The involvement of teachers in curriculum development of history education in secondary schools in Mamelodi

Abstract

The curriculum may not be relevant to the requirements of the teachers or the students, and it may not be effective in delivering the intended knowledge when teachers are not involved in its development. It may be challenging for teachers to manage the curriculum if they do not take ownership of it, resulting in a lack of enthusiasm and engagement. This study aimed to investigate how teachers were involved in the curriculum development of history education in secondary schools in Mamelodi. The study employed a qualitative research design and aimed to explore the phenomenon of teacher involvement in the curriculum development process. The research method was a phenomenological approach. The researcher employed a qualitative data collection method. Semi-structured telephonic interviews were utilised to collect data from the participants regarding the extent of their involvement in the curriculum development of history education. The population comprised 21 teachers from the seven secondary schools that were selected in Mamelodi, Tshwane South region. The sample was informed by purposive sampling used to select history education teachers. The collected data were coded and analysed thematically. The results from the interviews showed the teachers’ willingness to be involved in all stages of curriculum development, highlighting the teacher efficacy, decoloniality of the content, and barriers to their participation as the identified themes. Curriculum development as a tool for continual improvement emerged as another theme. The curriculum developers' initial or smaller-scale change efforts encountered challenges and took longer to complete and implement than expected. The participants stated that they would add current and decolonised content to history education if allowed to participate in curriculum development. The broader use of practical models for implementing teacher engagement programmes should be investigated.