Pedagogic Lapses in Problem-solving Model and the Professional Development of Secondary School Philosophy Teachers in Yaoundé VI Municipality

Abstract

The professional development of teachers most especially Philosophy teachers has been a major concern of the Government of Cameroon. The ministry of secondary education has experimented several approaches and methods such as the New Pedagogic Approach and the Competence Based Approach. However, the Problem-Solving Model (PSM) could have an influence on the professional development of secondary school philosophy teachers. On this premise, this study sought to find out how the Problem-Solving Model influences the professional development of secondary school philosophy teachers in Yaounde VI Municipality. The investigation was anchored on authors like J. Dewey, E. Kant, C. S. Pierce and K. Nkrumah on their constructivist and pragmatic views. The qualitative approach with the aid of a semi-structured interview and semi- structured observation were employed. A total of ten teachers were selected to participate in this study using the non-probability sampling technique from two secondary schools; G.B.H.S. Etoug-Ebe and G.B.H.S. Mendong in the Yaounde VI municipality. Data was analyzed descriptively using tables, graphs and thematic content analysis. The results revealed that PSM influenced the professional development of secondary school philosophy teachers except for some few elements like stating the problem, contextualizing and rephrasing the problem, recalling the problem and contextualizing the solution that need to be relooked into because teacher practices do not conform to Dewey’s pragmatic model. The results of this study led to the proposed pragmatic triadic model to guide teacher practices.