Maldives national curriculum (2017) : teacher perceptions in implementing the subject combined business for key stage 3 / Aminath Nishana

Abstract

In order to prepare students who have acquired knowledge and at the same time are competent to perform various tasks, the Ministry of Education has introduced Maldives National Curriculum in the year 2015, with a vision "Every Child is Prepared for Life". With the implementation of this curriculum, Key Stages are introduced in the education system of schools. To meet this practice, Key Stage 3 was introduced to schools in the year 2017. Along with this, a new subject in introduced to the Keys Stage 3, that is Combined Business. This research aims to examine the teacher perceptions towards the implementation of Combined Business in Key Stage 3. To achieve this, the research focuses on the process of teaching and learning of the subject, benefits of implementing the subject in Key Stage 3, and the challenges in implementing the subject in Key Stage 3. Three research questions are generated to find out the teacher perception towards the implementation of Combined Business for Key Stage 3. For the research, a phenomenological research method is used with a semi-structured interview as the method of data collections. A total of 6 teachers from four different schools participated in this study. Using purposive sampling, the six teachers were chosen. The results of the study shows that teachers are well-prepared in advance in order to teach the subject. In addition to this, a combination of traditional teaching method and student-centered method teaching and learning practices occur in the classroom. Teachers are benefited in terms of professional growth, as teachers are getting familiar with a 2l' century curriculum and also teachers subject knowledge is improving through the implementation. However, financial constraints, limited time, huge content in the syllabus, students' attitude towards the subject, availability of resources are some of the challenges expressed by the teachers.
Keywords: Maldives National Curriculum, Curriculum implementation, teacher perception, Combined Business.