Linking theory to practice: perspectives on practical measures and policies in enhancing the implementation of the localised curriculum in Mwansabombwe district of Zambia.
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Date
2022-12
Authors
Daka, Harrison
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS)
Abstract
The relevance of the school curriculum cannot be over
emphasised in every form of education system. Of vital
importance in the upholding of curriculum relevance in any
society is the insurance that it is well contextualised or localised.
When the curriculum is not contextualised and its implementation
process not localised, the education system risk producing
learners in a vacuum who may not eventually play a significant
role in solving various societal glitches. If a country is to achieve
rapid economic growth however, its education should be related
to productivity (Bishop, 1985). Some of the solutions to problems
currently encountered in African societies and communities
Zambia inclusive, must proceed from understanding the dynamics
with the local context. It is from this background that this study
was undertaken to explore perspectives on practical measures and
policies in enhancing the implementation of the localised
curriculum in Mwansabombwe district of Zambia. The
researchers used qualitative research approach specifically
descriptive research design to collect, analyse and interpret data.
Out of the study population of 30,000 residents of
Mwansabombwe district, 50 respondents were purposively
sampled whose break downs were as follows; 10 local community
members, 10 learners, 20 teachers, 5 officers from
Mwansabombwe District Education Board Secretary’s office
(DEBS) and 5 Education Standards Officers. Both semi structured
interview guide and focus group discussion guide were used to
collect data and content analysis was used to analyse the collected
data. Research findings revealed that there was no effective
implementation of the localised curriculum in Mwansabombwe
district. This was necessitated by lack of appropriate practical
measures by the Ministry of Education (MoE) to address key
issues such as those that had to do with; teaching and learning
materials, lack of capacity building amongst the teaching staff,
lack of motivation amongst the learners, teachers and community
members as well as ignorance on pertinent issues surrounding the
localisation of the curriculum amongst various stakeholders.
Hence from the research findings, it was recommended that the
MoE need to thoroughly conduct both needs assessment and
situation analysis for the localisation of the curriculum to be
effectively implemented in Zambian schools. Besides, the MoE
needed to reinforce policy on localisation of the curriculum in
schools if the country was to achieve the intended results about the
localised curriculum.
Keywords: localised curriculum, contextualisation, situated
learning, social learning, curriculum implementation.
Description
Article
Keywords
Situated learning. , Localised curriculum. , Social learning.