Curriculum innovation in Libya : physics at the basic education level

Abstract

Education has been given a very high priority in Libya over the past few decades. Top on the agenda was the effort to provide all children of all ages and in all parts of the country with what is considered to be a fundamental entitlement. Now that that goal has been reached, concerns have shifted from a focus on quantitative provision to one that interrogates the quality and outcomes of such provision. In a world where competence and competitivity in the knowledge and skills domains make all the difference to a country's fortunes, assuring the quality of education has, in many ways, become pivotal to survival. Developing countries in particular need to produce persons who have mastered the findings of science and technology, and who have the aptitude to apply this knowledge in order to identify and solve the challenges facing them in what has increasingly become a global economy (Rugumayo, 1987; Vedder, 1994). Students' achievement is widely accepted as an indicator of the quality of education in a society. It represents the most dominant aspect of what is often referred to as the 'achieved curriculum'. The 'product' of the implemented curriculum, the achieved curriculum, consists of the knowledge of concepts, skills, and attitudes towards a subject or area of study-such as physics, for instance-that pupils have acquired during their years of schooling (Robitalle et aI., 1993). To many, the effectiveness and worth of a certain curriculum is determined by the degree of attainment of the stated goals or objectives of that curriculum. However, this view does not quite guarantee that the extent of achievement has reached a satisfactory level. Stated goals or objectives can be, in some cases, easily achieved-the question is: are they worth achieving? Published results by schools or by the Secretariat of Education in Libya tend to suggest that curricular objectives are being attained, with students performing very satisfactorily in examination. Such high levels of attainment are not, however, borne out by several research reports that look more closely at the situation, and which show low levels of student competence in several subjects across the curriculum. These contradictory results raise many questions about the quality and validity of the official assessment system, and certainly challenge any sense of complacency about the educational enterprise in the country. This chapter addresses the issue of standards and achievement by focusing on one key subject in the Libyan curriculum, namely Physics at the Basic Education Level (BEL). Consideration of this area of study gives due attention to the innovation and reform of the country's educational system in 1986. The chapter will also provide original data on student achievement in a Physics test at the final grade of the BEL (Grade 9), in order to raise questions regarding the success or otherwise of the direction taken by the curricular reform.