Differentiation of Instruction in Public Secondary Schools: Investigating Teachers’ Understanding and Implementation Strategies

Abstract

Modeling differentiated instruction by secondary school teachers is crucial for meeting the diverse needs of learners. This approach enables teachers to plan their content, process, and products according to students’ needs and abilities. This research aimed to investigate the understanding and implementation of differentiated instruction of teachers in public secondary schools. A mixed-method research design was adopted utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods. Data were collected from teachers using a questionnaire on differentiated instruction and an interview protocol based on the key dimensions of differentiated instruction. Convenient sampling technique was utilized to involve 300 teachers in the quantitative survey, out of this sample 15 teachers were invited for interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS, with descriptive statistics calculated for all questionnaire items. Content analysis was employed to analyze the qualitative data. The research found that teachers consider students’ interests and abilities when planning their lessons and employ a variety of teaching methods in their classrooms. While they cannot change the given content, they make adjustments to suit students’ needs and abilities. Teachers also use various assessment methods to ensure student learning and attainment of educational objectives. These results align with existing research, but they also reveal that teachers are not consistently planning their strategies with student diversity in mind. This highlights the need for better preparation of teachers in differentiated instruction to cater to the diverse interests and abilities of students.