Factors Militating Against the Effective Teaching and Learning of Krio at the Junior Secondary School Level:

Abstract

This study was aimed at investigating factors militating against the effective teaching and learning of Krio at the Junior Secondary School (JSS) Level in a sample of JSS pupils in selected schools in the Western Area of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Questionnaires were administered to both teachers of Krio and pupils offering the subject at the targeted level. These, alongside observation and focus group discussions, were used to determine the level of training and experience of the teachers; facilities which support the teaching and learning of Krio; attitudes of teachers, pupils and other stakeholders towards the teaching and learning of Krio; mode and frequency of assessment; provision of institutional support; and, the success rate of pupils at the Basic Educational Certificate Exams (BECE) in the selected schools. Three schools were targeted. In each of these schools, questionnaires were administered to 50 pupils, giving a total of 150 respondents. A total of eleven teachers were sampled. The study revealed that: The teachers of Krio in the selected schools were and trained and qualified. However, none of them studied krio as a major and only about one third read it as a minor. Teaching and learning materials are inadequate, and time allocated to the teaching of krio is insufficient. Attitude is a major factor which militates against the teaching and learning of krio in the selected schools. Written assignments, tests and exams are the main assessment tools. Institutional support (in-service trainings/workshops/seminars) plays a great role in building teachers’ capacity to teach the subject as all the teachers sampled did not study krio as a major subject. BECE results (krio -2010 and 2011) indicate that only a small percentage of the pupils at JSSIII opted for krio