Planning For Teaching Mathematics And Science In Rwanda Secondary Schools: Stakeholder Engagement And Experience Sharing Through Adaptive Planning Process

Abstract

In the pursuit of improving the quality of education, the involvement of stakeholders in the planning of mathematics and science teaching and learning has been a persistent concern. To address this issue, a study was conducted to investigate how stakeholders can be engaged in the planning process for teaching mathematics and science at the secondary school level in Rwanda. The study had two main objectives: (1) to assess the current level of participation by school stakeholders in the planning of teaching and learning, and (2) to apply an adaptive planning process to engage stakeholders in planning of activities related to the teaching and learning of mathematics and science at the school level. The study used the Adaptive Planning Approach, which involves engaging stakeholders in the planning process. It was conducted in four secondary schools that were purposefully selected based on their participation in continuous professional development training programs in teaching and learning of mathematics and science. Two schools were from the rural and other two were from the urban area districts in Rwanda. A total of 44 participants, comprising 8 parents, 16 teachers, 8 students, 4 head teachers, 4 deputy head teachers, and 4 sector education officers participated in the study. Data was collected into three main stages: (1) pre-Adaptive Planning Process workshop using the interview, (2) Adaptive Planning Process (APP) workshop to assess the current engagement of stakeholders at school level and (3) plan for the activities aiming for teaching mathematics and science and (4) develop the implementation and monitoring plan for the activities planned during the APP workshop. Results demonstrate stakeholders sharing the experience, working together to formulate a vision, exploring their values, and collaboratively developing objectives towards the vision. They have also indicated a collaborative plan for the implementation and monitoring of school activities. We conclude that facilitating equitable participation among a wide range of stakeholders and taking care to include parents enriches the knowledge base from which to manage the teaching of mathematics and science process and lays a foundation for a collaborative relationship among school stakeholders. We recommend more studies of this kind to verify and generalize the findings of this research.