The Practice of Curriculum Contextualization in Selected Primary Schools in Rural Ethiopia

Abstract

Relevance of the curriculum is one of the most important concerns in provision of primary education. ne means to maintain the relevance of the curriculum is through contextualization. Contextualization of the curriculum, as used here, embraces relating the content, the teaching learning process and the materials to meaningful situations that are relevant to students’ lives. The present study examined the status of curriculum contextualization in primary schools in rural Ethiopia. Data was collected from 640 students, 84 teachers, 16 school principals, 16 deputy principals, 10 Supervisors and 5 Heads of District Education Offices. The result indicated that effort at contextualizing the curriculum is terribly lacking. Though there is institutional concern over curriculum relevance, in practice, the attempt made to model the process through inclusion of elements of curriculum contextualization into teachers’ performance assessment criteria and textbook evaluation guides is extremely lacking. Teachers’ lack of know-how, poor administrative support, focus on regional examinations and shortage of resources are among the challenges identified to have curbed curriculum contextualization. The implication of this situation on the quality of primary education has been discussed; suggestions for improvement forwarded.

Key terms: Curriculum relevance, curriculum contextualization, experiential learning, humanizing education.