Challenges in the Implementation of Secondary School Agriculture Curriculum in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Counties: The Student’s Perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Agriculture being the backbone of the country’s economy, preparation of human resource to take the sector to a higher height is inevitable. For this to be achieved, agriculture curriculum implementation in secondary schools is paramount. Agriculture curriculum implementation is expected to equip learners with scientific knowledge and vocational skills they can use in their ecological environments. Despite the teaching of agriculture in ASAL secondary schools, ASALs have remained agriculturally under-exploited experiencing persistent food shortages. This could be partly attributed to challenges in implementation of the curriculum. Most studies have been done on challenges facing teachers in implementing agriculture curriculum in secondary schools. However, very few have focused on challenges facing the learner yet learners are the consumers of the curriculum. This study thus documents the learners’ perspective of the learning resource availability, adequacy and frequency of use in their schools. The study was carried out in ASAL counties of Baringo, Makueni and Narok. The study found out that agriculture textbooks were available, adequate and frequently used. The school farm was also rated as available, adequate but rarely used. The agriculture work shop, laboratory and models were unavailable in schools while all the other resources were inadequately available. Unavailability, inadequacy and non-use of all the learning resources except the agriculture text books compromise on the quality of agricultural skills and knowledge that these learners acquire at secondary school level. This study recommends that teachers of agriculture need to be innovative and practical oriented in implementing the agriculture curriculum.