Correlation Between Alternative Frameworks and Performance of Physics Pre-Service Teachers in Basic Electronics Content: A Case of a Higher Learning Institution in Lusaka District

Research in physics education indicates that students do not enter the classroom with blank minds but hold various alternative frameworks about what they are going to learn. Due to their strength and flawed content, alternative frameworks interfere with students' learning of correct physics theories, principles, and concepts, consequently affecting their performance, particularly in challenging areas such as electronics. While this is well-documented internationally, research does not specify the degree of relationship between alternative frameworks and performance of students in any physics topics in the Zambian context. This study sought to determine the correlation between physics pre-service teachers' alternative frameworks and their performance in basic electronics at a higher learning institution in Lusaka District, Zambia. A quantitative approach employing a correlation design and a one-case pre-test post-test control group design was used. The population comprised 191 Bachelor of Science with Education (BSc. Ed) and Bachelor of Education-Secondary (Mathematics and Science) (BEDMAS) pre-service teachers of physics; the sample consisted of 60 participants selected using simple random sampling. A structured questionnaire and a multiple-choice test on basic electronics were used for data collection. Instruments were piloted for validity and a test-retest method was used to check reliability. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics (Pearson's Product Moment Correlation coefficients) and inferential statistics (t-values). The findings revealed Pearson's Product Moment Correlation coefficients of -0.7 and -0.9 (sig at 0.00, 2-tailed) at 99% confidence interval before and after the treatment respectively. The study concluded that there was a strong negative correlation between physics pre-service teachers' alternative frameworks and their performance in basic electronics. The study recommended that physics educators should pay attention to such conceptions and clarify them so that pre-service teachers could develop conceptual understanding of basic electronics before entering the teaching profession.