Assessment Of Challenges Of Implementing History And Government Curriculum In Secondary Schools In Ugenya Sub-County, Siaya County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

It is the desire of all stakeholders in education that teachers and students achieve good results. However, in Ugenya Sub-County, the mean score for History and Government had declined in between the years 2013 and 2017. The Sub-County was chosen for study because in comparison to other sub-counties, it registered a huge drop in performance in KCSE examinations. This trend implied that there were challenges with curriculum implementation which needed to be established with an intention of reversing the downward trend of the mean score in the KCSE examinations. The purpose of this study was to assess challenges of implementing History and Government curriculum in Ugenya Sub County. Objectives of the study were to assess teacher-based challenges, student-based, resource-based challenges and curriculum-based challenges of implementing History and Government curriculum. The study is significant because it establishes challenges of implementing History and Government curriculum in Ugenya Sub-County. This will help teachers and education officers to take necessary measures to revitalize the subject. The theoretical framework was based on teacher-based challenges, student-based challenges, resource-based challenges and curriculum-based challenges which were the independent variables, Funding and nature of curriculum were the intervening variables while implementing of History and Government curriculum was the dependent variable. The research was conducted through descriptive survey with results presented in terms of frequency counts and percentages. The study population was 25 teachers, 25 principals, 1200 Form Four History and Government students and one sub-county Quality Assurance and Standards Officer (QASO). From these, a study sample of 22 teachers, 22 principals, 291 students and one QASO was selected based on Krejcie and Morgan sample size estimation table of 1970. Simple random sampling was used to select students while teachers, principals and QASO were selected through saturated sampling. Data from teachers and students was collected through questionnaires while interview schedules were used to collect data from the principals and the QASO. To ensure validity research instruments were presented to two experts in the Department of Educational Communication, Technology and Curriculum Studies of Maseno University to study them and advice the researcher. Reliability of the instruments was ensured through a test-retest method whereby 3 teachers and 30 students were involved. Reliability coefficient of 0.82 was obtained from the students responses while that of the teacher questionnaire was 0.84. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics using percentages, frequency counts and means. Qualitative data was transcribed, categorized and reported verbatim and in terms of emergent themes. Resources were the most serious challenge. These included inadequate teaching aids, few field trips, inadequate reference materials and textbooks. Under student-based challenges, serious issues included career aspirations, readinghabits and historical material and History notes. Serious challenges under curriculum included content and inadequate assignments. The researcher recommends attendance of INSET training by teachers. Career guidance and good reading habits should also be encouraged among students. School administrators also need to increase financial allocation for the subject in order to acquire adequate teaching and learning resources. Additional time needs to be created and testing be made regular teachers.