Kiswahili teachers’ pedagogical competence for the implementation of competency based curriculum in selected primary schools in Turkana County, Kenya.

Abstract

Teachers are key implementers of a curriculum. This is because teachers control what is taught and how it is taught in their classrooms. Existing literature is limited to teacher attendance of CBC training sessions with little focus on their proficiency in implementing the new curriculum. The purpose of this study was therefore, to examine Kiswahili teachers’ pedagogical competence for the implementation of Competency based curriculum in selected primary schools in Turkana County, Kenya. The research objectives were to: establish Kiswahili teachers’ pedagogical competence in lesson planning; explore Kiswahili teachers’ pedagogical competence in actual class interaction; assess Kiswahili teachers’ pedagogical competence in classroom assessment and formulate a tentative theory to summarize Kiswahili teachers’ pedagogical competence for implementation of CBC in selected primary schools in Turkana County , Kenya. Desimone’s Core Conceptual Framework was adopted as theoretical framework for this study. Guided by interpretive paradigm, this study adopted qualitative research approach. Specifically, multiple case study research design was used. Target population comprised teachers of Kiswahili at grade four level. Purposive sampling technique was employed in selecting nine teachers of Kiswahili from nine schools to participate in this study. Qualitative data were collected using; document analysis guide, observation guide schedule and semi structured interview guide. The data was analysed inductively using grounded theory techniques whereby, themes were built from the bottom by organizing data into increasingly more abstract units of information. From the analysis it was established that, the teachers: proficiently interpreted curriculum designs but ineptly infused aspects introduced by CBC while lesson planning; skilfully selected learner-centred instructional approaches but ineffectively used them during actual class interaction; expertly applied theoretical-assessment techniques but inadequately used competency-based assessment techniques during classroom assessment. The study concluded by formulating a tentative theory that, teachers’ pedagogical competence diminishes in relation to level of familiarity of aspects under instruction. It thus recommends for lengthy CBC training so as teachers familiarize with requisite skills for effective: infusion of aspects introduced by CBC while lesson planning; use of learner-centred instructional approaches in actual class interaction; and application of competency-based assessment techniques in classroom assessment. This study thus informs teacher preparation programmes at pre-service and in-service levels.