Implementation of competence based curriculum in the context of colonial education system in Tanzania

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.