Teachers’ concerns when implementing innovations: strengthening secondary science education in Kenya

Abstract

Change facilitators often presume that once an innovation has been adopted and the intial training has been completed, the intended users will put it into practice. However, implementation of an innovation is seldom simple without support. In 1998, Kenya adopted the Strengthening of Mathematics and Sciences in Secondary Education (SMASSE) in-service training programme, using a constructivist methodology to improve Science performance. The emphasis was on ‘activityfocused methods, student-centred activities, experimenting and improvisation’ (ASEI) through the ‘plan, do, see, and improve’ (PDSI) approach. The objective of this study was to establish the level of implementation of the ASEI/PDSI classroom practices innovation and the stages of concern of the implementers. The study also sought to establish how the teachers’ concerns affect the implementation of the ASEI/PDSI classroom innovation. Concerns in innovations range from self, to task, and fi nally to impact levels. The survey design was used for a sample of 68 head teachers, 147 Science teachers and 10 trainers. The main instrument for the study was the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ). The study established that the majority (75%) of the teachers, were partial implementers of the ASEI/PDSI innovation, and only 5% were full implementers. The majority of the teachers had concerns regarding self that affected the level of implementation and innovation; few had task and impact concerns. The study recommended that appropriate support be given to these teachers by the head teachers and Ministry of Education offi cials. This is likely to lead to interventions that will hopefully resolve their individual concerns and hence raise the level of implementation of the innovation.