Research Study

A Comparative Study of Education System in

Pakistan and UK
1 Muhammad Ilyas, 2Arifa Yousuf
1 Department of Education, Virtual University of Pakistan
Email: ilyasq94@gmail.com
2Department of Education, Virtual University of Pakistan
Email: seeratyousaf74@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The aim of this comparative study between Pakistan and United Kingdom changed to
permit the technology instructor to analyze from each other and to find out what conceptions of
the nature of science instructors maintain. More importantly, this examine could permit an
information of the character of, and motives for, discovered variations. It is critical that educators
from one-of-a-kind nations be extra knowledgeable approximately every other’s perspectives and
broaden their worldviews to apprehend the ones of other societies.

Curriculum designers in both Pakistan and the United Kingdom take delivery of that
technology schooling for today’s younger humans should now not just be approximately gaining
knowledge of technological know-how, it need to additionally encompass getting to know
approximately the nature of science. but, together with other studies proof, this research suggests
that for lots science teachers, teaching about the nature of science is probably elaborate as they
do not have the important know-how of the character of technology themselves. This research
also argues that there are benefits in teachers throughout cultural divides sharing their
understandings approximately the nature of technology.

Key Words: Education, Science, Study, School, UK, Pakistan.

INTRODUCTION

School science curricula in both Pakistan and UK include ideas about the character of
science. Pakistani curriculum files (government of Pakistan, 2018) in a roundabout way accept
this notion by means of along with ‘clinical literacy’ as one of the dreams of technological know-
how. In addition, one of the ten hints within the influential UK report beyond 2018: science
education for the destiny strongly advocates making ready kids to become informed consumers
of scientific knowledge or to become scientifically literate.
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Its miles hard to outline the character of technological know-how, in part due to the fact
its miles a construct that is neither solid nor prevalent. Philosophers, sociologists, and historians
of science do not agree on a specific definition. it's been said to stand for a ‘cluster of values,
techniques, activities and no longer a sharply defined idea, more in keeping with what
Wittgenstein has called a own family resemblance idea. It’s far often used to refer to the
epistemology of technology, science as manner of questioning and the values and ideals intrinsic
to technology. Hodson writes ‘while it's far apparent that no single, universally familiar view of
science emerges from a consideration of the literature, there may be a degree of agreement on
some of factors relevant to the school technological know-how curriculum’. The fundamental
concepts of the character of technological know-how considered vital for faculty science within
the NSTA role paper (see reference) had been taken as the primary definition of the character of
technological know-how for the motive of this have a look at. Very in short, the location paper
states that technology is straight away a reliable and tentative form of expertise, that no single
commonplace step-with the aid of-step clinical approach captures the complexity of doing
technological know-how, however some of shared values and views characterize scientific
method to information nature. A number one aim of science is the formation of theories and
laws; these terms carry very precise meanings in technological know-how and contributions to
science can be made through humans all around the global, but the technological know-how that
receives carried out is to a point encouraged by way of the social and cultural context of the
researcher.

THE RESEARCH STUDY

The venture that developed over a 12 months of discussion had 3 phases:

Piloting the research tool;

Figuring out and evaluating conceptions of the nature of technology held by using teachers from
continents;

Developing curriculum substances to educate the ones concepts of the nature of technology that
wanted strengthening.

This research confines itself to a record on the second one segment of the project. We
talk and evaluate findings about the conceptions of the nature of science held by means of
instructors in Pakistan and United Kingdom, using the nature of technological know-how studies
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Protocol (NOSRP) as a tool for undertaking interviews with teachers. The studies questions that
guided the take a look at encompass:

What are the conceptions of the character of technological know-how held by means of in-carrier
and pre-provider science teachers in Pakistan and the UK respectively?

What are a number of the similarities and variations among science instructors’ conceptions of
the nature of technological know-how in Pakistan and the United Kingdom?

THE SAMPLE
Twelve in-carrier instructors from each authorities and personal faculties in Pakistan,
with at the least a B.Sc diploma and coaching science to grades 6 to eight have been selected In
united kingdom, 9 pre-service instructors (three specialists in every of physics, chemistry and
biology), enrolled within the OUDES Postgraduate certificates in training, participated within the
look at. The samples from Pakistan and United Kingdom were certainly one of a kind: the
Pakistani members had been all working towards teachers while the UK contributors have been
all starting instructors. However, the key trouble for us became that not one of the members had
skilled any coaching approximately the nature of science, both of their formal science schooling
or their subsequent trainer training or teaching careers. Given the point of interest of our studies
we felt this difference in the samples turned into justifiable, but, within the event, we observed
that the ‘beginning trainer element ‘impinged at the research in an interesting way.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In this research we get to know that the instructor’s position may be very important in
teaching and studying manner however due to many issues, interruptions of their professional
abilities and so many other difficulties which they confronted in coaching and studying manner
they cannot carry out their responsibilities nicely and successfully inside the education process.
We observe located that there are much less professional development possibilities for
instructors. Instructors are overworked with additional intervals because of lack of college’s
teachers, while, within the faculty, instructors does now not have teaching resources.

A comparative look at between Pakistan and UK evaluate number one schooling device
of each nations and additionally compares government projects to desegregate special needs
youngsters into principal brook primary schooling. Secondary records have been used for this
observe. The share of boys’ enrolment is better than ladies’ in Pakistan however lady’s
enrolment is a petite higher in UK. Pakistani authorities have taken distinct procedures which
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include inducements for unique desires kids and instructor’s allocation of unique budgets,
accommodation and approachable infrastructure. The government of UK made an approach and
taught to the school control to be reassuring to special desires children.

But the authority’s exertion may be considered as projection degree in place of

implementation. Detecting that pupil enrolment price is clearly identical; but there are
noteworthy differences in the authorities-finances, drop-out fee and infrastructure in both
nations.

Informed purchasers of clinical information or to emerge as scientifically literate: The

technological know-how curriculum ought to provide younger human beings with an information
of some key thoughts-about-science, this is, ideas about the approaches wherein dependable
information of the herbal world has been, and is being, acquired.

As a consequence, the state-of-the-art revision of the country wide Curriculum in United

Kingdom now advocates factors of the character of technology to be studied inside the Sc1
strand known as thoughts and proof.

But, research has proven that teachers, at pleasant, have a completely restrained know-
how of the character of technological know-how. That is difficult because, even as the
relationship among instructors’ nature of technological know-how understanding and their
pedagogical choice-making isn't sincere, a complex interaction does exist. Trainer running shoes
want to apprehend instructors’ conceptions approximately the character of technology and the
issues associated with it that allows you to address them in instructor-education packages.

In depth case take a look at of a technological know-how teacher in Pakistan, found that
the instructor had very positivist conceptions of science. Technology changed into considered to
be objective know-how that would be acquired through following the scientific method. The
instructor saw science as advanced, cost-unfastened and a stable shape of knowledge. Two
earlier studies, tried to evaluate the impact that technology methods publications provided in
universities in-provider applications had on teachers conceptions of the character of
technological know-how. Each the studies determined that the programs of examine presented
have constrained influence on teachers’ conceptions and advise that a greater direct, overt and
specific mode of teaching about the character of technology can be essential. This ultimate end
unearths help inside the literature from different components of the arena too.
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A large amount of literature is to be had in the United kingdom on instructors’
conceptions of the nature of technological know-how, and research findings echo the various
issues raised in Pakistan, which include teachers lack of expertise approximately the character of
technology, differing perspectives about the character of clinical approach and science being
perceived to be a frame of expertise. Further, the usage of critical incidents/ inquiries to elicit
teacher’s understandings of the nature of technological know-how. Specially, they argue that
using critical incidents enables the investigation of instructor’s understanding in movement in
preference to extra traditional devices that concentrate on instructional or ‘difficulty’ knowledge
and pigeon-hollow teachers’ ideas in predetermined categories.

This study opines that instructors flop to enhance the buoyancy of the students and
additionally now not acquainted with schoolroom exercise due to the fact there is no proper
instructor schooling devices and no need of modern-day coaching techniques. The look at fairly
endorses that the trainer’s function should be clean and robust-minded so that you can have an
excellence studying coaching environment. This have a look at concisely examine trainer
education between United Kingdom and Pakistan. have a look at detected primary variations
inclusive of, basically of practice and policy that instructor education has forever centralized in
Pakistan, at the same time as it had as soon as been more or less de-centralized within the UK.
Even though, teacher education is currently being centralized in the United Kingdom, no matter
all of the unhappiness and discrepancies some of the instructors and instructor trainers.

Study concludes with this assessment that it will elucidate the essential exclusive troubles
regarding instructor education in the two systems that are observed via some empirical proposals
and conclusions. This look at empirically found that human capital measure education and costs
on schooling has a superb statistically significant impact at the economic increase and
development.

We conducted an exam on trainer training education program covering Pakistan and UK

includes Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Islamic Republic of Iran. The observers finds that
these nations are resources constraint nations especially Afghanistan observed via Pakistan. The
look at shows that the governments of each county required a few interest to encourage training
quarter. In other study shed mild on the significance of trainer education for Pakistan. To reap
millennium improvement the government of Pakistan desires to facilitate instructional
establishments, teachers, and recognition on trainer training application, therefore students’
overall performance will growth. Several studies, for example, Azam and Ahmed (2015) study
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reveals on the significance of school enrolment, spending on education because these are the
shows human capital which is one of the factor play significant role in economics as well as
social development of people

THE RESEARCH TOOL

NOSRP as a tool for amassing data is based totally on the concept of enticing instructors
in a dialogue of the character of technology with the aid of letting them reply to essential
incidents and open-ended questions instead of responding to dependent questions. Its miles
specifically critical for Pakistan because little or no is known approximately teachers’
conceptions of the nature of technology. As a result to try to understand those thoughts using a
device with predetermined thoughts guiding the questions might be counterproductive. NOSRP
incorporates three components:

Phase A – 8 critical incidents intended to generate dialogue on the lecturers’ selected standards
of the nature of technological know-how.

Phase B – five questions inviting dialogue on those concepts.

Phase C – a drawing check in which the individuals are expected to attract a scientist at
paintings.

For the motive of the look at the device became modified in critical methods: it turned
into determined to drop segment C of the test to restriction the interview manner to just about an
hour; an Urdu translated version changed into used for instructors in Pakistan.

Previous to the interviews both sections of the tool, along with the types of questions that
would be asked, were explained to the individuals and they have been given the protocol to
scrutinize for 10 – 15 minutes. The nature of technological know-how is not an acquainted
region for many science instructors, and we believed that they should receive some time to
consider the thoughts contained inside the NOSRP and respond thoughtfully. Then the interview
started with some history and demographic questions and became conducted informally. All
questions were asked of every interviewee within the same order and prompts and probes had
been used for clarification while important. With the members’ permission all interviews have
been audio-recorded. The identical technique changed into used to administer the tool in each
context, besides that the lecturers in Pakistan had been free to respond in both Urdu and English,
whereas most effective English changed into used in United Kingdom.
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FINDINGS

The interviews were taped and transcribed. The information had been analyzed through
studying and rereading the textual content, coding for subject matters that arose from the
information across the standards of the nature of science, and then sorting/ clustering these issues
to shape categories. The findings showed some similarities and some variations among the views
of the two samples. We suppose that the variations, in a few instances, could be attributed to the
extraordinary cultural and religious contexts of the individuals or to the truth that the United
Kingdom cohort have been pupil instructors and consequently had much less enjoyed.

Commonplace views held approximately the nature of technological know-how within the two
samples had been:

Scientific legal guidelines are ‘mature’ theories.

Technology and medical strategies provide fact.

Scientific statement is concept-primarily based and fee loose.

A trendy and everyday medical method exists.

Fashions are representations of medical fact.

However, maximum of the Pakistan cohort tested a perception inside the cohesion of
technological know-how and religious information, while the United Kingdom organization felt
that these kinds of expertise had been special and separate. These findings are mentioned in
greater detail below, highlighting how cultural and non-secular differences account for some of
the differences and similarities in views.

THEORIES AND LAWS

The research participants, in both contexts, were careworn approximately laws and
theories. The responses from Pakistan had been complicated and diverse specifically in phrases
of the connection they perceived among laws and theories. All but of the Pakistani members
believed that theories ultimately end up laws. Six idea that theories are unproven and incomplete,
while a regulation is demonstrated and ‘correct’, and that a concept turns into a law if more than
one experiments yield steady

NATURE OF SCIENCE RESEARCH PROTOCOL (NOSRP)

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This protocol isn't always a standard paper-and-pencil take a look at. It’s far extra like
research hints for growing an expertise of science instructors’ information of the nature of
science. Its miles divided into two sections: A vital incidents; B decided on interview questions.

The critical incidents phase is based on Nott and Wellington’s (1998) article wherein
they've defined the usage of important incidents in eliciting, deciphering and developing
instructors’ know-how of the nature of technology. I’ve spoken back to their invitation to apply
the published vital incidents to generate stimulating and ‘communicate-scary’ discussions. I’ve
developed some vital incidents from my own enjoy of teaching science in Pakistan and others I
have tailored and modified from Nott and Wellington’s work. Phase B includes 5 open-ended
questions, which could provoke a debate on problems which have been protected in segment A,
but the trainer won't have said an awful lot about them.

SECTION A: CRITICAL INCIDENTS

CRITICAL INCIDENT 1:

The instructor is classifying all dwelling matters into plants and animals. Then she in
addition classifies dwelling such things as cows, dogs, mosquitoes and human beings as animals.
One student stands up and prices the Quran to say that people are ashraful makhluqat [roughly
translated as ‘the highest of God’s creations’] and she couldn't classify humans as animals.

List the kinds of things you could say and do at this point.

CRITICAL INCIDENT 2:

You, the science teacher, need to inspire the scholars of class five to consider air as
having weight. You do the very simple interest proven within the textbook of balancing a ruler
with an empty balloon on one side and a balloon full of air on the opposite aspect. The facet with
the air within the balloon is meant to tilt downwards, however that doesn't occur.

List the kinds of things you could say to another teacher who is looking on.

CRITICAL INCIDENT 3:

At some stage in an expert development workshop number one instructors were intensely
engaged in an interest that concerned the use of litmus paper and a number of beverages that
covered lemon juice. While one in every of the teachers, who had some science heritage, noticed
 9
that the litmus paper had turned pink, he stated. ‘This is an acid’. The alternative instructor grew
to become to her and requested, ‘How did you understand?

List the kinds of things that you could say or do at this point.

CRITICAL INCIDENT 4:

Magnificence 9 students are doing a realistic hobby to ‘prove’ the regulation of

Conservation of Mass. college students weigh a conical flask containing NaCl answer and a vial
of AgNO3 suspended in the flask. After blending the two solutions, a chemical reaction takes
vicinity forming NaNO3 and AgCl. The box is weighed again. 4 corporations file the 2 readings
to be the identical, agencies report a loss in mass, and two an increase in mass.

List the kinds of things you could say or do at this point.

CRITICAL INCIDENT 5:

You, the technology instructor, are discussing the wave concept of light (call any theory

that instructors are familiar with) and one of the students wonders out loud while this idea turns
into regulation as a completely big quantity of experiments have ‘proved’ the wave nature of
light to be accurate.

List the kinds of things you could say or do at this point.

CRITICAL INCIDENT 6:

You're coaching magnificence 9 student’s introductory theories approximately the

structure of an atom. For the duration of the teaching consultation you talk the manner wherein
neutrons, protons and electrons are located inside the atom and the empty area between the
nucleus and the orbit of electrons. One of the college students within the magnificence says, ‘We
had been taught before in magnificence eight, that atoms are hard and indivisible. What do you
need us to accept as true with?’

List the kinds of things you could say or do at this point.

CRITICAL INCIDENT 7:

Throughout a workforce development workshop a science trainer educator stated that,

‘because of paintings completed by girl scientists, reasons approximately the evolution of people
have slowly changed to include the position of the girl in addition to the male.’ some teachers
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had been uncertain about this idea and stated that it intended that scientific explanations
depended on, ‘Who changed into doing the studies and the time it was being done’.

List the kinds of things you could say or do at this point.

CRITICAL INCIDENT 8:

Having read, the not unusual tale that Newton formulated his concept of gravitation after
seeing an apple fall, some college students are puzzled. They ask the teacher how this tale may
be proper, as there's no information to directly link the ‘falling’ to gravity.

List the kinds of things you could say or do at this point.

SECTION B: SELECTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Put the questions to the teachers and engage them in a discussion.

QUESTION 1:

After scientists have developed a theory (e.g. such as the atomic theory or the wave
theory of light) does the theory ever change? Explain your response.

QUESTION 2:

What does an atom look like? Does the model of an atom given in text books match
reality?

How do scientists know about the structure of the atom?

QUESTION 3:

Some astronomers believe that the universe is expanding while others believe that it is
shrinking; still others believe that it is neither expanding nor shrinking. How are these different
conclusions possible if all of these scientists are looking at the same experiments and data?

QUESTION 4:

The things that scientists observe depend on the ideas that they have about nature. In
short they see what they believe.

QUESTION 5:
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When scientists engage in investigations, do they follow as specific method results
(however, two others thought only a few experiments were needed to do so). In addition, one
Karachi participant thought that laws are compiled by taking the commonalities from a number
of related theories. Only one research participant thought that there was no difference between a
law and a theory. The only other view, expressed by two participants, was that laws often have
formulaic representations. The Karachi group had a good understanding of the tentative nature of
scientific knowledge, as all the participants thought that theories did change.

3 of the UK studies participants thought a law changed into ‘a rule of thumb’ or a

fashionable principle, just like the Pakistani contributors who concept that a regulation could be
represented mathematically with the help of a method. 5 others absolutely didn’t recognize or
didn’t pick to touch upon the distinction between theories and legal guidelines. But, all the UK
participants agreed that theories did broaden and change. 3 idea that adjustments in theories can
be pretty radical, depending on the proof produced, and one mentioned the falsification of
theories.

In précis, the findings on this location cautioned to us that we can also need to do greater
work on developing our instructors’ ideas approximately the difference among scientific theories
and clinical laws.

SCIENCE AS TRUTH

The interview responses revealed that participants’ held an extensive variety of beliefs
about ‘science as reality’ and different issues associated with the character of a model. Nine of
the Pakistani individuals observed science having one fact. Many said the ‘fact’ that in
technological know-how most effective one solution is admissible. However, the crucial incident
that specifically probed this trouble became misinterpreted by way of a number of the Pakistani
contributors as having an intentional gender slant to it. They consequently interpreted the vital
incident as focusing at the skills of males versus girls and this led the responses into a discussion
approximately gender variations in technology. However, in a later associated question, even
though among the Pakistani individuals held speedy to their idea of ‘one reality’, many did point
out the fact that exceptional human beings have distinctive reviews primarily based on their very
own unique attitude and method. Accordingly a few did seem to have a belief that scientists and
science are motivated with the aid of the cultural, non-secular and political context.

Inside the UK sample research contributors indicated that they felt technological know-
how became now a good deal more objective than in the past, suggesting a tendency to trust that
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scientists at the moment are getting closer to the reality. One participant, a physicist, believed
that there's a body of expertise accessible to be observed ‘if only humans didn’t intervene with
it’! however, all of the others inside the uk sample believed that scientists are motivated by the
society wherein they live, however they did not explicitly use phrases inclusive of ‘cultural’,
‘political ‘or ‘spiritual’. This cautioned to us they had a perception that scientific thoughts or
theories can be context-established and so there is not ‘one fact’. A question about the character
of fashions found out further troubles approximately fact in science. The UK sample had a fairly
constant information of the nature of a model. all of them felt it became a tool that might be used
to provide an explanation for clinical thoughts, that fashions were no longer real and that
exceptional fashions, for example of an atom, could explain distinctive factors of our scientific
thoughts approximately the atom. A number of the Pakistani pattern additionally held this view
however felt that fashions, even though now not a copy of fact, had been a simplified version of
truth. In addition, some did agree with that a version is a duplicate of fact and therefore in some
methods ‘the reality’.

We felt that during both contexts paintings changed into needed to clarify the problems of
truth in science for teachers, especially as many members seemed to assume scientific theories
ought to alternate however still held to the notion that technology was reality or honestly greater
goal than it have been in the beyond.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION

The UK sample, without exception, held the view that religion and science are special. In
the context of the question we asked there was a standard view that category is a systematic tool
and that any religious notion is special; consequently the type of humans as animals was no
longer complicated for any of this institution. The responses from the Pakistan pattern have been
extra complicated. 8 of them, just like the UK sample, acknowledged that there have been special
systems of class and attempted to split technological know-how and religion as two specific
perception systems. Two Pakistani participants merged technological know-how and faith; for
instance, one stated that there have to be 3 divisions ‘flora, animals and people’. One player
made a clean separation among science and faith however believed that science is wrong to
classify humans as animals. Certainly, one of the different members felt that evolutionary theory
borders on blasphemy, since suggesting that humans are associated with and descended from
animals instead of Adam is blasphemous. It might be of hobby to say right here that in the pilot
examine carried out in UK, one of the contributors, a Muslim, believed this as nicely. However,
the UK pattern for this unique study, even though religiously various, did not consist of a
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Muslim. Given the ethnic and cultural variety inside the united kingdom, it's miles very in all
likelihood that there could be Muslims among future trainee teachers on the UK percent course,
and because of this the responses from Pakistan are very pertinent for the United Kingdom
context too.

The religious debates that this question set off method that the issues raised right here
need to be pursued, in each contexts, in a touchy way.

DISCUSSION

One of the maximum massive findings of this examine changed into that the social and
cultural backgrounds of the participants did now not seem to make a difference to their broader
understandings of the nature of technological know-how. The variations where they existed lay
in the nuances of meanings. On particular components of the character of technology, religious
ideals of the individuals did appear to make a difference. As an example, all individuals,
regardless of where they were from, had trouble in know-how the difference between idea and
regulation. However, when it came to the difference between science and faith as sorts of
understanding, contrasting views emerged. In United Kingdom all of the participant’s notion of
technology as being information-primarily based and faith as faith-based, but the responses in
Pakistan were special and more complex – they regarded to suggest that all information arose
from the Quran. For this reason, religious and technology information had been now not visible
as specific. Even, in the event that they agreed, for instance, that the type of humans as animals
become ‘right’ scientifically, they finally reaffirmed their belief that people are superior and
ought to now not be classed with animals. Instructors covered the Quranic injunction that people
are Ashraful makhlooqat of their category of dwelling matters. Even in subsequent conversations
or while answering different components of the questionnaire the Pakistani teachers gave
explanations that confirmed absolutely that the separation of technological know-how and faith
does no longer exist in their minds. A number of them stated that the Quran has all of the
understanding and it is simplest recently that scientists are locating out what already given in it.

Even the tentative nature of technological know-how is greater with ease perfect to
members in Pakistan due to the idea that God is all understanding and we are able to best try to
find out in our own imperfect approaches the secrets of nature. As a result, our expertise is
imperfect and concern to revision.
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