Piloting A New Curriculum: Teachers’ Perspective

Abstract

Teacher participation in curriculum development has been the subject of considerable educational research in recent years, but the participation of teachers in curriculum piloting has received limited empirical attention. The purpose of this study was to establish teachers’ perspective of their involvement in piloting of the new curriculum and implementation of secondary school curriculum in Kenya. The study employed descriptive survey research design.  A sample of 342 teachers who included 194 males and 148 females participated in the study. Questionnaires for teachers and an interview guide for principals were employed in data collection. The collected data was analysed by use of both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study findings established that there was statically significant relationship between teachers’ involvement in curriculum piloting and implementation of secondary school curriculum. The study recommends that teachers should be involved in the planning and development of the curriculum in all stages for effective implementation. The Kenya institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) should lay better strategies to involve teachers in curriculum piloting for effective delivery. It is hoped that the findings of the study would provide all educational stakeholders with the feedback on whether there is a gap between curriculum policy on paper and what happens in practice. The study is hoped to give impact on teachers and curriculum developers on how they would work together in curriculum construction for effective implementation. Studies on innovative models of curriculum development should be conducted with a view to proposing alternative models that would enable more teachers and other stakeholders to participate actively in curriculum development process.