Abstract:
The central role of experiments and practical work in the school science curriculum is universally accepted. A balanced science curriculum should not only give due emphasis to both theory and experiments but also integrate these complementary aspects of the subject in the teaching-learning process. Present-day science, as we all know, is the result of the creative interplay of observations, experimentation, and theoretical inferences. The importance of practical work in science education has also been recognized and greatly emphasized in the national policy of education for the past several decades. However, despite several laudable efforts in the past, experiments, by and large, have continued to be marginalized in the schools. The challenge arises due to the combination of several factors. The school should be keen to find out ways to promote laboratory work in the subject and introduce greater uniformity, objectivity, and reliability in the assessment of practical work.
