Quality Assessment of Educational Materials by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development

Abstract

Education systems and structures in Kenya has rapidly expanded, posing quality issues on production of educational materials. Although Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD)is in the nucleus of quality assessment towards production of quality educational materials in Kenya through execution of its mandate, there has been limited focus on determining the extent of the role played towards quality assessment of educational materials in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to investigate quality assessment of educational materials by KICD with a view of identifying the challenges and recommending measures for improvement. The specific objectives were to: Examine the evaluation process as a tool of assessing quality of educational materials; determine the educational policies that lead to quality educational materials; analyze the role of stakeholders towards assessing the quality of educational materials; and make recommendations on quality assessment of educational materials by KICD. This research was guided by total quality management theory. A case study research design was employed, utilizing mixed method approach. Interviews were conducted on 18 senior officers drawn from KICD, Ministry of Education and publishing houses through purposive sampling. Quantitative data was collected from a sample size of 71 members representing 20% of 356 members of staff working in the three departments, through a structured questionnaire. Qualitative data was analysed through content analysis while Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The results from the qualitative interviews carried revealed that the KICD uses vetting teams and guides in evaluation of learning materials. The study findings showed that the entire process of book evaluation was done by various stakeholders who include subject teachers, quality assurance officers, Kenya National Examinations Council, curriculum developers, printing and publications members, officials from Ministry of Education, the evaluation committees, and the academic committees. The quality of learning materials in relation to choice of paper and binding style was found to be determined by target users, size of book, grammage and KICD’s guidelines. Major finding from correlation results indicated that stakeholders’ involvement has negative association towards quality of educational materials while regression estimations revealed that policy implementation was significant in determining the quality of educational materials positively. On the other hand, stakeholder involvement was found to influence quality educational materials negatively. The study therefore, recommends that the government should create more policies and/or strengthen the existing ones and should ensure that these policies are strictly enforced. Quality in book evaluation at the KICD should ensure that few stakeholders are involved and given proper guidelines to follow in designing, production and distribution of educational materials