Moving from Page to Playground: The Challenges and Constraints of Implementing Curriculum in Ghana

Abstract

The process of translating curriculum intentions into practice, that is to say moving from page to playground, is acknowledged by curriculum experts as the most critical phase of the educational change process. It often is fraught with challenges and constraints which, if not handled expeditiously, lead to implementation failure – a characteristic of most innovations and reforms in education. Drawing on the literature on curriculum implementation and using evidence from curriculum implementation studies conducted in Ghana, this paper argues that the main reasons for the failure of educational programme implementation in the country appear to be the lack of appreciation by both experts outside the school system and educators in the system of the practical imperatives and implications of the phenomenon of curriculum implementation, and, consequently, the inability to address these at the point of need. The paper further traces the roots of many of the problems that have confronted the implementation of curricula in Ghana to inadequate pre-implementation preparations, and makes recommendations for achieving successful curriculum implementation in the future.

Keywords: curriculum change, curriculum implementation, educational change, implementation failure, obstacles to implementation