Twenty-first century instruction? An analysis of educator course, syllabus preparation and approaches in a teacher preparation program in a selected private university, nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Higher education institutions in Kenya have often been accused of preparing individuals that are unfit for the job market. Therefore, there is a need to examine the content that students learn and how they learn it because this determines what knowledge they retain, and skills and dispositions they acquire. Since graduates from teacher preparation programs shape the future of their students, it is imperative that they are adequately prepared to teach effectively. Therefore, these programs need to have effective syllabi preparation processes, coupled with formalized accountability structures that enhance the quality of preparation of their graduates. An exploratory study was carried out in a teacher preparation program of a select private university to analyze approaches its educators used in course syllabus preparation. The study was anchored on Fischer’s (1980) skill theory, a theory of cognitive development. Fischer asserts that cognitive development takes place through a structure consisting of skill levels with transformational rules that dictate how the levels relate to each other. It is hypothesized that a well-prepared syllabus will engage the learner and enhance not only his/her cognitive development, but also the social and affective domains as well. Findings indicated that the educators used the knowledge-seeking (shallow learning) rather than the understanding-seeking (deep learning) approach. It was recommended that the educators should aspire to transform their learners by using the understanding-seeking approach in order to equip them with appropriate competencies for their own personal growth and for the workplace.