Managing science teachers’ adoption of the 2005 Tanzanian Inquiry and Student-centred curriculum: revealing schoolbased leaders’ practices and achievements
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Date
2020
Authors
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Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Abstract
Many countries have made considerable changes to their education systems in response to
the forces of globalisation. Tanzania is no exception. The most recent educational change
attempt in Tanzania relates to the introduction of the 2005 Tanzanian Inquiry and Student-
Centred Curriculum.
Sound change-leadership is a necessary condition for the realisation of change, particularly
in influencing its adoption. Within the descriptive qualitative research paradigm, this study
employed a Type IV (embedded and multiple) case-study design to examine and describe
science teachers’ lived experiences in dealing with this latest Tanzanian curriculum and the
role played by school-based leaders in influencing such experiences. The study was carried
out in three case-study schools. Data regarding change leadership were collected from both
teachers and school leaders by means of personal interviews, observations, and document
reviews. Data regarding science teachers’ levels of adoption of this curriculum and related
concerns, all of which helped to gauge the effectiveness of change-adoption leadership
provided by School-Based Leaders, were collected using semi-structured interviews and a
Stage of Concern Questionnaire and were triangulated through document reviews and in-
class observations.
The findings show that school-based leaders in all case-study schools guided adoption of
change primarily using authoritarian strategies. Nevertheless, there was some evidence to
suggest that school-based leaders in the high performing and the medium performing case-
study schools tended to employ additional strategies that inclined towards collective and
empowering leadership approaches. This difference appeared to covary with the science
teachers’ levels of use of this curriculum and their concerns about it in the three case-study
schools. Adoption challenges and those affecting leadership of change are also detailed.
These findings extend the ongoing academic discussion about the leadership of adoption of
educational changes in schools. The understanding of pedagogical change gained through
this study has implications for both policy and practice, and these are discussed in the last
chapter. Leaders of these and other schools in equivalent contexts may use findings of this
study to reflect upon their change-leadership practices in schools and improve the way they
enhance pedagogical transformations and the professional development of their teachers.
Description
PhD-thesis
Keywords
Managing science teachers, Science teachers, Tanzanian secondary schools, Tanzanian formal education system, Student-centred curriculum