Teachers’ perceptions of the influence of selected factors on the implementation of physical education curriculum in public secondary schools in Nyandarua County, Kenya

Abstract

Physical Education (PE) is an important subject in the school curriculum because it helps students develop the competencies and beliefs necessary for incorporating physical activities in their lives. Despite its importance, most schools countrywide and more so in Nyandarua County are faced with critical issues of finances, availability of facilities, time allocated to PE and teachers proficiency. This study examined teachers’ perceptions of the influence of finance, facilities; time allocated for PE and PE teachers proficiency on the implementation of PE curriculum in public secondary schools in Nyandarua County. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The target population was 1824 teachers who comprised of 100 principals and 1,724 teachers of public secondary schools in the Nyandarua County. The study targeted 40 schools arrived at through stratified random sampling. Purposive sampling was used in determining Principals’ and teacher who are targeted in the study. The total number of principals was 40 while teachers were 80 meaning the total sample size was 120. In the study 116, (38 principals and 78 PE teachers) responded to the questionnaire representing a response rate of 96.7%. Data was collected using a questionnaire for teachers. Content, construct and face validity of the instrument was checked by research experts from the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Management of Egerton University. The reliability of the questionnaire was estimated using the Cronbach Alpha method. The estimated reliability coefficient for the questionnaire was 0.82. The data collected was organized, edited and analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages with the aid of the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. The study found that teachers were of the view that challenges such as finance, facilities, time allocated for PE and proficiency of teachers are major factors influencing implementation of the PE curriculum in secondary schools. The study recommended that more funds should be allocated for the implementation of PE curriculum and provision of PE equipment and facilities and that time allocated for PE in schools should be increased. The study further recommended that PE teachers should be trained while in-service training for PE teachers should be advanced. The findings of this study could help the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) formulate better curriculum content for PE. It could also help the Ministry of Education formulate better PE policies as well as help school administrators improve implementation of PE curriculum in secondary schools.