Assessing Teachers’ Views on the Impact of Teacher Unions on Curriculum Development and Implementation
Modumedi Joseph Machaea 
& Berington Zanoxolo Gobingca
Issue: Vol.5 No.16 Issue Article 25 pp.2997 – 3007
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451625 | Published online 24th December, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The thrust of this study was to assess the teachers’ views on the impact of teachers’ unions on curriculum development and implementation in schools of OR Tambo Inland Education District. The government of democracy in South Africa necessitated the design and development of curriculum to be a transformed and inclusive curriculum offered in learning institutions such as schools, colleges and universities irrespective of the colour, gender, disabilities, race, and religion of the registered learners. The rationale for the design of a transformed and inclusive curriculum was crucial to redress the imbalances of the past apartheid which was characterised by or with segregated curriculum on the basis of colour, disabilities, and gender. The researchers adopted a qualitative approach, making use of the case study research design. Data were collected from a sample of ten purposefully chosen secondary schools, with one teacher serving as a participant from each secondary school. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with 10 teachers of the selected secondary schools. A thematic approach was used to analyse the collected data. It emerged that the stakeholders like teachers, principals, teacher unions, and communities, were marginalised in curriculum development by Department of Basic Education officials. The marginalisation of teacher unions has a negative impact on the implementation of the curriculum by teachers. Collaboration of stakeholders like teacher unions, researchers, and book-publishers to mention a few, in curriculum planning and development by DBE is the key to the success and implementation. The study outcomes encourage the training on and usage of technological skills for online meetings by stakeholders.
Keywords: Teacher Participation, Curriculum Development, Curriculum Implementation, OR Tambo Inland Education District
Alsubaie, Merfat Ayesh. “Curriculum Development: Teacher Involvement in Curriculum Development.” Journal of Education and Practice 7, no. 9 (2016): 106–7.
Białecki, Ireneusz, Maciej Jakubowski, and Jerzy Wiśniewski. “Education Policy in Poland: The Impact of PISA (and Other International Studies).” European Journal of Education 52, no. 2 (2017): 167–74.
Bouchikhi, Fatima, and Barka Zine. “Higher Education in Algeria: Achievements and Challenges-1963 to 2017,” 2017.
Carlson, Deven. “No Child Left Behind, National Ambitions, and Local Realities: Implications for Social and Emotional Learning.” American Enterprise Institute, 2019.
Chale, Wilford. “Teacher Participation in Curriculum Development Process: Views of Teachers from Selected Primary Schools in Mwanza City.” The Open University of Tanzania, 2018.
Cowen, Joshua, and Katharine O Strunk. “How Do Teachers’ Unions Influence Education Policy? What We Know and What We Need to Learn. Working Paper# 42.” Education Policy Center at Michigan State University, 2014.
Delgado, P. “The Role of Teachers’ Unions. Observatory of Educational Innovation,” 2021.
Dowden, T. Understanding the Curriculum: Netherlands. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Govender, Logan. “Teacher Unions’ Participation in Policy Making: A South African Case Study.” Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education 45, no. 2 (March 4, 2015): i–i. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2013.863070.
Govender, R. Understanding the Curriculum. The Netherlands: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Kara, Mehmet, Volkan Kukul, and Recep Çakır. “Conceptions and Misconceptions of Instructors Pertaining to Their Roles and Competencies in Distance Education: A Qualitative Case Study.” Participatory Educational Research 5, no. 2 (2018): 67–79.
Mafisa, Lekhotla James. “The Role of Teacher Unions in Education with Specific Reference to South Africa.” Gender and Behaviour 15, no. 4 (2017): 10553–66.
Mahlangu, Vimbi P, and Victor Justice Pitsoe. “Power Struggle between Government and the Teacher Unions in South Africa.” Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies 2, no. 5 (2011): 365–71.
Maree, Kobus. First Steps In Research. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers, 2007.
Masumbe, B. M. C, and I. A Cotzer. “Curriculum Change in South Africa: Past and Present Scenarios.” Journal of Educational Studies 5, no. 2 (2006): 208–28.
Molapo, Moyahabo Rodgers, and Venitha Pillay. “Politicising Curriculum Implementation: The Case of Primary Schools.” South African Journal of Education 38, no. 1 (2018): 1–9.
Msila, Vuyisile. “Teacher Unions, Schools and Success: Opportunities and Contradictions.” International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 21, no. 3 (2022): 263–80.
Nhlapo, Molise David, and Lokesh Ramnath Maharajh. “Engaging Foreign Curriculum Experts in Curriculum Design: A Case Study of Primary School Curriculum Change in Lesotho.” Universal Journal of Educational Research 5, no. 10 (2017): 1741–47.
Nikolai, Rita, Kendra Briken, and Dennis Niemann. “Teacher Unionism in Germany: Fragmented Competitors.” The Comparative Politics of Education: Teachers Unions and Education Systems around the World, 2017, 114–42.
Obilo, Princess Ijeoma, and Solomon Adebayo Sangoleye. “Curriculum Implementation and the Teacher: Challenges and Way Forward.” In A Paper Presented at the 9 Th National Conference of the School of Social Sciences, AIFCE, Owerri, 2010.
Rogan, John M, and Diane J Grayson. “Towards a Theory of Curriculum Implementation with Particular Reference to Science Education in Developing Countries.” International Journal of Science Education 25, no. 10 (2003): 1171–1204.
Mr. Modumedi Joseph Machaea currently employed as a lecturer at Walter Sisulu University. Serving the Faculty of Education in the Foundation Phase, Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. His research focuses on curriculum development, school policies and their implementation, especially the role played by teachers on the ground.
Dr. Berington Zanoxolo Gobingca is a Senior Lecturer in Business Management Education Department in Faculty of Education, Walter Sisulu University, South Africa. He lectures the Business Studies module to final year student-teachers. He participates in postgraduate students supervision and additionally serves as one of the reviewers for South African Journal Of Education (SAJE). He is also an external examiner for postgraduate studies in various South African public universities.
Machaea, Modumedi Joseph and Berington Zanoxolo Gobingca. “Assessing Teachers’ Views on the Impact of Teacher Unions on Curriculum Development and Implementation,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.16 (2024): 2997-3007. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451625
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Featured
Others
