Curriculum Implementation: Strategies for Improved Learning Outcomes in Primary Schools in Kenya

Abstract

Education in Kenya requires rethinking as the country faces the demands of educational and socio-economic transformation of the 21st century. One of the general objectives of primary education in Kenya states that primary education should provide the learner opportunities to acquire literacy, numeracy, creativity and communication skills. There is evidence from research reports that the objective has not been fully met. A number of learners go through the primary school course without acquiring the basic literacy skills which negates the focus of the country to develop a knowledge based economy. The purpose of this study was to find out the extent to which teachers used teaching learning resources and learner centred strategies in primary school classrooms. The methodology adopted was survey research design. A total of 490 primary school teachers from five counties were purposively sampled and a total of 402 teachers participated; out of the total, 70 were observed teaching and 332 filled in a questionnaire. Out of 35 TAC tutors selected, 27 participated.A total of 80% of the teachers observed teaching used teacher centred teaching learning approaches with little learner involvement. The majority, 61.4% of those who filled in the questionnaire, indicated that they used teacher centred teaching learning approaches. Only 1(3.7%) was ‘good’ in use of resources for teaching learning in class, the rest were poor or did not use resources. It was found that teaching and learning approaches employed in the classroom by most teachers was teacher centred and encouraged rote learning hence lacking in active student involvement in the learning process. It was recommended that there should be sustained school based teacher professional development activities specifically addressing pedagogy for improved curriculum implementation and ultimately improved learning outcomes.