Teachers’ Experiences in Piloting the Integrated Curriculum in Lesotho: Constraints and Prospects

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the challenges and opportunities experienced by teachers in piloting the integrated curriculum in Lesotho. Moreover, this research was underpinned by a Constructivist paradigm which concedes that peoples' views of the world are influenced by their experiences. The qualitative case study research design was employed and data were generated through the semistructured interviews. In particular, purposive sampling technique was deployed to obtain sufficient and useful data. For this reason, three teachers with ten years teaching experience were selected from three departments in a chosen school. The departments included; Commercial studies, Science and Mathematics as well as Languages respectively. Overall, findings from this study affirm that constraints experienced while piloting the integrated curriculum outweigh the prospects. The opportunities raised included the following; development of creative skills and nurturing of the students' talent while the challenges highlighted were; content overload, lack of CPD, absence of monitoring and supervision among others. Therefore, the implications of these findings are that a successful implementation of the reformed curriculum is under threat. In order to reprimand this threat, provision of regular workshops, monitoring and evaluation of the CPD programmes, reliable internet coverage, free data bundles for both teachers and students, as well as frequent follow ups by curriculum developers may address the issues of concern hence improve the quality of education as intended by the Lesotho Curriculum and Assessment Policy of 2009.

Effective Teaching in the 21st Century: Investigating Barriers and Solutions from One University in Assam, India

“…On this basis, it is therefore discernible that making students involved in the learning process is significant as students will be able to acquire the 21st century skills such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking among others (Mokhets'engoane & Pratima, Effective Teaching Practices In Higher Education With Special Reference to the 21st Century: A Case of Tezpur University, India, 2022) . Similar argument has been raised by Kurata, Mokhets'engoane, & Selialia (2022) that in the 21st century, learners must be given the opportunity to discover new ideas for themselves. For that reason, if students are deprived of the opportunity to engage and participate in their own learning, then it is arduous for them to understand and become interested in the teaching -learning process.…”

“…Undoubtably, new pedagogical innovations have transformed todays' classrooms. We cannot refute the fact that the 21st century education is predominantly being student-centric and lessons are customized instead of being generic to address specific gaps in student learning (Kurata et. al, 2022).…”