National Standards Curriculum Implementation and Implications for Effective Leadership and Organizational Change in a group of Primary Schools in Jamaica

Abstract

The government of Jamaica implemented a new National Standards Curriculum (NSC) in 2018 to encourage competency-based learning in relation to established benchmarks across all educational levels. This was done so that students would be better prepared for the global workforce of the 21st century. The purpose of this research was to examine the implementation of the (NSC) in a group of primary schools with focus on the roles of the school leadership and of the CIT. It aimed to explore the roles of members of leadership teams, the strategies used to ensure effective delivery of the curriculum, and the challenges encountered by teachers and principals in implementing the NSC. This study employed a mixed method approach by combining quantitative and qualitative data collected by the use of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, observation checklist, and document analysis. The investigation has established that although leadership has strong and positive support, a lack of resources, inadequate facilities, insufficient training, and resistance to change threaten the successful implementation of the NSC. Some of the most crucial findings are that educators are honing the kinds of teamwork and leadership that will be essential to successfully implementing the National Standards Curriculum; educators are already using the cooperative and leadership practices crucial to introducing the NSC. The accessibility of data has been a positive aspect of the implementation, which has been used in test creation and lesson preparation; implementation strategies, leadership support, the use of appropriate leadership methods, and compliance with policy directives and conditions are other factors with positive outcomes. In addition, the findings of the study provided evidence that the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM Model) is a valuable theoretical framework for monitoring and assessing educational innovation that may be utilized for further research. The results of this study have generally given a favourable picture of the NSC's implementation in a group of primary schools in Jamaica. The CBAM model could be used in future studies to learn how to lessen the impact of the identified drawbacks to the implementation.