Influence of Teacher Level of Training on the Implementation of CBC in Public Special Schools for Learners with Visual Impairment in Kitui County

Abstract

The government of Kenya has put a lot of effort on provision of education for all irrespective of their abilities. Teachers as the key educational implementers have a great role in provision of education. With this regard, the purpose of this study is to assess the influence of teacher level of training on the implementation of CBC.  This study was guided by curriculum implementation theory by Gross [23]. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and it targeted teachers, head-teachers and learners in special schools for learners with visual impairment in Kitui County. Purposive sampling method and simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. A sample size of 210 respondents was used, among them 150 learners, 45 teachers and 15 head-teachers. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used for data collection. Focus group discussions was also conducted among the learners with visual impairment with an aim of gathering information on issues related to availability and usage of ICT, teaching methods used by teachers and also learners’ perception towards CBC. Descriptive statistics was used for analysis of quantitative data which included mean and standard deviation, results were presented in frequencies and percentages. Key findings of the study were; majority 44.2% of the teachers possessed a diploma in special need education, this revealed that teachers had attained the minimum professional qualification that is required for one to be employed at primary school level in Kenya. Majority 76.7% of teachers indicated that they had not attended any in-service training. Majority 63.33% of the teachers rated themselves as having sufficient ICT integration skills/training to implement CBC. Key conclusion of the study was that teacher related factors influence implementation of competency-based curriculum. Key recommendations were that the Ministry of Education in conjunction with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development and Teachers Service Commission should continue training teachers on ICT knowledge and skills that are very critical to implementation of the new curriculum.