FACTORS INFLUENCING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTEGRATED ENGLISH CURRICULUM IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KANDUYI DIVISION, BUNGOMA SOUTH DISTRICT, KENYA

Abstract

The study investigated factors that influence the implementation of integrated English curriculum in public secondary schools in Kanduyi Division of Bungoma South District. The study sought to achieve four objectives which included one, to establish how teachers’ initial professional qualifications influenced the implementation of the integrated English curriculum and two, to determine how the frequency of in-service courses for teachers of integrated English influenced the implementation of the curriculum. Data was collected using two sets of questionnaires; teachers’ and students’ questionnaires. The reliability index for teachers’ questionnaire was 0.93 and that of the students was 0.91. Descriptive statistics was used in the data analysis. The findings included one, whereas 50% of the teachers had received in-service training on how to implement the integrated English curriculum, 46.7% of the sample had not. This lack of in-service training courses had influenced their implementation of the curriculum since the said teachers had been teaching as they were taught without the knowledge of new approaches to teaching English. This is because the syllabus was constantly changing. In addition, majority of the schools had inadequate supply of charts and audio visual tapes. The lack of some learning materials impeded the implementation of the integrated English curriculum in the sense that some teaching methods like lecturing were emphasized more than others. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made. First, the Ministry of Education (MOE) should liaise with teacher training colleges and universities to ensure there is harmony between pre-service training programs for teachers of integrated English and the implementation of the curriculum in secondary schools. This will empower the teachers to implement the curriculum with competence and confidence. In addition, the Kenya Institute of Education^(KIE) through the MOE should organize comprehensive and regular in-service training courses for teachers of integrated English at national, provincial and district levels. Suggestions for further research included a similar study to be carried out in Kanduyi division or other districts in Kenya but with special emphasis on lime allocated to teach integrated English and sometimes how it is utilized during the learning-leaching of English.