CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

This chapter entails the background of study which will be based on the historical background, theoretical background, contextual background, conceptual background, the problem statement, and objectives of research, research questions, research hypothesis and delimitation of study; interest of study justification of research and definition of key concepts.

1.0   Background to the study

1.1   Historical background

The competences based approach of teaching is a movement that began in the United States of America when efforts were made to reform teacher education and training in the 1960s (Hodges & Harris, 2012). According to some researchers, the Competences-Based Approach movement emerged for the first time in 1970s. However, the idea of Competences based training and assessment is ascertained to have originated in performance education in America in the 1960s. According to Norton and Harrington (1978), the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union was one of the main reasons that led to the introduction of Competences based training in the United States of America (USA). Another reason was the high and unacceptable dropout rates among secondary school students in the USA and difficulties of graduates in getting jobs. The concept of competence has since then been applied in different domains of education in USA .Training for workplace which began in the United States, led to Competences based vocational education in a number of countries (Argüelles, & Gonczi, 2000; Ropé & Tanguy 1994). Several other countries and regions like Australia, Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec later introduced these approaches into their general education programs, particularly into the secondary sector (Boutin, 2004 Rey, 1996).

Thereafter, CBA extensively spread to other countries in the globe. The demands for this approach were first seen in vocationally oriented colleges as well as in adult education. One of the reasons for initiating this approach was reported as poor learning outcomes revealed by those who completed and graduated from those vocationally oriented colleges. The shift from objective based approach to competence based approach was a solution for this meaningful changes and innovation in education. The changes of the approach also led to a paradigm shift to suit the demands of the syllabuses. From there, the objectives and behavioral statements were changed to outcomes. These changes necessitated the change of the teacher’s autonomy to student’s autonomy in teaching and learning process (Deibinger &Hellwig, 2011; Komba & Mwandanji, 2015; Richard & Rogers, 2014; Wong, 2008). That is, a movement from the pedagogy teaching to learning pedagogy.

According to Bataineh &Tasnimi (2014), Competences based approach was introduced due to the following reasons; first there was too much emphasis of objectives which caused the education stakeholders to ignore the outcomes. Both teachers and education supervisors did not put much importance of the outcomes of learning; secondly, as time elapsed, the behavioral changes were seen as not important in education, thus the emphasis on outcome was seen to be more important through development of the competences of the students who completed education; thirdly, it was argued that specification of learning objectives limited teachers’ creativity in teaching and learning because it based on teacher centered than learner centered as opposed to outcomes which emphasized that the learners should be the core and active participants in the teaching and learning process(Bataineh & Tasnimi 2014).

By the end of the 1980’s, Competences- Based Approach (CBA) had come to be accepted as the “state-of-the art” approach by national policymakers and leaders in curriculum development in United States. Murcia (2001) asserts that CBA was viewed as education movement which captured education stakeholders mind in 1980s. This was important movement in the history of education and the world because it defined the goals in terms of knowledge, skills, values, customs and behaviors the student had to possess at the end of a given course of study. The movement started in United State of America and there after the movement reached to United Kingdom which brought positive impact as well. Whereas Australia adopted Competences based approach in 1990’s. From there, other countries in the world and particularly in Africa adopted it due to the changing of science and technology and the demands of job market (Wolf, 2001)

In Africa, Competences based approach was practiced by practitioners of indigenous education even before the colonial education. The traditional education was based on practical approach whereby the environment and needs of the society controlled what to be taught and learnt. The African indigenous education was typical of practice, vocational and entails transfer of skills from parents to children. Such basic skills that were environmentally relevant included fishing, hunting, behaviour and respect of customs and tradition. The new teaching-learning practice became indispensable because the colonial education diluted the traditional vocational practices, people erroneously valued this theoretical education which was centered on how to read and write. With the passage of time, employers and companies’ exigence competences and skills from educated citizens. From this period, there was a need for a more practical teaching-learning methods. This period saw the coming of CBA in Cameroon educational system. CBA was first introduced in Cameroon’s secondary schools during the 2012 to 2013 academic year (Ndifor, 2014), with the purpose of moving from rote memorization to a more experiential and practical approach in school. This means creating special learning conditions that encourage students to deduct, formulate theories and problem solve using critical thinking (Bipoupout, 2007). “CBA seeks to bridge the wall between school or the classroom and everyday life” (Nkwetisama, 2012, p. 519)

1.2   Contextual Background

The shift from the objective-based approach to the competence-based approach in the secondary level of Cameroon education places much emphasis on real life situations and the practices thereof, in the different fields implementation. (Nforbi, 2018).The implementation of the Competences Based Approach (CBA) has given teachers a hard time in several educational contexts worldwide, including Cameroon. In the domain of history teaching, emphasis has been laid so far on the why aspect of the reform and on context-related challenges to its implementation, whereas very little has been said about how teachers in under-resourced contexts could implement it successfully in their classrooms (Leila, 2017).Nforbi and Siéwoué (2016), put out that the implementation of the 2012 CBA curriculum was not adequate partly because of lack of understanding, and partly because of apathy on the part of the teachers. The understanding problems were recorded as the strange terminology (families of situations, categories of actions, outcome, and skills.

In Cameroon, the state via the ministry of secondary education organsise conferences, seminars and workshop to enable all teachers acquire the skills of CBA implementation. But, the pedagogic seminars organized annually as a forum for teachers’ continuous training used to gather very few teachers, the heads of departments from the various schools, whereas it could be opened to all the teachers. Teachers in the study reported serious problems in lesson planning (scheme of work, lesson plan), lesson delivery (lack of didactic materials and uneasy individualization of the teaching) and language testing (no formal testing format, uneasy individualization, lack of testing guidance). Though the seminars prove that this approach could be very promising for the development of learners’ four basic language skills which form the bases of history, the teachers’ heart cry is for guidance, the explication of the new method (understanding, planning, teaching and testing) and adapted didactic materials such as relevant course books (Nforbi and Siéwoué, 2016)

According to Akum (2017), the challenges that teachers face, may be as a result of their perception and view of the Competences Based Approach. While some secondary school teachers in the Mfoundi municipality see this approach as good, other view it as not different from the New Pedagogic Approach (NPA). Dang & Chi Che (2016), also discuss the CBA- RLS in Cameroon’s secondary level ESL and EFL and propose pedagogic models on teaching, assessment and feedback with schemes of work, lesson plans and sample lessons. Their dream remains the making of learners into ‘autonomous history users for the betterment of the society.

In secondary schools in Cameroon, a subject like history is offered by a majority of arts students. The population of young people who specialize in studying history as part of their secondary school subject generally do not have specific skills to serve the society with. A majority of them become part time teachers with very low pay, other venture into some state owned examinations which has always wanted very few candidates. The coming od CBA got the historians (teachers and pedagogic inspectors) to work on how the quality of teaching and learning history could be updated to suite the demands of the 21^st century labour market.

1.3    Conceptual Background Large Class size

Class size refers to the number of students in a given course or classroom, specifically either, it is the number of students being taught by individual teachers in a course or classroom or better still the average number of students being taught by teachers in a school, district, or education system (glossary of educational reform 2015). The term may also extend to the number of students participating in learning experiences that may not take place in a traditional classroom setting, or it may also refer to the total number of students in a particular grade level or “class” in a school (although this usage is less common in public education).It should be noted that according to the Cameroon law, class sizes are limits at 45 students per class. That is the student – teacher ratio is 1:45 which is comparatively too heavy for a teacher at a time. That notwithstanding, in secondary schools in Mfoundi division, there are classes up to 115 students studying in the same classroom. The population in the secondary schools in Yaoundé 1 municipality are usually too large for a teacher to manage. In these schools we have a ratio of about 1:90- 115 students per class, meanwhile according to Makunja (2015), the ideal CBA class size is between 40-50 learners.

The spaces are fully filled, ventilation becomes limited and the whole class become very noisy. This situation is probably contributing to the non-implementation of CBA in Cameroon secondary schools. These class sizes may also deteriorate the quality of teaching and even evaluation. Teachers find it very challenging practice and one –on one contact with learners. The class could be too chucked that teachers don not even have access to the different parts of the class for supervision and class control. Most at times the noisiness of the classes weakens and discourages teachers. This class sizes may limit teacher’s pedagogical knowledge and skills to apply CBA approach during teaching and learning process.

1.4   Theoretical background

All contributing scholars in this exchange stress that theory serves a pivotal role for an academic discipline, implementation of the CBA is no exception. As Doherty (2013) notes, ‘‘theory should be the foundation of research (it guides research questions), practice (it aids explanation, prediction, and control), and teaching (it advances students’ learning and understanding, and subsequent research and practice)’’. Irwin and Ryan (2013) extend this line of thinking by suggesting that theory can guide service and outreach activities, while Chelladurai (2013) notes that teaching informed the theories he developed, and vice versa.CBA has gained weight in the Cameroonian educational system in teaching and learning. Formerly, the teaching method was OBA. The institution of CBA and how it can be implemented to improve on quality teaching can be explained using three theories; the general system theory of Lud Wig Bartelanffy (1968), Piagets theory of cognitive development, and Classical Conditioning theory of learning by Ivan Pavlov, 1928

Theory of cognitive development by Piaget (1936)

Piaget’s (1936, 1950) theory of cognitive development explains how a child constructs a mental model of the world. He disagreed with the idea that intelligence was a fixed trait, and regarded cognitive development as a process which occurs due to biological maturation. To Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience. Children construct an understanding of the world around them, then experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment. Piaget claimed that knowledge cannot simply emerge from sensory experience; some initial structure is necessary to make sense of the world. According to Piaget, children are born with a very basic mental structure (genetically inherited and evolved) on which all subsequent learning and knowledge are based. Children’s ability to understand, think about and solve problems in the world develops in a stop-start, discontinuous manner (rather than gradual changes over time.

Systems Theory by Bartalanffy (1968)

The notion of general systems theory was originally advanced by Von Bertalanffy in the 1930s and after the Second World War (Bertalanffy1972; Adams, Hester, and Bradley, 2013; Friedman and Allen, 2014). As a practicing biologist, Bertalanffy was interested in developing the theory of “open systems”. This means, an endeavour to understand how systems exchange matter with the environment as observed in every ‘living system’. According to Capra (as cited in Mele , Friedman, B.D., and Allen, K.N. (2014), the systems theory is an interdisciplinary theory about every system in nature, in society, education and in many scientific domains that provides a framework to investigate phenomena from a holistic approach. In the case of a University, this may be the whole institution, academic division or department. Katz and Kahn (as cited in Mele, Pels, and Polese, 2010) applied the concept of open system to the organization in 1966. This advanced the perception of universities as open systems. Lalande, D. and Baumeister, R. (2015),predicted that many educational managers have used and will continue to use a systems approach and contingency views instinctively and implicitly. This is in a bid to solve problems inherent in their organizational systems and specific actions in the system.

Classical Conditioning theory of learning by Ivan Pavlov, 1928

Classical conditioning is most associated with Ivan Pavlov (1849-1939), a Nobel Prize (1904) winning Russian physiologist. Pavlov was working with dogs on a series of digestion experiments when he noticed peculiar patterns to the dog’s salivation. The digestion experiments would begin with a research assistant presenting meat or meat powder to the dog, resulting in salivation. During the experiment, the dog began to salivate as the result of the mere presence of the research assistant, in the absence of the any meat or meat powder. This observation led to Pavlov’s creation of the classical conditioning model of learning. Pavlov discovered that he could condition the dog to salivate to any of a number of stimuli, such as a bell or tuning fork, by associating the bell or tuning fork stimuli with the meat or meat powder.This discovery was important in that it demonstrated that a simple reflex could be controlled. The generalization was that if a simple reflex or behavior could be controlled, then perhaps a more complex behavior could also be controlled. Also, Pavlov’s work revealed the potential benefit of using laboratory experiments in the pursuit of the understanding of learning and behavior. The essence of Pavlov’s classical conditioning is the association of a neutral stimulus with a previously conditioned or naturally conditioned stimulus and response.

1.5   Problem statement

The evolution in the society masterminded the adoption of CBA in the Cameroon educational system in 2012. This most applauded teaching strategy embraces practice and bringing learners to real life situations. It activates competences and prepare learners to independently solves problems in their environment. The Cameroon government hopes to exploit this new teaching strategy in order to train competent problem solvers from secondary schools. The students hope to become independent problem solvers as they will acquire specific competences in school via CBA. The need for competences has become indispensable to employability in the job market.

Unfortunately, the CBA is not sufficiently implemented in most secondary schools in Cameroon and in Mfoundi division in particular. History teachers in particular face severe challenges in the implementation process. Many of these teachers have never had any training on CBA, many of them are faced with overcrowded classes (1:10-150) that the implementation of CBA is practically impossible, some of these history teachers do not have the necessary didactic materials that could enable practice of the lessons as stipulated in CBA teaching. Again, students are not even ready (they do not have books and other learning tools) that enable application of CBA in classes. This is fast demolishing the quality of teaching in history in secondary schools. History students are still without practically skills, hence they still cannot boss of practical skills to solve problems around them and they cannot be employed. Since they cannot be employed or create their employment themselves, they become a burden to their parents and the society, increase dependency ration in the economy. Some have decided to trek to far away countries for greener pastures where they perish in high seas, others have become cyber criminals, some become rubbers and constitute nuisance to the society. This situation calls for a revisit of the quality of teaching in CBA. It is based on this situation that the research takes on this study to examine the challenges in CBA implementation. Otherwise, the question that the researcher keeps asking is how long shall we continue to train students who will have no impact in the society.

Research questions

1. How is the school curriculum adapted to meet the needs of students in selected schools in Ngaoundéré 2 Subdivision?
2. What are the effects of curriculum adaptation on students’ competence development in selected schools?
3. What challenges do teachers and administrators face in implementing curriculum adaptation in selected schools?
4. How do students perceive and respond to curriculum adaptation in their learning process?

Research Objectives

1. To examine how the curriculum is adapted to meet the needs of students in selected schools in Ngaoundéré 2 Subdivision.
2. To analyze the effects of curriculum adaptation on students’ competence development.
3. To identify the challenges faced by teachers and administrators in implementing curriculum adaptation.
4. To assess students’ perceptions and responses to curriculum adaptation in their learning process.