This study has the primary objective to find out the importance and usefulness of teaching and learning materials for overcrowded or large classes. The research area is in Arumeru District, Tanzania. Social Constructivism Theory has been used for this study. Mixed method approach has been deployed. Sample consists of four heads of schools, fortyeight faculties, and hundred and sixty students from four public secondary schools. Various data collection instruments have been used. Some of them are questionnaires, observation guide and in-depth interview guides. SPSS has been used for analysis. The study revealed that teachers in large class size considered teaching and learning materials as key to academic performance. The study also revealed that teaching learning materials has direct association with student's performance. Some recommendations related to government policies also have been provided during this study.
Introduction Implementation of secondary school curriculum entails putting into practice the officially prescribed courses of study, syllabuses and subjects. According to Cohen and Hill (2012), the process of curriculum implementation involves helping the learner to acquire knowledge or experience. It is vital to note that implementation of secondary school curriculum takes place as a strategy to enable the learner to acquire experiences, knowledge, skills, ideas and attitudes that are aimed at enabling the same learner to function effectively in a society (Beane, 2012). Curriculum, as an academic plan, is the way content is designed and developed. The process includes the structure, organization, and balance of the materials. Implementation of secondary school curriculum therefore refers to how the planned or officially designed course of study is translated by the teacher from syllabuses into schemes of work and lesson plans to be delivered to learners (Beane, 2012). Teachers play a critical role in the implementation of curriculum. Cognizant of this assertion, Cohen and Hill (2012) further posit that, in London, teachers are considered to have a critical role for the actualization of the ideas in the secondary school curriculum. Curriculum change, however, standing alone is not adequate for providing high quality of education rather there is a need for good implementers of those developed curriculums. According to Cohen and Hill (2012), teachers are the principal actors who transfer all the theoretical information into real classroom setting, whenever there is an implementation of a new curriculum, the issue of whether secondary school teachers are facing problems in the process of implementation or not are triggered. In curriculum implementation, both personal and environmental factors of teachers, as secondary school curriculum implementers, are effective. However, an observation as an educator is that teachers are still using the traditional method
Purpose: This study sought to examine the effectiveness of transformative learning experiences on the employability of Bachelor of Technology Programme graduates of Technical University of Kenya.
Methodology: The study used sequential explanatory design of the mixed method approach. Target population was 231 B. Tech graduates of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 cohorts all of which were included in the sample since they had limited numbers. Data were collected using a questionnaire and an interview guide. Reliability and validity index was calculated at between 0.8 and 0.9, an indication that the instruments were valid and reliable. The quantitative instrument was administered first and analysed, and the results used to construct the interview guide that was later conducted for explanatory purposes to validate the outcomes of the quantitative phase. The Perspective Transformation Index (PT-Index) on a scale of 1-3 was used. Responses were coded using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software for windows version 21.0 and presented using tables and figures.
Findings: The majority (67.3%) of the B. Tech graduates experienced transformative learning. 71% of these attributed the transformation to the learning activities in the B.Tech programme (PT3) and16.3% to factors outside the B.Teh programme (PT2). Mentoring 85%, group project 58%, class presentation 46%, industry-based learning and trips 47%, class discussion and dialogue 47%, term papers and essays, self-evaluation, class activities and exercises, laboratory experiences and assigned readings all scored above 20%. Critical and creative thinking, and personal-self-reflection scored below 20%. New computers 37%, new technology support in the office 46%, new leadership13%, new professional requirements 43%, emerging unfamiliar work dimensions 16%, rapid transformation in Technology 45%, transformation in social life 27% and a feeling of incompetence 12%.
Unique contribution: Theory: Transformative Learning can enhance employability of B.Tech graduates. Practice: The findings will inform design, implementation and improvement of academic curricula and training processes in institutions of higher learning. Policy: The findings can inform policy on transformative learning for greater employability.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.