Teachers’ perceptions on the development and implementation of History 2166 syllabus reform in Zimbabwe
In 1990, Zimbabwe underwent its first major post-colonial syllabus reform in the teaching of History at secondary school level. Scholars who have studied this reform usually overlook teachers’ perceptions when explaining its development and implementation. This qualitative study explores Histo...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2020
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16304/1/41249-131840-1-SM.pdf |
| _version_ | 1796932441663864832 |
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| author | Sengai, Walter Mokhele, Matseliso L. |
| author_facet | Sengai, Walter Mokhele, Matseliso L. |
| author_sort | Sengai, Walter |
| collection | UKM |
| description | In 1990, Zimbabwe underwent its first major post-colonial syllabus reform in the teaching of
History at secondary school level. Scholars who have studied this reform usually overlook
teachers’ perceptions when explaining its development and implementation. This qualitative study
explores History teachers’ perceptions on their participation in the planning and implementation
of the History 2166 syllabus reform. Using qualitative phenomenological design methodology, the
researchers listened to the voice of the voiceless, as teachers expressed their perspectives, views,
understanding, and interpretations on the syllabus reform during semi-structured interviews with
five purposively sampled History teachers drawn from five different schools within the Glen
View/Mufakose district in Harare province. The interviews were further transcribed, coded and
categorised into meaningful themes. All the participants signed consent forms to demonstrate their
willingness to participate in the study. This study appreciates that teachers are the chalk-face
implementers of syllabus reforms in any given context of change and their views matter. The key
finding was that the ‘top-down’ approach used during this syllabus reform proved disastrous,
ultimately producing a teacher-proof syllabus that deskilled and disempowered teachers thereby
leading to tissue-rejection and its ultimate failure to effectively address key expectations. The
research concludes that previous explanations on the success and/or failure of curriculum reforms
were rather incomplete for they sidestepped teachers’ perceptions in explaining the development
and implementation of the reforms in the first place. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T04:32:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | ukm.eprints-16304 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T04:32:30Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ukm.eprints-163042021-03-16T04:14:08Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16304/ Teachers’ perceptions on the development and implementation of History 2166 syllabus reform in Zimbabwe Sengai, Walter Mokhele, Matseliso L. In 1990, Zimbabwe underwent its first major post-colonial syllabus reform in the teaching of History at secondary school level. Scholars who have studied this reform usually overlook teachers’ perceptions when explaining its development and implementation. This qualitative study explores History teachers’ perceptions on their participation in the planning and implementation of the History 2166 syllabus reform. Using qualitative phenomenological design methodology, the researchers listened to the voice of the voiceless, as teachers expressed their perspectives, views, understanding, and interpretations on the syllabus reform during semi-structured interviews with five purposively sampled History teachers drawn from five different schools within the Glen View/Mufakose district in Harare province. The interviews were further transcribed, coded and categorised into meaningful themes. All the participants signed consent forms to demonstrate their willingness to participate in the study. This study appreciates that teachers are the chalk-face implementers of syllabus reforms in any given context of change and their views matter. The key finding was that the ‘top-down’ approach used during this syllabus reform proved disastrous, ultimately producing a teacher-proof syllabus that deskilled and disempowered teachers thereby leading to tissue-rejection and its ultimate failure to effectively address key expectations. The research concludes that previous explanations on the success and/or failure of curriculum reforms were rather incomplete for they sidestepped teachers’ perceptions in explaining the development and implementation of the reforms in the first place. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2020 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16304/1/41249-131840-1-SM.pdf Sengai, Walter and Mokhele, Matseliso L. (2020) Teachers’ perceptions on the development and implementation of History 2166 syllabus reform in Zimbabwe. e-BANGI: Jurnal Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, 17 (6). pp. 133-148. ISSN 1823-884x https://ejournal.ukm.my/ebangi/issue/view/1284 |
| spellingShingle | Sengai, Walter Mokhele, Matseliso L. Teachers’ perceptions on the development and implementation of History 2166 syllabus reform in Zimbabwe |
| title | Teachers’ perceptions on the development and implementation of History 2166 syllabus reform in Zimbabwe |
| title_full | Teachers’ perceptions on the development and implementation of History 2166 syllabus reform in Zimbabwe |
| title_fullStr | Teachers’ perceptions on the development and implementation of History 2166 syllabus reform in Zimbabwe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Teachers’ perceptions on the development and implementation of History 2166 syllabus reform in Zimbabwe |
| title_short | Teachers’ perceptions on the development and implementation of History 2166 syllabus reform in Zimbabwe |
| title_sort | teachers perceptions on the development and implementation of history 2166 syllabus reform in zimbabwe |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16304/1/41249-131840-1-SM.pdf |
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