Biology teachers' professional competences in the first cycle of Secondary Education in Benguela (Angola)

This paper presents the results of a research that sought to study the professional competences of Biology teachers in eleven schools for the first cycle of Secondary Education in Benguela, in Angola, and to analyse their impact on student learning. To this end, we resorted to a descriptive case study methodology, with questionnaires for teachers and students in the selected schools. The results clearly show that most of the Biology teachers in the selected schools do not have any specific training for this, and their participation in specific training courses for Biology teachers is rare. The study also allowed us to diagnose the teachers' training needs, which include planning and implementing practical activities, and making and using didactic resources, with emphasis on ICT.