Teacher’s views on the relevance of secondary school English curriculum: implications for policy, practice and theory

Abstract

The English curriculum in schools in Kenya is prepared by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). This institute mainly relies on input from curriculum experts at the national level, denying classroom teachers the opportunity to express their views in developing a quality education system for its learners. This results in misinterpretations of curriculum intentions consequently impacting on learner achievement in annual English national examinations. The curriculum in use for teaching English in Kenya was last reviewed in 2002. Given the educational changes that have taken place over the years, the curriculum may have become obsolete. The purpose of this study was to assess teachers’ views on the relevance of the English curriculum. The study was guided by three objectives: establish relevance objectives of the English curriculum, determine the relevance of the content of the English curriculum and determine the relevance of suggested resources of the English curriculum. This study was carried out among teachers of English in secondary schools using a descriptive research design. A sample of 180 teachers of English was used. The study used a questionnaire with Likert-type questions as the main instrument for data collection. Qualitative data analysis established that the objectives on reading and listening and speaking skills, content on reading and writing skills, and nine of the suggested resources scored low means when compared to the composite mean. This was an indication that the objectives, content and suggested resources of the English curriculum had discrepancies which ought to be addressed in order to align and make the curriculum relevant to the current needs of learners.