Effectiveness of Expatriate and the Local Teaching Staff in the Implementation of International Curricula in selected cities in Kenya

Abstract

The thrust of this study was to examine the effectiveness of expatriate and the local teaching staff in the implementation of international curricula in selected Cities in Kenya. Two Objectives guided this study, namely: i)to assess the effectiveness of expatriate and local teachers in implementation of international curricular and ii) to determine students’ perception regarding the impact of expatriate and local teaching staff on their academic performance. The study was premised on the administrative management theory pioneered by Henry Fayol cited in Ukeje, et.al (1992) which identifies five elements of management. A descriptive survey research was adopted. The study sampled 10 headteachers, 73 teachers and 22 parents yielding a sample size of 105 to participate in the study. A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches using interviews and questionnaires was employed to collect and analyze data. The major findings of the study were that majority of teachers implementing international curricular in Kenya are local teachers who have undergone intensive in-service training and wide exposure through workshops and seminars on principles and techniques of international education. As a result, these local teachers compare favourable more than their international counterparts with respect to effectiveness of teaching. Students consider the local teachers to have made a profound positive impact on their academic attainment. It is recommended that although directors and managers of the international institutions still prefer expatriate teachers over their local colleagues as a marketing strategy, they should be encouraged to employ more local staff on grounds of capacity building and cost-effectiveness.