BARRIERS TO CURRICULUM COMPLETION

Objective: The evolving nature of instructional approach and the ever-changing curriculum presents dynamic barriers to curriculum completion. This study was carried out with an aim of identifying the various barriers to curriculum completion and their impact. The study also assessed practical approaches towards solving the identified barriers.

Methods: This study involved a survey of 108 teachers sampled from 10 public high schools in Inland Empire, California, United States of America, using stratified random sampling technique. The participants were issued with self-administered Curriculum Questionnaires and Curriculum Completion Questionnaire (CCQ), which was observed to have high validity and reliability as indicated by the Cronbach alpha value of 0.89. Percentages means and standard deviation were used to analyze demographic variables while ANOVA and linear regression tests were used to analyze the effect of the identified barriers to curriculum completion. Tests were carried out using SPSS ver.23 at P <0.05.

Results: The respondents varied based on the subjects they teach with those who teach mathematics, sciences, arts and languages being 22, 46, 14, and 18% respectively. The students’ related barriers such as absenteeism and the lack of motivation significantly were observed to significantly influence curriculum completion across all the subjects (β=0.78, P =0.026). However, barriers related to course design and instructional approach were observed to significantly influence the completion of mathematics (P =0.003) and English curriculum (p=0.04) while the barriers associated with the variation in the course design was observed to significantly affect the completion of science (P =0.017). Focus on supportive school culture, early planning and student-focused strategies significantly were noted to improve curriculum completion (β=0.41, P =0.031).

Conclusion: Barriers to curriculum completion vary; however, the adoption of supportive school culture, early planning, and student-focused strategies provide a viable strategy for addressing them.