Classroom Teaching Practices: A Means of Providing Quality Education by Teachers in Botswana Senior Secondary Schools

The problem of poor school based examinations persists among schools in Botswana despite government efforts towards addressing the situation. In an attempt to contribute a solution to this problem, a study aimed at determining the level to which teachers perceive classroom teaching practices as desirable means of ascertaining quality in education was undertaken. A questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire intended to find out the views of the place and importance of testing in educating students for development in our society. Content and construct validity were both established through experts which include one from the University of Botswana and one from the Ministry of Education in Examination, Research and Testing Division. Reliability was established using thirty (30) English, Mathematics and Science teachers from Naledi and Gaborone secondary schools. From the eight (8) Districts in the country, one Senior Secondary School was randomly selected for administration of a questionnaire to all Mathematics, Science and English teachers. Dependent t-test and independent t-test analysis were used to analyze data collected from teachers and the results showed that teachers do teach to the examination instead of the syllabus. Teachers also considered themselves to be having good test development skills and good knowledge of skills necessary for the society. From the findings, it is clear that school based practices undermine the provision of quality education. The study implores teachers to perceive teaching to the curriculum as a means of improving quality of education in Botswana and they must be motivated to do so.