Assessing the Relative Participation of Teachers in Curriculum Development in Secondary Schools in OR. Tambo Inland Education District of the Eastern Cape: South Africa
Modumedi Joseph Machaea 
& Berington Zanoxolo Gobingca
Issue: Vol.6 No.9 Article 2 pp.1787 – 1798
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2025692 | Published online 18th August, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The purpose of this paper was to assess teacher participation in curriculum development in the OR Tambo Inland Education District. In post-apartheid South Africa, there is a critical need for a transformed and inclusive curriculum in educational institutions, regardless of students’ race, religion, gender, or disability. Addressing the imbalances created by the previous segregated curriculum is essential for developing a revised and inclusive educational framework. The researchers employed a case study approach utilizing qualitative methods. The sample comprised ten carefully selected secondary schools, with one teacher from each institution participating in the research. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with the ten teachers at the designated schools, and a thematic analysis was utilized to interpret 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 teachers has a negative impact on the implementation of the curriculum. Additionally, the study emphasized that their involvement in the curriculum development process can be severely hindered by the conflicting demands of administrative and teaching responsibilities. It is recommended that educational institutions dedicate time and resources for educators to concentrate on curriculum development, which could help alleviate the pressures of competing responsibilities. The study’s contribution might be to support stakeholders’ training and use of technology for online meetings and to enable students to access instruction and learning at any time, even during strikes that disrupt classes.
Keywords: Teacher Participation, Curriculum Development, Curriculum Implementation, OR Tambo Inland Education District.
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Dr. Modumedi Joseph Machaea currently employed as a lecturer at Walter Sisulu University. Serving the Faculty of Education in the Foundation Phase, level 4 B.Ed students and Post Graduate Certificate for student teachers. He is currently serving in some committees in the university, he is a member of Higher Degree Committee in the Arts Department and also an Internal Examiner for Post Graduate students persuing their research in Sesotho Language. His research focuses on curriculum development, school policies and their implementation, involvement of stakeholders, especially the role played by teachers who are expected to have a pivotal role at school level.
Professor Berington Zanoxolo Gobingca is a senior academic staff member in Business Management Education department in Faculty of Education at Walter Sisulu University. He has 17 years lecturing experience at University. Currently, he is lecturing level IV student-teachers in Business Studies. Teaching at Walter Sisulu University. He is active in postgraduate supervision and has successfully supervised and graduated a quite number of honors, Masters and Doctorate students. He is committee member for various University committees. He is the reviewer for numerous journals. He has published some reasonable number of papers to accredited journals. He has presented papers locally. He is also an external examiner for some of public South African universities. He has participated in recurriculation and reviews of various teacher education programmes.
Machaea, Modumedi Joseph, and Berington Zanoxolo Gobingca. “Assessing the Relative Participation of Teachers in Curriculum Development in Secondary Schools in OR. Tambo Inland Education District of the Eastern Cape: South Africa.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no. 9 (2025): 1787–98. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2025692.
© 2025 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/).
