Extent to which teachers’ preparedness limitations affect the implementation of the new curriculum in primary schools in Ilala District, Dar es Salaam

Abstract

Curriculum reform in Tanzania has sought to move primary education away from teacher-centred transmission towards competency-based, learner-centred instruction, yet the success of such reform depends heavily on how well teachers are prepared and how clearly curriculum expectations are communicated. This study examined the extent to which teachers’ preparedness limitations specifically in training and effective communication affect the implementation of the new primary school curriculum in Ilala District, Dar es Salaam. Guided by Systems Theory, the study adopted a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Quantitative data were collected from 242 primary school teachers using structured, five-point Likert-scale questionnaires, while qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with head teachers, academic officers and district education officers, and analysed thematically. The quantitative results showed that teachers generally disagreed that they were adequately prepared, with a low overall preparedness mean of 2.24 (below the neutral midpoint of 3.00); the weakest areas were training duration (M = 1.84), in-service workshops (M = 1.95) and competency-based assessment (M = 2.15). The qualitative findings reinforced and explained these results through the themes of pedagogical dissonance and training fatigue and communication gaps and policy ambiguity: teachers understood the language of reform but could not translate it into classroom practice, felt overwhelmed by brief, theory-heavy workshops, and received curriculum guidance late and inconsistently. The study concludes that limited teacher preparedness is a central rather than peripheral barrier to curriculum implementation, and that reform is undermined when teacher capacity development is treated as a one-off event instead of continuous professional development. It recommends sustained, school-based professional development with mentoring and follow-up, clearer and more consistent communication of curriculum expectations, and targeted support for competency-based assessment.