Abstract
<p>The national government in Malawi implemented an outcomes-based curriculum reform in 2007. To facilitate implementation, new textbooks were developed for the primary school curriculum. This study intended to explore teachers’ use and perception of the new Expressive Arts textbooks. The participants consisted of 192 Expressive Arts teachers, grades 5–8, selected by purposeful sampling. Data were collected through questionnaires and semistructured interviews. It was found that teachers believed that the textbooks were poorly designed, contained factual inaccuracies, did not support higher-level thinking of the learners, did not represent the lived experiences of the children using them and reinforced gender stereotyping. The study therefore suggests that there is need for review of the textbooks and that it is necessary to provide textbooks timely and in adequate quantities according to the needs of each school to ensure an effective implementation of a new curriculum.</p>
Highlights
In its recent attempt to improve the quality of education in Malawi, the national government implemented an outcomes-based curriculum reform in 2007.The adoption of an outcomes-based education curriculum in Malawi arose from regional influences, the first Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Education and Training adopted in 1997
South African Curriculum 2005 (C2005) design itself has in turn been influenced by international curriculum ideas, Spady’s (1994) transformational Outcomes Based Education (OBE) and Canadian and Australian curricula (Motara 2002)
Hugo et al (2008), observed that the instructional materials for basic education in South Africa are of poor quality as they do not meet the basic attributes of high-quality instructional materials as described http://www.sajce.co.za by Abadzi (2006)
Summary
The adoption of an outcomes-based education curriculum in Malawi arose from regional influences, the first Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Education and Training adopted in 1997. The protocol influenced the formulation of a new feature in South African education and curriculum landscape: an integrated qualifications framework (Chisholm 2005). By 2004, a number of SADC countries including Malawi formulated a curriculum with a strong vocational and training slant: an outcomes-based curriculum. The design features of the Malawi Outcomes Based Education have been influenced by South Africa’s Curriculum 2005 (C2005) (Motara 2002). South African C2005 design itself has in turn been influenced by international curriculum ideas, Spady’s (1994) transformational Outcomes Based Education (OBE) and Canadian and Australian curricula (Motara 2002). The characteristic features of Ontario’s ‘The Common Curriculum’ in Canada are ‘essential learning outcomes and integration of traditional subjects’
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
