Letisia N. Hidiwakusha

The Roles of Primary Teachers in the National Curriculum Design

and Development in Namibia

University of Eastern Finland

Philosophical Faculty

School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education

Master’s Degree in Primary Education

October 2018

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ITÄ-SUOMEN YLIOPISTO – UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND

Tiedekunta – Faculty Philosophical Faculty

Osasto – School School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education

Tekijät – Author Letisia Nandjala Hidiwakusha Työn nimi – Title The roles of primary school teachers in the national curriculum design and development in Namibia

Pääaine – Main subject Työn laji – Level Pro gradu -tutkielma Sivuainetutkielma Kandidaatin tutkielma Aineopintojen tutkielma

Päivämäärä – Date 30 October 2018

Sivumäärä – Number of pages 102

Curriculum education ×

Tiivistelmä – Abstract Curriculum quality depends on the roles and participation of teachers in the developmental process since they are the principal role-players. Their knowledge, experience, ideologies and perceptions play an essential role in understanding how the curriculum can be designed and reformed. Despite that, it is through curriculum development that teachers and educational stakeholders discover new ways of providing useful learning experiences to accomplish the task of educating the young ones. However little is known about the significant roles teachers play in the curriculum development process in Namibia. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the roles of primary teachers in the national curriculum design and development in Namibia. The study further aimed to explore the importance of teachers’ participation in curriculum development as well as the barriers encountered during the development and implementation process. This study employed a quantitative research design which used a non-random purposive sampling to select a sample size of (N=60). The participants were from three primary schools in the Khomas region: Havana Primary School, A.I Steenkamp Primary School and Namutuni Primary School. A survey-questionnaire, which consisted of closed-ended and open-ended questions was used to collect data. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis. Tables and charts were generated to present the findings from the closed-ended questions, which were then backed up by qualitative data. The findings revealed a high (70.0) percentage of primary teachers who do not participate in the national curriculum design and development process. Hence, they do not have any role in the curriculum design and development other than being the implementers. However, the few (13.3%) teachers that participate in the process have roles of planning, evaluating, advising and assisting fellow developers on the themes to be removed/included in the curriculum. The outcomes also illustrated a significant number of participants, who revealed the importance of teachers’ participation in all stages of the curriculum development process. Buttressing this, teachers indicated that they are the ones who put the reform ideas into practice. Hence, interpretation will be naturally resulting in a practical implementation process. It is further noted that, although it is essential for teachers to partake in the development process, there are some numerous barriers (such as lack of funds, time factor) which hinder the success of curriculum development and implementation process. This study inferred that there is poor participation of primary teachers in the national curriculum planning and development process in Namibia, which makes them only to have a role of implementing the curriculum. Hence, teachers are considered as curriculum implementers instead of being both implementers and developers. Based on the findings, the study recommends the educational officers from the MoE and NIED to engage teachers in decision making outside the classrooms, by involving them in all the developmental stages of the curriculum. Therefore, as much as teachers are the curriculum implementers, they should equally be involved in curriculum development. The present study contributes to the literature of other scholars and raises awareness about the significant roles of teachers in curriculum development process.

Avainsanat – Keywords Barriers; Curriculum; Curriculum development; Design; Importance; Participation; Roles; Teachers.

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Acknowledgements Above all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Almighty Father for his boundless

blessings, grace, strength and protection throughout my entire studies. The support and

motivation from numerous people have been a driving force and inspiration towards the

completion of this thesis.

Firstly, I feel more than a pleasure to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Professor

Sari Havu-Nuutinen, for her valuable support and guidance throughout this research process.

Through her constructive feedbacks and positive encouragements, I was inspired to shape my

thesis in many ways.

I also acknowledge Sanio Mutilifa (Educational officer and PhD student) and Lotty Amunkete

(Master student at UNAM) for their constant support, referrals, coaching and willingness to

assist me in any way during this project. I am very grateful for their reviews.

My most profound appreciations go to NSFAF for supporting me financially during my studies

in Finland, the Director of education in Khomas region and school principals for permitting me

to conduct my survey at three selected primary schools. Furthermore, I would like to give

special thanks to all my delightful participants; this research would be futile without their

wonderful contributions and inputs.

I am humbled by the interest and support provided by all my friends, my fellow Namibian

students, African students in Joensuu, International students and all other acquaintances. They

added more meanings and light to my project.

Lastly, my sincere gratitude to my family, especially my precious mother and my siblings for

their unconditional love, guidance and incredible moral support. Although we have been

thousands of miles away, I felt it all. Their prayers have kept me alive and resilient.

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Dedication I dedicate this work to my lovely mother Justina Hamalwa and my late father Josef

Hidiwakusha who could not see it completed. Thanks for all their continual support, love and

for creating conditions which made the study possible. May his soul continue to rest in peace.

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Contents Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………………………i

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. ii

Dedication .............................................................................................................................................. iii

List of tables ........................................................................................................................................... vi

List of figures ........................................................................................................................................ vii

List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ viii

Chapter 1: Introduction of the study ....................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Background of the study ......................................................................................................... 1

1.2. Statement of the problem ........................................................................................................ 3

1.3. Objectives of the study ............................................................................................................ 3

1.4. Significance of the study ......................................................................................................... 4

1.5. Summary ................................................................................................................................. 4

Chapter 2: Curriculum in the school context .......................................................................................... 5

2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 5

2.2. Definitions of curriculum ............................................................................................................. 5

2.3. Curriculum development process ............................................................................................... 11

2.3.1. Stages of Curriculum development ..................................................................................... 16

2.4. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 19

Chapter 3: Participation of teachers in curriculum development process ............................................. 21

3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 21

3.2. Teachers’ roles in curriculum development process .................................................................. 21

3.3. Teachers’ perceptions toward the curriculum design and curriculum reform ........................... 25

3.3.1. The importance of teachers’ participation in the curriculum development process ............ 26

3.3.2. Barriers to participation in curriculum design and curriculum reform ............................... 30

3.4. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 33

Chapter 4: Research questions .............................................................................................................. 36

Chapter 5: Research methodology ........................................................................................................ 37

5.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 37

5.2. Quantitative research design ...................................................................................................... 37

5.3. Data collection process .............................................................................................................. 37

5.3.1. Sample and participants ...................................................................................................... 38

5.3.2. Survey ................................................................................................................................. 39

5.3.3. Pilot protocols ..................................................................................................................... 41

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5.3.4. Procedures ........................................................................................................................... 41

5.4. Data analysis .............................................................................................................................. 42

5.4.1. Background information ..................................................................................................... 42

5.4.2. Quantitative analytical method ........................................................................................... 43

5.4.3. Qualitative analytical method ............................................................................................. 44

5.5. Validity, reliability and ethical issues ........................................................................................ 45

5.6. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 47

Chapter 6: Findings and discussions ..................................................................................................... 48

6.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 48

6.2. The roles of teachers in the National curriculum design ............................................................ 49

6.2.1. Summary and discussions of teachers’ roles in curriculum development ......................... 52

6.3. The effect of teachers' role in curriculum design to the pedagogical process ............................ 53

6.3.1. Summary and discussions on the effect of teachers’ roles in curriculum design to the

pedagogical process ...................................................................................................................... 56

6.4. Teachers’ perspectives towards the curriculum design and development process .................... 58

6.4.1. Importance of teachers’ participation in curriculum design and development ................... 60

6.4.2. Barriers to participation in curriculum development and implementation.......................... 61

6.4.3. Summary and discussions on teachers’ perceptions toward the curriculum design............ 64

6.5. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 69

Chapter 7: Conclusions of the study ..................................................................................................... 71

7.1. Research summary ..................................................................................................................... 71

7.2. Implications of the results .......................................................................................................... 73

7.3. Recommendations ...................................................................................................................... 75

7.4. Ethics, trustworthiness and limitations ...................................................................................... 77

References ............................................................................................................................................. 79

Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 87

Appendix A ....................................................................................................................................... 87

Appendix B ....................................................................................................................................... 88

Appendix C ....................................................................................................................................... 89

Appendix D ....................................................................................................................................... 90

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List of tables Page No.

TABLE 1. TOTAL NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS WHO RESPONDED ................................................................ 39

TABLE 2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND DATA COLLECTION METHOD .......................................................... 40

TABLE 3. SCHEDULES OF WHEN THE RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED AT THREE SCHOOLS .................................. 42

TABLE 4. BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF THE PARTICIPANTS ................................................................ 43

TABLE 5. RELIABILITY STATISTICS ...................................................................................................... 44

TABLE 6. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND CATEGORIES............................................................. 45

TABLE 7. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTIC ON TEACHERS’ ROLE IN CURRICULUM DESIGN........................................... 49

TABLE 8. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTIC ON TEACHERS’ MOTIVATION AT WORK ................................................... 53

TABLE 9. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTIC ON THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS ..................................... 54

TABLE 10. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTIC ON TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE ............................................................ 55

TABLE 11. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTIC ON TEACHERS TRAINING .................................................................... 56

TABLE 12. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTIC ON TEACHER’S PARTICIPATION IN CURRICULUM DESIGN ........................... 58

TABLE 13. THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHERS’ PARTICIPATION IN CURRICULUM DESIGN .................................. 60

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List of figures Page No.

FIGURE 1. AN EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES APPROACH - DESIGNING THE CURRICULUM (TABA, 1962). ............. 14

FIGURE 2. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT STAGES (CARL, 2005) .............................................................. 17

FIGURE 3. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS ................................................................................ 20

FIGURE 4. TEACHERS’ PARTICIPATION IN CURRICULUM DESIGN ............................................................... 29

FIGURE 5. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TEACHERS AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT ........................... 35

FIGURE 6. DATA COLLECTION PROCESS .............................................................................................. 38

FIGURE 7. STAGES IN QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS (MODIFIED FROM LICHTMAN, 2006) ............................ 44

FIGURE 8. SUMMARIZED METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY ........................................................................ 47

FIGURE 9. THE MAJOR ROLES OF TEACHERS IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT .............................................. 49

FIGURE 10. MAIN FOCUS WHEN DESIGNING THE CURRICULUM ............................................................... 51

FIGURE 11. EFFECT OF TEACHERS’ ROLES IN CD TO PEDAGOGY PROCESS .................................................. 57

FIGURE 12. BARRIERS WHEN PLANNING AND DEVELOPING CURRICULUM .................................................. 61

FIGURE 13. BARRIERS TO CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION .................................................................... 62

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List of abbreviations

CD Curriculum Development/Design

MEC Ministry of Education and Culture

MoE Ministry of Education

MoNE Ministry of National Education

NIED National Institute for Educational Development

UEF University of Eastern Finland

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Chapter 1: Introduction of the study

1.1. Background of the study

The curriculum is the foundation of any education system; hence it is important to ensure that

the development of the curriculum receives proper attention in order to provide quality

education. According to Adentwi (2005), the curriculum is the total of educationally valuable

experiences that children undergo to schools or other training institutions. Similarly, the

Namibian Ministry of Education defines curriculum as a coherent framework that “guide

schools on how to organise the teaching-learning process to make sure that there is consistency

in delivery of the subject content” (Ministry of Education, MoE, 2015, p.1). Therefore, it

delineates the content children are to learn as it gives direction to planning, organising, and

implementing the pedagogy. The curriculum is designed in a way that it delivers the outcomes

to ‘employment opportunities’ and ‘economic needs of the society’ (Brady & Kennedy, 2013).

According to some recent studies, curriculum development is the consolidation of various

processes employed in the pursuit of certain sets of goals and objectives in the school system

(Mligo, 2008; Ornstein & Hunkins 2009; Otunga & Charles 2008). It covers the entire process

of curriculum construction, from the initial conceptualisation and planning to design

implementation and evaluation. Hence, the development process helps educational

stakeholders to discover new ways of providing more effective learning experiences. Besides

that, it also strives to find modern, better and more efficient means to carry out the task of

educating the young ones (National Institute for Educational Development, 2003).

The national curriculum in Namibia is developed to give direction to basic education towards

the realisation of the national vision 2030. The national vision 2030 stresses on the provision

of quality and appropriate education to transform the country into a knowledge-based society

and self-sufficient economy (Ministry of Education, 2010). The national curriculum aims to

provide a learner-centred approach. This approach allows children to explore and construct

their knowledge and meanings from new information and based on prior experience in the real

world (Ministry of Education, 2015). Therefore, the subject matter has to be presented and

taught in a way that it is related to learners’ daily life experience with collaborative learning

and more practical work (Ministry of Education, 2015). Learner centred approach provides a

vast opportunity for active learning - whereby children are not passive in the classroom, as well

as the construction of new knowledge, skills and conceptions.

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Due to this philosophical background, the study uses constructivism theory since the national

curriculum promotes active learning and construction of new meanings as it is urged by the

constructivist theorists (Piaget, 1970, Vygotsky 1978, & Dewey 1964). The curriculum is

developed based on how children learn through social interaction, nature of the knowledge they

use, the context in which pedagogy occur, and methods used by teachers to help children

achieve the curricular goals (Ministry of Education, 2015; Branscombe, Burcham, Castle &

Surbeck, 2013). In this study, terms such as children, pupils, students and learners are used

interchangeably, as they all refer to those trying to gain knowledge and acquire skills through

studying or experience in school.

Curriculum planning and development process differ from country to country. In some

European countries like Finland and Sweden, the national curriculum is decentralised, while in

many African countries like Ghana, South Africa and Burkina Faso it is centralised (Bantwini,

2010; Pietarinen, Pyhältö, & Soini 2017 ). In Namibia, the national curriculum is developed

from the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED). This is the government

institution which is responsible for the development of all the educational policies and

curriculum documents. All the subject syllabuses are developed at NIED by the curriculum

developers committee which consists of higher education institutions (lecturers, Cambridge

consultants), teachers and educational officers.

According to prior studies, it is essential to involve teachers in curriculum committee because

they are the backbone and critical part of the team when developing the curriculum (Carl, 2005;

Kobiah, 2016). Teachers are the backbone of the curriculum committee because of their inputs

and significant roles that they play in curriculum planning and development process. Thus,

teachers have to play a leading role in curriculum development since the teaching profession

is intertwined with curriculum development. Additionally, teachers’ role in the curriculum

development process is regarded as one of the most crucial aspects which foster the

implementation of curriculum reform and enhance the effectiveness of pedagogy in schools.

According to Bantwini (2010), teachers are the “key to the success of curriculum development

and curriculum reform” (p.5). This is because their knowledge, experience, principles, and

perceptions play an essential role in understanding how the curriculum can be designed and

reformed. Furthermore, a study carried out in Kenya advocates the involvement of teachers in

all the stages of curriculum design and development to promote effective implementation

(Kobiah, 2016). The provision of quality education to society depends on how the curriculum

is developed and articulated by teachers (Abudu & Mensah, 2016).

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Therefore, this study intends to investigate the roles of primary teachers in the national

curriculum development process. Studies of this nature are limited in Namibia; hence, this

knowledge will add to the existing literature.

1.2. Statement of the problem

Teachers are often seen as the central part of any discussions about the curriculum which they

are entrusted to develop and implement. However, a little or lack of training in the planning,

development, evaluation and implementation of the curriculum is given to teachers in Namibia.

Sometimes, not all teachers from diverse schools are conducted for their inputs and make

decisions during the curriculum design and development process. Therefore, most of the

teachers enter the process at the later stage, during the national implementation whereby they

are provided with syllabi designed by NIED. Teachers are, therefore, tasked to deliver the

curriculum effectively to every child and make sure that everything in the syllabi is covered.

Despite that, sometimes there are not enough textbooks or teaching and learning materials,

subject-content is vast, poor school infrastructure and unqualified teachers to implement the

curriculum. This kind of scenario can hinder the attainment of the national goals as teachers’

interpretation of the curriculum might not be well articulated as it was planned in the policies.

Hereafter, many questions arise based on the planning and development of the curriculums

such as: Are all the teachers allowed to participate in all the stages of curriculum design and

development process? If yes? Why is it important to participate? What are the significant roles

and contributions that they make during the process? Are they willing to take up challenges of

participating in the production of learning materials and implementing new reform? Therefore,

this background has driven the researcher to investigate the roles and importance of involving

teachers in curriculum development in Namibia.

1.3. Objectives of the study

Due to concerns mentioned above about the roles and participation of teachers’ in the national

curriculum development in Namibia this study aims to:

Research objective 1: Investigate the roles of primary teachers in the national curriculum

design and development.

Research objective 2: Identify how the roles of teachers in curriculum development affect the

pedagogical process.

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Research objective 3: Identify teachers’ perceptions toward their participation in the national

curriculum design and development.

1.4. Significance of the study

Curriculum plays the crucial central role in the teaching and learning process, as it guides

teachers on how to deliver an efficiency and quality education to every child (Ministry of

Education, 2015). Therefore, this study makes substantial contributions in the field of education

as it provides clarity on the roles and importance of teachers’ participation in the national

curriculum design and development process. The findings can also broaden the educational

stakeholders’ insights on how teachers’ roles in the curriculum design process affect the

teaching and learning process. Significantly, the information from this study can help the

Ministry of Education and educational stakeholders to be aware of barriers encountered by

teachers during the process of curriculum development as well as in the implementation phase.

By knowing the barriers, they will be able to decide and consider on the type of support that

can be provided. Lastly, the results of this study could contribute to the literature of other

scholars who wish to research in the same field.

1.5. Summary

In chapter one, the researcher introduced the study through which few aspects are outlined:

background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study as well as the

significance of the study. It is against this background that the study is carried out to investigate

the role of teachers in the national curriculum design and development in Namibia. Therefore,

chapter two shall be devoted to further clarify curriculum development through which more

detailed aspects and concepts will be provided as viewed by other researchers.

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Chapter 2: Curriculum in the school context

2.1. Introduction

Chapter two presents a detailed overview of curriculum and how it is perceived in school level

context. This chapter is divided into two sections; section one is composed of definitions of the

major concept which is defined differently based on various perceptions. Therefore, the major

concepts and terms such as curriculum, curriculum reform which sets the theoretical ground of

the study are well delineated. Furthermore, the section touches on the aims and importance of

reforming and developing curriculum. Section two discusses the curriculum development

process as well as the different stages involved in the process.

2.2. Definitions of curriculum

The term curriculum is used in several meanings and defined in many different ways. Kelly

(2009, p.75) argues that curriculum is a “complex concept which does not just relate to the

content or syllabus for any educational programme”; thus it can be perceived differently.

However, in a school context, he defines it as the totality of experience pupils have as a result

of the provision made by any educational institution and subdivides the whole curriculum

(p.77).

According to Null (2011), curriculum is more than simply subject matter organised into

learning experiences which plays a vital role in the education field. He, therefore, define it as,

“a process of taking a subject, preparing it for implementation and following through so that it

makes a lasting impact on learners”. Additionally, curriculum is viewed as the “result of

thoughtful, deliberate efforts that are grounded in the use of a systematic approach to the

development processes” (p.7). Kennedy (2005) regards curriculum as the “totality of learning

experience offered to students with the aim of attaining general skills and knowledge at a

variety of learning sites”. The stress is more on learning aspects rather than just on teaching.

Therefore it focuses on the learning and acquiring of skills and knowledge at sites other than

schools.

Researchers above are of the views that curriculum is mainly the comprehensible progression

of educational experiences that address issues and needs of the society (Null, 2011; Kennedy,

2005). Therefore, these experiences are organised consecutively, in a manner that concepts

build on one another and connect to other content areas or real-world situations.

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Furthermore, “curriculum needs to be developed appropriate, be grounded in relevant learning

theories and provide necessary resources and techniques for effective implementation with the

intended audiences in specified learning settings” (Smith et al., 2017, p.35). According to Bell

and Baker (1997), curriculum refers to the understandings and meanings constructed by

teachers and learners in the classroom context, that is the teachers and pupils perceived,

assembled, lived or experienced curriculum. Hence, the curriculum is seen as the meanings that

learners make of the planned learning activities that are most important for teachers to consider.

Furthermore, the Finnish national core curriculum (2016) defines curriculum as a national

regulation issued by the Finnish National Board of Education compliance with which local

curricula are prepared. Curriculum plays a primary role in the teaching and learning process as

it guides teachers on how to deliver an efficiency and quality education to every child. This

curriculum intends to support and steer the provision of education and schoolwork, as well as

to promote the same implementation of comprehensive and single-structure of basic education.

The Finnish national core curriculum describes the general goals, principles, core content of

teaching all school subjects and guidelines of the basic education. According to Pietarinen et

al., (2017), the curriculum aims to preserve the most valuable aspects and promote changes in

the future of society.

In the South African context, curriculum is viewed as knowledge, which shows ‘how

knowledge is constructed’ and the role of school which is in teaching and learning process

(Chisholm, 2005). The curriculum is developed in a way that it promotes a learner-centred

approach through which hidden knowledge and everyday realities are valorised, and real

learning takes place. South African national curriculum aims to promote democracy and

expand the involvement of all children in education as well as to improve quality of life of all

the citizens and free the potential of every individual. Additionally, curriculum seeks to

create/produce a lifelong learner who is literate, independent, confident, active, compassionate,

and multi-skilled with respect for the environment and to participate in the society as a critical

and active citizen (Masila, 2007).

Similarly, in the Namibian context, the term curriculum is defined “as an official policy for

teaching, learning, and assessment that gives direction to planning, organising and

implementing the teaching and learning process” (Ministry of Education, 2015, p.1). Moreover,

curriculum is also regarded as a framework which devises syllabuses, learning materials, and

textbooks to be used in various subjects and areas of learning.

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Teachers develop the schemes of work and lesson plans from these syllabuses so that the goals

and aims are consistently put into practice. The Namibian national curriculum aims to provide

a coherent and concise framework to ensure that there is consistency in delivery of the

curriculum in schools and classrooms throughout the country. It is designed in a manner that it

is consistent, meaningful, coherent and relevant to learners and manageable to teachers.

From the definitions above, it is evident that curriculum has various meanings based on

different perspectives and context. Therefore, the researcher opted to view curriculum as a

combination of all these definitions as the aforementioned experts’ view it, with the special

emphasis on Namibian definition. According to the Ministry of Education (2015) “curriculum

is an official policy for teaching, learning, and assessment that gives direction to planning,

organising and implementing the teaching and learning process (p.1). It further emphasises

that, curriculum plan for all the experience that learners encounter under the guidance of the

teacher and direction of the school. The researcher view curriculum entailing the provision of

instructional strategies and methods to be used in a pedagogical manner, to accomplish

curriculum objectives and to provide quality education to all the children. The curriculum aims

both to preserve what is considered valuable and to promote change for the future of the society

(Pietarinen et al., 2017).

As indicated above, each country has its national curriculum with different aims and objectives

which are formed based on the countries’ needs and demands as well as on the global economic

competitiveness (Smith et al., 2017). The national curriculum gives a set of subjects to be

taught at each phase with prescribed time allocations for their delivery that indicates the

number of hours that each subject has to be taught (Masila, 2007). In some countries such as

United Kingdom, Namibia, South Africa and Ghana, their governments perceive subjects like

English, Mathematics, and Science as the core knowledge that children need to learn (Carl,

2009). Therefore, these governments believe that these subjects have to be placed at the heart

of the children learning in state schools. According to Kelly (2009), the curriculum has a great

legal basis as it undergoes numerous reviews and revisions. Thus, developing and reforming it

is a very demanding process that requires a lot of time. Furthermore, the curriculum is not set

in stone, but in a social construction which consists of a selection of the subject content and

other aspects made by curriculum developers. Oghuvbu (2011, p.149) states that curriculum in

school context can further be viewed as the totality of a “systematically planned process of

pedagogy based on the aims and objectives of the educational policy of any country”.

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It describes the core aims and objectives for education on how the teaching process can be

conducted. It further consists of the academic and subjects-based curriculum, and non-

academic or other curriculum programmes. Primary school curriculum subjects are academic

curriculum based on all subjects/content designed for the primary school level (Alavi, 2016).

Furthermore, some studies reveal that during the formation of the primary school curriculum,

the curriculum developers consider the essential core competencies like creativity, critical

thinking, comprehension, cross-cultural communication and citizenship (European

Commission, 2007; Kelly, 2009).

Additionally, Alavi (2016) urges for the primary school curriculum modules or subjects to be

designed well with coherent basic competencies. In some countries like Ghana, Namibia and

Nigeria the national curriculum is prepared in a well-detailed manner and simplified in different

subjects. Each subject has its syllabus outlining the basic competencies and learning

objectives. These syllabi are derived from the national curriculum. Primary teachers design

their scheme-of-work from the national syllabus which guides them during the teaching and

learning process (Ministry of Education, 2015; Oghuvbu, 2011).

In Namibia, the national curriculum is designed based on different phases in the education

system. Each subject in each grade has different basic competencies which are the continuation

of the other (Ministry of Education, 2015). The main curriculum objectives in the Pre-primary

school curriculum are devised to prepare children for formal education; thus children are taught

how to develop communication, concepts formation and motor; and social skills. From Grade

1 to 3, curriculum is designed based on four key areas: “literacy, numeracy, broad knowledge

of the immediate environment of the learner, and personal health” (p.18). Here, the curriculum

aims to familiarise learners with information and communication technology as a primary tool

for the learning process. Furthermore, “teaching and learning process is through the medium

of the mother tongue or predominant local language”, as learners learn how to read and write.

Besides that, the Senior Primary phase continues on a broad base, consolidates the foundation

laid at Junior Primary, and develops it further. The curriculum is thus designed for learners to

create irreversible literacy and numeracy, learning skills and basic knowledge in all the key

learning areas, (Ministry of Education, 2015). Each school subject is designed with different

basic competencies and learning objectives which are a continuation of the other in the next

grade.

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Similarly, the primary school curriculum of Malaysia is formed based on the six pillars across

knowledge, skills and values domains which are essential to human physical, mental, social

creative and critical thinking. These pillars are: (a) communication, (b) spirituality, attitudes,

and values, (c) humanity; (d) science and technology; (e) physical development and aesthetics;

and (f) personal skills (Ministry of education, Malaysia, 2014a). Despite that, the Malaysia

primary school curriculum enhances creativity, embrace diversity and provide an opportunity

to students to integrate their knowledge, skills and values learned in the classroom and during

their extracurricular activities (Barghi, Zakaria, Hamzah & Hashim, 2017). So, to attain these

curriculum objectives and aims it requires positive co-ordination of the man and sufficient

teaching and learning resources through effective supervision. According to Oghuvbu (2011),

supports and encouragements are the most effective supervision tools in schools that enhance

the professional growth of teachers to develop appropriate teaching methods, techniques and

procedures which will improve their overall performance and efficiency.

The curriculum serves essential roles in school, as it guides teachers on how to go on with the

teaching and learning process. Thus, the actual implementation of the curriculum depends on

the teachers’ involvement in curriculum development as well as in the school supervision. A

study conducted by Pietarinen et al. (2017) based on the large-scale curriculum reform in

Finland indicates that curriculum mostly describes the general goals, core aims, and objectives

of education, including the teacher who will teach a specific subject to which grade and when.

Furthermore, it direct and guide teachers on how to implement the subject content and learning

objectives to be included during the lessons. Vitikka (2009, p.45) adds that “curriculum

knowledge content reflects to the didactic tradition, the pedagogical approach adopted

emphasises the integration of subjects and a coherent learning experience and human growth”.

Voogt et al. (2011) describe the development of curriculum as a means of curriculum reform.

Hence, school curriculum is reformed due to development in the country and changes in the

education system. According to McCulloch (2005), curriculum reform is a vital component of

educational innovation. Therefore, the curriculum is reviewed and revised to remove the old

content and update the existing educational curriculum in response to profound and

multifaceted changes occurring in the world today. Besides that, Badran (2011) buttress that

curriculum is reformed to address the societal and individual needs. For instance, in Namibia,

the Ministry of Education reformed the curriculum soon after independence, where the English

language become the new medium of instruction, which had been previously Afrikaans.

10

The primary purpose for curriculum reform is to provide basic education to every Namibian

child and redress the past inequalities and injustices through the four primaries “goals: access,

equity, quality, and democracy” (Ministry of Education, 2004). Furthermore, the national

curriculum was reformed recently (in 2015) to ensure that it remains relevant to the challenges

that Namibia face and strengthen the quality of education (Ministry of Education, 2015).

Therefore, this confirms the views of Bantwini (2010) that curriculum reforms are mainly

intended to bring “new changes in the education system and the classroom during the

pedagogical process” (p.87). Education reform is viewed as the mechanisms for solving

educational problems and redress educational injustices. Hence, prior researchers indicate that

the reforming of the curriculum provides a central tool for school development (Saracaloglu et

al., 2010).

On the other hand, curriculum changes advocate the enquiry learning approach which indicates

active pedagogy and construction of new knowledge and meanings. Rogan and Grayson (2003)

suggest that curriculum reform have to be accompanied by a comprehensive plan of how the

new concepts and new ideas will be implemented, based on the resources in the classroom or

at school. By doing so, it will reduce the waste of resources and avoid discouraging the

experience of the teachers. Hence, curriculum reform can be successfully implemented based

on teachers’ ownership of their knowledge and skills about reform ideas (Handelzalts 2009;

Huizinga et al., 2014).

The efficacy of the curriculum reform requires commitment from all the curriculum designers

as well as active roles of teachers in every step. Therefore, Rogan and Aldous (2005), pleads

for the policymakers and curriculum developers to focus more on “how” to bring the new

curriculum in practice than just on “what” enacting curriculum policy of what desired the

educational change. By doing so, it will avoid a gap between the curriculum that is developed

and that which is actually implemented. Teachers need to have up-to-date knowledge and skills

to be able to design, implement and deliver the curriculum reform very well. According to

Vitikka (2009), the success of curriculum development depends on the roles of teachers in the

developmental process since they are the implementers and key contributors to educational

changes and quality education. Hence, changes in curriculum reform have to be always situated

in the society, culture and education system of the country in which the reform takes place

(Kelly, 2009).

11

2.3. Curriculum development process

Curriculum development is a continuous and recurring process. Oliva (2009) defines

curriculum development as a comprehensive and multi-dimensional process whereby the

curriculum is planned, designed and implemented in the classroom. In support of Olivas’

definition, Lunenburg (2011) adds that during the curriculum development process educational

stakeholders plan, implement and evaluate curriculum that ultimately results in curriculum

design. According to Johnson (2012), curriculum development is a statement which identifies

the elements of curriculum, states what their relationship is to each other, and indicates the

requirements and principles of the organisation for the administrative conditions under which

it is to operate. While, Kuiper, Nieveen and Voerman (2004), perceive curriculum development

as an intentional process or activity directed at (re)designing, developing and implementing

curricular interventions in formal or corporate education. However, according to Carl (2005),

curriculum development is “an umbrella and continuous process in which structure and

systematic planning methods figure strongly from design to evaluation” (p.226). Therefore,

curriculum development can as well be seen as a process which involves making necessary

choices about who to participate in curriculum decision-making process, when to participate

and how it will proceed (Adentwi, 2005).

Curriculum development has many interpretations and definitions. Hence, for the purpose of

this study, all the above definitions are accepted since they are all similar and consist of the

same components of curriculum development process - from planning, designing,

dissemination, implementation and evaluation. Terms such as design and planning are used

interchangeably, to define the process of constructing, forming and creating the curriculum.

The national curriculum is developed differently based on the individual country. Each state

has diverse programs, policies and institutions which are involved in supervising and guiding

the curriculum developmental process (Khan & Law, 2015). McKernan (2007) indicates the

three different approaches used to design the curriculum; top-down, middle-up, and bottom-

up. In the top-down approach, the administrator determines the curriculum for teachers. While,

in the middle-up approach, administrators provide time and resources for revisions determined

by the school and teachers. Lastly, in a bottom-up approach or “grassroots” administrators

believe that curriculum can be revised only by those who teach it.

12

According to Abudu and Mensah (2016), variations in the planning and development process

are due to the approaches mentioned above and preferences of the nations. For instance, some

countries such as Ghana, Burkina Faso prefer a centralized (top-down) designed curriculum

where there is ‘less interaction between curriculum planner of the system and the classroom’.

While other countries like Australia and the United Kingdom prefer decentralised (bottom-up)

curriculum whereby teachers are active during the process of curriculum development

(Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2010a). However, when the

curriculum is designed centrally, teachers are not fully involved in the process. Therefore they

are only ordered or instructed to implement the curriculum. While in decentralised curriculum

teachers are fully engaged in all the curriculum phases (Chitate, 2005). Based on the Finnish

National Core Curriculum (2016), the national core curriculum is centralised, through which

the Finnish National Board of Education a state agency invites all the education stakeholders

to participate in the developmental process.

In other words, curriculum development can be done local, regional or national through which

curriculum developers such as; educational officers, national specialists, teachers and

educational stakeholders are responsible for planning and developing the curriculum (Golden-

Jubilee, 2013). Thus, curriculum developers are required to design an appropriate curriculum

which is of quality - clear, coherent, consists of the needs of the learner-centred approach and

enhancing collaborative learning. Despite that, it has to state clearly about what would be

taught by the teachers and what learners will need to learn at each stage of schooling to acquire

knowledge and skills (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2010a).

Furthermore, the curriculum developers are urged to ensure that all government schools have

the same curriculum with the same subject’s content and the same structure (Dogan, 2012).

Most importantly, teachers and other curriculum developers are expected to set up the aims and

objectives of the curriculum and point out the problems that need to be tackled during the

teaching and learning process (Huizinga, Handelzalts, Nieveen, & Voogt, 2014). This help to

ensure that the curriculum is developed in a way that it serves the needs of the learners, that of

the society and for the nation at large. However, Crawford and Kirby (2008) argue that there

is no need to limit school curriculum to the contents to be taught, but to enlarge itself to

situations that allow learners to learn how to live together and to live with others for them to

‘learn to be’.

13

In this study, curriculum developers refer to people who participate in certain stages of

curriculum development. According to Marsh (2009), curriculum participants can be all the

education stakeholders including the school-based personnel such as teachers, principals,

parents, community groups, government agencies, subject advisers and learners. Additionally,

curriculum developers can involve people who work/serve in the field of curriculum daily.

Hence, curriculum specialists and technicians are all required to develop the curriculum for

school contexts.

The process of curriculum development and reform goes through several stages (which are well

explained in section 2.3.1.), and it is undertaken after every specified period which is defined

by the educational institution based on different nations (Kahn & Law, 2015). For instance, in

the Namibian education system, school curriculum is reformed and reviewed after every five

years while in Finnish education system it is amended and reviewed after every ten years. Once

the curriculum is well designed and revised, then it will be distributed to schools for

implementation and evaluated after a certain period. Thus, Kobiah (2016) pleads the need for

evaluating curriculum empirically with the aim of realizing and achieving the intended learning

goals and objectives. The curriculum reviews and redesign have to be undertaken as necessary.

Additionally, Huizinga (2009) urges that when planning and designing curriculum, the

designers need to make use of different stages such as: “analysis, design, development,

implementation and evaluation activities, which are operationalized in specific tactics” (p.49).

On the other hand, during the planning process, it is essential for curriculum developers to

consider the curriculum mapping. Curriculum mapping plays a significant role in eliminating

differences between planned and taught curriculum; as well as the curricular elements such as

the content, learning experience, objectives and goals (Christy, 2003; Johnson, 2012). Despite

that, curriculum mapping is a practical system which is used to enlighten the academic content

standards that contribute to the development of vision and mission of the schools (Hale, 2008).

Recent studies reveal that curriculum mapping is a new and innovative model to curriculum

development process which includes components such as curriculum planning, teacher-teacher

collaboration, technology integration and reflective inquiry (Indian department of education,

2009; Johnson 2012).

14

An investigation carried out by Wilansky (2005) - based on teachers’ attitudes toward

curriculum mapping - indicates that most of the teachers have positive attitudes towards

curriculum mapping as it improves instruction and enlightens curriculum planning efforts in

three areas of professional collaboration, standards alignment and assessment. Hence, teachers

are obliged to possess the skills and knowledge for developing a curriculum based on a specific

subject matter where they are expert on (Handelzalts, 2009). Huizinga (2009), classified the

required knowledge and skills into six different categories based on the existing curriculum

and instructional design models’ activities. The categories are; knowledge and skills to

formulate a problem statement, idea generation skills, and systematic curriculum design skills,

formative and summative evaluation skills, curricular decision-making skills and

implementation management skills. These categories are seen to be pertinent to teachers for

enacting design processes.

Taba (1962) has created instructional strategies which are recently used by Lunenburg (2011)

in his study based on curriculum development: inductive models, where he explicitly shows

how the curriculum plan can be developed through modelling. Using models in curriculum

development can produce greater efficiency and productivity since the models are essential

patterns which work as guidelines for actions (Oliva, 2009). He further adds that the curriculum

model consists of “interactive elements – objectives, content, learning experiences, teaching

strategies and evaluative measures” (p.25) which ensure that the pedagogy process is well

presented. Besides that, models can help curriculum makers to conceptualize the development

process by stating out particular concepts and procedures that need to be followed. Taba

instructional strategies model is portrayed in the figure below;

Figure 1. An educational strategies approach - Designing the curriculum (Taba, 1962).

15

Taba instructional strategies model depicts that, planning of teaching and learning process

provides the basis of curriculum design, through which it determines the learning objectives

and subject content. The learning experience is selected and organised based on specific

criteria; teaching strategies that indicate various teaching methods, teaching and learning

materials, technology, and assessment and evaluation methods which are being used. Factors

external to the model that may affect its internal components are as well presented in the model.

And these factors include (a) policies of the school district; (b) nature of the community in

which the school is located – its pressures, resources and values; (c) nature of student

population; (d) nature of particular school – its goals and administrative strategies; and lastly

(e) the personal style and characteristics of the teachers involved. Subject content consists of

the learning objectives of each subject emphasising the degree yearly theme. Hence, during

curriculum design, teaching strategies are designed in a way that they clearly show specific

procedures which teachers may use in the teaching process (Luneburg, 2011).

Objectives aids in providing a consistent focus on curriculum for initiating criteria

of choosing the type of subject content and learning experiences, as well as to guide

and direct the evaluation of learning outcomes. The teaching strategies are planned

and developed based on the selected objectives, content and learning experiences

(p.3).

Therefore the process of identifying the objectives commence with the development of the

overall goals, derived from different sources, such as to reflects the needs and demands of the

nation (Oliva, 2009). Besides that, objectives are also determined based on the behavioural

statements and learning outcomes expected from the students, for instance, the acquisition and

understanding of the knowledge, and the development of thinking skills (Lunenburg, 2011).

Thus, it is very significant to include the goals, objectives, content and evaluation in the

curriculum development process since they play an imperative role in curriculum development.

Based on the research carried out by Verma (2012) on curriculum planning and development,

it outlines essential suggestions that can be used to improve the curriculum development

process. These suggestions are; revision and analysis of curriculum to be done after every five

years, provision of feedback to all the educational stakeholders as one of the curriculum

development strategy and lastly, making use of technology for the fulfilment of demands of

stakeholders.

16

The study further recommends curriculum developers to follow certain principles of curriculum

development such as; child-centred principle, active policy, the dignity of labour principle, and

preparation of real-life principle and socialism. O'Sullivan (2002) support these views, by

emphasising on the importance of revisions, evaluation and assessment of the curriculum, as it

enhances the developmental process. He further adds that when developing curriculum, an

arrangement has to be made for the panel discussion, workshops, seminars, orientation

programmes. Additionally, they have to ensure that teachers are fully involved in the process

since they are the most significant curriculum developers.

2.3.1. Stages of Curriculum development

The curriculum is reformed depending on the needs and demands of the society as well as to

the educational needs of the students (Golden-Jubilee, 2013). Therefore, during the preparation

of the curriculum, developers look on certain factors such as the formulation of the subject

content, assessments, instructional development, the teaching methods to be used, materials &

media development. Huizinga et al. (2009) are of the views that when planning and developing

curriculum, the curriculum makers have to make sure that the process goes through various

stages such as; preparing, planning, designing, developing, implementing, evaluating, revising,

and improving to produce quality curriculum. He further urges the curriculum developers to

follow all the stages in chronological order. In addition to this, Ornstein and Hunkins (2009)

confirm (Golden-Jubilee, 2013) sentiments by stressing on the importance of following all the

stages and steps of curriculum development. These researchers indicate that the stages are

composed of crucial elements of how to plan, implement and asses the curriculum; as well as

the process and procedures that need to be followed by the developers.

Traditionally, the development of the curriculum is more based on a sustained process of

teaching and learning in a formal institutional setting (Ornstein and Hunkins, 2009). However,

some researchers such as Carl (2005); Golden-Jubilee (2013); Marsh and Willis (2007) indicate

the most crucial stages for curriculum development process as; planning, dissemination,

implementation, and evaluation. Figure 2 below portrays these four curriculum development

stages

17

Figure 2. Curriculum development stages (Carl, 2005)

Stage 1: Curriculum Planning

Curriculum planning is regarded as what the knowledge is most valued through which the

learning goals and objectives are clearly stated out. The planning stage involves analysis of

philosophy, social forces, needs, goals and Objectives, subject content, treatment of

knowledge, human development, learning process & instruction, and decision (Campbell,

2006). Furthermore, curriculum planning determines the knowledge, skills, attitudes and

behaviours that learners need to know. This is the most hectic stage, through which curriculum

designers have to identify all the learning problems and learning needs before setting up the

objectives and goals of the curriculum. Recent scholars confirm that curriculum planning stage

requires a lot of time and more money since it is a planning phase that lays the foundation of

all the curriculum development phases (Marsh & Willis, 2007). Therefore, most of the

curriculum designers find it challenging to select the content that will make a real difference in

the lives of the learners as well as the society at large.

Stage 2: Curriculum Dissemination

This stage is explained as a way of making sure that the curriculum outreaches the target people

as it is aimed by the curriculum developers (Carl, 2005). This stage includes the preparation of

teachers (which involve sufficient training) for them to acquaint necessary knowledge, skills

and positive attitude towards the new reforms, which they are expected to adopt and use in

schools. Despite that, the curriculum dissemination stage requires the formation of newly

updated resources which are reflecting on the curriculum reforms and ensure that adequate

teaching and learning materials are provided to all the schools. However, (Campbell, 2006)

argues that curriculum developers find it hard to develop enough teaching and learning

resources to all the school. This is due to financial cost, time and commitment needed to create

new materials.

18

According to Golden-Jubille (2013), during this stage curriculum, designers decide on the

teaching strategies and methods that will be used to ensure that the curriculum reaches learners

effectively.

Stage 3: Curriculum Implementation

Implementation of the curriculum consists of the instructional scheme of each subject to be

completed in the semester. Hence, the new designs and methods are put into play. During

pedagogy process teachers plan the lessons as per timetable, use the transactional strategies

and appropriate media, providing learning resources, promoting classroom learning

experiences and continuous testing (Golden-Jubilee, 2013). Therefore, the effective

implementation of the newly developed curriculum is not likely to occur when there is no

proper planning made. Hence, a lot of planning and effort is required, so that appropriate

mechanism are put in places, for instance; distribution of new syllabus to all schools,

workshops are erected, provision of curriculum support materials and continuous supervision

as well as monitoring in schools. However, (Marsh & Willis, 2007) state that curriculum

implementation is a very complicated phase through which the involved people might have

conflicting ideas or lack of knowledge on how to go on about curriculum or with the reforms.

Therefore, curriculum facilitator needs to be carefully trained about the reforms and do

revisions based on how the reformed curriculum can be implemented.

Stage 4: Curriculum Evaluation

Curriculum evaluation stage deals with making professional judgements on the type of

curriculum to be implemented and to be evaluated. This stage consists of teachers’ evaluating

the; subject content, materials, tests and examination, learning outcomes, evaluation of teachers

by learners, curriculum review and modifications (Campbell, 2006). This evaluation is done in

both formative and summative way which are used during the curriculum development process.

Formative evaluation is used during the needs of assessment product development and testing

steps, while the summative evaluation is undertaken to measure and report on the outcomes of

the curriculum. According to Carl (2005), implementation of the curriculum needs to be

monitored closely to ensure that it is being used in schools faithfully by the teachers as planned.

Hence, the monitoring process needs to mainly focus on the objectives, content, methods of

instruction and assessment procedures to obtain information that can be used to review the

curriculum.

19

Moreover, curriculum developers evaluate the prepared curriculum and determine whether the

intended goals are being achieved or not. Thus, when it is not satisfactory, then the developers

turn for revising and improving the future curriculum development process (Golden-Jubilee,

2013; Marsh, 2009).

2.4. Summary

The review of this chapter was more based on extensive works of literature that exists in the

field of curriculum development. The chapter summarised the definitions of the curriculum

since it is a broad concept which has different interpretations based on different perspectives.

The curriculum is regarded as the foundation of education. The chapter further portrays that

curriculum reform occurs after a certain period with the aim of removing the outdated content

and update it in a way that it is reflecting the country’s needs. School curriculum guide teachers

on how to deliver efficient and quality education to every child, and so it is vital for them to

have roles in the planning process. Previous studies expose that curriculum is the foundation

of any education system. Therefore, to design and provide quality education teachers need to

be at the centre of the developmental process. There is variation in curriculum development

thus the roles and involvement of teachers in curriculum design depend on individual countries.

These variations occur since the curriculum is planned and developed based on the needs of

the children, society and that of the country. For instance, some countries such as Ghana,

Nigeria prefer centralised curriculum while countries like Australia and Finland prefer

decentralised curriculum. Most studies in the literature reveal that the preparation of curriculum

design and development is one of the most complicated tasks that consume more time, require

a lot of resources and more funds. Despite that, the researcher emphasises the most important

curriculum aspects (planning, curriculum content, implementation and evaluation) that need to

be painstaking during the process of curriculum development. These aspects are portrayed in

the figure below:

20

Figure 3. Curriculum development process

Figure 3 depicts the process of curriculum development which is a cyclic process. The figure

illustrates crucial aspects and stages that curriculum developers follow when designing

curriculum. Therefore, during the planning and development process, developers determine the

curriculum objectives and themes to be incorporated/removed from each subject. The

curriculum is evaluated before, during and after the implementation process.

21

Chapter 3: Participation of teachers in curriculum development process

3.1. Introduction

This chapter is composed of a literature review on which the study is based on the roles and

participation of teachers in the curriculum planning and development process. The chapter is

split into two sections. In the first section, the researcher looks at the roles of teachers in

curriculum design and development. The second section is on the teachers’ perceptions toward

the curriculum design and curriculum reform. This section focuses on the significance of

teachers’ participation in the curriculum development process, as well as on the challenges and

barriers that they encounter during curriculum development and implementation process.

3.2. Teachers’ roles in curriculum development process

Teachers’ roles in the national curriculum development process are one of the most significant

tools that need to be considered. Teachers are the primary source and most effective

practitioners in developing the curriculum (Lucas, 2005). According to Doğan & Altun (2013),

once teachers are involved and have roles in the planning process, they become aware of all

the changes made in the curriculum and be able to interpret it very well. As a result, it enhances

the implementation process which can accelerate and enable the achievement of ‘education for

all’. South African researchers such as Bantwini (2010); Blignaut (2007) and Haney et al.

(2002) state that teachers are the key players to the success of curriculum development as well

as to curriculum reform. Teachers are key players in CD because of their knowledge,

experience, beliefs, and perceptions play a fundamental role in understanding how the

curriculum needs to be designed and reformed. The success of curriculum development and

reforms mostly lay on their shoulders as they are the ones who put reform ideas into practice

(Huizinga et al., 2014). It is noteworthy that teachers play significant roles in each phase of

curriculum development process since they possess some qualities of working as designers,

managers, interpreters, scholars, assessors, implementers, researchers, decision-makers,

administrators as well as evaluators for the assessment of the learning outcomes (Golden-

Jubilee, 2013).

According to Hayward (2000), teachers play respective roles in each stage of curriculum

development process. They are the curriculum advisors and planners, who provide information

on the themes and objectives to be included and removed from the curriculum.

22

As curriculum planners, they analyse the learners’ needs, splitting objectives into specific

learning objectives based on each subject, combining each subject matter, specifying the

required time and formulating syllabus for each subject (Golden-Jubilee, 2013). While in the

evaluation stage, teachers have the roles of evaluating and assessing the curriculum to ensure

that it measures what it is intended to measure and if it is reflecting the needs of the country

and that of the learners. The curriculum evaluation process includes; the evaluation of learners,

evaluation of materials, and verification of methods, teachers’ self-evaluation and the

curriculum reviews (Golden-Jubilee, 2013; Uchiyama & Radin, 2009).

Recent studies reveal that teachers have a role of being curriculum agents (Bantwini, 2010;

Doğan & Altun, 2013). Accordingly, they are regarded as curriculum agents whereby they are

systematically empowered to develop curriculum and optimise the teaching and learning events

in the classroom. Despite that, they act as mediators between the curriculum and learners

because they know various needs of the learners, educational institutions and stakeholders.

Hence, this process increases the learning outcomes and other experience that may flow from

it and contribute to the development of the learners’ potentials (Altinyelken, 2010). Most

researchers recommend the teachers to be curriculum developers instead of being only

curriculum receivers. The reasons being that teachers’ participation provides an opportunity to

make guidelines and syllabus more relevant and meaningful effective curriculum agent

(Bantwini, 2010; Golden-Jubilee, 2013).

Furthermore, Lucas (2005) emulates that when teachers are empowered and have roles in

curriculum development, they act as facilitators and make learners realise that they have a share

not only in their learning process but also in the learning process of others as well. Khan and

Law (2015) make a case for teachers to be empowered and be “active participants in the process

of curriculum development” (p.68) since they are the people who are directly involved in the

classroom practice. They further added that teachers’ roles in the planning process enhance

their participation and freedom in the classroom. Hence, the success of this process lies in the

hands of the teachers when they are “at the heart” of the process (Talbot, 2015). These views

are supporting the claims made by Hayward (2000) and Carl (2005) of the extension of

teachers’ roles in democratic decision making, as well as the introduction of democratic in

curriculum development process which establish the participation of all the role players.

23

As stated earlier, the involvement of teachers from the initial phase of curriculum planning and

development promotes ownership (Bakah, Voogt & Pieters, 2012) and a more pragmatic

implementation strategy (Elizondo-Montemayor, Hernández‐Escobar, Ayala‐Aguirre &

Aguilar, 2008). Furthermore, teachers’ roles in curriculum development are needed to ensure

effective pedagogy in schools (Carl, 2005). According to a research conducted by Huizinga

(2014), it is essential to engage all the teachers in curriculum design and development process

in order “to provide an opportunity to experience the practical alternatives and to make their

choices” (p.25). This is because their collaboration in the curriculum development generates

opportunities to exchange and share educational experiences and expertise with their peers

from different schools (Havnes, 2009).

Mockler and Sachs (2011) express that teachers’ professional identity which is central to an

understanding of the professional pedagogy and development needs to contribute and advance

a more productive and transformative vision for education. When teachers get involved in the

process of construction, they create learning environments that are meaningful for learners

during pedagogy (Ault, 2008). Meanwhile, Uchiyama, and Radin (2009) support the

collaboration and roles of teachers in curriculum planning as it is one of the most effective

ways to promote successful implementation of the curriculum. They further state that it is good

to work together from the beginning of the process of comprehension, especially in a joint

intellectual effort. On the contrary, the shared operational understanding of the curriculum

reform and its implications might help them create ownership, and a more realistic

implementation strategy (Elizondo-Montemayor et al., 2008).

Within the South African context, there are various requirements regarding the roles of teachers

and their competencies in curriculum development and the whole education system

(Department of Education, 2002). Teachers’ roles are stipulated in the official documents as;

interpreters and designers of learning programmes and materials, mediators, researchers and

implementers, assessors, a learning area and subject specialists, leaders and administrators.

Hence, this presents a great indication of what the national education department expects from

teachers regarding their possible curriculum functions. However, some South African

researchers Bantwini (2010) and Carl (2005) argue that although the roles are well stated in the

educational policies most of them are not incorporated in the designing and development of the

curriculum. While other studies reveal that, most of the teachers are neglected from the

curriculum innovations and development process.

24

This type of negligence is caused because curriculum innovation in most African countries and

a few other parts of the world are initiated “top-down” (Ramparsad, 2001; Beswick, 2009)

through unilateral administrative decisions. The studies show that most countries such as

Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria indicate rare engagement of teachers in the curriculum design

and development process hence, their role is viewed as to implement the curriculum

(Oloruntegbe, 2011).

The same case is also observed in Turkey, whereby researchers reveal that the Ministry of

National Education (MoNE) and their Boards of Education are the ones responsible for

preparing and designing the national curriculum which is made compulsory for all the schools

(Doğan & Altun, 2013). Therefore, teachers’ participation in curriculum planning and

development is limited, since they are regarded as curriculum implementers and facilitators

whose role is to adopt the official curriculum to their classroom (Abudu and Mensah, 2016;

Marsh, 2009). On the same case, a Namibian research study conducted by O’Sullivan (2002)

indicates that the roles of teachers in curriculum design and development have received a little

attention in Namibia, which tends not to be considered seriously by the policymakers. He,

therefore, request for the recognition of teachers’ role in all the stages of curriculum

development as well as the needs of the assessment which provides an appraisal of “class roots

realities” or “cognitive schemata” to ensure an effective implementation (p.132).

Based on a research project carried out by Carl (2005) on the “voice of the teachers in the

curriculum development in South Africa”, the results show that most of the time teachers never

partake in any curriculum development levels outside the classroom. This implies that teachers

do not have any role in the planning process since they are not granted an opportunity to

participate. Buttressing this, Mokua (2010) states that teachers are of the ideas that little or no

attention is given to their voice although they are the subject or learning area specialist. Hence,

they only participate when receiving training on how to apply curriculum at school and

classroom level (Carl, 2005). Subsequently, in South Africa teachers’ roles in curriculum

development is regarded as that of a facilitator since they are only assigned to implement the

curriculum. This is very discouraging and demotivating, especially that teachers are the one

who put the reform ideas into practice and they best know the learners’ needs. According to

Mouraz, Leite, and Fernandes (2013), the enactment of professional identity by teachers’

assumption of their role as real curriculum designers is still far from being achieved in Portugal.

25

The study shows that teachers who participate in CD do not consider themselves as true

curricular decision-makers, because they seem to deal with a centralizing logic of the

curriculum complying with what is prescribed in the official documents.

This also implies in Kenya, whereby the Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) is the

one that develops the national curriculum and supply teachers with the curriculum package

consist “of comprehensive syllabuses, curriculum support materials, teaching suggestions and

test for learners” (Kobiah, 2016, p.186). As a result, teachers’ role becomes that of the

“consumer rather than a producer”, because they are only involved in the last stage of the

process- in the implementation stage. The researcher further stress that, this kind of approach

leaves teachers with the perceptions of not having any role in the other curriculum development

phases except in the classroom: where they have a role of implementing what they received

from the central office, following the externally planned syllabus. Therefore, this type of anti-

democratic approach can create what Okda (2005) calls “pedagogical dogmatism”. The study

recommends teachers to have roles in curriculum planning process to ensure effective

implementation of the curriculum. Furthermore, it will avoid the lack of ownership and

commitment necessary for the success of curriculum reform.

From the above literature, many recent scholars argue that the majority of the teachers in

African countries and the other part of the world are positioned as receivers and delivery of the

curriculum. Hence their roles are being ‘perceived as of executing the innovative ideas’ of

those who develop curriculum which is mostly the policymakers and educational researchers.

The curriculum is handed down to them from the top which makes them feel that their

contribution to the curriculum is just in the classroom, as they only receive insufficient

guidance on how to apply it correctly. So, this makes teachers have no role in the development

process other than being just curriculum implementers. Hence, the little or lack of teachers’

involvement in the curriculum development is worrisome because teachers are the key to

success of any curriculum.

3.3. Teachers’ perceptions toward the curriculum design and curriculum reform

Perception is a broad term with diverse meanings, in this study perception is defined from the

physical psychological and physiological perspectives, the process by which people attach

meaning to experience (Adediwura & Tayo, 2007). Therefore, the researcher will review the

previous literature, experience and views of teachers towards their participation in curriculum

design and development process.

26

This section is composed of two components: the importance of teachers’ participation in

curriculum development process and barriers that they encounter when developing and

implementing the curriculum.

3.3.1. The importance of teachers’ participation in the curriculum development process

According to Oloruntegbe (2011, p. 447), “there is no curriculum development without teacher

development; hence, curriculum development is about teacher development”. The curriculum

is regarded as the “heart and soul” of all the educational institution and the “foundation” of the

teaching and learning process (Khan & Law, 2015). Therefore, it is imperative for teachers to

participate in the process of curriculum design and development. Teachers’ participation in this

study refers to the active engagement of teachers in all the curriculum planning and

developmental process. Teachers perceive curriculum planning as one of the most valuable

tools in curriculum reform and development, as well as in improving the teaching and learning

process. Thus, for them to be part of the planning process is a great experience and

contributions (Dogan & Altun, 2013). Necessarily, teachers are the ones who implement the

curriculum and sharing their opinions on what they experience in the classroom enhance the

teaching and learning process. This is because they have the closest relationship with the

curriculum since they are always in touch with it in classes. Hence, they prefer actions where

their individual decision-making power is present, rather than decision of areas that involve

collective agreements (Mouraz et al., 2013).

The effectiveness of school curriculum development depends on the participation of the

teachers. Thus the involvement of teachers in curriculum development is essential since they

collaborate with the curriculum specialist to organise the subject matter and teaching/learning

resources when designing the curriculum (Oloruntegbe, 2011). Based on a study conducted by

Abudu and Mensah (2016), on the basic school teachers’ perceptions about curriculum design

in Ghana, which reveal the importance of involving teachers in the development process in

order to feed their field experience about what and how to teach, and how to work with other

developers to design a curriculum that suits all the children.

Golden-Jubilee (2013) emphasizes the importance of teachers’ role in curriculum design to

guide the instructional lessons that they use in the classroom. Curriculum defines whether

learners have learned new information and concepts from the class as it is expected. Hence,

these help teachers to determine if they achieved their lesson objectives and basic

competencies.

27

Despite that, the researcher further shows that teachers are willing to take part in curriculum

design because it provides them with new ideas of solving problems and various methods or

ways of teaching and assessing learners’ progress. Therefore, without the guidance of the

curriculum, then teachers will not be able to perform well either to be certain that they

transmitted the necessary knowledge to the learners. In support with this, Carl (2005) indicates

that decisions are taken in regard to the content as to what needs to be included, how it can be

presented and evaluated. Hence, it is within this process of curriculum development that

teachers need to be involved for effective implementation. Kobiah (2016) sturdily emphasize

that strong curriculum can only be developed if teachers play a fundamental role in every step

and stage of the curriculum development process.

Moreover, the significance of teachers’ participation in curriculum development is that they

are given conditions to be able to answer to the challenges they deal with on a daily basis as

they act as agents between learners and curriculum (Doğan & Altun, 2013). Therefore, they

need to be curriculum designers and not only mere doers of what is prescribed by the

educational administration. Buttressing this, Maphosa and Mutopa (2012) claim that teachers

are the ones who deal with pupils in everyday life hence their involvement helps in identifying

children’s needs and find a solution to address these needs. Additionally, the participation of

teachers in curriculum development provides an opportunity to improve the existing curriculum

as well as to enhance its effectiveness (Abudu & Mensah, 2016). They feel positive about their

contributions and satisfaction of participating in curriculum decision making. This implies a

deep level of knowledge about the curricular organization modes during the developmental

process (Mouraz et al., 2013).

According to a study conducted by Chisholm and Leyendecker (2008) based on Curriculum

reform in post-1990s sub-Saharan Africa, it indicates that many teachers believe that their lack

of participation in curriculum planning has a negative impact on the effective implementation

of curriculum reform. This is because teachers lack information about the changes made in the

curriculum and they are unable to articulate it accordingly. Additionally, the exclusion of

teachers in the decision-making process can as well cause the lack of commitment and

ownership, which may prevent the success of the curriculum (Kobiah, 2016). Consequently, it

may result in “misinterpretation of innovative features” thereby “hindering the attainment of

educational objectives” (Okda, 2005, p.6).

28

Various scholars argue that external curriculum where teachers are inactive in the planning

process might cause them to lose control of the curricula and pedagogical skills (Kobiah, 2016;

Carl, 2009). As a result, many of them tend to be deskilled by such curriculum.

Accordingly, for the subject content to be taught exactly as it is planned in the national

curriculum, teachers need to play a role in the developmental process. By doing so, it will avoid

the gap between the planned curriculum and the taught curriculum. Therefore, teachers are

eager to create an overall approach to curriculum design rather than to follow the prescribed

course of action which they have never partake (Wasil, 2014). Teachers’ involvement in the

development process is essential because curriculum guides the instructional lessons that

teachers’ use which defines the content learners need to learn (Golden-Jubilee, 2013).

Subsequently, they become aware of the teaching methods and strategies which need to be used

since they all know about the psychological and educational needs of the learners. With the

guidance of curriculum, teachers can assess students work and evaluate themselves if they

applied the necessary knowledge (Atkin, 2000).

According to Carl (2009), curriculum includes teaching and learning objectives, basic

competencies and general proportions of different type of instructional strategies suitable to

use in order to achieve these objectives. Hence, the teacher uses different teaching-learning

approach to transmit the subject matter and create opportunities for learners to acquire the

content. Teachers create learning opportunities for learners to be actively engaged with the aim

of obtaining the most meaningful and vital experience from collaborative learning (Kobiah,

2016). Therefore, they are eager to create an overall approach to curriculum design rather than

to follow the prescribed course of action which they have never partake (Wasil, 2014).

According to Munazza (2004), teachers understand “the nature of learning, pose challenging

tasks, encourage students to articulate their ideas, set goals for instruction, create appropriate

contexts and pose problems” that have relevance and meaning to their learners in the classroom

(p.19). All these activities show explicitly the need of involving them in all the developmental

stages to advance effective pedagogy (Kobiah, 2016).

Quality of involving teachers in curriculum design is crucial for nurturing their personal and

for personal growth (Wasil, 2014). This is because when they are fully involved, they feel

motivated subsequent them to perform well and produce positive results (Christou, Eliophotou-

Menon & Philippou, 2004). A study conducted by Van Den Berg (2002) shows that many

teachers perceive it more significant to be engaged in all the steps of curriculum development

29

to enhance their commitment, enthusiasm and morale in their work. This is also supported by

the findings from numerous studies, which reveal that the inclusion of teachers’ meaning,

opinion, belief, attitude, concept and cognition advocate their participation and freedom in the

classroom (Verma, 2012; Van Driel, Beijaard, & Verloop, 2001).

Despite that, Bakah et al., (2012) disclose in their study titled “curriculum reform and teachers

training needs” that, teachers in Ghana are keen to be more involved in curriculum design

process. These teachers argue that it helps them improve their subject knowledge which

advocates their confidence when teaching. Therefore, most of the teachers do not want to be

perceived as the “recipients and implementers” of the curriculum, yet, they want to be seen as

curriculum designers (Van Den Berg, 2002). They want to be involved in the early stage of

meaningful decision making where their voice can be heard.

According to Oloruntegbe (2011), curriculum implementation and delivery of quality

education can be a success if all teachers and communities partake in the development process

and structural changes. Teachers are well-informed about the curriculum hence the enactment

process becomes more natural. This results in the attainment of the intended educational goals

(see figure 4). Thus, recent studies urge for teachers to be involved and convinced enough to

participate in the curriculum development process. By informing them about their positive

contributions to the process and towards the educational development of the children (Bakah

et al., 2012).

Figure 4. Teachers’ participation in curriculum design

Attainment of educational goals

Deliverance of quality education

Good interpretation

Teachers engaged in CD

30

Figure 4 above summarize the importance of teachers’ participation in curriculum development

process in the education system. As mentioned earlier, it is essential to engage teachers in all

developmental stages because it gives them a clear guidance on how to plan and develop the

teaching process which is in line with the educational goals. Therefore, when teachers are

empowered in the planning process, curriculum becomes clear, meaningful and relevant to

them.

3.3.2. Barriers to participation in curriculum design and curriculum reform

Barriers to participation in curriculum development refer to the constraints and challenges that

teachers and curriculum developers encounter during the process of curriculum development

as well as during the implementation of curriculum reform. Most recent studies reveal that

developing education curriculum is one of the most complicated tasks through which teachers

encounter various problems (Kuiper, Nieveen, and Voerman, 2004). In support with this,

Huizinga et al., (2014) indicate that although teachers’ participation in curriculum design

fosters the implementation of the curriculum reforms, they experience numerous challenges

while designing and sometimes after making changes in curriculum. These challenges can be

generally classified into two types, internal challenges of the education and global (external)

challenges (Golden-Jubilee, 2013). The internal challenges include the shortage of highly

skilled human resources, diversification of the economy and the need to invest more in

education research. While external challenges include the; critical process of technological

progress, an increase of social inequalities, progress of democracy and radical transformation

in the work field. On the other hand, Abudu and Mensah (2016) point out other challenges like;

insufficient funds, incompetence, inertia, lack of resources, insecurity and inadequate training

as they might also hinder curriculum developers from designing quality curriculum and from

implementing the new curriculum effectively.

According to Fullan (2001), one of the major problems is that most teachers have no clear

picture neither a coherent understanding of what the aims and purpose of educational reform

are, what it is all about and how it is supposed to proceed. Some teachers lack the knowledge

and skills needed to enact collaborative curriculum design processes. Researchers such as

Mokua (2010) and Ramparsad (2001) indicate that most teachers lack information about the

designing process of the curriculum since the whole curriculum development process is not

clear. Thus, even if they are willing to participate, they would not do so because their roles are

not well defined and stipulated. Therefore, the limited knowledge which teachers have about

the curriculum development serves as an obstacle towards their engagement in the process.

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Buttressing this, Handelzalts (2009) agree that teachers lack design expertise and have

insufficient time in working and dealing with the variations in expectations within the teachers’

curriculum design team. Some recent scholars reveal that teachers do not have enough time to

participate in curriculum development due to enormous responsibilities and high workload. For

instance, some Zimbabwean teachers are arguing about their daily lesson preparation, grading,

teaching, extramural activities, being loaded with a lot of periods per week and having classes

with more than 40 learners (Bantwini, 2010; Chinyani, 2013). Such situations limit their ability

in partaking in the curriculum development process. However, the literature from Kenya and

South African studies show that teachers are not putting more effort in participating in

curriculum development since there is no remuneration for their effort (Carl, 2005; Mokua,

2010).

On the other hand, Mouraz et al. (2013) express that “A key issue and major challenge in

curriculum development is how curricular interventions can be (re)designed, (re)developed,

and implemented in order to achieve a satisfying balance between the ideals of a curriculum

change and their realization in practice” (p.485). Researchers further argue that the translation

of intentions into outcomes; regarding learning experiences, and performances of students and

trainees; is not a simple, linear process. The transformation process is complicated since

numerous things might occur unexpectedly (Eunitah et al., 2013). Therefore, these researchers

plead for the provision of support and guidance to novice teachers who are designers in order

to improve and enhance their designing expertise. Oliva (2009), is in line with the points made

by Golden-Jubilee (2013); Abudu and Mensah (2016), as he emphasises on the essentials of

curriculum reform, though he indicates numerous implications involved that can hinder the

effective curriculum development as well as the attainment of the intended educational goals;

Financial implications - Curriculum development and reform cost a lot of money which make

it more expensive (Khan & Law, 2015). There are many things involved during and after the

process of curriculum development for example; carrying out research, creating of materials,

training of teachers and re-education of personnel are expensive. Hence, sometimes curriculum

tend not to be reformed or adjusted on time since the government does not have sufficient funds

(Oliva, 2009).

Teacher preparedness during curriculum design - Issues such as teacher preparedness need

to be tackled at the starting point of curriculum development process to ensure effective

implementation of the innovation (Oliva, 2009).

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The teacher preparedness and several kinds of support that may be needed by the teacher to

cope with and contribute to the curriculum developed have to be well maintained.

Attitudes of teachers, society and pupils - Unqualified and inexperienced novice teachers

already struggle with the implementation of some themes/topics in the curriculum hence the

reforms might affect their teaching performance negatively. While the qualified ones tend to

be traditional as they see the curriculum reform as a threat to their security (Oliva, 2009). Due

to this perception, teachers stick to their old teaching methods as they find it hard to acquire

the new content. On the other side, pupils may have little interest in the reformed curriculum

as they are mainly concerned about success being measured by examination. The society

members will also be against the new changes as it might threaten their perceptions and

concepts of the excellent curriculum (Carl, 2009). With this uncertainty about the purpose of

curriculum reforms and the existence of different viewpoints which are hard to reconcile, the

implementation can be affected (Oliva, 2009). Furthermore, the negative attitudes of the

teachers, students and society can impair the progress expected in curriculum changes.

Therefore, it is always good to demonstrate the importance of positive attitudes.

Time factors - Curriculum development is time-consuming hence enough time is needed to

make changes and to develop the curriculum because it is long-term planning (Carl, 2005). It

is further outlined that the variable that can make changes now may no longer be held over a

long period because this situation is dynamic (Oliva, 2009). On the other hand, some teachers

may not want to work in the curriculum committee, feeling that they don’t have enough time

due to school workload.

According to Collopy, (2003); Schneider and Krajcik (2002), other challenges with curriculum

reform is the difficulty in designing enough educative curriculum materials (teaching and

learning materials) which are in line with the reformed curriculum to promote pedagogy.

Curriculum materials play a significant role in fostering teachers and learners, toward

enhancing the educational changes. Furthermore, it is challenging to help teachers connect their

ideas as some of them might not have a clear picture of the changes made in the curriculum

(Davis & Krajcik, 2005). In support with this, Christou et al. (2004) conclude that the changes

in curriculum can create disjunctions between teachers' prior knowledge and practice which

require resolution.

33

Several authors such as Van Driel et al., (2001) and Mligo (2008) point out that teachers’ view

and knowledge on the subject matter and pedagogy of the new curriculum does not change

easily nor rapidly. Especially if they were not involved in all the stages of curriculum

development, thus they find it difficult to implement the reform ideas.

Atkin (2000) examines issues about the teachers’ perceptions towards educational change and

curriculum reform. This researcher indicates that curriculum reform affects the skills, beliefs

and general perspective of the individual teacher. Hence, individual beliefs and preferences

may seem to present an indistinct, elusive and inefficient target for school reformers. On top

of that, South African teachers argue that they are not well trained on how to execute the

curriculum (Carl, 2005). The same situation also applies to countries like Namibia, Nigeria and

Swaziland, where challenges such as; lack of technology at some schools, untrained teachers,

writing textbooks and learning resources that are reflecting the curriculum reform were raised

(Iipinge & Kasanda, 2013; Ottevanger, 2001; Kobiah, 2016). Implementation is one of the

major challenges of curriculum reform, though the government always tries hard to achieve the

successful enactment of the curriculum. Therefore, it is essential that all teachers who are the

“implementers of the curriculum, take ownership and execute it with commitment” (Ministry

of Education, 2015, p.2).

3.4. Summary

The literature review of this study is more based on external studies which are carried outside

Namibia in the field of curriculum development since there are limited studies conducted in

Namibia towards this topic. The previous studies reveal that curriculum is one of the crucial

aspects, which guide and direct teachers on how to proceed with the teaching process and how

to deliver quality education to every child. Teachers play essential roles in curriculum

development; they are regarded as the “hearts and souls”, planners, advisors and developers of

the curriculum. Hence, it is crucial to involve them in all the steps and stages of curriculum

development, as it improves their teaching process and enhances the effective implementation

of the curriculum. Furthermore, teachers’ participation in curriculum development provides

them with new ideas for solving educational problems and numerous methods of teaching and

assessing learners’ progress.

34

Prior researchers strongly support the engagement and roles of teachers in the curriculum

development process since it assists them to advance the existing curriculum. Despite that, it

as well advocates their effectiveness, enthusiasm, commitment and morale in their work. When

teachers have roles in the curriculum designing process, they interpret the curriculum very well,

implement it accordingly and subsequently achieve the curriculum goals.

Based on the existing literature, teachers play significant roles in each step of curriculum

development process, because they possess qualities of working as planners, designers of

learning materials, interpreters, scholars, assessors, implementers, researchers, decision-

makers, administrators and evaluators. However, several studies from different countries depict

that, although teachers’ role in curriculum development is well stated in the educational

policies, they are not put into practice during the designing and development process. This is

because their participation in curriculum planning is minimal in most of the countries. Studies

conducted in Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey and Kenya have shown that most of the teachers

are not granted an opportunity to partake in the planning process since they are only involved

in the implementation phase. Therefore, their roles are regarded as just being implementers and

facilitators of the curriculum. The negligence of teachers shown in these countries is because

curriculum innovation is initiated through the Top-Down approach. In this approach, teachers

are instructed to adopt the official curriculum to their classroom by following the prescribed

syllabus. What is worse is that teachers who participate in curriculum development process do

not consider themselves as true curricular decision-makers, because they seem to deal with a

centralizing logic of the curriculum complying with what is prescribed in the official

documents.

The participation of teachers in curriculum design is worrisome in these countries, which may

have an impact on the pedagogy process and in the education system at large. The reason is

that many teachers are not involved in the process and without their guidance in the curriculum

breeds poor performance. Therefore, prior literature urges teachers to have roles and participate

in all the stages of curriculum development process. As a result, it ensures a practical

implementation of the curriculum and avoids the lack of ownership and commitment needed

for the success of the curriculum. The findings from the above literature do not necessarily

conclude on the roles and participation of primary teachers in the curriculum design and

development in Namibia. Figure 5 briefly summarise teachers’ participation in curriculum

development process.

35

Figure 5. The relationship between the teachers and curriculum development

Figure 5 above briefly summarises the relationship between teachers and curriculum

development process based on the reviewed literature. The figure indicates different ways of

developing curriculum and how teachers are involved. It further illustrates teachers’ roles in

the developmental process and how it affect the pedagogy process.

36

Chapter 4: Research questions

This research is a central concern on the roles and participation of teachers in the national

curriculum design and development in Namibia. Teachers’ role in the developmental process

is one of the crucial aspects which enhance the teaching and learning process. Hence, the

overall focus of this study is to investigate teachers’ roles in the national curriculum design and

development process. The study further seeks to obtain information and personal experience

from primary teachers towards the importance of participating in the national curriculum

development. Therefore, in order to attain and fulfil these objectives of the study, the researcher

has designed research questions from the target and aims of the study, which are as follow;

RQ 1: What are the roles of primary teachers in the national curriculum design and

development?

The first research question intends to investigate various roles, tasks, functions and

responsibilities that teachers have in the planning and development process of the national

curriculum.

RQ 2: How do teachers’ roles in curriculum design affect the pedagogical process?

Research question two seek to obtain information on the impact of teachers’ roles in the

developmental process to the teaching process. Are there any differences in how to interpret

and implement the curriculum between teachers with roles in the planning process and those

without roles?

RQ 3: What are the perceptions of teachers towards their participation in the national

curriculum development?

This research question focuses on the views of teachers regarding the importance of

participating in the curriculum development process. Besides that, it also measures the barriers

encountered by teachers when developing curriculum as well as during the implementation

process of the curriculum reforms.

In trying to answer these research questions, the researcher expects to obtain useful information

from the target population. The wealth of collected data is based on the inputs, perceptions and

experience of the teachers from the selected schools.

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Chapter 5: Research methodology

5.1. Introduction

This chapter presents the methodology of the study. The purpose of this study is to investigate

the roles of primary teachers in the national curriculum development in Namibia. Therefore,

this chapter intends to present and justify all the research procedures followed by the

researcher, such as the research approach and the data collection process. In addition to that,

the chapter will elaborate more on the data collection methods, data analysis as well as the

validity and the ethical issues of the study. The research methodology chapter will provide an

overview of how research tasks and research questions were carried out and addressed by the

researcher.

5.2. Quantitative research design

The methodological research design used in this study is a quantitative design which used a

survey approach, to obtain numerical data and descriptions on the roles of primary teachers in

national curriculum design and development in Namibia. According to Creswell (2013),

quantitative is a design used for testing objectives theories by examining a relationship among

variables. In this study, quantitative research focuses on gathering numerical data, generalizing

it across a group of people and explain the current status of this phenomenon. The survey

research approach was employed because it involves the most effective strategy to find

essential and appropriate information reflecting the research questions of the study (Creswell

& Miller, 2000).

5.3. Data collection process

The data collection involves a series of activities connected, which allows the researcher to

obtain answers to the research questions and evaluate the outcomes (Creswell, 2009).

Therefore, the data collection process of this study starts with the sample and participants,

followed by data collection method which emphasizes on the instrument that was used to obtain

data and lastly the piloting of the protocols. Collected data were analysed both quantitatively

and qualitatively. These steps are briefly illustrated in figure 6 below.

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Figure 6. Data collection process

5.3.1. Sample and participants

A non-random purposive sampling was used to select a sample of (N= 60) qualified teachers

with a teaching experience of more than four years. However, because of the fear that not all

teachers will respond nor return the questionnaires, a total of (N=90) questionnaires (see table

1) were distributed to three schools. Purposive sampling was chosen because researcher made

a specific choice about the type of people or group to include in the sample that can provide

fundamental concepts and central phenomena of the study (Bertram & Christiansen, 2014).

Therefore, this was the right sampling to use in order to select teachers who have been in the

teaching profession for a long time.

The study was conducted at three primary schools in the Khomas region in Namibia. These

schools were purposively selected based on the criteria that they were all primary schools

which were the main focus of the study (primary teachers’ roles in CD). Furthermore, the

choice was also influenced by the fact that all schools were government school (they all use

the same curriculum) and they are all situated in the capital city, Windhoek. Hence, the

researcher had easy to access the participants and save the transportation costs. Table 1 below

depicts the total number of participants who responded to the questionnaire from all the

schools.

39

Table 1. Total number of participants who responded

As it is indicated in table 1, out of (N = 60) primary teachers who responded to the survey,

8.3% of participants were from pre-primary phase, 35.0% from junior primary phase, while

56.7% were from senior primary phase. The table further shows, 85.0% participants in the

survey were female while 15.0% were males. Thus, due to an unequal number of males and

females participants the researcher was unable to compare gender in data analysis.

5.3.2. Survey

In order to obtain the most relevant and valuable information, the researcher has to select the

most accurate data collection method and comprehensively design the research instrument.

Hence, in this study, a survey-questionnaire was designed as a research instrument to gather

enough data on the roles of primary teachers in the national curriculum development in

Namibia, from a large set of teachers. The choice of the survey-questionnaire was influenced

by the research questions and objectives of the study. According to Guthrie (2010), a survey-

questionnaire is a useful tool that collects factual data and helps participants to give their views/

facts freely without any intimidation. This questionnaire was developed comprehensively and

consistently in order to obtain authentic data on the current status of primary teachers’ roles in

the national curriculum development. The research instrument was printed and distributed in

hard copies. The questionnaire was divided into three sections (see Appendix D): the first

section consists of the background information which had variables such as age, gender,

teaching experience, primary phase, qualification and school name.

40

It was essential to gather this information to ensure that the participants meet the criteria of the

study of whether they are qualified primary teachers who have been in the teaching profession

for more than four years. Hence, this information aids the researcher to obtain inputs and data

on teachers’ roles in curriculum development from experienced teachers. Furthermore, the

background information was as well used to determine whether all teachers from the primary

phase participate in the planning process. The second section entails the structured (close-

ended) questions which were presented in an ordinal scale of two different Likert-type scales:

The five-point Likert-type scale (Strongly agree=1, Agree=2, Neutral=3, Disagree=4, strongly

disagree=5) was combined to three-point Likert-type (Agreement= 1, Neutral= 2,

disagreement=3) during data analyses. The second Likert-scale type of (Never = 1, Sometimes

= 2, Always = 3). Section 2 variables were created to measure how often teachers participate

in curriculum planning process, if they have roles in all developmental stages, whether their

roles affect the pedagogical process, as well as if they receive training on how to develop and

execute the curriculum. The last section has unstructured (open-ended) questions, which

focused on the subjective views of teachers toward their roles in the process of curriculum

development. This section allowed participants to clarify and describe in their own words the

roles, importance and barriers encountered during curriculum development and

implementation process. These variables were created based on the theoretical framework and

aims of the study, as well as on the previous questionnaires from Kobiah (2016) and Mokua

(2010). The survey-questionnaire was proper and appropriate for this study because it helped

the researcher to acquire factual data from teachers based on their beliefs, experiences and

views. According to Bertram and Christiansen (2014), survey-questionnaires are used to

capture the reality of the participants lived experience and their thoughts about the particular

situation.

Table 2. Research objectives and data collection method

Research objectives Data collection method (Questionnaire)

To investigate the roles of teachers in the national

curriculum design and development.

Structured and unstructured

questions

To identify the impact of teachers’ roles in curriculum

design on pedagogy process.

Structured and unstructured

questions

Determine the perceptions of teachers toward their

participation in curriculum design and development.

Unstructured questions

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Table 2 above shows how the questionnaire sections were used to collect data from teachers,

in order for the researcher to achieve the objectives of the study.

5.3.3. Pilot protocols

Firstly, a pilot study was conducted a month before carrying out the main research, with the

aim of testing whether the questionnaire was measuring what it intends to measure if it was

valid and reliable. In addition to this, a pilot study was also conducted to ensure that questions

in the research instrument were all comprehensive, appropriate and relevant, as well as if the

participants could understand the fundamental concepts very well. Permission was attained

from the supervisor to carry out a pilot study with any Namibian teacher residing in Joensuu,

who is willing to participate. Criteria were still the same as the one in methodology that only

teachers who taught for more than four years were allowed to participate. Therefore, a total

number of seven Namibian teachers doing their Masters’ Degree in Education at the University

of Eastern Finland (UEF) took part. After piloting the questionnaire, minor changes were made,

before handing the final draft to the supervisor for reviewing and rectifications. Testing the

questionnaire in advance, assisted the researcher in refining and eliminating all errors that were

found in the research instrument which might hinder the success of the research process. Baker

(2002) indicates that the primary goal of the pilot study is for the researcher to identify all the

possible complications, mistakes and errors in the research instrument, and rectify them before

carrying out the main study.

5.3.4. Procedures

When the supervisor approved the final draft of the questionnaire, the researcher obtained a

permission letter from UEF (see Appendix A) to conduct the research. Then later, a letter was

written to the Director of education seeking for a permission to conduct a research at three

primary schools in Khomas region. After attaining an approval letter from the Regional

Director (see Appendix B), it was then addressed to all the three school principals.

Subsequently, a permission was granted to the researcher by all the school principals to carry

out the study at their schools without any interruption. Furthermore, an internal arrangement

was made by the school principals with the qualified teachers who have a teaching experience

of more than four years. These teachers decided and agreed on the dates of when the researcher

has to distribute and collect the questionnaires from each respective school.

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Table 3. Schedules of when the research was conducted at three schools

Table 3 above showed the dates when the research was conducted at three schools. Each school

was given 30 questionnaires to complete in one week. On the first day at each school, the

researcher read the instructions and explain the aims of the study to all the participants in the

staff room. Out of 90 questionnaires that were distributed to three schools only 65

questionnaires were collected by the researcher. From these collected questionnaires 5 of them

were not fully answered. Therefore, data analysis was based on the 60 completed

questionnaires.

5.4. Data analysis

During the data analysis process, the researcher firstly analysed and presented the background

information which consists of the biological information of the participants (see table 4). Two

methods were used to analyse the data since the questionnaire was divided into three sections.

The structured section was analysed using quantitative analytical method while the

unstructured section was analysed using qualitative analytical method (see section 5.4.2 and

5.4.3). The questionnaires were completed in absolute anonymity without any provision of

names collections or other methods of identification.

5.4.1. Background information

The first part of the questionnaire, contains the biographical information of the participants

which shows that, out of the total number of participants (N=60), most of them (43.3%) were

between the age of 25 – 30 years old, while (36.7%) were between 31 – 40 years old and only

(20.0%) were above 40 years old. Concerning their teaching experiences of 61.7% have 5-10

years of teaching experience, 28.3% have 11-20 years of teaching experience, and 10.0% taught

for more than 20 years.

43

Table 4. Background information of the participants

Participants f %

Ages 25 – 30

31 – 40

40+

Qualifications Master degree

B. Ed

Diploma

Others

Teaching experience 5 - 10 years

11 – 20 years

20+

26 43.3

22 36.7

12 20.0

0 0

33 55.0

25 41.7

2 3.3

37 61.7

17 28.3

6 10.0

Table 4 above illustrates the background information, which depicts that most participants were

qualified and have been in the teaching profession for more than four years. Hence, they were

able to give informed views, facts and inputs based on their teaching experiences.

5.4.2. Quantitative analytical method

Quantitative data were prepared, organized and entered in the SPSS, where the researcher used

descriptive statistics to summarize and analyse the collected data from closed-ended questions.

According to Atieno (2009), using descriptive statistic is one of the most fundamental ways to

summarize data by indicating the general tendency in the data and vital in interpreting the

findings of quantitative research. Therefore, the data were processed into means, frequencies,

percentages and standard deviation with the help of Microsoft Excel 2016 spreadsheet software

and the IBM SPSS Statistic software, version 25. Despite that, data were converted and

presented in different tables and graphs for discussions.

Furthermore, the researcher measured the quality of the research instrument (structured

questions) using Cronbach alpha (α) to maintain and ensure the reliability of the study. Table

5 below shows the reliability statistics of the instrument.

44

Table 5. Reliability statistics

Cronbach's Alpha

Cronbach's Alpha

Based on

Standardized items N of Items

,801 ,810 20

Table 5 reveals an overall reliability test yielded .801 which depicts 80.1% of internal

consistency. These results indicates that the research instrument was more reliable since α >.8

(Muijs, 2004).

5.4.3. Qualitative analytical method

The collected data from open-ended questions were analysed using qualitative content analysis

which involved inductive hand-coding. Firstly, the researcher organised, interpreted, coded and

categorised the data into themes to provide a coherent explanation of a single phenomenon.

Central research themes were identified in the responses and grouped accordingly. Hence, each

participant’s responses were carefully/equally examined and analysed using the

aforementioned tools and categories. The researcher followed the systematic procedure of

analysing qualitative data. According to Taylor and Gibbs (2010), systematic procedure consist

of “preparing and organizing the data for analysis, then reducing the data into themes through

the process of coding and finally presenting the data into figures or discussion” (p.13).

Figure 7, shows the systematic procedures of qualitative content analysis which was used by

the researcher, during the analysis of the open-ended data.

Figure 7. Stages in qualitative data analysis (Modified from Lichtman, 2006)

Categories that shared a similar description as per the teachers were combined and put under

one research question (RQ). For instance, the majority of teachers responded on how they are

involved in the national curriculum development process before identifying their roles and

responsibilities. Therefore, under each research question are responses/categories that were

made mostly by the teachers.

45

Table 6. Summary of research questions and categories

Research questions Categories

RQ 1: Teachers’ role - Planners and Designers

- Assessor and evaluators

- Advisors

- Implementers, Facilitators

RQ 2: Effect of teachers roles in a CD on

the pedagogical process

- Advocate implementation

- Positive performance

- Achievement of the curriculum goals

RQ 3: Participation

Importance

Barriers

- Few participate - not encouraged

- Good interpretation of the curriculum

- well-informed

- Implementers

- Knows learners’ needs

During planning process

- Lack of experts, no enough training,

teachers not involved, Time

During implementation

- Lack of funds, resources, facilities, lack

of understanding

The qualitative data increased the validity and trustworthiness of the study. Despite that, it also

aids in buttressing the quantitative data which is more on the roles of the teacher in CD, the

effect of teachers’ roles on pedagogy, the importance of teachers’ participation in CD as well

as barriers encountered during the process of designing the curriculum. Therefore, the analysis

of data began with the structured responses which were then backed up by the answers from

open-ended questions.

5.5. Validity, reliability and ethical issues

To ensure that the interpretation of data was valuable, the researcher made sure that the research

instrument which collected the data is both valid and reliable (Gay, Mills, & Airasian, 2013).

46

Therefore, the questionnaire was designed in a way that it produces accurate and reliable results

that are trustworthy. Besides that, the right instrument was used to measure the concepts that

were intended to be measured, as well as to collect quality data which reflected on the roles of

primary teachers in the national curriculum development in Namibia. The trustworthiness of

the researcher determined the quality of the findings. The questionnaire was piloted and

reviewed by the supervisor, to maintain its validity and ensure that it is coherent and reflecting

the research questions of the study. On the other hand, the researcher refrained from making

bias during data collection, interpretations, generalizing of findings as well as from making

measurements errors during data analyses. Hence, the claims of the results are supported by

the data and not generalized beyond what the case can warrant (Muijs, 2004).

The ethical consideration was adhered to, respected and practised in this study. According to

Gay et al. (2013), ethical considerations play an imperative role in all research studies hence

the researchers need to be aware of the research ethics and attend to ethical considerations

related to their studies. Firstly, the researcher obtained a permission letter from the University

of Eastern Finland (see Appendix A) to conduct the research in Namibia. Then after, the

researcher was granted a permission letter which was requested by the Director of Education

in Khomas region (see Appendix B). These letters were then presented to all the three schools.

In the letter that seeks for the permission, the researcher briefly explained the objectives and

aims of the study and how the research is relevant in the Namibian context. Since the research

was carried out at the beginning of the semester, the school principals could not provide a

permission letter to the researcher due to their hectic and tight schedules.

Furthermore, to assure that the participants’ confidentiality was put into consideration, the

researcher designed the research instrument in a way that it does not require any individual

identity. Therefore, the participants’ identity and rights were respected. Participants were

informed that they were free to decline or to withdraw at any time of the study, without any

threat, counter-attack or recrimination. Consequently, the participation of the teachers was

voluntary. An informed consent letter (see Appendix C) was attached to the questionnaire

outlining the purpose of the study and what it entails before they participate.

The researcher can confirm that participants of the study were treated with courtesy as their

privacy and anonymity were protected (Hennik, Hutter, & Bailey, 2011). The ethical

considerations were undertaken within the ethics of respecting people, their knowledge as well

as respect for the quality of educational research (Muijs, 2004).

47

5.6. Summary

The research approach used in this study is a quantitative method which employed a survey

research design. The researcher used a non-random purposive sampling to select a total

population of (N=60) primary teachers, with the teaching experience of more than four years.

The survey questionnaire was used to collect data regarding teachers’ roles in the curriculum

development process, with the aims of achieving the research objectives. This research

instrument had undergone a pre-testing process before carrying out the main study. The pre-

testing enables the researcher to obtain feedback in order to rectify, refine and finalise the

questionnaire. During this study, the research ethics were put into consideration hence no

research rules were violated because the researcher followed all the research methods and

procedures accordingly. The figure below shows a well-detailed summary of the methodology

of the study.

Figure 8. Summarized methodology of the study

48

Chapter 6: Findings and discussions

6.1. Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to present and discuss the findings of the study that emerged

from the survey (semi-structured questionnaire) that was conducted at three selected primary

schools in the Khomas region in Namibia. The chapter encompasses of three main sections

which respectively attempt to answer the research questions described in Chapter 4 of this

study.

The findings are designed and presented in order of the research questions of the study. Firstly,

the researcher presents and discuss the results of the first research question, which is on the

roles of the teachers in the national curriculum design and development. Secondly, the

researcher continues to present the findings on the effect of the teachers’ roles in curriculum

development on the pedagogical process as well as on the performance of the teachers. The

third section covers the perceptions of the teachers toward their participation in curriculum

design and the implementation process. Here the focus is mainly on why teachers think it is

crucial to participate in the national curriculum development process. Additionally, the third

section further examines the challenges and barriers that teachers encounter during the process

of curriculum development as well as during the implementation of the curriculum reforms. A

descriptive statistic is used to report the quantitative data which is then backed up by the

qualitative data. The presentation of data for each research question is followed by the summary

and discussion of the findings, which enable to provide extensive explanations and insights on

the essential roles of teachers in the national curriculum development in Namibia.

RQ1: Roles of primary teachers in the national curriculum design and development

RQ2: Effect of teachers roles in the curriculum development to the pedagogical process

RQ3: Teachers perspective (importance and barriers) towards the curriculum development

49

6.2. The roles of teachers in the National curriculum design

Table 7. Descriptive statistic on teachers’ role in curriculum design

Disagree Neutral Agree Mean Std.

Deviation

No.

Teachers have roles in an all the developmental stages. 42 (70.0%) 10 (16.7%) 8 (13.3%) 3.78 1.27 60

The results above indicate clearly that, a total of 70.0% participants disagree with the first

statement which states that teachers play major roles in all the stages of curriculum

development process. Of the participants, 16.7% are neutral while 13.3% agree with this

statement. However, the responses from the open-ended question reveal few major roles that

teachers have in CD.

Figure 9. The major roles of teachers in curriculum development

The results elucidate a large number of teachers (f=42) who have major roles only in the

curriculum implementation stage because they do not partake in the planning process. These

teachers indicate that their main task is to execute the curriculum that comes from the top-

down. Thus, their roles in curriculum development process are regarded as facilitator and

implementers of the curriculum, which is developed from NIED. Teachers also provided a

multiplicity of reasons to bolster their stand:

5 1 2

42

12

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Planners Advisor Assistant Implementers Evaluators

Fre

quen

cy (

f)

Roles

The major roles in curriculum development

50

I do not have a role in the national curriculum planning process, because teachers

are undermined and due to lack of well-informed people in curriculum committees

who do not know the significant roles of teachers in the planning process. Hence,

this makes teachers not to have any task in the developmental process other than

teaching and to put reform ideas in practice by following the syllabus (Teacher 10).

Teachers’ role is to implement the curriculum. Thus, we play many roles mainly in

the classroom when implementing the curriculum. For instance: to plan (lesson

plans) on how to deliver subject content, design teaching aids, facilitate curriculum

reformed, assess learners work, evaluate the learning process, ensure that learners

grasp the subject content and master all the basic competencies. As for me, I have

never participated in the planning phase (Teacher 47).

Figure 9, further illustrates a frequency of 12 teachers with the roles of assessing and evaluating

the curriculum. These teachers explain that they are given an opportunity to evaluate the

curriculum before implementation. This is done to verify whether the curriculum is measuring

what it intends to measure. Some teachers state that they evaluate the curriculum during

teaching and learning process; when they are assessing and evaluating the learners, teacher-

self-evaluation as well as evaluation of the materials. While others indicate that;

Teachers review and discuss the new curriculum (subject contents) at the workshop

to familiarize ourselves with the changes made, though our inputs are not always

considered. Hence, our inputs need to be considered during the workshops since we

are the one who implements the curriculum (Teacher 3).

I have a role in the evaluation stage of reviewing the curriculum. It is very significant

to evaluate the curriculum in order to determine whether the curriculum is reflecting

to the needs of the learners as well as that of the country. Besides, that it also

measure the extent to which curriculum objectives and goals have been achieved

(Teacher 12).

On the other hand, the figure show a low frequency of teachers who have three different roles

in the curriculum planning stage. The frequency of 5 teachers have a role of planning and

designing the curriculum. During this stage they decide on the curriculum objectives, subject

content, learning competencies and teaching methods to be used. While (f = 2) teachers have a

role of assisting other curriculum developers in building a better foundation for children and

ensure that every information needed to improve country’s education is included.

51

Besides that, they guide other developers on how to lay out curriculum by providing different

crucial themes to be removed and incorporated/added in the curriculum. The assistant teachers

have also a task of making workshops to the teachers who did not participate in the curriculum

planning process. The figure further illustrates a frequency of (1) teacher who has a role of

advising some curriculum developers on how to design the curriculum.

Figure 10, below depicts the essence of participants’ feedback on the statement: main area that

teachers focus during planning and designing of the curriculum.

Figure 10. Main focus when designing the curriculum

The findings reveal that teachers mostly focus on designing and selecting of the subject content

(54.0%) which consist of; developing learning objectives, themes to be removed/included,

basic competencies, curriculum knowledge, skills and time allocation of lessons. Secondly,

when teachers are designing the curriculum, they focus on the teaching and learning process

(33.0%). Here they decide on how the pedagogy process is going to take place in order to

ensure that curriculum is implemented effectively. Hence they determine diverse teaching

strategies, assessment and evaluation methods, learning approaches; and teaching/learning

materials to be used to implement the curriculum. Lastly, teachers focus on the area of school

support (13.0%). Curriculum developers and MoE ensure that schools are provided with

enough facilities (infrastructures, textbooks, technology and resources) which are reflecting on

the curriculum.

Subject content54 %

Teaching and learning process

33 %

School support13 %

Subject content Teaching and learning process School support

52

6.2.1. Summary and discussions of teachers’ roles in curriculum development

The results from both quantitative and qualitative data indicate a high percentage of teachers

who do not have roles in all the stages of curriculum development process. Most teachers reveal

that they do not have any role in the curriculum planning process because curriculum is

developed from NIED, where they only engage few teachers. In addition to this, teachers’ tasks

are regarded as to implement and facilitate the curriculum. Therefore, the majority of teachers

are only involved in the implementation stage when they are putting the reform ideas into

practice. Their roles tend to be more in the classroom when they are executing the subject

matter to learners following the syllabus. They describe their roles in the classroom as to make

daily lesson preparations, design teaching aids, assess and evaluate students work. These results

corroborate prior literature by Abudu and Mensah (2016) which disclose that most teachers are

regarded as implementers and facilitators of the curriculum, whose role is to adopt the official

curriculum to their classroom. Hence, their roles are being perceived as of executing the

innovative ideas of those who develop the curriculum, since their role become as that of the

consumer rather than of producer (Carl, 2005). Majority of the participants of this study

contend that playing no role in the curriculum planning process prevent an effective

implementation of the curriculum. Due to this, teachers are not well-informed about the reforms

in the curriculum. These results are also confirmed by Bakah et al. (2012) as they state that

teachers’ roles in curriculum design promote ownership and more realistic implementation

strategy of the curriculum.

The results from the survey further disclose that few teachers who participate in curriculum

planning process, have numerous roles like; planners/designers, assistants and advisors. During

this process, they guide their fellow curriculum developers on how to design the curriculum

and build a better foundation for children to ensure that every information needed to improve

country’s needs are included in the curriculum. The sentiments made by teachers are in line

with Lucas (2005) as he indicates that teachers are primary designers and most effective

practitioners of curriculum development, who act as mediators between the curriculum and

learners. Furthermore, the findings of the study show that teachers with roles in curriculum

planning stage indicate that they mostly focus on selecting and developing the subject content.

By doing so, they decide on the basic competencies and learning objectives that need to be

included in each subject, as well as different teaching approaches that can be used to implement

the curriculum. Hence, these areas are regarded as the most significant aspects that need to be

considered during the planning process.

53

In support with this, Uchiyama and Radin (2009) accentuate on curriculum developers to

always ensure that teaching strategies and learning materials are reflecting the curriculum.

Thus, teaching and learning process has to be in line with the subject content to prevent

variation between the official/planned curriculum and what is taught in class.

On the other note, teachers who have an opportunity to evaluate the curriculum before the

implementation process appreciate this role, as they familiarise themselves with the new

changes made in the curriculum. However, they indicate that sometimes when revising the

curriculum, their views and inputs are not considered during the planning process at the

national level. Therefore, it is vital to make use of their inputs when amending the final

document of the national curriculum. Bolstering this, Golden-Jubilee (2013) elucidates on the

importance of evaluating the curriculum before the implementation process as it allows

teachers to determine whether learners’ needs are addressed in the curriculum.

In conclusion, the collected data clearly shows that the majority of teachers have no role in

curriculum planning and designing process, because they are not engaged in all the

developmental stages. Therefore, individual decision-making power is absent at the national

level since curriculum-decisions are made on their behalf by NIED. As a result, this left the

participants with strong feelings that more need to be done regarding their roles in the

curriculum development process, especially from the ground level. Therefore, researchers like

Okda (2005) recommends all teachers to have roles in the national curriculum design and

development process.

6.3. The effect of teachers' role in curriculum design to the pedagogical process

Table 8. Descriptive statistic on teachers’ motivation at work

Disagree

Neutral Agree Mean Std.

Deviation

No.

The participation of teachers in curriculum design enhance teachers’

motivation at work. 4 (6.7%) 6 (10.0%) 50 (83.3%) 4.55 .723 60

Table 8, portrays that 83.3% of teachers agree that their inputs in curriculum design enhance

their motivation and boost their morale, 10.0% are uncertain about this, and only 6.7% disagree

with the statement. Teachers who agree indicate that they are always eager to implement the

subject content that they have designed themselves without experiencing many challenges nor

implications.

54

Furthermore, the more roles they have in curriculum design, the more they feel so empowered,

trusted, respected, tend to love their jobs and perform effectively without any intimidation.

Additionally, teachers are of the views that when they participate in all stages of curriculum

development, they develop new skills, self-confidence, critical thinking, collaborative work,

share ideas and promote the learning skills. They gain knowledge on how to go on about

classroom situation and how to create a conducive learning environment which can enhance

the pedagogy process. Therefore, their roles in curriculum planning process, give them an

insight on how to deliver quality education in the classroom because they are well-informed

about the curriculum. In bear with this, some participants indicated in the open-ended responses

that teachers who participate in the curriculum design are always enthusiastic to deliver the

best education and evaluate the success and failure of the curriculum.

Table 9. Descriptive statistic on the implementation process

Teacher

Yes No Total

Teachers implement the curriculum very well once they have

roles in its developmental process?

f 51 9 60

% 85.0 15.0 100.0

f = frequency; % = percent

The results of the study show that teachers’ roles in curriculum design and development have

an impact on the teaching and learning process. Table 9 reveals that the majority of the teachers

(85.0%) agree that their roles in curriculum design and development process have a positive

effect on the implementation process, whilst 15.0% disagree. Teachers who agree indicate that

once they have roles (of designers, decision-makers, researchers, evaluators and mediator) in

curriculum planning process than they will be able to facilitate the curriculum very well and

achieve the educational target goals. In light of all the above, are some quotations that present

teachers’ views;

There is always a successful implementation of curriculum once teachers play the

major roles in planning and designing of the curriculum. This is because they are

well-informed, have a better understanding and capable of interpreting the

curriculum very well (Teacher 41).

55

Teachers’ roles in curriculum development enhance the pedagogy process because

they become familiar with the subject content, curriculum objectives, teaching

methods and changes made in the curriculum (Teacher 7).

On the contrary, 15.0% of teachers who disagree express that their roles in curriculum design

have no impact on the implementation process. Hence, they always teach and enact the

curriculum very well, even when they have no role in the planning process. However, these

teachers stress that as long as there is enough training on how to enact the curriculum, then the

implementation process will always be at ease. Others added that teachers’ roles in curriculum

design do not have any effect on the teaching process, because they are always provided with

the syllabuses which are designed by the curricula specialists who are experts. Therefore, it is

of no use for them to partake since they have limited time.

Table 10. Descriptive statistic on teachers’ performance

Disagree

Neutral Agree Mean Std.

Deviation No.

Teachers’ role in curriculum development contributes to teachers

performances. 3 (5.0%) 7(11.7%) 50(83.3%) 4.12 .833 60

Teachers need to participate in all stages of curriculum development in order to achieve the educational objectives. 

0  6 (10.0%)   54 (90.0%)   4.73  .312  60 

The results in Table 10, show teachers (88.3%) who agree that their role in curriculum

development contributes positively to teachers’ performance and only 5.0% disagree while

11.7% are neutral. Many teachers who agree, report that;

It is always easier to teach the content and objectives that they set up themselves than

the one that is designed by officials from NIED who do not have any classroom

experience and not being in realities faced by the teachers (Teacher 54).

Teachers who have roles in curriculum planning and development process always

perform well than those who do not have. Because they are aware of the changes made

in their subjects and they can interpret and explain the content very well to the learners.

Thus these learners perform well in their subjects (Teacher 12).

Table 10, further exposes that 90.0% of teachers agree that the educational objectives and goals

can only be achieved if teachers are involved and have roles in the national curriculum design

and development process. However, only 10.0% of teachers disagree with this statement.

56

Table 11. Descriptive statistic on teachers training

Disagree Neutral Agree Mean Std. Deviation No.

Teachers receive training on new curriculum 15 (25.0%) 18 (30.0%) 27(45.0%) 2.20 .819 60

Based on the statement of whether teachers receive training on how to implement the reformed

curriculum and discuss issues related to the curriculum, 45.0% participants agree, 30.0% are

neutral and 25.0% participants disagree. According to the participants who agree, although the

training is very crucial, it is not sufficient at all since it only lasts for one week. Participants

who disagree demonstrate that only a few teachers who have been in the field for so long are

selected to attend the training and workshops on the reformed curriculum.

6.3.1. Summary and discussions on the effect of teachers’ roles in curriculum design to the

pedagogical process

The findings of the study reveal that teachers’ roles in curriculum design and development have

a positive effect on the pedagogy process, as well as on their performance. This is because their

roles in the developmental process empower and give them a broad insight on how to deliver

quality education in the classroom since they are well-informed about the curriculum reform.

Teachers become aware of the curriculum objectives, subject content, learning activities, as

well as different teaching approaches that can be used to meet the curriculum expectations.

They can be at ease of executing the curriculum as they fully understand how best they can

approach it. Many participants of the study are of the views that, once they are engaged in the

planning process, they can have a better understanding of the curriculum and motivates them

to perform well during the implementation process. Hence, they become enthused, committed

and eager to do their job. The results resonate with those of Bakah et al. (2012). These

researchers express that teachers’ roles in CD help them acquire various skills on what to teach

and how to teach, which enhance their confidence in teaching and freedom in the classroom.

As a result, they tend to perform effectively. Responses from the survey further explain that it

is always unchallenging for teachers to implement the curriculum when they play the roles of

being planners, designers, evaluators and decision-makers in the developmental process. Due

to this, they become knowledgeable about the curriculum; changes made, truth and reality of

what learners need in terms of curriculum and educational needs. In spite of that, teachers feel

more valued when they have active roles in the decision-making process; they will be

enthusiastic to work hard in order to attain the curriculum objectives that they designed.

57

As a result, the pedagogical process tends to go smoothly as there are no implications neither

misperceptions in certain domains of the curriculum. Carl (2005) equally indicates that when

teachers have roles in all the stages of curriculum development, they become motivated and

ready to assist the learners and facilitate the curriculum effectively. Therefore, their roles in

curriculum development advocate the pedagogical process. To concur with this, prior

researchers highlight that the success of curriculum implementation lies in the hands of teachers

when they are at the heart of the process (Kobiah, 2016; Talbot, 2015). Thus, the relevance of

the subject content can only be fruitful if teachers have active roles in the developmental

process since they are the one responsible for preparing teaching and learning activities for the

learners. On the other note, Chisholm and Leyendecker (2008) observe in their study a high

frequency of teachers who believe that the lack of teachers’ roles in the national curriculum

planning process has a negative impact on the actual implementation of the curriculum.

Therefore, their study concludes that teachers tend to perform well when they have major roles

in the designing process while poor performance arises when they are not engaged. This is

because curriculum might not be well interpreted and articulated as it is planned in the policies.

In the end, this can hinder the attainment of the national goals.

Figure 11 summarised the overall outcomes of how teachers’ roles in CD process affect the

pedagogy process and the whole education system.

Figure 11. Effect of teachers’ roles in CD to pedagogy process

Figure 11 above shows how the majority of teachers perceive their roles in curriculum

development affect the teaching and learning process as well as the whole education system.

However, the findings of this study seem to be quite interesting, as it appears not to be a case

with the other teachers who disagree with the statement in table 9. They emphasize that having

roles merely in the curriculum development process might not enhance the teaching and

learning process. This is because the pedagogical process depends on the commitment and

dedication of individual teachers.

58

Therefore, teachers need to put more effort during the implementation process by ensuring that

there is good communication skill, a practice of learner-centred approach, use of different

assessment methods, and development of consistent teaching and learning aids.

Furthermore, teachers need to have the love for the learners and passion for their work, in order

to advocate effective implementation of the curriculum. These findings confirm a study by

Marsh (2004) which reveal that actual implementation is not only associated with teachers’

roles in CD but, also with active and hardworking teachers who are enthusiastic to make

changes in children lives. Such type of teachers possess good qualities of being friendly, open-

minded, compassionate and respectful, promote value diversity, encourage learners to study

and accept their different learning needs. On a similar note, Kobiah (2016) argues that teachers

should not just give excuses that poor performance is caused when they do not have any role

in the CD process. However, they need to engage all the educational stakeholder at least to

discuss the challenges in the curriculum, different teaching approaches and how learners can

be assisted to understand the subject content correctly.

6.4. Teachers’ perspectives towards the curriculum design and development process

This section focus on the perceptions of teachers toward their participation in the national

curriculum design and development process. The primary teachers give their views, experience

and facts on the importance of being involved in the developmental process. Despite that, they

emphasize the challenges that they encounter during the process of developing and

implementing the curriculum reforms.

Table 12. Descriptive statistic on teacher’s participation in curriculum design

Table 12 above, shows teachers’ responses regarding their participation in the national

curriculum design. A huge number of 42 (70.0%) teachers indicate that they never participate

in all the stages of curriculum development process, especially in the first stage of the

curriculum planning. Majority of the participants confirm these quantitative data in the

unstructured responses.

Never Sometimes Always Mean Std.

Deviation

No.

Teachers are fully involved in all the developmental stages.

42 (70.0%)

10 (16.7%) 8 (13.3 %) 3.78 1.27 60

Teachers avail themselves to be involved in CD 5 (8.3%) 35 (58.3%) 20 (33.3%) 2.25 .600 60

Teachers being encouraged to participate in CD. 30(50.0%) 23 (38.3%) 7(11.7%) 1.62 .691 60

59

They explicate that they have never been granted an opportunity to participate in the designing

process nor to engage in the curriculum decision making outside the classroom. Teachers

further added that in practice, curriculum development in Namibia is “centralized”. Hence, they

are not all engaged in the early stage of curriculum planning where they can present all the

concerns and issues related to the previous curriculum. According to some participants;

Teachers do not participate in the national curriculum planning process. Although,

this is one of the crucial stages which needs teachers’ presence since curriculum

development is part of their daily task. Furthermore, teachers are the curriculum

experts that can best reflect actual practice and make a huge contribution during the

development process (Teacher 33).

Only a few teachers are involved in the developmental process which is not good

because our hands-on proposals, inputs, practical experience and concerns are not

all considered (Teacher 21).

The table further portrays that, although 33.3% of teachers avail themselves to participate in

the CD process, they are not granted an opportunity to partake beforehand, since the chance of

participation does not exist. Therefore, from these findings, it is clear that most of the

participants are eager to be part of the curriculum development and to participate in the

decision-making process

With regard to the statement of whether teachers are encouraged and motivated to participate

in all stages of CD other than in the implementation stage. Table 12, unveils 50.0% of teachers

who have never been motivated nor encouraged by the MoE or educational officers to

participate in all the developmental stages, despite the evaluation and implementation stage.

Teachers provide an assortment of reasons to support their stand;

Teachers have never been invited to partake in CD process especially at the ground

level of the decision-making process. This is because there is a poor/gap in

communication between the curriculum developers and the teachers (Teacher 6).

The educational officers from NIED do not provide any opportunities for teachers

to participate in the curriculum development process since the curriculum is forced

upon them (Teacher 17).

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6.4.1. Importance of teachers’ participation in curriculum design and development

Table 13. The importance of teachers’ participation in curriculum design

Disagree

Neutral Agree Mean Std.

Deviation No.

It is important to involve all teachers in curriculum decision making process. 0 0 60 (100.0%) 4.93 .252 60

The table above presents the responses in regard to teachers’ perceptions toward the importance

of participating in curriculum design and development process. All participants of this study

agree with the first statement of whether it is important to involve teachers in the curriculum

decision-making process and none disagree. Teachers perceive it more necessary to be

involved in the curriculum development process from the initial stage, to provide the most

substantial information based on what they experienced in the classroom. The information

gathered from the open-ended questions, advance that it is utmost significant for teachers to be

part of the curriculum decision-making process because they are the roots and foundation of

children’s education. Therefore, if the foundation is not laid correctly, it will affect the whole

learning of the child. They as well indicate that education is a holistic process and what happens

in the classroom need to take place within the entire context, community and the child in

totality. Teachers further illustrate that it is essential to participate in the developmental process

since it convinces, motivate and make them believe in the significance of the content.

Some other common overwhelming comments made by teachers are quoted as follow;

It is crucial to involve teachers in curriculum designing since they are the curriculum

implementers. Hence, they have the first-hand experience because they are the one

who is in contact with the learners and they know exactly their needs, strengths and

weaknesses. Additionally, it is advantageous to be engaged in the curriculum

development process to improve the quality of teaching and learning process

(Teacher 12).

Teachers need to participate in the curriculum planning process so that it becomes

easier to understand the new concepts and implement reform ideas accordingly.

Besides that, it is important for their inputs and experience to be heard and not just

to impose the curriculum from above-NIED (Teacher 7).

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6.4.2. Barriers to participation in curriculum development and implementation

The participants of this study were requested to give their sentiments on the challenges and

barriers that they encounter when planning and developing curriculum as well as during the

implementation of the curriculum reforms.

Barriers and challenges to curriculum planning and development process: These barriers

are raised up by teachers who participate in the planning process.

Figure 12. Barriers when planning and developing curriculum

Figure 12 shows the most categorized barriers experienced by teachers during the curriculum

planning and development process. The barriers include selecting and determining of the

subject content (28.0%), lack of finance to carry out research and develop resources (25.0%),

shortage of curriculum experts (22.0%), lack of designing strategies (17%) and insufficient

time to plan the curriculum for all the grades (8.0%).

Teachers support the essence of these responses as they express their views in the open-ended

responses:

It is a huge challenge to select and determine the content of each subject which will

suit all the learners across the country. This is because learners are from different

backgrounds and have different experiences. Sometimes teachers find it hard to

determine the themes and topics that need to be removed or added in the curriculum

(Teacher 3).

Content28 %

Experts22 %

Time8 %

Finance25 %

Designing stg17 %

Content Experts Time Finance Designing stg

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Curriculum implications are caused due to lack of experts and knowledgeable

people in the curriculum development committee. Thus, all the teachers need to be

involved in order to avoid this. Besides that, there are not enough funds for people

to carry out researches, to organize training or to at least recompense teachers who

participate in the CD process (Teacher 12).

Majority of the teachers provided reasons to support their standpoint on the barrier of

inadequate curriculum expert. They indicate that most of them and some curriculum developers

are inexperienced as they lack extensive knowledge and a shortage of adequate training on how

to develop the curriculum. Furthermore, there is a lack of information about the significant

roles that teachers play in curriculum development process. Lack of information is caused

because there are not enough contributions made by all of the educational stakeholders.

Therefore, the shortage of curriculum experts may result in poor designing strategies.

On the other hand, some teachers report that they do not have enough time for planning and

developing curriculum, while others note that they lack the expertise in curriculum design.

Therefore they cannot partake in this process. Despite that, another barrier to curriculum design

and development process is the lack of curriculum leaders at schools.

Barriers and challenges when implementing the curriculum reforms: These barriers are

raised up by all the participants of the study.

Figure 13. Barriers to curriculum implementation

Workload29 %

Resources23 %

Time allocation

23 %

Adopting25 %

Workload Resources Time allocation Adopting

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The figure above portrays the categorized barriers that teachers experience when implementing

the curriculum. Majority of the teachers point out the; workload (30.0%), adopting of

curriculum reforms (25.0%), lack of resources (23.0%) and time allocation to the periods

(22.0%) as some of the main challenges that hinder the successful implementation of the

curriculum. Many participants provided reasons to back up their opinions. Firstly, on the barrier

of workload, they indicate that teachers have many responsibilities such as teaching, writing

daily lesson preparations, marking learners’ work, many lessons to teach, classes overloaded,

administrative work and attending to other extramural activities. These tasks already take much

of their time hence they are unable to participate effectively in the curriculum development

process and implement the curriculum very well.

Furthermore, on the barrier of adopting curriculum reforms. Teachers emphasize that they

experience difficulties of interpreting the curriculum since they are unaware of what the

curriculum reform is all about, the changes made, teaching strategies to use, how to assess and

what is expected from them. Hence, it takes time for them to adopt to the reform ideas and

master the subject content.

On the barrier of lack of resources. Teachers point out that, although it is essential to make

changes in the curriculum it remains a challenge to implement it due to lack of resources and

facilities in schools. For example; schools are not provided with enough textbooks, no internet

and computers as well as inadequate teaching and learning materials reflecting on the

curriculum. Therefore, this may hinder the prosperous implementation. They further, advance

on the time allocation barrier that it is very limited and not enough at all. The subject content

is quite vast and sometimes teachers fail to cover all the basic competencies in the syllabus on

time.

Other challenges are difficulties in implementing curriculum which is designed by officials

from outside the teaching fraternity and the exclusion of parents, teachers and learners from

the curriculum planning and development process (as they state that it is already a challenge to

be excluded from the curriculum development process).

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6.4.3. Summary and discussions on teachers’ perceptions toward the curriculum design

Teachers’ participation: The results reveal that most of the primary teachers held the

perception that their level of engagement in curriculum development processes is very low and

discouraging. The low participation is caused because the national curriculum development in

Namibia is initiated from ‘Top-Down’. As a result, most of the teachers tend not to have any

voice outside the classroom since they are not involved in the curriculum planning and

development process. These insights lead teachers not to regard themselves as curriculum

planners or decision makers because they are only assigned to execute the curriculum. The

results of poor involvement of teachers in curriculum planning and development process

corroborate the previous studies by Carl (2005); Kobiah (2016) and Hayward (2000). These

prior researchers indicate that in most of the African countries and few other countries in the

world, teachers are neglected from the curriculum innovations and development process

because the national curriculum is developed from ‘Top-Down’ through unilateral

administrative decisions.

Similar results on the formation of curriculum were as well found in Turkey by Doğan & Altun

(2013) who disclose that the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) and their Boards of

Education are the ones responsible for development and preparation of the national curriculum.

In this regard, teachers do not see themselves as true curricular decision-makers because their

participation in the curriculum planning and development process is minimal. This situation

suggests that there is a crucial need of empowering all the teachers in the national curriculum

development process. In doing so, it provides an opportunity for making guidelines and

syllabus more relevant and meaningful. Additionally, the effectiveness of curriculum

development depends on the participation of teachers (Oloruntegbe, 2011). Therefore, previous

researchers (Kobiah, 2016; Carl, 2005) believe that there should always be a means to involve

teachers in curriculum development process.

The findings indicate that although many teachers are willing to participate and play significant

roles in the national curriculum development process, they are not provided with an opportunity

to partake in the process. They emphasize that the Ministry of Education and other educational

stakeholders in Namibia do not encourage nor create platforms for teachers to participate in

any curriculum stage other than in the implementation stage. In correspondence with this, the

previous literature of Oloruntegbe (2011) and Bakah et al. (2012) urge educational authorities

to create platforms and convince teachers to participate in the curriculum decision-making

process.

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Teachers’ participation in the planning process is essential because they make positive

contributions towards the planning process and educational development of the children. On

the other hand, the data reveals that only a few workshops are given to some teachers on how

to implement the curriculum. As a result, it might cause variations in curriculum

interpretations, articulation and teaching procedures. Bakah et al. (2012) stressed the

importance of providing enough training and seminars to teachers on how to develop and

implement the curriculum.

Importance of teachers’ participation in CD: The results of the study in table 13, show that

all the teachers agree with the statements posted to them, concerning their importance of

participating in the national curriculum design and development process. Hence, it is evident

that all teachers regard it as more significant to partake in the curriculum decision-making

process. The above results are in line with those of Talbot (2015) who asserts that teachers have

major roles to play in curriculum development. Therefore, it is substantial to engage them in

all the developmental stages. The data gathered from the survey show that primary teachers are

the roots and foundations of the children education. Therefore, they believe that the learning

foundation of the child can only be laid properly when they participate in the developmental

process. Furthermore, teachers’ engagement in the developmental process is one of the

fundamental aspect, which has a huge impact on the education system. Hence, the curriculum

reform and quality education can only be implemented well, once teachers are at the centre of

the process. These views support the findings from the previous literature that quality education

can be effective if all the educational stakeholders (teachers, learners, parents and

communities) are involved in the curriculum development process and the structural changes

(Bantwini, 2010; Oloruntegbe, 2011; Haney et al., 2002).

According to the findings of the study, teachers are the implementers and potential curriculum

agents, who know all the educational needs of the learners. Once they are involved in the

planning process, they ensure that the outcome reflects the needs of the learners. Besides that,

they find it more appropriate to be part of the designing process to facilitate its smooth

implementation. Therefore, since teachers are curriculum implementers, then they are the best

able to recognize the implementation difficulties and challenges that they encounter.

Accordingly, if teachers participate in the curriculum formation process, then they will be able

to share their opinions of what they experience in the classroom.

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In doing so, they will provide credible inputs of how the subject content has to be and how the

implementation implications can be tackled. These perceptions can be linked to those of

Bantwini (2010) who points out that teachers’ empowerment in curriculum development

optimize the teaching and learning events in the classrooms. As a result, the process enhances

the learning outcomes and other experience (teaching experience) that may flow from it and

contribute to the development of learners’ potentials.

On the other hand, teachers perceive that when they become part of curriculum design process,

they advance their teaching skills and attain adequate insight of the curriculum. This motivates

them to execute the reform ideas accordingly. While others believe that, when teachers are

fully involved in all the developmental stages they can be able to create conducive and

meaningful learning environments for the learners. These findings are in agreement with (Carl,

2005) who states that teachers are the major components of the teaching process. Teachers are

the closest to the learners, curriculum and classroom atmosphere; therefore, their participation

is more imperative.

The results further show that teachers perceive it essential to partake in the designing process,

however not all of them are consulted for their inputs, which is against the Okada's views

(2005). They claim that although they are the subject specialist, they are voiceless in the

curriculum planning process. Hence, they do not teach with the aim of achieving the curriculum

objectives, but to finish the vast content which is imposed on them. Such things create a

negative relationship between the teachers and the curriculum. Mokua (2010) support this view

as he contends that teachers are always demotivated to perform well when their roles are not

recognized in the CD and when they are not engaged in the process. Therefore, the fact that

they are inactive in the CD process can cause them to lose control of the curricula and

pedagogical skills. Due to that many of them tend to be deskilled by such curriculum (Kobiah,

2016; Lucas, 2005). Moreover, the rich practical experiences that teachers would bring on

board during the designing process might be missed due to their lack of involvement.

Developing curriculum is one of the significant aspects which helps curriculum developers to

make changes and add components which address the needs of the children and those of the

country. However, participants of this study have noticed that even though it is important to

have roles in the curriculum development process, there are some challenges involved when

designing it and implementing the curriculum reform.

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Barriers to participation in curriculum development: This study reveals that curriculum

design and development is a dynamic process which consists of many challenges that may

prevent its effectiveness. Those teachers who participate in the developmental process report

that, they experience various barriers both during the designing process as well as during the

implementation of curriculum reform. Researchers such as Huizinga (2014) and Golden-

Jubilee (2013) confirm that construction of educational curriculum is one of the most

complicated tasks, through which teachers encounter many problems during the process and

sometimes after the reforms. According to the prior literature, the critical issue in the

curriculum development mostly lays on how the curricular interventions have to be

(re)designed, (re)developed, and implemented in order to achieve a substantial balance between

the ideals of a curriculum change and their realization in practice ( Mouraz et al., 2013).

The study discloses that among the challenges listed, the most include poor designing

strategies, the formation of the subject content and the lack of curriculum experts in the

development committee. Teachers who participate in the planning process express their

inexperience and lack of expertise in curriculum development. As a result, it becomes difficult

for them to determine the curriculum objectives since they lack knowledge on how to design

the national curriculum. Furthermore, many curriculum developers have inadequate

information about the learners’ needs. Inadequate information is caused because developers do

not conduct proper research nor involve all the educational stakeholders (teachers, parents,

public) with the necessary information about the learners’ backgrounds. In support with this,

Mokua (2010) and Ramparsad (2001) describe a lack of extensive knowledge and skills among

the curriculum developers. Sometimes the whole curriculum development process is not clear

to them. As a result, it can affect teachers since they do not have a coherent understanding of

the aims and purpose of curriculum development/reform, what it is all about and how it is

supposed to proceed (Fullan, 2001).

Though, some teachers are of the views that, they have adequate information concerning the

learners’ needs, they do not receive enough training on how to design the curriculum. These

views are consistent with what Mouraz et al. (2013) and Mensah (2016). These researchers

discovered that incompetence and limited knowledge within teachers in the curriculum design

and development serve as an obstacle towards their engagement in the process.

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Apart from the barriers mentioned above, teachers point out other constraints such as finance

and time which they encounter during the development process. It is evident that finance is one

of the huge contributing factors to the ineffective of curriculum development. Teachers argue

that, due to insufficient funds, they are unable to carry out proper researches on the crucial

components/domains that need to be included in the curriculum. Furthermore, the department

of education cannot organize enough workshops nor in-service training for teachers on how to

develop the curriculum. Teachers are further not equipped with all the necessary resources and

equipment (curriculum materials, textbooks) that need to be used during the planning process.

Insufficient funds prevent teachers from developing enough teaching and learning materials.

Khan and Law (2015) argue that curriculum development process is costly because there are

many things involved such as conducting research, training teachers and other resources. As a

result, the education department ends up developing or reforming the curriculum after a long

period. Additionally, the fact that there is no token of appreciation (like certificates or

diplomas) given to participating teachers in the curriculum development process is a

demotivation. These results are in agreement with Mokua (2010).

Concerning the time factor, the study exposes that curriculum development process is time-

consuming. Thus some teachers believe that they do not have enough time to work in the

curriculum designing committee nor to attend workshops since they are loaded with

schoolwork. According to Carl (2005), the curriculum development process is a long-term

planning process which requires a long period and more time from the curriculum developers.

Similarly, teachers’ responses correspond with those of Chinyani (2013) as he reports that

Zimbabwean teachers have enormous responsibilities and high school workload which prevent

them from participating in the planning process.

Barriers to implementation: Most teachers find it hard to implement the curriculum reform

because they lack knowledge about how to apply it. Besides that, teachers struggle with the

interpretations and adoption of the reforms in the curriculum because they are failing to cope

with the new changes made. These views are also supported by Oliva (2009) who states that

the implementation of the curriculum reform is not that easy since it is very demanding to

interpret and implement it in the classroom context. He further describes the unpreparedness

of the teachers on how to facilitate the reform ideas as another challenge which can hinder the

practical implementation.

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On the other hand, the analysed data reveal that majority of teachers do not feel comfortable

when they are imposed with huge subject content and syllabus which they are expected to cover

within a short period. They claim that they are overloaded with many things like teaching,

writing daily lesson preparations, marking learners’ work, many lessons to teach, classes full

and administrative work. Subsequently, these make it hard for them to interpret the curriculum

very well and execute it accordingly (Handelzalts, 2009). Moreover, the results reveal a lack

of teaching and learning materials, facilities and equipment which remains a big challenge

during the pedagogy process. These results are consistent with a study conducted by Schneider

and Krajcik (2002) who recommend the curriculum implementers to be aware of the subject

content and the pedagogical procedures before practising them in the classroom settings.

Hence, it is imperative for them to be trained about the new changes in the curriculum. The

finding reveals that although teachers appreciate the changes made in the curriculum, they are

worried about the barriers mentioned earlier as they affect the successful implementation of the

curriculum.

6.5. Summary

Data analysis of this study yielded findings of the main research questions which are presented

and discussed separately. The first section focused on the roles of the teachers in the national

curriculum development process. This section revealed that most of the primary teachers are

rarely involved in the national curriculum development process hence their roles are regarded

as to implement and facilitate the curriculum. As a result, many teachers tend not to have any

role outside the classroom. However, few teachers who participate in the designing process

indicate that their roles in the process are to advise and assist the curriculum developers, plan,

assess and evaluate the curriculum.

The second section discussed the effect of teachers’ roles in curriculum development on the

pedagogy process. The results showed that most teachers see it useful to have roles in the

developmental process because it promotes effective interpretation which results in the actual

implementation of curriculum reform. Despite that, teachers’ role in curriculum development

advocates the pedagogy process because when they have roles in planning and designing, they

become aware of the subject content, teaching and learning approaches. Furthermore, once

teachers become empowered in the CD process, they gain deep insight on how to deliver quality

education in the classroom since they are well-informed on the new curriculum. This enables

the Ministry of Education to achieve the educational objectives and goals.

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The third section described the teachers’ perception toward curriculum design and development

process. The section focused on the importance of teachers’ participation in the process and

the barriers they encounter when developing and implementing the curriculum. The results

show that most teachers perceive it significant to participate in the national curriculum

development process because it advocates their teaching and learning process. Information

gathered from the open-ended questions also indicate that the primary teachers are the roots

and foundation of the children education. Hence, if the foundation is not laid correctly, it will

affect the whole learning cycle of the child. Consequently, teachers need to be at the heart of

the process to develop a curriculum which is reflecting the needs of the children.

Despite the importance of involving teachers in national curriculum development, teachers

experience challenges when developing the curriculum. For example how to design the subject

content (themes to remove/include), lack of curriculum experts, insufficient funds, and

inadequate time. Hence, they are of the views that developing curriculum is complicated as it

complicated as it becomes an added workload to their classroom work. Furthermore, it is

difficult to implement the curriculum effectively because schools are not provided with enough

resources and facilities reflecting on the syllabus.

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Chapter 7: Conclusions of the study

7.1. Research summary

As previously mentioned, the rationale of this present study was to investigate the roles of

primary teachers in the national curriculum development process in Namibia. The term

curriculum is observed to have numerous meanings based on different context, however, for

this study the focus was mainly on the school context. Ministry of Education in Namibia (MoE,

2015) defines curriculum as a coherent framework that “guides schools on how to organize the

teaching-learning process” to ensure consistency in the implementation process (p.2).

Curriculum direct teachers on how to deliver an efficiency and quality education to every child.

Thus it is crucial to include teachers in all the stages of the national curriculum development

process.

According to prior researchers, curriculum development is a process which covers the entire

course of curriculum construction from initial conceptualization and planning to design,

implementation and evaluation (Ornstein & Hunkins 2009; Otunga & Charles 2008). In most

cases, the national curriculum is planned differently because it is developed based on the needs

of the learners and that of the country. Therefore, teachers are the primary source and most

active practitioners in developing curriculum. Additionally, teachers are the one who put the

reform ideas in practice hence they are familiar with the needs of the learners.

While the focus of the study was to investigate the roles of the primary teachers in the national

curriculum development process. The researcher developed three research questions which

were approached during the study. Firstly, the study explored the significant roles teachers have

in the curriculum development process. Secondly, the survey inquired about how teachers’

roles in curriculum design and development process affect the pedagogical process. Then

lastly, the researcher looked at the perceptions of the teachers toward their participation in

curriculum design and development. The last question looked at the participation of teachers,

the reasons they think it is essential to participate in curriculum development, as well as the

barriers that they encounter when developing and implementing curriculum.

The findings of the study revealed that most teachers do not have any role in the curriculum

designing process since they are considered as facilitators and implementers of the curriculum.

Hence, their major roles are only in the classroom during the implementation process.

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In the implementation process they are tasked to develop the teaching and learning materials,

make lesson preparations, create a conducive learning environment, assess and evaluate

learners’ work. However, the results showed that only a few teachers have roles in the national

curriculum design and development process. Their roles are to plan, advice and assist the

curriculum designers to develop an effective curriculum which will provide quality education.

Teachers’ roles in curriculum design and development process have a positive impact on the

pedagogical process. The findings reveal 85.0% of teachers who agreed that teachers’ roles

advocate the teaching and learning process (see table 13). Therefore, this implies that once

teachers play a role in the planning process, they become aware of the curriculum and be able

to interpret it accordingly. Consequently, the implementation process becomes effective which

result in the attainment of the educational goals. From these findings, it is evident that teachers’

roles in the developmental process advocate the teaching and learning process which is in

agreement with Bakah et al. (2012).

Throughout the entire period of the study, teachers’ participation in curriculum development

process is seen as one of the vital aspects due to crucial roles that they play in the process.

However, the study determined a large number (n=42) of teachers who do not participate in the

curriculum designing process. These teachers are not granted an opportunity to partake in the

planning stage since the curriculum is developed from NIED, whereby only a few teachers are

conducted. Majority of teachers perceive it more significant to participate in all the stages of

curriculum development process because they are the implementers of the curriculum.

Therefore, they have the first-hand experience of the learners and know exactly their

educational needs, strengths and weaknesses. They contribute rich practical experience in the

curriculum development, as they can identify the crucial themes that need to be added and

removed from each subject (Kobiah, 2016; Lucas, 2005). The quality of teachers’ participation

is vital, not only for developing the school or national curriculum but also for enhancing their

personal and professional growth. Despite the importance of involving teachers in the

development process. The study prevailed that, developing national curriculum involves many

challenges which can hinder the curriculum from being planned and designed expertly. This

study noticed that few teachers who participate in CD process encounter various problems like

lack of curriculum designing strategies, inadequate training/resources, lack of expertise,

insufficient funds, and time factor.

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Teachers further outlined that, it becomes hard for them to implement curriculum effectively

because there are not enough resources and facilities at schools which are reflecting the

curriculum. Some teachers find it challenging to interpret the curriculum since they lack

knowledge and skills about the reform ideas.

Based on the foregoing summary of the study, it is observed that the results of this study go in

accordance with the conclusions from the previous studies of Bantwini, (2010); Carl, (2005)

and Oloruntegbe, (2010). These researchers reveal poor participation of teachers in curriculum

development process in most African countries. As a result, teachers tend to be neglected from

the curriculum innovation, since they do not have any voice nor role at the national level. This

type of negligence is against teachers’ views as they do not want to be perceived as mere

‘recipients’ and ‘implementers’ of the curriculum. Teachers’ aspiration is to be included from

the early stages of meaningful decision-making where their inputs and voice can be heard.

Therefore, it is critical to involve teachers in the curriculum development stage as much as they

are involved in the implementation stage. The study concluded that, although it is evident that

teachers’ roles in CD advocate the pedagogical process. Most primary teachers have no roles

in all the developmental stages (especially in the planning stage) since the curriculum is

imposed upon them. Hence, their roles are mostly regarded to facilitate and implement the

curriculum.

7.2. Implications of the results

Implications of the results on teaching practice and educational policies

In this study, teachers’ roles in curriculum design and development process are one of the

critical aspects which contribute positively to the teaching and learning process. Hence, it is

noted to be important for all teachers to have roles in every stage of curriculum development

process to attain the curriculum goals. The identified roles of teachers in this research can

enable them to be successful implementers and facilitators of the curriculum. Contrary to this,

the majority of the teachers of this study are only involved in the last stage of curriculum

development which is in the implementation phase. Therefore, this gives challenges to teachers

in adopting changes made in the curriculum because they are not well acquainted with the aims,

goals and subject contents.

Additionally, misinterpretation of the curriculum rises causing the implementation not to be a

success (Okda, 2005). It is evident from the present research that when teachers are not

involved in the developmental process, they fail to interpret the curriculum very well.

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As a result, variations might occur between the curriculum taught and the planned (official)

one. Despite that, crucial information on the learners’ needs can be missed if teachers are not

involved in the designing process. As a result, the national curriculum will become impractical

as it is not reflecting the needs of the learners and that of the society. Therefore, this study gives

an indication of the roles and significance of teachers’ participation in curriculum design and

development process. The essential of teachers’ roles in CD process is to avoid a gap between

the planned curriculum in the official documents and the implemented one. Hence, workshops

or seminars can be organised where teachers can discuss and share their experiences about the

curriculum (Saracaloglu et al., 2010). Only this way teachers can have clear insights of what

the curriculum is all about and how the reform ideas can be put in practice. Through this study,

MoE and teachers will be able to determine the substantial contributions teachers make to

curriculum design and development process.

The findings of this study are valuable to the MoE, NIED and all the educational officers as

they will be aware of the barriers encountered by teachers during curriculum development and

implementation process. Hence, by outlining these barriers, it will assist the educational

officers to consider the type of support to provide in order to fix these barriers and ensure

effective development and implementation of the curriculum.

Implications of the results of the educational policies and curriculum research

Currently, the official curriculum policy for formal basic education in Namibia is not clear

about the roles of teachers in the national curriculum development process. This existing policy

state only about teachers being the central role players to successful curriculum implementation

(Ministry of Education, 2015). The policy is silent about teachers’ roles and their participation

in the planning and development process. Therefore, official curriculum policy needs to be

revised so that it can be inclusive and stress on the needs of teachers’ participation in the

planning process. Additionally, the policy can stipulate and emphasise more on the significant

roles of teachers in curriculum development. By doing so, it will strengthen an effective

implementation of the curriculum and provision of quality education.

Furthermore, the amendments of educational policies need to be maintained as it is done based

on the real-life situation and for developmental changes in the country. Policies need to be

informative to cater the needs of both teachers and learners. Therefore, it is important to include

and consult all the necessary stakeholders (teachers, learners, parents and society) for their

inputs since they know more about the learners’ needs.

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It will as well assist teachers who are the implementers to be fully aware of the aims, goals and

reforms in curriculum. The official national curriculum policy can be planned, evaluated and

piloted by all the teachers before the final document is distributed to schools.

Moreover, the national curriculum policy states that every learner should be given all the

textbooks and materials appropriate to their learning ability and needs. Additionally, schools

have to be provided with all the necessary facilities reflecting on the curriculum to ensure that

the subject content is delivered successfully. However, what is written in the policy is not put

into practice by the Ministry of Education. Teachers are complaining about the lack of

resources (textbooks, teaching and learning resources) and facilities in schools which are

hindering the effective implementation. This study suggests that what is written in the policy

should be fulfilled by the stakeholders (MoE, educational officers) for the educational goals to

be attained.

7.3. Recommendations

Recommendations to the MoE, NIED and educational stakeholders

This study focused on the roles of primary teachers in the national curriculum design and

development in Namibia. Based on the summary of the research and conclusion presented, this

study has the following recommendations to the Ministry of Education and the National

Institute for Educational Development;

Throughout this study, the teachers’ roles in the national curriculum development process are

one of the most useful aspects that enhances the teaching and learning process. However, the

study reveals that only a few primary teachers are involved and have roles in the national

curriculum designing and development process. This study recommends the educational

officers from the Ministry of Education and the National Institute for Educational Development

to involve all teachers in decision making outside the classrooms. In other words, teachers need

to be empowered and be active participants in every step of curriculum development process,

for the educational innovations and curriculum reforms to be effective. In achieving this,

educational officers from NIED need to initiate the curriculum development and reform

process from grassroots (bottom-up approach). Basically, by teachers who are in the field since

they know what and where the changes are needed. By doing so, it will enable teachers to have

other roles in decision-making, planning and developing the curriculum instead of just being

facilitators and implementers.

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Furthermore, educational officers can organize curriculum leaders and curriculum committees

at each school cluster. In these committees, teachers will discuss the themes to be

added/removed, curriculum aims and other issues in curriculum. The outcomes from the

committees will be reviewed and utilised at NIED during the curriculum development process.

By serving in the committees, teachers will provide significant inputs, share their knowledge

and concur with other curriculum experts on how to design the curriculum.

Teachers’ roles in curriculum development can be attained through the process of collaboration

between the national and local authorities which highly develop practice. Hence, local

authorities and school clusters will be given autonomy and become a central part of formulating

the curriculum. They will have the roles of planning and evaluating the curriculum, as well as

developing the teaching and learning resources. This method is also used in developed

countries like Finland, and it works perfectly.

This study further recommends the MoE and NIED officers to provide adequate in-service

training to teachers with roles in the CD process. This training should be on how to develop

curriculum, emphasis on the importance of involving them in CD and their significant inputs

in the process. The MoE and NIED can give rewards (certificates/remunerations) to teachers

for participating in the national curriculum planning and development process. Furthermore,

curriculum seminars, workshops and other formal platforms can be organised by the

developers/educational officers in order to promote a better understanding of the curriculum.

By doing this, it will allow teachers to share their views and experiences about the old and

reformed curriculum. Therefore, teachers who did not participate in the developmental process

will get a chance to discuss curriculum reforms with others. As a result, teachers will interpret

the curriculum accordingly, and there will be no misconceptions and reluctance in the

implementation process.

The vastness of the subject content makes it hard for teachers to complete their syllabuses in

the termly stipulated time slot. Thus it is essential for the curriculum developers to revise and

consider how the content has been allocated regarding the needed time for the completion of

the syllabuses. The subject content can be well simplified in the curriculum policy (syllabuses)

for it to be understood well by all the teachers and learners. Addition to that, theoretical part of

the subject content can as well be adjusted and minimised to provide enough opportunity for

practical work.

77

Recommendations for further studies

Firstly, further scholars in the field of curriculum education are encouraged to conduct a

comparative study with a little twist on how the national curriculum is developed in other

countries with the main focus on the teachers’ role. Secondly, the study recommends further

scholars to conduct a study comparing the pedagogical performance of teachers who have roles

in the national curriculum designing process with those without roles in the process. By doing

this, it can provide rich information on how teachers’ roles in CD enhances the teaching and

learning process. Lastly, this study was confined to three primary schools from Khomas region

in Namibia, to explore roles and importance of involving teachers in the national curriculum

development. Therefore, the study of the same nature can be conducted in a wider geographical

area, which will include a larger sample from the Junior and Senior secondary phase, in all the

educational regions in the country. This will help the researcher to obtain results which are

more reliable.

7.4. Ethics, trustworthiness and limitations

Throughout this research project, the researcher adhered to the ethical considerations which

basically ranges from; proper citations, referencing, data collection and presentation of the

findings. Therefore, in this report efforts have been made to reference and acknowledge all the

work, information and ideas from other people. Furthermore, anonymity was preserved to

protect the privacy of the participants, and they were informed that they were free to withdraw

any time of the study without any threat. This study was developed with the voluntary

participation of teachers that work as informants on their roles in curriculum design and

development process. The results of the study are trustworthy, valid and reliable. Satisfactory

reliability was yielded (Cronbach’s Alpha = .801), which implies that the instrument used is

valid and reliable.

There are some few limitations encountered through this research project. Firstly, the

researcher could not do the inferential tests due to bias in male and female participants. The

study was planned to have an equal number of male and female participants, but due to the low

participation of male teachers, it turns to have nine (9) males and fifty-one (51) females’

participants. Therefore, the researcher could not make comparisons between males and females

teachers’ roles in the curriculum design development process. However, the author still

obtained valuable data which were used for the descriptive statistic.

78

Moreover, because the selection of participants of the study was non-random, the

generalizability of the results on the primary teachers’ roles in CD is considered lower than if

the sampling process could be random. Hence, the results for this study cannot be generalised

but will be kept within the context in which the study was conducted. The results could have

been more significant if a large and diverse sample could be selected randomly from various

primary schools in Namibia. In doing so, it would offer the generalizability of the study’s

results.

On the other hand, the results of the study could be more precise, if document analysis could

be used to compare teachers’ performance between those that have roles in the planning process

and those that do not have any role in the planning process. The document analysis could be

done by reviewing and analysing assessment documents and educational reports for both

teachers and learners. The use of observation could as well produce better and reliable results,

as this research instrument could allow the researcher to observe the roles of the teachers in the

classroom and how the curriculum reform is implemented. Lastly, the lack of recent literature

was a drawback since this topic is not well researched in Namibia. Hence, the researcher used

international articles during the literature review section.

79

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Appendices

Appendix A

Approval letter from UEF

88

Appendix B

Permission letter from the Director of Education, Khomas

89

Appendix C

Informed consent letter

Dear Sir/Madam

I am Letisia Hidiwakusha, a Master student at the University of Eastern Finland. I am conducting a

survey to investigate the roles of primary teachers in the national curriculum design and development

in Namibia specifically in the Khomas region. The study aims to identify the roles and the importance

of involving teachers in the national curriculum development. As you are one of those teachers, your

inputs are more significant to this study hence I am kindly requesting you to complete the survey

attached.

The survey is anonymous. If you choose to participate, do not write your name on the questionnaire

so that no one will be able to identify you or know whether you participated in the study. Hence, the

collected data from the survey will be processed anonymously, and it will be used for the research

purposes only.

Your participation in this study is voluntary. If you choose to participate, please sign on this form and

kindly complete the questionnaire.

________________

Participant signature

Regards

Letisia Hidiwakusha

University of Eastern Finland

lethi@uef.fi

90

Appendix D

Survey for the teachers

Hidiwakusha Letisia

Master student

Email Address: lethi@uef.fi

Cell No: +358449531282

Survey for primary school teachers in Khomas region

Section 1

Background information (Please tick in the correct column )

1.1. Gender: Male Female

1.2. Age: ______

1.3. Qualification: Masters B.ed Diploma Others

1.4. Years of teaching experience: ________

1.5. At which primary school do you teach:

__________________________________

1.6. Which Primary Phase do you teach:

Pre-Primary

Junior Primary phase

Senior Primary phase

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Section 2

1. Please respond to the following items by ticking in the column that most nearly represents

YOUR PERSONAL VIEWS about the importance of involving primary school teachers in the

National curriculum design and development.

2. Answer the following questions by ticking in the correct column.

92

Section 3

The National curriculum design and development in Namibia aims to give directions to planning,

organising and implementing teaching and learning process to teachers (Ministry of Education, 2015).

Based on your experiences what are your perceptions on the following questions?

3.1. Why do you think it is important for primary school teachers to take a role in the National

curriculum Design and Development?

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

3.2. What are the benefits of participating in curriculum design and development?

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

3.3. What kind of roles do you have in the national curriculum design and development?

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

3.4. Which areas do you mostly focus during the process of curriculum development?

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

3.5. Do you think teachers implement (teach) the curriculum very well once they are involved in all

the stages of curriculum design and development?

Why?____________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Yes No kkkkk

93

3.6. What are the challenges faced by the teachers during curriculum design and during

implementation process?

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

3.7. What can be done to motivate primary school teachers to be have a role in curriculum design and

development?

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your Participation!