for the low achievement of students. One of the reasons is that students face difficulties in conceptual understanding of science (Prabha, 2020). One of the other reasons might be science teachers teaching outside subject specialisation encounter difficulties in teaching-learning process. It is argued that quality education draws from a variety of resources to support effective pedagogies, however, teachers remain the main and most influential resource in education (Hattie, 2009).

McConney and Price (2009) review of the literature concerning out-of-field teaching indicates that it is a common and continuing practice in Australia and overseas. The findings from their empirical study are consistent with the literature they reviewed , with an estimated 24% of teachers in West Australia reporting that they had been teaching out-of-field during 2007 and 2008.They suggest for further investigation into the impact of teaching out-of-field on students, teachers and the community and if the phenomenon is to continue, ways to ensure that teachers are better prepared, students are not disadvantaged and the community is fully aware of the practice.

The present investigation can help the concerned stakeholders to acquaint them with the ground realities of the existing practices of secondary science teachers teaching outside their subject specialisation. It is crucial to ponder over the issue to support the teachers to effectively facilitate students’ meaningful learning. Hence, it necessitates investigation of secondary science teachers’ perspectives on teaching outside their subject specialisation.