EVALUATING THE ALIGNMENT OF CLASSROOM PRACTICES WITH STATED INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MOROGORO MUNICIPALITY

This study evaluates the alignment between classroom practices and stated instructional objectives in the selected secondary schools in Morogoro Municipality. Specifically, the study assesses how teachers’ state their instructional objectives in the lesson plan in relation to their classroom implementation. A purposive sample of History, English, Geography, and Biology teachers from 9 secondary schools in Morogoro Municipality was used in the study. Data were collected through document analysis, classroom observation, and interview. A total of 27 teachers’ lesson plans were analysed. The findings indicate that most of the objectives designed in lesson plans miss some important aspects of the ABCD and SMART models, resulting in the objective statements missing some measurable criteria to cover the whole learning process and measure the achievement of the objectives. Furthermore, classroom practices deviate from the stated objectives; for instance, teachers frequently fail to use teaching materials like teaching aids and methods and engage students in doing some activities as planned. This was due to overcrowded classrooms, the nature of students understanding, a heavy teaching load, a shortage of time, and having many responsibilities, which led to partial preparation and deviation from the lesson plan, which affected practices and achievement of the stated instructional objectives. The study recommends in-service training should be provided to teachers to engage in professional activities, including lesson planning, and assist them in creating high-quality classroom instructional objectives so as to improve pedagogical practices.