Competency-Based Curriculum Implementation in Building Technology and Design in Zimbabwe’s Secondary Teachers’ Training Colleges: Stakeholders’ Perceptions

The study evaluated the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Building Technology and Design (BTD) in secondary teachers’ colleges which is expected to play a significant role in BTD in producing graduate teachers who can apply proficiency and expertise to the real world of work. The research was motivated by research that revealed mixed feelings about CBC implementation in teachers’ colleges. The objectives focused on the challenges faced regarding implementing CBC in BTD, and strategies in the progressing curriculum to improve its implementation process. The study was based on the CIPP (Context, Input, Process, and Product) evaluation model. A qualitative case study approach was used to gather the stakeholders’ perceptions. Research participants were selected using purposive sampling. Interview schedules and focus groups were used in collecting data. The most significant finding of this study is that CBC was partially implemented in teachers’ colleges. However, several impediments were discovered to beset the CBC implementation processes emanating from institutional, infrastructural, and policy issues, and other associated barriers. Based on these findings, the study recommends the harmonisation of college and secondary school curricula, conducting staff retraining workshops, the introduction of an internship programme for both lecturers and student teachers to construction companies, and the provision of adequate resources for CBC implementation. Additional policy and practice recommendations are also proposed as possible corrective measures.