An exploration of pedagogic practices of expressive arts teachers in Malawi primary schools

The objective of curriculum reform is to improve current practices. To improve the quality of education in Malawi, the national government in 2001 embarked on curriculum reform and adopted an Outcomes Based curriculum in 2007. Not much is known about the enactment of the new policy in classroom practices of teachers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the enactment of Expressive Arts, its theme-based design and content, facilitative pedagogy and continuous assessment in a selection of six state primary schools - three urban and three rural in Zomba district where teachers were first trained to teach Expressive Arts. The study was framed by the theory of Illuminative evaluation (Parlett and Hamilton, 1976) and Productive Pedagogies (Lingard, et al, 2001). Following a qualitative research design, data were collected through observation and postobservation interviews. Data analysis showed limited productive pedagogies in most lessons. The majority of lessons were characterised by lower intellectual quality. For example, didactic teaching was very much the order of the day and little opportunity, if any, was provided for reflection and discussion with the pupils. The overall findings is that the enacted curriculum gave students limited opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge and development of skills, values and attitudes required for them to actively participate in the changing Malawian context and to be able to compete successfully in other contexts. It appears that dominant pedagogic practices in the Expressive Arts classroom serve to position learners in parochial orientations and issues. There was an obvious disjuncture between the intended curriculum and enacted curriculum.