EVALUATING THE INTEGRATION OF AN INTERNATIONAL CURRICULUM AND THE 8-4-4 CURRICULUM IN KENYA: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Background:  The creators of the competency based curriculum envision that at the end of the learning period, the learners should have achieved communication and collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving, imagination and creativity, citizenship, learning to learn, self-efficacy and digital literacy so that at the end they should have been molded with the following values love, responsibility, respect, unity, peace, patriotism and integrity. There exist two curricula in the Kenyan education system: the international curriculum and the 8-4-4 curriculum. Although these two curricula have a similar bare minimum in their content and approach, the 8-4-4 curriculum is perceived to be least favorable in equipping learners with hands-on skills attitudes and competence to adapt to the ever changing global dynamics. Study Objective: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the opportunities and challenges of embracing the attributes of an international curriculum in the 8-4-4 system. The paper posits that with the world becoming a global village, global awareness should form the crust of any meaningful education. On the contrary, over reliance on an international curriculum will not only expose learners to an environment that is not immediate but also equip them with skills and knowledge that does not match the immediate market dynamics. Conclusion: In conclusion, this paper offers an integrated, binary approach towards establishing a curriculum that is both international in nature without clear cut biases against the local curriculum. Key Words: Hands-on skills, global awareness, curriculum, opportunities, and challenges