Stakeholders’ Opinions on Inadequate Implementation of Agricultural Science Curriculum in Ordinary Level Secondary Schools in Arusha District, Tanzania

Despite agriculture being among the science subjects in the lower secondary school curriculum in Tanzania, its implementation has been very low in many secondary schools. This study therefore sought to analyse the opinions of potential stakeholders on inadequate implementation of the agriculture curriculum in selected secondary schools within the Arusha District Council in Tanzania. Two research questions guided this research: (i) To what extent are selected determinants hindering the implementation of the agriculture curriculum in secondary schools? (ii) What are the perceptions of stakeholders on the importance of the agriculture curriculum in schools? The population of the study was 56 secondary schools in the Arusha District Council from which the researcher sampled six schools, six heads of schools, six academic masters/mistresses, 51 teachers, and 149 students making a total of 210 participants. The research employed a convergent method research design under a mixed methods approach. The researcher went to the field in person and used questionnaires and interview guides for data collection. The study used frequencies, percentages, and a Chi-square test for quantitative data analysis and thematic analysis as well as narrations for qualitative data analysis. The researcher observed ethical principles in all stages of this study development. Results show that the main hindrance of the agriculture curriculum implementation is primarily due to the lack of teachers followed by inadequate agricultural teaching and learning resources. The research also found that all the stakeholders perceive the agriculture curriculum as very important. Hypothesis testing using a Chi-square test showed a significant difference in preference of agriculture as compulsory or optional depending on categorization of respondents as students or teachers. This research concludes that it is only when an adequate number of agriculture teachers and resources are available that the subject can be adequately implemented in secondary schools. The researcher recommends increasing advocacy for agriculture in schools and the inclusion of agriculture courses in teacher training programmes in colleges and universities.