Teachers’ Level of Adequacy and their Effectiveness in Implementing Curriculum in Public Primary Schools in Kakamega South District, Kakamega County, Kenya

Abstract

The gist of the study was to examine teachers’ level of adequacy and their effectiveness in implementing curriculum in public primary schools in Kakamega South District, Kakamega County Kenya. The study was premised on the theory of supply and demand advanced by Hicks in 1986. A survey research design was adopted to guide the study. From a population of 68 primary schools in the study locale, simple random sampling technic was applied to select 23 primary schools to act as our sampling units. From each of the sampled school, 23 Headteachers and 69 members of school management Committee (SMCs) were purposively. One Quality Assurance and Standards Officer(QASO) was also included to   yield a sample size of 93  for the study. Questionnaires previously piloted   to determine their validity and reliability were used to collect data from Headteachers whereas the interview schedules were used to collect data from members of SMCs. Quantitative data generated through questionnaires were analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to generate descriptive statistics presented in frequency tables charts and percentages. Qualitative data generated through in-depth interviews were analyzed using interview transcription and thematic analysis and reported in direct quotes and narrative form. The major finding was that although enrollment in primary schools had escalated due to the introduction of free primary education (FPE) policy, there were inadequate teachers in the study locale due to the freeze by the Government of Kenya to recruit more teachers, retirement, natural attrition, and frequent transfers.  This had made the average teaching load to increase from 32:1 in 1999 to 45:1 as of the time of the study. The conclusion was that despite the gains made in increasing pupils enrollment in primary schools in the study locale as a result of the introduction FPE policy , these gains were being eroded by the low  quality of  education being provided  due to overstretched instructional resources and the  overloaded teachers who were not effective in implementing curriculum. It was recommended that the Ministry of Education should allocate adequate funds to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to enable them recruit more qualified teachers and distribute them equitably in schools in Kakamega South District, Kakamega County, Kenya.[365  words ].

Key Words: Free primary Education, Primary Schools, Teachers, Adequacy and Equity, Kakamega South District, Kakamega County, Kenya.