Abstract:
With the aim of producing secondary education graduates with adequate knowledge and skills
that could enable them to survive in the ever-changing world, Tanzania introduced the
competence-based curriculum in 2005. The curriculum regards learners to have the capability
to construct and apply knowledge beyond the classroom context. Since the Tanzania
education system passed through different eras, this article assesses the influence of the
historical background of education systems on stakeholders’ perspectives on adoption and
practice in teaching, learning, and assessment in the competence-based curriculum.
Semi-structured interview and focused group discussion was used to collect data on teaching,
learning, and assessment methods employed by both teachers and learners. The data were
analyzed by thematic analysis. The results show the elements of the colonial rule education
system influences classroom teaching, learning, and assessment practices. Since colonial rule
educated few Africans to be employed to serve in the colonial administration, this has
contributed to school teaching learning and assessment practices to be perceived as stepping
stone for formal employment and not the means of equipping useful and applicable
knowledge and skills to learners’ life. The focus of classroom instructional practices is to
enable learners to memorize the facts and be able to reproduce in the examinations to qualify
for further studies and formal employment. This is a setback for quality instructional methods
that promote the acquisition of livelihood skills. Given this, the study recommends key
stakeholders involved in curriculum development to redefine the roles of school education to
align with classroom instructional practices.
