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One of the aims of the Maltese Physics Secondary Education Certificate [SEC] syllabus (2021) is “to provide the basis for further study of the subject” [1]. This study aimed to explore whether the SEC Physics syllabus is fulfilling this aim. In this investigation, feedback was obtained from questionnaires distributed to 200 past SEC Physics students. Interviews were also conducted with seven post-secondary Physics teachers. Findings from this study indicate that there is a disparity between the SEC Physics preparation and A-level Physics requirements. It was noted that students struggle in post-secondary Physics courses due to [i] the abstract nature of the subject; [ii] a disparity in the level of Mathematics employed between the two academic levels; [iii] a lack of problem-solving skills and [iv] an inability to express themselves properly in English. This study also reveals that at SEC level, students are involved in a significant amount of rote learning during their coursework and tend to memorise knowledge rather than understand it. This results in students learning superficially and struggling to understand the challenging concepts taught in Advanced Matriculation [AM] Physics. Through the generated data, the areas in which the SEC Physics syllabus is not preparing students well enough to further their studies for post-secondary level were identified and suggestions were given to help improve this situation. In addressing these issues and to better prepare students for post-secondary Physics, students need to be exposed to more complex problems and reasoning tasks at secondary level. They also need to be engaged in more frequent practical sessions so that the link between theoretical and practical work becomes part of the course. Overall what seems to be needed to better prepare students for AM Physics is a greater degree of student involvement and a greater emphasis on teaching higher order thinking skills.
Keywords: Physics teaching, Secondary Physics, Post-secondary Physics, Curriculum design.
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