Factors affecting implementation of Kiswahili curriculum reforms in public secondary schools in Ngong Division, Kajiado District, Kenya

Abstract

This study investigated the factors affecting implementation of Kiswahili Curriculum reforms in public secondary schools in Ngong Division, Kajiado District. The new syllabus was introduced in secondary schools in the year 2003 and saw such changes as the introduction of oral literature, socio-linguistics, short stories, functional writing, and the new noun classes among other reforms in the Kiswahili language. The objectives of the study were to; establish whether the Kiswahili teachers have clearly understood the reforms in the Kiswahili curriculum, establish whether the Kiswahili teachers were trained (pre-service and in-serve training) to competently implement the reforms, to assess whether there are sufficient resources and facilities to support the curriculum reform, examine how the attitudes of Kiswahili teachers and students contribute to the implementation of the Kiswahili curriculum reforms. A sample of 16 Kiswahili teachers, 224 Form Three students and 8 heads of language department from Ngong Division participated in this study. The Kiswahili teachers and students filled in questionnaires that contained items on the factors that affect implementation of Kiswahili curriculum reforms and problems which teachers face. The 8 heads of language departments were interviewed each from the sampled schools. Frequency tables and the descriptive statistics were used to analyze and present data. v The results indicated that lack of adequate in-service training and seminars by Kiswahili teachers affected their competence to implement the curriculum reforms effectively. There were no adequate materials and resources in schools to implement the reforms in Kiswahili teaching and learning. The study also revealed that 75% of the Kiswahili teachers sampled had a negative attitude towards the Kiswahili reforms and also 69.5% of the students sampled had negative attitude towards learning Kiswahili as a subject. All these made the implementation of Kiswahili curriculum reforms difficult contrary to expectations. It was recommended that Kiswahili teachers should be in-serviced through seminars and workshops so that they can fully understand and implement the Kiswahili reforms. It was also recommended that teacher training colleges should adopt the reforms in their curriculum so that the graduates are not challenged when implementing the reforms in secondary schools. Kiswahili set books should not be frequently changed as teachers needed time to read and internalize them. This will lighten the burden of parents and schools of purchasing the set books frequently. It was also recommended that Kiswahili grammar (Kiswahili Lugha) be separated from Kiswahili Literature (Fasihi) so that the two are treated as separate subjects to enable the teachers tackle their areas of specialization and make implementation of the curriculum reforms sustainable