Let's not court ghosts of 8-4-4 as we roll out new curriculum

Kenya is on the threshold of a new curriculum.

The new educational structure not only conforms to the structure found in many other countries in the world but is also much better aligned to the children’s growth and developmental stages than the 8-4-4 system.

The curriculum designs are more learner-centred than in the current system.

The re-introduction of subjects such as music and art and craft and the mainstreaming of sports into the curriculum will ensure learners develop their cognitive and psychomotor abilities side by side from the earliest levels.

VISION

But even as we prepare to roll out the new curriculum with pre-primary and Grades 1, 2 and 3 next year, it is advisable we interrogate our preparedness for this important milestone in our education reform agenda.

And is there a better way to do this than revisiting the initial days of the 8-4-4 system?

The originators of the 8-4-4 system of education had a vision.

The government of the day robustly articulated this vision ahead of the launch of the new curriculum.

Indeed those familiar with the Mackay Report of 1981 that gave birth to the system may remember that the new curriculum aimed at equipping learners with basic knowledge in mathematics, the languages, science and humanities.

COMPETENCY-BASED

The linchpin of the system however would be the imparting of technical and vocational skills to the learners from the earliest levels.

This is what informed the introduction of subjects such as home science, art and craft, business education and music.

The extra year at primary level would ensure students equipped with vocational skills derived from these subjects and who opted to join the labour market after primary level would be a bit more mature and so better disposed to handle the rigours of working in jua kali (informal sector).

Those of us who were in the pioneer 8-4-4 classes may recall that the first few years of the new system were filled with genuine excitement.

In one of our first home science practical classes, we were asked to bring items from home that would be used in baking a cake.

HOME SCIENCE
The school would buy wheat flour and baking powder (these were not readily available in your average village home unless it was Christmas).

The pupils on their part would contribute eggs, sugar, charcoal, jikos, sufurias, and plates.

The class was broken into small groups and each supplied with a recipe.

For the next two hours, we embarked on what would be one of the most memorable lessons in my entire school life.

For as long as I can remember, this was the only lesson in school that ever yielded something edible!

CONSTRUCTION
I also remember constructing a traditional hut from scratch.

Kneading mud, constructing the walls and thatching the hut was not only great fun, but it also offered some practical lessons on construction.

After two days of hard work, we beheld our masterpiece. But the hut was considered an item of fascination more than one of habitation.

You see, no one lived in a grass-thatched hut in the village of Ting’ang’a!

Perhaps a project on how to construct a semi-permanent mabati (iron sheet) house would have better equipped us with immediate transferable skills.

ATTITUDE
With such spectacular aims guiding the reform process at the time, where then did the rain start beating us?

Well, probably right at the beginning. Looking back, the new curriculum seemed to have been hurriedly rolled out.

Teachers were not adequately involved in the reform process: They were not sufficiently trained, especially in the technical and pre-vocational subject areas that they were meant to teach.

Many ended up relying more on enthusiasm and interest rather than technical know-how.

Enthusiasm, interest and goodwill are transient; technical know-how and competence are enduring.

HIGHER EDUCATION

This problem was compounded by inadequate provision of necessary equipment and facilities such as workshops, home science rooms, all crucial in the teaching of technical subjects.

Resources were also stretched as government struggled to meet the urgent need of extra classrooms in every primary school to accommodate the added eighth year of school.

The examining of the practical aspects of subjects such as music and art and craft posed huge logistical challenges and was therefore abandoned along the line.

The exponential expansion of university education at the time tipped the scales in favour of non-technical subjects that would further the students’ chances of joining the ever-rising numbers of students joining university.

Thirty years later, another opportunity for an educational rebirth has presented itself.

CHALLENGES
We can only hope that history will not repeat itself.

The success of the new competency-based curriculum will largely depend on how well we prepare parents and teachers to embrace and help actualise this curriculum.

While policymakers at the Ministry of Education and curriculum developers at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development may have a clear idea of the blueprint, content and structure of the new curriculum, the same cannot be said of many parents and teachers.

Concerns have also been raised that books and other instructional materials are not yet available, two weeks to the schools’ opening date.

REFORMS
The elephant in the room however is the teacher’s attitude and competence.

The teacher needs to be made to fully appreciate what a competency-based education is.

The teacher needs to be convinced that this type of education is preferable to the knowledge-based type of education that we currently have.

He or she needs to be persuaded that for the new curriculum to succeed, they need to completely overhaul their teaching methods and may have to spend a lot more teaching time outdoors than indoors; that they have to adapt their teaching to the immediate circumstances and needs of their learners.

Indeed, the new curriculum calls for the total conversion of the teacher!

INNOVATION
The absence of textbooks in the first few weeks of school may even be a blessing in disguise.

It will force teachers to interpret the syllabus content and to design their own teaching resources, suited to the level and needs of their learners.

A teacher who solely relies on a textbook to teach does a great injustice to the syllabus and their learners.

A textbook is an author’s interpretation of the curriculum. It should therefore be used as a guide; not as the only resource.

A competency-based curriculum has no place for “textbook-reliant” teachers.

ASSESSMENT
The teacher should also be convinced that continuous assessment that gauges acquisition of competences and skills is a much better tool for measuring learning outcomes than a summative assessment that ascribes a mark or grade to the learner.

The parent too needs to be converted.

He or she needs to be enlightened on their role in identifying and supporting their children’s competencies from the earliest opportunity.

They need to be convinced that competence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) or competence in the languages and humanities is as good as competence in sports, art, music and theatre.

TRAINING
Indeed, as we roll out the new competency-based curriculum in January, it would appear the teacher and the parent will have a lot more to learn than the pupil.

If this does not happen, it will be akin to buying a luxurious convertible vehicle for someone who has been riding a bicycle all their life.

If you do not train them on how to use their new contraption, will you blame them for getting rained on in it?

As far as they concerned, it has no roof!

The author is the principal of Strathmore School, [email protected]