The Extent of Inclusion of Socio-Scientific Issues (SSI) in the High school Physics Textbooks in Saudi Arabia, and the Level of Teachers' Awareness of These Issues

Abstract

The twofold aim of this study is to investigate the inclusion of the Socio-Scientific Issues (SSI) in the high school student physics textbooks and teacher guides for 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Saudi Arabia, and also the extent of teachers awareness of these issues and how they address them in the classroom. The content analysis technique is used to unveil the inclusion as well as the specific examples of SSI. In addition, a semi-structured interview is made to explore 12 teachers' awareness of these issues and how they address them in the classroom. Regarding the inclusion of SSI, the findings showed that while the student textbooks and teacher guides lack an explicit reference to SSI, there was, however, an implicit mention of 60 SSI’s in (51) lessons out of 71 in the three grades. In addition, there were no guidelines to address the SSI whether in student textbooks or teacher guides. In terms of teachers’ awareness of SSI, two thirds (8 teachers) mentioned the inclusion of the SSI. The study reveals that teachers do not address the SSI because of the limited allotted time, the overloaded content of textbooks, a lack of training directed to teaching SSI, or not acknowledging the importance of SSI. Recommendations for including SSI in the textbooks and addressing them in the classroom are discussed.