Curriculum Reform and Implementation: Secondary Science Teachers’ Responses to a Competency-Based Curriculum in Tanzania

The gap between the intended and enacted curriculum is a major concern for many stakeholders in education. This research explores the detail of teachers’ responses to and enactment of a competency-based curriculum (CBC) in Tanzania through four areas of teachers’ focus: beliefs and perspectives on the science and CBC, factors influencing a CBC enactment, and a comparison of responses to a CBC from teachers of Dar es Salaam and that of Zanzibar. The study was carried out in two parts of the United Republic of Tanzania: Dar-es-Salaam in the Tanzania Mainland and Unguja in Zanzibar. These regions have similar curricula at the secondary level and above, they have different cultural backgrounds and distinct educational authorities. An exploratory sequential mixed research was carried out with the secondary science teachers. This included two semi-structured interviews carried out with 21 teachers in separate visits and an additional four focus group discussions with other teachers than those involved in the interviews. A written survey was completed by 267 teachers. The analysis of this research was guided by a consideration of the different factors influencing teachers’ enactment of the curriculum, and the interaction of institutional context with the teachers’ personal factors. Overall, the study identifies three key findings. 1) Teachers talked about pairs of aims (couplet aims) which often pulled them in opposite directions. 2) Teachers’ autonomy is severely impacted by pressures from the authorities including inspectorates and school administration, which in turn contributes to teachers’ inability to enact the curriculum as intended. 3) The socio-geographic and cultural context is significant in shaping how teachers adapt specific elements of the reform. This study argues that teacher’s response to a curriculum is a process in a particular context drawn upon the interaction of teachers with multiple external demands.