A cross-sectional approach, based on the observation of 13 classes of 7th and 8th grade basic education, was used to describe the pedagogical support strategies implemented by physical science/chemistry teachers in assisting students from some schools in Bunia during the treatment of learning situation examples. The results, derived from data collected using an observation grid and analyzed through percentages and the chi-square test, revealed that teachers predominantly relied on the explanatory approach to the detriment of experimentation. The examples of situations provided by the teacher are not clearly presented, and students are not always given sufficient time to reflect on them. Despite these limitations, a real level of student participation and a certain degree of autonomy in their work were observed in several classes. Time management, interaction, and discipline remain at an average level. Overall, the study highlights that pedagogical support strategies influence how learning situations are handled, but their effectiveness is still blocked by practices that do not align with the situation-based approach. Thus, we recommend reinforcing continuous teacher training, ensuring the regular availability of teaching resources in schools, and providing better support to teachers in their pedagogical practices.

An interview guide was developed and administered to a sample of 16 teachers who teach Physical Sciences/Chemistry in the 8th year of basic education in 30 secondary schools in Bunia city, with the objective of identifying the difficulties encountered by Physical Sciences teachers in teaching the chemistry component at this level. The results of the study revealed that these difficulties are related to the lesson plans preparation based on curriculum matrices, pedagogical resources, teachers’ professional knowledge, classroom management, the pedagogical approach used, and the time allocation of one hour per week provided for this discipline. When these results were analyzed using the Chi-square test, it was found that the observed differences between frequencies were significant for difficulties related to pedagogical resources, teachers’ professional knowledge, and the one-hour-per-week timetable allocated to this subject (with χ2cal > χ2tab at the 5% significance level). Consequently, the study recommends increasing the time allocated to the teaching of Physical Sciences, improving pedagogical resources in schools, and providing regular teacher training to ensure effective implementation of the situation-based approach, which is the pedagogical approach aligned with the curriculum of the Science Learning Domain for the 8th year of basic education.