Challenges facing curriculum implementation in secondary Schools in Suba District- Homa Bay County Kenya

Abstract

The study investigated challenges facing the implementation of curriculum in public secondary schools in Suba Sub-County of Homa Bay County. This was based on the fact that children with special needs who pass through curriculum in primary schools are forced to pursue their secondary education in special schools while others do not proceed to secondary school. The objectives of the study were to examine challenges in the enrollment of learners, human resource-related challenges, and challenges in the provision of learning facilities, challenges faced in curriculum delivery and challenges in relation to teachers‟ attitudes towards the implementation of curriculum. The study may provide crucial information to educational stakeholders on the need to promote curriculum in secondary schools. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and targeted 11 principals and 60 teachers from which a sample of 10 principals and 40 teachers was selected. The study instruments included questionnaire for teachers, interview schedule for principals and an observation guide. Pilot study was done to establish validity and reliability of research instruments. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data while descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data. The results show that majority of schools have not embraced the curriculum program. The results also show that majority of teachers have not been adequately trained on how to handle l e a r n e r s and that majority of schools did not have well-structured learning facilities while those that had the facilities were very inadequate. The study findings equally showed that majority of schools were ill-equipped with teaching and learning resources. It was also revealed that most teachers feel that the current curriculum is not suited for learners which may explain why most schools are yet to implement the curriculum. Lastly, the findings revealed that teachers have a positive attitude towards curriculum but are skeptical about participating in the implementation of the curriculum. In view of the findings, the study recommended that the Ministry of Education compels schools to ensure that learners are admitted in public secondary schools under the curriculum program. The government should also allocate funds to public secondary schools to help them procure facilities and facilitate the pre service and in-service training of teachers. Sensitization campaigns to parents of special needs children on the importance of taking their children to mainstream schools under the curriculum program should be done. A study should be replicated to the rest of the country and also include private secondary schools. A similar study should also include students and parents whose views could contribute towards establishing challenges facing enrollment of learners in public secondary schools.