Teachers’ epistemic beliefs for pedagogy of competency based curriculum in Kenya: Analysis of Dewey’s Theory of knowledge

Abstract

The study examined teachers’ epistemic beliefs for pedagogy of Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Kenya. Studies on personal epistemology have established that teachers’ epistemic beliefs are enacted in classroom pedagogical practices. Pedagogical studies in Kenya have neglected teachers’ epistemic beliefs in classroom instructional practices. The purpose of the study was to investigate the requisite epistemic beliefs for teachers in Kenya to enact pedagogies appropriate for CBC. The objectives of the study included: To examine the theory of knowledge underpinning CBC in Kenya; to logically derive teachers’ epistemic beliefs from theory of knowledge underpinning CBC in Kenya, and to analyze how concept of Pedagogical Content Knowledge can guide teachers in enacting epistemic beliefs for pedagogy of CBC in Kenya. Philosophical research design was employed for analytical, critical, and normative review of Kenya’s education policy on CBC reform. The study argument had three major conclusions namely, that pragmatic social constructionism is the theory of knowledge underpinning CBC in Kenya, that there are necessary teachers’ epistemic beliefs which are logical derivatives from the theory of pragmatic social constructionism and, that the concept of pedagogical content knowledge is necessary for pedagogical reasoning in the alignment of the teachers’ epistemic beliefs with CBC in Kenya. There still remains longitudinal research to monitor student-teachers’ development of epistemic beliefs in the teacher education program in Kenya. It is imperative to monitor teachers’ epistemic beliefs in the in-service Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of practicing teachers in Kenya.