An investigation into the difficulties of teaching plate tectonics in Moroccan secondary schools

Abstract

Teaching geological concepts related to plate tectonics is fraught with difficulties. However, there is little research on this subject. The aim of this work is to diagnose the difficulties encountered by Life and Earth Sciences (LES) teachers in Morocco when teaching plate tectonics. To do this, we opted for a mixed approach, adopting two complementary methods. The focus group technique collected the ideas of five expert teachers on the subject in question. We used the ideas generated by this method to create a questionnaire for secondary-cycle SVT teachers. The results revealed that teachers reported a variety of difficulties affecting different facets of the educational act: professional, psychological, didactic, pedagogical, curricular, logistical, administrative, and language related.