GLOBALIZATION FACTORS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CHANGE IN TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA

Abstract

This study was part of a wider research that investigated management of change in teacher education curricu

lum in Kenya. The aspect discussed in this paper considered dimensions of globalization that were driving the

changes in teacher education curriculum. The respondents were School Deans, Heads of Departments, Teacher

Trainees, and Teacher Educators from private universities; staff from Teachers Service Commission (TSC), and

the Commission for University Education (CUE). The study was guided by the theory of Planned Change and

Complexity Theory. Purposive, cluster, convenience and snowball sampling methods were employed to get the

study sample. Data gathering instruments were questionnaires, interviews, and documents such as news letters,

letters and daily news papers. Frequencies, means, and standard deviations were used to analyze quantitative

data, while content analysis was applied to qualitative data. The study revealed that the forces driving change

were interplay of global and local factors. The factors included the need for quality in teacher education glob

ally- teachers who would teach effectively and nurture all students, a concern for falling standards in educa

tion, certification requirements by Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC) and accreditation requirements by the

Commission for University Education (CUE); change in the mission, vision and purpose of university educa

tion; need to align teacher education to the needs of education in a global society; market forces; technologi

cal advancements in education; political influences –reflected in the education task force recommendation for

teacher education to be aligned with the Constitution 2010 and Kenya Vision 2030. The study further revealed

that, the change agents and recipients differed in their conceptions of important factors that should drive change

in teacher education. The study recommends that the Commission for University Education (CUE) should

work in consultation with the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) to sensitize private university stakeholders’

on the important global and local factors driving change in teacher education curriculum, as they also consider

and factor in the university contexts and the stake holders’ views.