AMALGAMATING WESTERN SCIENCE AND AFRICAN INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS IN THE MEASUREMENT OF GRAVITATIONAL ACCELERATION

There is the need to liberate the school science teaching process to suit the culturally bound day-to-day experiences of learners. The clarion call becomes expedient in the light of pedagogical failure in science education, which precipitates poor science achievement, especially in non-Western cultures. Non-Western knowledge systems, specifically African indigenous knowledge systems (AIKs), have been excluded from science teaching, which accounts for the poor achievement of learners. This research therefore measured the effect of the type of teaching materials, gender and the interaction between gender and type of teaching materials on the measurement of gravitational acceleration. The analysis of covariance (p≤ .05) was used to analyse data which were collected from 264 sampled learners. The results from the research indicated that amalgamating Western science and culturally bound AIKs teaching materials in a non-Western culture enhanced the determination of gravitational acceleration and bridged the gender divide in Physics achievement. The amalgam of Western science and non-Western culturally bound science can transform science teaching, make science more relevant to everyday experiences of learners and enhance their understanding of science and ultimately their achievement.