Attitudes of Secondary School Agriculture Teachers towards Lesson Planning

Abstract

Lesson planning is the key requirement for effective teaching; thus, every teacher training programme should prioritize it. However, little research has been conducted on lesson planning by teachers in Eswatini. Therefore, the study sought to investigate the attitudes of agriculture teachers towards lesson planning in Eswatini. The study was a descriptive survey targeting secondary school agriculture teachers in Eswatini (N=363). A sample of 180 secondary school agriculture teachers was randomly drawn from the population.  A valid questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire was 74% reliable. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings of the study revealed that agriculture teachers considered lesson planning to be important as it saves the teacher from haphazard teaching, promotes orderliness, is the heart of effective teaching, and makes the teachers feel confident. On the contrary, the agriculture teachers considered lesson planning to be tedious and time consuming. The study recommended that schools should provide periodic refresher courses and a template that can reduce the energy and time needed for lesson planning.