History teachers’ experiences of the implementation of the Eswatini (Swaziland) general certificate of secondary education (SGCSE) history curriculum.
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Date
2019
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Abstract
This study is a qualitative interpretive multiple case study. It aimed to
investigate history teachers’ experiences of the implementation of the
SGCSE history curriculum in eight senior secondary schools in the
Manzini region in Eswatini. It further sought to understand why history
teachers experienced the implementation of this curriculum the way they
experienced it. Purposive sampling was used to select participants who
helped generate data. The participants were selected based on their
location and their involvement in the implementation of the SGCSE history
curriculum as well as on the type of school in which they taught. Data was
collected through the use of semi-structured interviews, group interviews
and document analysis.
Pinar’s (2004) curriculum theory and Gross, Giacquinta and Bernstein’s
(1971) theory on implementation of educational change were used to
theorise that since curriculum is a social construction, curriculum
implementation should be a product of teacher reflection on his work.
Teachers’ constant interaction with the learners positions teachers well in
coming up with informed decisions on the best learning experiences and
implementation strategies that can constitute the curriculum since they are
familiar with both the learner and the school context.
The findings revealed that the school context was not considered before
rolling out the new curriculum. Schools were presumed to be the same yet
they are not. It emerged from the data that some history teachers still had
negative experiences of the implementation of this curriculum despite
receiving training before the implementation process because of
inadequate training and the lack of congruence between the teachers’
contextual factors and the reform. It also emerged that the country was
severely constrained financially to change the school context. It also
became clear from the study that history teachers need to be entrusted
with the work of developing learning experiences and the means of
transmitting these experiences to learners as they are better placed to do
that since such an exercise would be informed by their knowledge of the
learner and their contextual realities.
Description
Doctoral Degree, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.