Teachers’ perceptions on development and implementation of History 2167 syllabus in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of teachers on the development and implementation process of the History 2167 syllabus reform in Zimbabwe. Successful implementation of syllabus reforms depends on teachers’ ownership and knowledge about the reform ideas. Teachers are the closest individuals to the circumstances of the decisions made and their role as implementers gives them a significant influence on curriculum decisions. However, studies on syllabus development and implementation have often explored these processes using the input from other stakeholders while overlooking teacher perceptions. Data for this qualitative phenomenological study were generated from transcripts of in-depth interviews with five purposively sampled history teachers drawn from five secondary schools in the Glen. View/ Mufakose District in Harare Metropolitan Province. Findings showed that the success of curriculum reforms largely rests on the shoulders of teachers, since they are the ones who put reform ideas into practice. We conclude that in order for curriculum reforms to succeed, the policy-makers and teachers should work harmoniously to cultivate appropriate instructional practices. We recommend that teachers should actively participate in the syllabus development process, as well as have the power to influence the decisions about the implementation of the curriculum. Key words: development and implementation; History 2167 syllabus; syllabus reform; teachers’ perceptions.

A Model for Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Teaching History: Lessons from Zimbabwe

“…This syllabus 2167, whose preface declares that it seeks to support students in developing a critical knowledge of social, economic, and political concerns, replaced the syllabuses 2158, 2160 and 2166 (Dombo & Mujere, 2023). The work of Sengai and Mokhele (2021) further affirms that the primary aims of Zimbabwe's national history curriculum revisions during the country's independence were to teach students how to analyze, interpret, and evaluate historical material; identify bias in written materials and books; comprehend opposing viewpoints; evaluate the facts; and make value judgments. This brings up the important topic of critical understanding, which calls for emphasizing critical thinking in historical education.…”

“…This brings up the important topic of critical understanding, which calls for emphasizing critical thinking in historical education. Sengai and Mokhele (2021) assert that the Form 1-4 History syllabus, which superseded History 2167, eliminated the elements of content recitation, hence facilitating a critical and comprehensive analysis of historical data. The justification for the replacement of these history syllabi in Zimbabwe probably lies in Dube and Moyo's (2022) claim that rather than following the traditional history approach that emphasised the simple recall of facts, criticality was a goal of history teaching and undeniably that has characterised progressive history curriculum.…”