Teachers’ readiness for critical thinking and problem solving skills development in the competency based mathematics curriculum in primary schools in nandi County, Kenya

Abstract

Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are important aspects of mathematics education in the newly implemented competency-based curriculum (CBC) in Kenya. According to the literature, a curriculum change not only requires the teachers to acquire new content knowledge, but also new skills in teaching methods that support the aims of the new curriculum and a positive attitude towards the effected curriculum change. Given the recent curriculum change in primary schools in Kenya, the purpose of the study was to investigate the teachers’ readiness for developing the skills of critical thinking and problem solving in grade 1-3 learners. The following objectives guided the study: (i) to determine the teachers’ own level of competence in critical thinking and problem-solving using questions from a validated critical thinking test, (ii) to explore the teachers’ perceptions of critical thinking and problem-solving skills and their incorporation in mathematics education and (iii) to establish teaching practices employed by the teachers to promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills in mathematics education. The Visible Learning Theory by John Hattie provides the theoretical framework of the study and a pragmatic paradigm was chosen where quantitative (critical thinking test and questionnaire) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews) data were generated from grades 1-3 teachers in a concurrent triangulation design. The target population comprised of 75 schools and 210 grades 1-3 teachers. Simple random and purposive sampling were used to select the research participants from Nandi County primary schools, comprising of 20 schools and 55 grades 1-3 teachers. The quantitative data was analysed and summarized into frequency tables, percentages and bar graphs. The qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. This study adhered to ethical issues. The findings for the first objective revealed that only approx. 52% of the teachers answered the critical thinking test questions correctly. The findings for the second objective on a Likert scale of 1-5, showed that the overall mean of teachers’ perceptions was 4.245, which means that teachers perceived it as important to develop leaners critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Qualitative findings revealed that the teachers perceived the change as very positive and were open to use the new teaching methods but found them difficult to put in practice in overcrowded and under-resourced classrooms. Findings for the third objective on a 5- point Likert scale gave a high overall mean of 4.14, pointing out that the teachers applied learner-centered methods, which was confirmed by the qualitative results. However, the findings highlighted a certain level of uncertainty about which teaching methods serve to promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills and which do not. In conclusion, the study found that the teachers’ readiness in developing critical thinking and problem solving in the classroom was only partially achieved. Hence, the study recommends that it would be useful to expose teachers to more and indepth training that not only equips them with the skills to apply learner-centered methods, but also with more knowledge about how critical thinking and problem solving skills develops in children.