Investigating the Implementation of Constructivist Pedagogy in Primary Education: A Comparative Study of Public and Private Schools

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17878946

Abstract

The global educational landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, moving away from traditional, teacher-cantered instruction toward learner-cantered, activity-based approaches. This shift, driven by constructivist pedagogy, emphasizes the development of critical thinking, collaboration. While constructivism has achieved global prominence, its practical application varies considerably across diverse educational settings. This study aims to provide an empirical comparison of the extent to which constructivist principles and associated assessment techniques are being utilized in public and private primary schools in Islamabad. This research specifically investigates key facets of constructivist pedagogy such as teaching methodologies, roles of teachers and learners, influence of educational institutions within this paradigm, and a balanced investigation of the strengths and limitations of constructivist practices. A descriptive causal-comparative research design was adopted, employing a quantitative survey method. The study population was composed of all female primary school teachers within both public and private institutions across Islamabad. To ensure robust and balanced representation, a stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample Yamane’s sample size formula (n = N / (1 + Ne²), with e = 0.07 margin of error), was used the recommended sample size was approximately 180 teachers. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and independent-samples t-tests to determine statistically significant differences between two groups. The analysis revealed statistically significant differences in the adoption of constructivist pedagogies and assessment strategies between public and private primary schools. Private sector schools generally exhibited a higher frequency and breadth of constructivist implementation. These findings hold important educational implications for policy development and pedagogical reform.