A Research On The Status Quo Of Teaching Track And Field Athletics In Post-War Sierra Leone Secondary Schools

Based on the investigation and research through surveying questionnaires about the general condition of Track and Field teaching in post-war Sierra Leone secondary schools, this paper analyses and discusses the results of the above questionnaires administered to secondary school students, sports teachers and administrators, the understanding of the problems that currently exist with the matter in question and the evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages as well as the potential of the secondary schools Track and Field teaching in Sierra Leone. The paper also highlights some positive measures to solve the problems of the secondary schools Track and Field teaching and learning after the war in the country.With the use of relevant reference materials, consultations with experts, target investigations and aiming at the afore-mentioned reality of the matter, the researcher is able to come up with the following conclusions.1. A large proportion of secondary school students in Sierra Leone participate in the teaching and learning of Track and Field either by way of offering the sport as part of the Physical Health Education Programme or taking part in competitions.2. The contents of the Track and Field aspect of the National Physical Health Education Syllabus for both the Junior and Senior Secondary Schools are suitable for the levels they are meant for. The contents are therefore not too much for the three years in the Junior Secondary School and the next three years in the Senior Secondary School. Little wonder then that the students'perform satisfactorily in both the Basic Education Certificate Examination and the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations3. Secondary school students go through local arbitration procedure that categorises them into junior, intermediate and senior athletes for inter-house and inter-secondary school competitions. This makes room for many and varied competitions giving opportunities for many students to participate but with no strict adherence to the IAAF rules.4. There is little time allocated to the Track and Field aspect of the syllabus. There is only one lesson of Track and Field taught per week, which is not enough to develop the students for competitions.5. There is no Track and Field scientific research carried out by the Physical Health Education teachers and so the sport is never made attractive and profitable to the students and the Sierra Leone society as a whole.6. The forms of assessment in Track and Field are mainly classroom multiple-choice written exams given at the end of every term. In these exams, the Track and Field aspect is not adequately represented in the sample of questions drawn. The teachers hardly relate the testing methods to the objectives or learning outcomes of the Physical Health Education Syllabus. The teachers are also faced with the difficulty of using one test to measure the objectives set in the Track and Field aspect and so most of the classroom written test questions lack content validity in both urban and rural schools.7. The management and supervision given by the Physical Health Education Unit of the Ministry Of Education Science and Technology is low.8. There is a partial lack of trained and qualified specialist teachers to effectively handle the Track and Field aspect of the Physical Health Education Programme with sound theoretical as well as practical methods of teaching in order to make the sport interesting for the students. However the quality of track and field teaching employed by the Physical Health Education teachers was satisfactory. Many of the teachers plan their lessons well with clear teaching points to guide improvement. The level of remuneration for the Physical Health Education Teachers is low. Demoralised, frustrated and trying to make ends meet, many of these teachers have to run after their own private business.