Teachers’ participation in selection and organization of curriculum content and effective implementation of secondary school curriculum in Kenya

Educational literature, theory, and reform trends have long promoted putting teachers in a central role in curricular design. The longevity of the discourse for meaningful and sustained teacher involvement in curriculum development reflects the failure of such involvement to become common practice in secondary schools in Kenya. This article attempt to investigate teachers’ participation in selection and organization of curriculum content and its impact on curriculum implementation in Kenya. The study was conducted in Meru and Nairobi Counties, Kenya. The target population was 3146 secondary school teachers comprising of 1781 males and 1365 females. Stratified random sampling was used to draw the participating schools and teachers. A sample of 342 teachers participated in the study. A questionnaire for teachers and an interview schedule for Principals were employed in data collection. Data was analyzed by use descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings indicated that teachers’ participation in selection and organization of curriculum content had a positive relationship with effective implementation of secondary school curriculum in Kenya. The study findings also reveal that curriculum development is largely centrally-controlled due to the top-down models of curriculum development employed by Kenya Institute of curriculum development. The study recommends a shift of decision-making from the centre to the periphery which will cause a change in teachers' and administrators' roles, involving them in greater decision making regarding the total curriculum development and implementation. Teachers should be empowered through training and new curriculum orientations for effective participation in curriculum development and implementation.