Teachers’ experiences in the implementation of competence-based curriculum in Tanzania secondary schools: a case of Kinondoni district, Dar es Salaam region

Abstract

The study explored teachers’ experiences in applying the competence-based curriculum (CBC) to teaching and learning in Tanzania’s secondary schools using Kinondoni district in Dar es Salaam region as a case study. The study had five objectives of examining how CBC was introduced in Tanzania’s secondary schools; how the teachers’ experiences have changed, especially in the use of teaching methods following the introduction of CBC; the school environment and how it supports teaching and learning of CBC; the assessment tools/methods teachers used under CBC and the challenges they encountered in the implementation of CBC. A total of 39 respondents from six secondary schools and from the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) participated in the study. The data collected was through the use of questionnaires, interviews and documentary review and were mainly analysed qualitatively through thematic and content analysis and a few quantifiable data through quantitative analysis. The study findings show that most of the teachers possessed a general vision of ideal CBC. The majority of the teachers believed that there was a considerable distance before they could translate that vision into reality. Moreover, only a few teachers were found to apply the CBC on a regular basis let alone being sufficiently familiar with its components. Tight timelines for implementation, as well as challenges such as lack of resources and limited in-services training were identified as challenges for CBC implementation. The study also found that there was lack of communication between the government, the TIE (the curriculum developers), and the teachers, implementers on the ground, thus inadvertently creating gaps and oversights in the implementation process. On the basis of these findings, the study concludes that CBC application in secondary schools has only produced little tangible benefits, hence the need to make deliberate efforts for CBC to function more effectively. The study recommends that efforts by all stakeholders should be made to bridge the gap between the government and teachers by engaging teachers in some crucial decisions concerning secondary school education for CBC implementation to be successful.