An Evaluation of the 2013 Secondary School Curriculum on the Learner in Selected Secondary Schools in Luanshya District: A Case of Vocational Pathway

An Evaluation of the 2013 Secondary School Curriculum on the Learner in Selected Secondary Schools in Luanshya District: A Case of Vocational Pathway

Liambela Muyunda Leakey (PhD)

Technical and Vocational Teachers College

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.802090

Received: 27 January 2024; Accepted: 06 February 2024; Published: 14 March 2024

ABSTRACT

The study sought to evaluate the impact of the 2013 secondary education vocational pathway on the learners. The study was done in Luanshya district which is situated on the Copperbelt province. The objectives of the study was to establish whether the vocational educational training obtained in secondary school makes value impression on self-sustainability of the learners.

Based on the evidence collected, the study established that despite calls to reform the Zambian secondary school curriculum with emphasis on Vocationalization of the school curriculum, the curriculum has remained largely academic.  The learners perceive Vocational Education subjects (vocational pathway) not to be useful for students‟ aspiring to join university education) as is with general education programs. Furthermore, it the study established that there are very little compliance levels to the standards as provided for in the teaching of Vocational subjects. There is need for teachers to adhere to appropriate teaching method and evaluation procedures for vocational subject. Input factors play a critical role in realising effective curriculum implementation. As a result of several challenges and problems experienced during the implementation process the achievement of the set objects will remain a dream as the findings indicated that there was insignificant impact created on the learners in terms of creating value impression on self-sustainability of the Learners.

Key words: Curriculum, Entrepreneurship, Vocational, Teachers, Learners

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

There are several changes that have taken place in the Zambian education system. These changes are with the view of improving the various aspects that were noticed as not adding any value to the Zambian education system. To correct the situation, the government of Zambia through the Ministry of Education came up with several educational policies to address the situation. It is a well-known fact that an ‘Education Policy’ sets the vision and strategy for educational development, mobilizing support and cooperation for implementing the vision and strategy from a wide range of constituencies. In Zambia, several education policies have been developed over time to provide a vision and strategies in the education provision. Major ones among these policies include the Education Policy Reforms of 1977, Focus on Learning of 1992 and the Educating Our Future of 1996.

Educational reforms of 1977 were the first comprehensive reforms in the education system, which aimed at making education an instrument for personal and national development. The main features of this reform were the introduction of basic and high school education system and the focus on skills orientation in basic and high schools. Additionally, the policy recommended the provision on an educational system that would enable learners to achieve a standard of functional education which would equip them to live productively in society and to poses occupational competences in skills. In other words, its aim was to provide general education including some practical skills and a sound preparation for further education (full-time or part-time).

In 1992, immediately after the change of government, the cabinet approved a new education policy entitled “Focus on Learning.” The goal of the new education policy was improving access, equity, efficiency, and quality of education through the rehabilitation of school infrastructure, construction of new schools, training of education managers, and procurement and supply of education materials to schools. In addition, ‘Focus on Learning ‘policy document of 1992 emphasised the need for the mobilisation of resources for the development of schools whereas the Educational Reforms of 1977 highlighted education as an instrument for personal and national development.

In 1996, the government adopted another policy document entitled “Educating Our Future” as a national policy on education in Zambia. The policy document was conceived based on the democratic principles of efficiency, equity, accountability, and cost-effectiveness. To this effect, the policy sought to liberalise and decentralise the education system in accordance with the democratic principles of local governance. However, to run a responsible and democratic education system, the education policy acknowledges the need to pay attention to capacity building and training, provision of infrastructure and equipment, logistics and adequate funding (GRZ, 1996). Further, Educating Our Future policy document sought to promote cost sharing between government, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders in the education system such as individuals, families, communities, industry, and non-governmental organisations to the provision of education and training in the country to which government pledges to give the necessary support. Thus, Educating Our Future’ policy document of 1996 stressed the importance of education for all children in primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions.

It is thus clear that since the country’s independence in 1964, government has made several efforts to address the inequities to ensure quality in education provision through various policies, national development plans and legislation. Additionally, all the above policy documents have been talking about a change in the curriculum and hence the introduction of one such change in the name of the 2013 Curriculum Framework which provided a two-tare system of education comprising educational pathway and the Vocational pathway. The 2013 curriculum framework incorporated vocational subjects as recommended in the 1976/77 educational reforms. Quality, relevance, and responsiveness of technical and vocational education curriculum has been a topic of discussion amongst many researchers and scholars in recent times. This study sought to establish the impact of the 2013 Secondary School Vocational pathway curriculum on the learners. However, despite several studies that have been done on the Zambian curriculum, according to the researcher’s knowledge on the impact of the 2103 curriculum on the learners he has not come across any study that was done in Luanshya on the impact of the vocational pathway on the learners and may be the first of its kind to be done in Luanshya Zambia.

The Zambian education system was subjected to a national curriculum change in 2013 at all levels. The major changes were placing the significance of vocational and entrepreneurship subjects as opposed to the traditional academic subjects at secondary school level. This was sparked by an unstable economic and high rate of unemployment among the youths. Vocational and technical education, according to Yusuf (2006) as cited in Innocent (2013: 24) “is that type of education that aims at preparing students for employment in a reputable field of work”. It provides the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for effective employment. For this reason, “technical and vocational education and training has emerged as one of the most effective human resource development strategies that African countries need to embrace in order to modernize their workforce” (Afeti 2010: 1).

The Zambian education system was characterized to be too academic or bookish, theoretical, with little attention to practical and useful skills oriented to white collar jobs and responding to reward system of society and thereby encouraging individualism and social stratification. It was further linked to a train on a single track bound for one destination, but which ejected most of its passengers without stopping at several points along the route. With the challenges, the Ministry of Education launched the real implementation of the new curriculum in 2013. However, the 2013 curriculum framework is basically the refinement of the Zambian Educational reforms of the 1977. Its content is based on the recommendation that were made in the 1977 Educational reforms to address the challenges of unemployment and making the educational system relevant to the leaners by providing vocational skills.

The 2013 curriculum framework offers a twin educational system which was proposed in the 1977 educational reforms. Thus, the academic pathway which has been stimulated by the idealism philosophy which their primes focus is cognitive development and the vocational pathway which has been stimulated by the Realism and pragmatism philosophies of education. The vocational pathway offers five different options which include Agriculture science, Technology, Performing and Creative Arts, Physical Education and Sports, Home Economics and Hospitality. The learners who study vocational subjects and successfully complete junior secondary school education are awarded with both a level three (3) trade certificate by the Technical, Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA) and a Junior Secondary School Certificate by Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ).

In recognising curriculum as a key input into the education system, authorities made a commitment to work towards growing an environment wherein the improvement and evaluation of the curricula is consumer driven via increased coordination among the learners and schools.  Among the numerous concerns, where starting two career pathways within the curriculum at the secondary level which are academic and vocational and linking school vocational curriculum to technical and vocational education curriculum. However, the 2013 curriculum framework can be traced to the Ministry of Education’s 1977 assertion on Educational Reforms. The reforms proposed for greater applicable talents education for most people who could not be strong in academic subjects.

The educational reforms further proposed for a curriculum with a purpose to include the relationship between schooling and employment in Zambia and with efficient work in capacities. This reaffirmed the call for the inclusion of Production activities to be of academic value. Through production, learners can apply the know-how, recognize the significance of working with their as well as their brains, increase the spirit of self-reliance, and discover ways to make contributions to the country’s production activities. This important aspect of education, which is part of a child’s upbringing, has now not been emphasised lately hence consequent need for its inclusion within the 2013 curriculum framework. The goal of the reforms aimed at the development of the entire individual with cognizance on quality and relevance. The reforms further proposed that efficient work must serve instructional objectives. In addition, the reforms encouraged the concern for quality, applicable curriculum, and motion towards the recuperation of Zambian languages to rightful vicinity, sensible and pragmatic procedures of learning.  The adjustments that were cautioned merely targeted at the content, the methods and enterprise which was to receive the best attention, embracing meaningful reforms within the curriculum meant its enrichment and being made extra relevant to the wishes and aspirations of the man or woman and society. Further idea was within the introduction of the proper teacher education which needed to permit the teacher to understand, but also to be concerned in the development of the new curriculum, and to make vital adjustments in his personal attitudes and tactics.

In addition, learners pursuing the academic route will study the following obligatory subjects: Business Studies (Entrepreneurship incorporated), English Language, Computer Studies, Integrated Science, Social Studies, Mathematics, Religious Education, Zambian Languages with the following Optional Subjects, French, Chinese and Portuguese. It is anticipated that senior secondary school leavers are safely organized for tertiary education and the world of work. It is pretty favoured that entrepreneurial abilities are obtained through all newcomers to contribute to the improvement of the country and take up grownup roles. The educational pathway is meant for inexperienced persons with passion for educational subjects and preference for careers in that course. While the Vocational Career Pathway is meant for learners with ambitions and interests in technical and practical jobs. The curriculum provides practical skills to such learners starting at Grade 8 through to Grade 12. In the provision of this curriculum, schools will closely collaborate with trade institutes and other key stakeholders in various areas of specializations.

In essence, this above form of schooling is regarded as inferior, discriminatory, and promoting inequalities because the schools offering the vocational subjects were entirely designed for one segment of the society. In the then colonial times, this would permit Africans to adopt manual and unskilled reasonably priced labour for the colonizing power. However, vocational education offers a body of knowledge for use in addressing numerous varieties of human, material, and environmental worries. It can also be considered as composed of two main complementary modes: accumulation of capabilities through exploration and discovery efforts approximately the natural world, and using such abilities for human and material improvement

The rationale for the vocational initiative was viewed as the provision of learners with survival skills and to appropriately prepare them for upward mobility in technological areas. Such a vocational curriculum could increase values and cater for the desires and aspirations of the inexperienced persons for self-reliance and entrepreneurship to increase a responsible, effective, and self-maintaining citizen. In realising the focus areas of enhancing self-reliance among the secondary school leavers, the aim of education and the aspirations of the vision 2030, the ministry developed a curriculum that opted to supply a learner who will maintain and observe discipline and hard work as a basis of personal and country wide development, animated by using  individually held set of civic, ethical, and religious values within the local and international context, analytical, innovative, creative, versatile, employable, entrepreneurial, efficient and constructive. To achieve this, the new secondary school curriculum comprised of two pathways these are academic and vocational. It was the desire of the Ministry of Education to provide a learner with the capability to use entrepreneurial technical know-how and skills, effective attitudes, and values to accomplish more achievements in existence via being self-reliant, technically competent, scientifically, and financially literate and able to provide management skills within the world of commercial enterprise and work among others.

Vocationalization of secondary education is taken into consideration as a curriculum change in a vocational or realistic path which attempts to make young individual’s more suitable and more appropriate to take up employment without delay after leaving school as wage-earners or in self-employment” (Maravanyika, et al; 1998). In support of this thinking, Bishop (1995) argues that one of the predominant troubles going through developing (and evolved) countries is that of mass youth unemployment. Hence by vocationalising secondary education, it is hoped that the increasing and growing number of failures, dropouts and unemployed youths would create their own jobs by use of the entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and tendencies so acquired. In essence, the wide goal of vocationalising training is to create an education system with the intention to enhance the first-class of existence of the masses by way of upgrading their practical abilities and know-how with regards to the world of work (UNESCO, 1990; UNESCO, 1988; United Republic of Tanzania (URT) Report, 1978). In contrast, some writers have wondered whether the policy to vocationalise the educational system is authentic or merely a political gimmick. For example, Lauglo and Lillis (1988) argue that the policy theme of vocationalising training is particularly a political reaction to negative articulation of training with the labour marketplace. In support to this claim, Sabel and others stated in Dale (1985:23) assert: “Skill is a political as opposed to a technical concept that the pleasant, certified people are by no means necessarily the only or efficient employee for if the concept of ability isn’t always related to the performance of the job, it would be silly to expect the most skilled to be the most effective workers”.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

At independence the Zambian government relooked at the Education system in Zambia. In doing so several strategies were put in place. The first one was the educational reforms of 1976/77 which emphasised on self-sustainability. This strategy meant the introducing the learners to entrepreneurial skills.  Following this one was the introduction of Focus on learning in 1992 which emphasised on putting together resources to support what was proposed in the 1976/77 Educational Reforms. Thirdly was the introduction of the Educating our Future Policy Document of 1996 which emphasised on putting into practice what was proposed in 1977 and using the resources and equipment’s which were gathered in 1992. These three strategies have been talking about a change in the curriculum and hence the introduction of one such change in the name of the 2013 Curriculum Framework which provides a two-tare system of education comprising educational pathway and the Vocational pathway. Despite the government’s effort to equip the learners with vocational and entrepreneurship knowledge and skills, the quality of learners produced at secondary school level remain questionable as most school leavers are equipped with curriculum vitae as opposed to a business plan. In a particular case one is led to observe that despite the changes made in the secondary education curriculum, evidence has shown that the school learners have not fitted in well in the society after completion of their secondary education as most of them simply do not have what to do.

Nwachukwu and Philips (2014) asserts that many African countries have been looming around on problems on quality of education for decades. As a result of this crisis, poverty has increased and has underpinned the education and national development. As such, Zambia is not an exception to this crisis, despite it having introduced Vocational education at Secondary school level which was meant to enhance self-sustainability among secondary school leavers and alleviate poverty.  Many secondary school learners leave the secondary school system without properly being equipped with vocational and entrepreneurship education knowledge and skills consequently leading the researcher to believe that there were matters of concern in the 2013 secondary education curriculum that needed to be investigated and attended to. Vocational education in the word of Olaitan (2008) is a form of education that primarily concerns the development of occupational skills needed by an individual as a preparation for work. Additionally, a nation’s future depends on the productive capacity of its workforce, who’s Vocational and Entrepreneurship knowledge and skills are vital part of that resource (Richardson and Teese 2010). The government has been making every effort to improve the quality of education after also identifying the education system in Seventh National Development plan as the bedrock for economic development and poverty reduction in the country.

Several stakeholders who include teachers, parents, educational planners, standards officers, community leaders among others have been interested to see whether the objectives of the 2013 Curriculum framework have been meet. The researcher is also an interested party and has made effort to find out how viable this curriculum has been. In his quest to find out the researcher has read a variety of literature but has found very limited documented information on whether this curriculum has been effective or not. In addition, the problem which motivated this research study is that while the government is investing in education with the principal aim of developing a mind-set of self-reliance and sustainability to alleviate poverty despite the rate and level of self-reliance sustainability amongst the youth seems to be a concern among various stakeholder despite the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that they have been provided for in the curriculum. This made the researcher to question the relevance of the Vocational pathway (Vocational Education) of the secondary education curriculum whether the demands of the economy were incorporated into the design of the curriculum.

To satisfy the researchers interest and those of other stakeholders the researcher decided to take up this research using the topic “An Evaluation of the Impact of the 2013 Secondary School curriculum on the Learners in selected secondary schools in Luanshya District a case of the Vocational Pathway”.

Objectives

To establish whether the vocational educational training obtained in secondary school makes value impression on self-sustainability of the learners.

METHODOLOGY

The study to establish the finding used a quantitative methodology to produce descriptive data. According to McMillan and Schumacher, (1993) cited in Astalin, (2013:118) “qualitative research is primarily and inductive process of organizing data into categories and identifying patterns (relationships) among categories.”.  Mason (2002) further describes qualitative research as being an investigative method. In a qualitative research approach, findings are subjective as they depend on the respondent’s feelings on the situation being presented. The methodology was chosen because the information provided would answer the research questions posed. Additionally, it was chosen, as it would help reveal the behaviour and perceptions of the respondents. Thus, the methodology was considered appropriate for the present study because the study is aimed at determining the value, worth, and relevance of the National Curriculum for Senior Secondary School. The methodology involved was qualitative in nature producing descriptive data. The method was also chosen because the information provided would answer the research questions posed.

Blumberg et al (2008) “described a research design as a plan, structure and strategy of investigation to obtain answers to research hypothesis and control variance”. The evaluation research design was adopted in for study. The design was chosen because of the evaluative nature of the study. Evaluation design according to Ali (2006), seeks to provide data for making value judgement about some events, objects, methods, and materials within the context of the phenomenon evaluated. In addition, Orodho (2003) stated that the evaluation study is a method which enables a researcher to collect data from the sample of individuals by administering questionnaires and or interviews to determine the status of the population regarding one or more variables,

The population of the study consisted of all learners enrolled in Grade Twelve and Teachers serving in Public Secondary Schools situated in Luanshya District. The use of only public secondary schools was based on the ground that they operate uniform vocational and entrepreneurship studies curriculum standards and were more accessible to the researcher.

The study employed a sample size of 220 respondents of which70 were teachers and 150 were pupils drawn from selected public secondary schools in Luanshya District. The teachers and learners were drawn from five secondary schools.

The study employed two methods to collect data that is questionnaires and document analysis. The questionnaires were distributed to the teachers and learners from the selected schools. The researcher personally collected the completed questionnaires as soon as they were completed to ensure that the teachers respond to each of the items without reference to other sources.

Document Analysis involved examination of pass rate at all levels, policy papers, circulars, research reports owned by the government and institutions as well as papers presented in seminars relating to implementation of entrepreneurship as a subject in the new curriculum.

analysis. The reliability of the instruments was also tested during the piloting stage.

Data collected from questionnaires was organised into significant themes to reveal the essence of the data (Patton, 1990). The questionnaires that yielded quantitative responses were coded and entered a computer and then analysed using Excel. This yielded means, standard deviation and percentages.

However, data generated for the study was analysed using mean and standard deviation. The procedures employed in the analysis of the data collection were the frequency count and the mean statistic for the four research questions.

The information was presented using tables, bar graphs and pie charts to facilitate comparison between variables. Qualitative responses were analysed using thematic approach, whereby each objective under study will be described in relation to the categories of responses given by the respondents thereafter, inferences, conclusions and recommendations were drawn according to the research questions and objectives.

PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

Demographic Data

This part of the chapter provides basic socio demographic variables and their distribution by categories. Socio-demographic variables included categories of the respondents, gender, sex, age, academic qualification, and experience in teaching.  The respondents of the study were in two categories. These were teachers and the learners.

Table 4. 1a: Distribution of respondents by gender: Learners

From the data presented in the table above indicated that females were the majority with (88) 68% representation among the learners while males only accounted for (42) 32%. Below is the distribution by gender of the teachers.

Table 4.1 b: Distribution of respondents by Gender: Teachers

The table above indicated that among the teachers that took part in the study the majority (54) 69% were males while females only accounted for (20) 31%.

Table 4. 2:  Distribution of respondents by age

The study established that majority of the respondents with (95) 49% representation were between the age brackets of 16-20 years. This was followed by those between 21 and 25 years with (42) 22% representation. Thirdly was those between 31 and 35 years with (14) 7% followed by those between 41 and 45 years. Those between 46 and 50 years as well as those between 52 and 55 years both had (4) 2% representation each. It was indicated that none of the respondents was 56 years and above. From the data presented in table 4.3 it was established that most of the respondents that took part in the study were between the age of 16 years and 35 years of age.

Table 4. 3:  Distribution of respondent Teachers by qualification

From the 195 respondents that took part in the study 65 of them were teachers given a 65(33%) representation. The researcher sought to establish the distribution by educational level of the 65 respondents who were teachers. The distribution was as tabulated in Table 4.4 above. The study indicated that most of the respondents had diplomas with (33) 51% representation followed by bachelor’s degrees with (24) 37%representation. The study indicated that those with advanced diplomas were the least represented with (8)12%. The study further indicated that there was no representation of certificate, post graduate diploma and master’s degree holders. From the data presented above there was need to enhance the qualification of teachers teaching vocational subjects as most of them had no bachelor’s Degrees. In total (41)63% of the teachers had no Degrees and were teaching in secondary schools. This is an indication that there is inadequate qualified number of teachers teaching vocational subjects at secondary school level as they were very few with degree qualification. The amount of knowledge one acquires or simply put the level of academic qualification for teachers has a bearing on the success of the curriculum. To enhance academic performance of the learners at secondary school level there is need to supply these schools with well trained and qualified teachers. However, it is a well-known fact that most of the vocational subjects that have been included have very few teachers that have been trained to teach these subjects indicating there has been a largish professional development on the part of the teachers trained in vocational subjects

Table 4. 4: Distribution of respondents by teaching experience

Having established the educational qualification of the 65(33%) teachers that took part in the study the researcher sought to establish the number of years they had spent in teaching. In doing so the table above table 4.5 above show the distribution of the responses by number of years in teaching. The study established that most of the respondents (teachers) years of service were between the age brackets of 11 to 15 years in service with a (20) 31% representation. This was followed by 16 to 20 years of service with (14) 22% representation then 1 to 5 years with (10)15% and the least represented was those that had served for more than 21 years and above with (8)12% representation. However, the study established that none of the respondents had served for less than one year.  The number of years one has been teaching has a great impact on the general success of the curriculum. The effectiveness and efficiency of the teachers is also dependent on the number of years they have been teaching. Therefore, there is need to ensure that apprenticeship is incorporated in the teaching service as it has a bearing on the success an academic performance of the learners.

Curriculum Implementation

The table below shows the distribution of the respondents by vocational subject being taken or being taught. It is important to indicate that schools are unique in themselves. As a result of this there are variations in terms of the subjects being offered as these schools have different problems that they face. The variations in schools will be in terms of geographical location, number of available teaching staff and subject composition, economic status, attitude of teachers towards some subjects, community demand, administration system and lastly availability of teaching and learning materials and specialized rooms and equipment’s. As of the above it was established that there were variations in terms of the subjects being offered. From the data presented, the study established that the following were the representation of the respondents taking and teaching vocational subjects.

Table 4. 5 a:  Percentage Distribution of respondents teaching vocational subjects

The study established that majority of the teachers that took part in the study were teaching vocational subjects giving a 47(72%) representation and 18(28%) representation were not. Table 4.5b below shows the distribution of the learners taking vocational subjects.

Table 4.5 b: Percentage Distribution of the learners taking vocational subjects

Table 4.5 b indicates that most of the respondents 95(73%) of the learners were taking vocational subjects and only 37(27%) were not.

Vocational Career Pathway and Subject Combination in Secondary Schools

Career pathways emerged over the past decades because of the combined efforts of career and technical programs in high schools, workforce development and professional and technical programs at colleges/universities as an institutional response to the changing world. Hence the need for secondary schools to have a two-track system which would provide opportunities for all pupils to transition successfully to post-secondary education in both academic and career related studies. (Hull, 2005)

From the data presented in table 4.6, it was the interest of the researcher to establish the career pathway and subject combination of the teachers that took part in the study. The results were as tabulated below.

Figure 4. 1: Percentage Distribution by Vocational Subjects of Teachers.

The study established that most of the teachers were teaching Home Economics and Hospitality curriculum with 53(41%) representation followed by Design and Technology with 30(23%), Agriculture science at 20(15%), Physical Education and Sports at 17(13%) and lastly performing arts with 10(8%) representation.

Subject Choice

In every teaching and learning process it is important to consider individual differences and interest of the learners. Learners differ in several ways hence learners will never be the same. Taking this into account there is need to give room to individual learners to make decision with regards to their career pathway. It was of this reason that learners are unique in there owns ways that prompted the researcher to establish as to whether learners had a choice in taking the vocational subjects they were taking. The distribution of the responses is as shown in the figure below.

Figure 4. 2:  Choice of doing vocational subjects

From the data that was collected and presented in the figure above, it was established that 99(76%) of them it was not their choice to take vocational subjects were as 31(24%) of those it was their choice. This is an indication that there is less flexibility in terms of allowing learners to decide a career pathway of their choice. It is important that interest of the learners is also considered to ensure maximum achievement of our objectives. As a result of having two pathways, it is an indication that learners are different in their own ways hence the need to consider their interest for the sake of greatest potential in what they want to do.

Risk Profile of The Respondents

The researcher sought to establish the risk profile among the respondents. The distribution was tabulated below in tables 4.6a and 4.6b.

Table 4. 6a: Percentage Distribution by Risk profile of the Respondent teachers

Table 4.6 b: Percentage Distribution by Risk profile of the Respondents Learners.

From the data presented in the tables 4.6 a above, the study established that (57) 88% of the respondent teachers were not risk takers whereas only (8) 22% of the respondents were risk takers. The study further established that the risk profile varied between teachers and learners and among individuals in the two categories. Among the learners as indicated in table 4.6 b the study established that most of the respondents (96) 74% were not risk takers while (34) 26% of the learners were risk takers.

 From the above evidenced information, it is clear to state that the risk profile of both teachers and learners is very low among teachers and learners taking vocational subjects as indicated by the data provided. A risk is an integral part of any new business. But it is an especially important factor in entrepreneurship because here the entrepreneur bears the entire risk of the business. So, it is necessary that the entrepreneur has an adventurous and risk-taking personality which is not the case among teachers and learners taking vocational subjects.

Encouraging Others to Take Vocational Subject

The researcher sought to establish whether the learners and teachers would encourage other learners to take vocational subjects. The distribution of the responses is as tabulated below.

Table 4. 7 a: Percentage Distribution of respondent Teachers by encouragement to take vocational subjects

Table 4.7 b: Percentage Distribution of Respondent Learners by encouragement to take vocational subjects

From the data presented in Table 4.7 a the results indicated that (101) 78% of the teachers would encourage learners to take vocational subjects whereas (29)22% of them would not encourage other learners to take vocational subjects. It was further indicated most of the respondent learners (101) 78% would not encourage other to take vocational subjects as indicated in Table 4.7b and that only (29) 22 % of the learners would encourage others to take vocational subjects. However, the study established that most of the respondents would not encourage other learners to take vocational subjects as indicate by the percentage representation.

Reasons For Taking Vocational Subjects

Despite establishing the various vocational subjects being offered and whether it was the choice of individual learners to take up a vocational subject. It was the interest to establish the reasons known by the learners as why they were taking vocational subjects. The table below indicates the distribution of the responses of the respondents.

Table 4. 8:  Percentage Distribution of respondents Learners by reason for taking a vocational subject

The responses provided varied among the sated options. The study established that (82) 59% it was a major requirement for them to take a vocational subject, (20) 15% a minor requirement, (7) 5% general education requirement and (21) 16% as a school option. It is for this reason to sensitize the learners as to why they are taking up a particular vocational subject.

Entrepreneurship Education

There was need to establish as to whether entrepreneurship education was equally implemented by the various schools and if the learners doing vocational subjects were also taking it as one of their learning areas. The table below shows the distribution of the respondents.

Table 4. 9 a: Percentage Distribution of respondent Teachers teaching entrepreneurship

Table 4. 10 b: Percentage Distribution of respondent learners learning entrepreneurship

The researcher sought to establish as to whether the respondents were taking or teaching entrepreneurship. From the data presented in Table 4.9 b indicated that (130) 100% of the learners were taking entrepreneurship as a subject. It was further established that none of the teachers that took part in the study was teaching entrepreneurship as indicated in table 4.9a.

Continuous Professional Development In Entrepreneurship Education

The study sought to establish whether teachers were engaged in any form of CPD in entrepreneurship. The responses were tabulated in the tables below.

Table 4. 11: Distribution of teachers by training in entrepreneurship

Despite the study establishing that 100% of the respondent teachers where not teaching entrepreneurship, it was the interest of the researcher to establish as to whether they were any form of training offered to the teachers in entrepreneurship. The study established that (17) 26% had received some forms of training were as the majority with (48) 76% representation had not.

Table 4. 12:  Distribution of respondent Teachers by regular workshops being offered to develop skills to enhance teaching of vocational subjects

From this accession it was the interest of the researcher to establish as to whether CPDs were being offered to teachers to enhance their effectiveness in the teaching of vocational subjects. It was established that only (13) 20% of the respondents acquired training through CPDs in form of workshops while most of the respondents with (52) 80% representation indicated that they had no CPD to enhance their knowledge and skills in vocational subjects to enhance effectiveness of teaching the subjects

Practical Knowledge and Its Application

The study sought to establish the level of practical knowledge acquired by the respondents. The distribution was tabulated in tables 4.12a and 4.12b below.

Table 4. 13 a:  Distribution of respondent Teachers by practical knowledge gained from vocational subjects by the learners

The focus of subjecting one to any form of training and education is knowledge and skills acquisition among the many benefits.

It was the interest to of the researcher to establish the level of satisfaction of the learners in terms of practical knowledge acquired from the content of vocational subjects being taught to them.  The study in table 4.12 a indicated that most of the teachers 43(66%) were of the view that the learners had only some practical knowledge in vocational subjects indicating that they had not reached the satisfactory level. (15) 23% of the teachers had nothing to say over the level of knowledge of knowledge acquired. The least (7) 11% of the teachers indicated that they had a great deal. Thus only 7(11% of the teachers were satisfied with the level of knowledge acquired by the learners.

Table 4. 14 b:  Distribution of respondent Leaners by practical knowledge gained from vocational subjects

Table 4.12b indicated that most of the learners 73(56%) had some practical knowledge, 36(28%) indicated that they had a great deal and the least 21(16%) had nothing to say.

Market Day

Having established the level of practical knowledge gained by the students in both Vocational and entrepreneurship education the researcher sought to establish as to whether the learners were also exposed to a real-life situation of creating a market day were the learners would showcase their ideas by coming up with either business proposals or create items to be displayed to the members of the public. The results are as shown in the figure below.

Figure 4. 3: Percentage Distribution of Responses by Market Day

From the data presented in the figure above, the study established that despite having subjected to entrepreneurial knowledge, the learners where not exposed to real life situation. The distribution of the respondents indicates that 177(91%) of the respondents were not exposed to any market days whereas only 18(9%) had an experience of being part of participants of a market day. In addition it was further established that even though the responses varied among teachers and the learners, it was evidenced that schools were not conducting market days as indicated by the percentage distribution of the respondents that is 8(12%) of the teachers and 8(6%) of the learners indicated that schools conducted market days as compared to the majority who indicated that schools did not conduct market day as shown by the percentage representation of 57(88%) teachers and 122 learners giving and average representation of 122(91%).

However, the researcher further sought to establish the ability of the learners in establishing a business. It was an assumption of the researcher that the learners at this stage were able to come up a business plan or whether they had intentions to come up with a business after completing their studies. The results are as presented in the figure below

Figure 4. 4:  Percentage Distribution by Starting up a business

From the data presented in the figure above the study established that only 16(12%) of the respondents had the ability to start up a business while the majority with 114(88%) representation did not have the ability. This was an indication that only 12% had intentions of starting up a business after completing their secondary education resulting from the knowledge acquired in entrepreneurship

ACKNOWLEDGING SUCCESSFUL VOCATIONAL AND ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITIES.

The study further sought to establish how successful vocational and entrepreneurship students were motivated by the teachers and school administration. The data is presented in the figure below.

Figure 4. 5: Percentage Distribution by Acknowledging Successful Vocational and Entrepreneurial Knowledge and Skills

The study established that most of the respondents with a percentage representation of 72% were of the view that learners were not motivated whereas 57 (29%) indicated that the learners were motivated. The study further established that of the 138(72%) that indicated that there was no acknowledgement of successful vocational and entrepreneurial knowledge and skills. Among the learners 101(78%) of the learners indicated the same view and 42(65%) of the teachers. This is an indication that learners were not motivated by teachers on their achievement. It was further the interest to establish the form of acknowledgement given to successful vocational and entrepreneurial knowledge and skills given to individual learners noticed. The distribution is as shown below.

Figure 4. 6: Percentage Distribution by form of acknowledgement

The figure above shows the distribution of the respondents by nature of acknowledgement given to the learner’s success in vocational and entrepreneurial knowledge and skills. From the distribution shown above the study indicated most of the learners were acknowledged by praises of word of mouth with 70(54%) representation, followed by giving positions in school with 22(17%), then given a prize money with 16(12%), by written document 12(9%) and the least was by giving an item with 8%. It is important to indicate that motivation play a significant role on learner’s performance and that there is need to ensure that the right rewarding system is instituted.

Challenges Faced In Learning Vocational And Entrepreneurship

There was need to establish challenges that individual learners were facing in learning vocational and entrepreneurship. Having established that most of the learners would not encourage other to take up the subjects they were doing hence the need to establish the challenges they faced in learning as they would have a bearing on their interest in learning the subject.

Figure 4. 7: Percentage Distribution by Challenges faced by learners

The study established that the learners had several challenges that they faced when learning vocational and entrepreneurship education. It was noted that these challenges had varying degree of influence from each other. That is the majority indicated the greatest challenge associated with learning vocational and entrepreneurship education was the attitudes of the teachers as indicated by 43(22%) followed by lack of equipment with 41(21%), overcrowding with 37(19%), limited tools and laboratory space with 33(17%), limited time for practical’s 29(15%) and the least was lack of time to practice what is learnt with 12(6%).

As of this it was the interest of the researcher to establish value judgment of the vocation subjects being taken by the learners. The results are as tabulated in table below

Table 4. 15: General Evaluation of Vocational subjects

Objective provides more specific guidance in making decisions on various aspects of curriculum. It is important to note that every program of study should have well elaborated objectives. These are very important as they guide decisions about selection of the content and learning experiences; clarify what skills and abilities are to be developed at what level and lastly enable the teachers to communicate with learners what they need to achieve and make accountability and evaluation easier.

From the data presented in the table above it was established that the respondents agreed that the set objectives were clear as indicated by the average mean score of 3.85 which is approximately 4.0.  It was also greed by the respondents that the amount of reading was appropriate as indicated by the average mean score value of 3.64 which equally approximately 4.0 when rounded off to the nearest whole number.  It was further established that the respondents agreed that the amount of writing or other class work was enough as shown by the mean score value of 3.76 which also approximately 4.0 when rounded off. It was further established that the respondents agreed that the objectives, amount of work given, amount of reading and subject procedures was appropriate as indicated by the average mean score value of 3.61 which is approximately 4.0 when rounded off

It was however established that the level of agreement varied among teachers and learners. Thus, these variations were as indicated in the table above. The level of agreement on the part of the Learners were as follows; agreeing that the objectives were clear as represented by the mean score value of 3.71 which is approximately 4.0. subject procedures with 3.49 indicating they were neutral as to whether they were appropriate or not; amount of reading with 3.51 indicating the respondents agreed that they were appropriate and lastly the statement on the amount of reading and class work with mean score value of 3.61 which is approximately 4.0 when rounded off. This also showed that the learners agreed that the mount of course work was appropriate.

On the part of the teachers the mean score values were that objectives had 3.98 which was approximately 4.0. The mean score showed that equally the teachers agreed that the set objectives were clear. Subject procedures and assignment had 2.84 which are approximately 3.0 when rounded off to the nearest whole number. From the mean score value, it was established that teachers were neither in agreement nor disagreement. The amount of reading had 3.77 which showed that they were also in agreement. Lastly on amount of class work the mean score value was 3.89 which was approximately 4.0 when rounded off. The mean score value showed that the teachers agreed to the statement.

Achievement Orientation: What To Be Done After School

The distribution of the responses is tabulated below in table 4.14.

Table 4. 16: Percentage Distribution by Achievement orientation

It was the interest of the researcher to establish the intentions of the learners after completing their secondary education. From the data presented in the table above it was established that the intentions varied among the respondents. Some of the respondent’s intentions were to further their studies and seek employment thereafter, the others were still furthering their studies but with them starting up a business after that and lastly starting their own business without furthering their education. In addition to the above, the study established that 88% of the respondents after completion of their secondary education would go for further studies at a tertiary institution thereafter seek employment. It was further established that 8% would further their education but start up their own business after completing their tertiary education. Lastly the study indicated that only 4% would start up their own business just after completing their secondary education

PERFORMANCE LEVELS OF THE LEARNERS

The study sought to establish the performance levels of the learners. To establish this, a Likert scale was used. The scale had the following measures, Great Extent with a value of 4, Moderate Extent with a value of 3, Low Extent with a value of 2 and No extent with a value of 1. The table below show the mean score values of statements indicating performance levels of the learners.

Table 4. 20: Performance levels and Competences of the learners

Having established the availability and level of utilization of the various input factors indicated in Table 4.17. It was prudent to establish the performance levels and competencies of the learners in vocational subjects. The performance of the learners was largely affected by several factors. Despite the influence of the various factors, it was necessary to establish the performance levels. The table above provides the mean score values of different statement indicating a specific concern.

It was established that the performance levels and competences in vocational subject were achieved to a moderate extent as indicated by the average mean score value of 2.51 which is approximately 3.0 when rounded off to the nearest whole number. However, there were variations in the extent of achievements with regards to different statements and categories. By categories it was also established that the extent of performance was still falling under Law extent as indicated by the mean scores of 0.73 and 1.49 for learners and teachers respectively. By statement the extent of achievement was acquiring adequate workshop skills 2.89 (ME) for leaners and 1.78(LE), acquiring adequate field skills 2.61(ME) for learners and 1.54 (LE) for teachers, acquiring functional scientific attitudes 2.43(LE) for leaners and 2.45(LE) for teachers, ability to apply scientific knowledge 1.83(LE) for learners and 2.08 (LE) for teachers, meaningful knowledge and skills in vocational and entrepreneurship education 1.7(LE) and 1.39(LE) for teachers, relevant skills and knowledge 2.29 (LE) learners and 2.93(ME) teachers and lastly orientating students to be highly motivated and conscious of being self-employed 1.49(LE) and 0.73 (NE) teachers.

However, the study further established that generally the respondents were performance levels of the learners were enhanced to a Low extent as evidenced by the average mean score value of 2.16. in addition, teachers were also in agreement that the performance levels of the learners were enhance to Low extent as evidenced by the mean score value of 1.86 which is approximately 2.0 when rounded off to the nearest whole number.

CONTENT OF VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS

The study wanted to evaluate the content of the vocational subjects that have been included in the 2013 curriculum. The establish decisions a Likert scale was used. The scales use was Great Extent with a value of 4, Moderate Extent with a value of 3, Low Extent with a value of 2 and Low extent with a value of 1. The table below show the mean score values against each statement with respect to the content.

Table 4. 21: Content of the Subject

To establish the extent of the stated criteria’s the researcher sought to establish the level of agreement and the level of achievement. In doing so statements were used stating a certain performance level where respondents were asked to respond based on their experiences. The study established that there were variations of the responses among the respondents. The data indicated that the majority agreed that the content was too vast as indicated by the mean score value of 3.79. The data further indicated that the respondents were not sure as to whether the content motivated the learners to be entrepreneurs as indicated by the mean score value of 2.97.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Discussion

To gather the required information and to align the discussion with the findings, the researcher recalled the objectives of the study which was.

To find out if vocational educational training obtained in secondary school makes value impression on self-sustainability of the Learners.  The objective gave rise to the questions from which theme came from.

Vocational Educational Value Impression On Self-Sustainability On The Learners

To enhance Vocationalization of the Zambian education system, the 2013 curriculum provided for various vocational subjects that should be taught from grade eight through to grade twelve. Additionally, to reduce the challenges of unemployment in our society’s entrepreneurship education was included as a subject to be taken along with another vocational subject.  Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behaviour are essential competences and constructs of individuals’ competitiveness in the future. The education of entrepreneurship can augment entrepreneurial attitudes and competencies. At the same time, entrepreneurship education for younger students has been suggested to relate more to learning the spirit and ways of doing and seeing than about business activity. The aim is that students could take more responsibility for themselves and their learning.

In providing the answers to the first research question, the study utilised the data presented in chapter four. The data clearly indicated that the vocational educational training obtained in secondary school did not create any value impression on self-sustainability on the part of the Learners. The data indicated that the respondents disagreed that the learners acquired workshop skills in vocational subjects as indicated by the average mean score of 2.34 which is approximately 2.0 when rounded off. The respondents also disagreed that the learners acquired adequate field skills as indicated by the mean score 2.08. The data also indicated that the respondents were not sure on whether the learners acquired the ability to apply scientific knowledge to everyday life, acquired meaningful knowledge and skills in vocational education and entrepreneurship, acquired relevant knowledge and if vocational subjects oriented them to be highly motivated and conscious of being self-employed as indicated by the mean score values of 2.96, 2.55,2.61 and 2.61 respectively. In every education program developed the result is to see changes in the learners that are subjected to the content of the program. Knowledge and skills development is very significant in every program of learning one goes through. It was significant to establish as to whether there was significant change in the behaviours of the learners in terms of practical knowledge after going through a series of coaching and instructions also to ascertain whether they would encourage others to take up vacation studies.

Additionally, the data presented in chapter four indicated that the majority (76%) of the respondent’s vocational subjects were imposed on them meaning it was not their choice to take vocational subject while 24% of them it was their choice. Career choices and ambitions vary from one individual to the other. However, learners have different career choices and that what they go through has a bearing on the career choice one makes after going through a specific training. It was for this reason the researcher sought to establish what the learners opted to do after completing their secondary education. The data indicated that the majority would want to further their education and there after seek employment.

furthermore, the study indicated that most of the respondents (88%) were not risk takers but those who play it safe while 22% were risk takers. Furthermore, the data indicated that the majority (67%) would not encourage others to take up vocational subjects while 33% would encourage other to take vocational subjects.  It was established that most of the learners would further their education at tertiary institution thereafter seek employment while 8% of them would also further their education there after starting up their own business. The data further indicated that only 4% of the learners would start up their own business after completion of their secondary education. In addition, it was established that only 12% had the ability to start up a business while the majority 88% had no ability to start up a business.

It is widely said that experience is the best teacher. Having gone through the learning process from grade 10 to grade 12 it is good time enough to acquire some knowledge and skills in various subject. During the learning process learners are subjected to several positive and negative experiences therefore it is from this background that using their experience in interacting with the various knowledge and skills in vocational subject one would be able to encourage or discourage others in taking vocational subjects. Additionally, it was established that the level of motivation among the learners was very low as indicated by the data presented in chapter four. Motivating students can be a difficult task, the rewards are more than worth it. Motivated students are more excited to learn and participate. It is important to reward students based on their abilities. Many people are motivated by money. But the motivational power of money often wears off as individuals simply get used to their current level of compensation. Many studies have confirmed that if individuals are paid competitively, money is not the main factor that leads to job selection or performance. A reward has a positive impact on the performance achievement of the learners hence the need to ensure that learners are awarded and that the award system should be appropriate to their field of study. The researcher sought to establish whether there was any acknowledgement of successful entrepreneurial and vocational knowledge and skills among the learners and what form of acknowledgement was offered to the learners.

Entrepreneurship is the oldest form of business organization. It is in fact entrepreneurs that bring innovation into our economy with new products and services. They drive a nation’s economy towards development and progress. However, it was the desire of the Ministry of education to ensure that learners are also equipped with entrepreneurship knowledge and skills in addition to vocational knowledge and skills that they would acquire after the five years training of secondary education. It is worth noting that every person has their own path to success. However, there are a few common traits and characteristics that all successful entrepreneurs have in common. Of the many traits and characteristics, the study established the risk profile of both teachers and the learners. The study established that the majority were not risk takers.

Curriculum implementation is making real that which has been designed and planned. The 2013 curriculum framework provides for the academic and vocational pathways. It is noted from the findings presented in chapter four that the academic pathway was more dominant than the vocational pathway. This is supported by Dale (1985:7) indicating that the teaching of vocational subjects which are also referred to as practical subjects, at secondary school level has been stigmatised. Despite its significance a lot of learners have not realised its value as most of the learners still opt for academic subjects as compared to vocational subjects. The learning of Vocational subjects or practical subjects, at secondary school level has been stigmatized in most schools. This has had bearing on the number of the learners taking these subjects as evidenced in the data presented in chapter four indicating that most of the learners (78%) would not encourage others to take vocational subjects. This confirms the findings of the study conducted by Siyakwazi (1984) in Zimbabwe were the study established that in essence, Vocational type of education was regarded as inferior, discriminatory, and promoting inequalities since the institutions offering them were solely designed for one section of the community. In the then colonial Zimbabwe, this would enable Africans to undertake menial and unskilled cheap labour for the colonizing power. Additionally, the findings are like the perception of different views of people in several studies on vocational subjects thus Gustafson (1992) contend that vocational subjects were largely perceived as being fit for the academically poorly gifted individuals. In additionally, it is noted largely that these subjects have been perceived as being fit for the learners lacking academic abilities.

The area in which a pupil chooses to study is the first step that leads them to a career path. Therefore, one’s choice of a subject is an important as well as critical decision that needs to be made. A career can be defined as a professional or a job (Krumboltz, 1991), hence career choice can be defined as deciding to commit to a professional pursue. Accordingly, career path will refer to the steps a pupil takes to successfully achieve their goal in becoming the professional in the field of their choice. Often, the first step towards a career path are career choice and the choice of institution. In the world today, often many people think a diploma, or a degree is required for one to be able to attain a well-paying job.

The idea of career stems from when a learner is young and sees the world through others by observing their more significant others hence there is need to ensure that learners are allowed to make choices of their careers by selecting subjects that will help them acquire basic skills and knowledge of their career choice. However, as tabulated in fig 4.2 the study established that most of the learners it was not their choice to take a particular vocational subject they were taking. As a result, this has a bearing on the learner’s performance as they would not have interest in doing the subject. Through the different stages of life individuals will encounter many varieties that may influence their decision when it comes to choosing a career.

Previous career decision making studies have sought to identify several single factors that may have influenced career decision. Soon after Zambia’s independence in 1964, pupils did not have a choice on what to choose as a career because the government of the day UNIP was in a hurry to fill up vacancies left by the colonial masters after Zambia got her independence. The government would send people outside the country to be trained in something school leavers [by then Form Three (3) and Five (5)] were not ready for (Kelly, 1999)

 According to Kelly, (1999), the period between 1972 and 1979 school leavers were going for military training at the Zambia National Services Camps (ZNS) and this was compulsory. Due to fear of being at the Zambia National Service camps for a long period, school leavers would accept any offer given to them by any college, hence they did not have a personal input in terms career choice.

In the early 1980s the influence of subject’s combination on career choice came in and a few enlightened parents also begun to have influence on the career choice of their children though the government still had a big input in career choice because of free education and being the largest employer, they knew where to place them would be employees. By the late 1990s during the third republic and implementation of cost sharing the education sector and the influx of private learning institutions, factors determining career choice shifted mainly from government to what was available in the cooperate world, parental economic status, parents and peer pressure, intellectual and academic status of individual’s and the type of school somebody went to (MoE, 1996).

Despite the negative perceptions that vocational subjects have, vocational training plays an increasingly important role in the economic and social life of the Community especially in view of the current emphasis on unemployment problems that we have continuously been facing. Considering the above, Bishop (1995) and Lauglo and Lillis (1989) concur that the vocational initiative equips graduates with practical knowledge and skills which primarily make them self-employed. In essence, the broad aim of vocationalising education is to create an education system that will improve the quality of life of the masses by upgrading their practical skills and knowledge with respect to the world of work (UNESCO, 1990; UNESCO, 1988; United Republic of Tanzania (URT) Report, 1978). Our communities’ year in year out unemployment has been a problem as most of the school leavers that leave school tend to have nothing to do. From the data presented in figure 4.15, the findings indicted that most of the respondents (88% of the learners) would seek employment after completing their secondary education as compared to those that would come up with a business. The findings are supported by the various negative views that people have had on vocational subjects.

Despite its stigmatization Vocationalization of secondary school education is considered curriculum change in a vocational or practical direction (Lauglo and Lillis, 1988) which attempts to make young person’s more suitable to take up employment directly after leaving school as wage-earners or in self-employment (Maravanyika, 1998; Lauglo and Lillis, 1988; Hyland, 1994; Rich, 1981; Herr and Cramer, 1972). In support of this thinking, Bishop (1995) argues that one of the major problems facing developing (and developed) countries is that of mass youth unemployment. Hence by vocationalising secondary school education, it is hoped that the growing army of failures, dropouts and unemployed youths would create their own jobs using the entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and dispositions so acquired. However, there are variations in the number of subjects offered from one school to the other. Among the less implemented subjects among the vocational subjects in secondary schools was design and technology as indicated by the number of schools offering the subject. As established in chapter four, out of the total number of schools situated in Luanshya district only two schools were offering design and technology and the majority offering home management. It is clear to state that the situation is inhibited by several factors making it impossible for some schools to implement the subject. However, as evidenced in chapter four the no implementation of some of the subjects is because of the implementation problems stated in chapter four which varied from one school to the other.

The success of the school curriculum is dependent on several variables. These range from teaching experience, level of educational qualification, attitudes of the teachers towards teaching, motivation and availability of the teaching and learning materials. These have an influence on the effective implementation of the curriculum. For instance, the nature of the subject demands the availability of specialised rooms, equipment’s, and other input factors. However, the Zambian Education system since 2013 onwards was characterized by several negative challenges which were properly documented in the National Education Policy of 1996, important amongst them being:

1. A dominant examination curriculum that placed heavy emphasis on genuine facts that did not investigate important learning areas.
2. A curriculum that focused much attention on the teaching and learning at the primary school level without consideration of the fact that the child’s dominant way of learning is through exploration and experience.
3. An excessively overloaded and inflexible curriculum with little attention for rising technological and social developments (i.e., Information and Communications Technology, lifestyles competencies training, sexuality education, economic schooling, and entrepreneurship education)

To address the raised negative aspects, the Ministry of General education changed the Zambian Secondary Education curriculum. Thus the 2013 curriculum framework was implemented. This curriculum provided for a two-tier education system. The two-tier system comprised of the academic pathway meant for academically strong learners and the Vocational pathway meant to enhance vocational skills among the learners.

It is important to indicate that Technical and vocational education is key to national development. That is, it could bring many personal, social, economic, and educational benefits. It enables children to realize their potential, as they develop into complete and integral persons and are prepared for adult life. It promotes desirable attitudes, values, and ways of behaviour and opens the minds of pupils to new ideas and methods. Additionally, technical, and vocational education plays a vital skills development role and is in resonance with country’s 7th National Development plan (NDP), vision 2030 and for meeting Sustainable Development Goals. However, Young people, particularly, need to be encouraged to see Vocational subjects as a potential career option having acquired some knowledge and skills in vocational subjects. Most have been conditioned towards seeking more traditional wage employment, as opposed to creating their own opportunities. It was evidenced that majority of the respondents were not willing to take up vocational subject despite them taking it as one of their subjects. Thus 76% it was not their choice and that only 24% had it as one of their subjects willingly as they chose to take it.

This is evidenced in the findings of the study that most school leavers are equipped with curriculum vitae as opposed to a business plan as indicated in the study by the findings of the study indicating that after they complete their secondary education the majority will further their education thereafter seek employment. This was an indication that the level of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge acquired by the learners as not adequate to give the courage to start up their own business after the completion of their secondary education. In the present economic situation, having knowledge of an academic subject is no longer sufficient for our societies. Learners are increasingly required to have skills and abilities which will increase their employability, such as: the retrieval and handling of information; communication and presentation; planning and problem solving; and social development and interaction.

Entrepreneurial education and training provide individuals with the ability to recognize commercial opportunities, self-esteem, knowledge, and skills to act on them. It includes instruction in opportunity recognition, commercializing a concept, managing resources, and initiating a business venture. It also includes instruction in traditional business disciplines such as management, marketing, information systems and finance. Entrepreneurs or the move towards self-employment is, and will continue to become, an increasingly important element of economic growth and development. It is essential to have the infrastructure required to facilitate entrepreneurial mind-set and encourage self-employment. Having a culture of the creation of a new enterprise is a critical aspect of this infrastructure, as it will encourage students to take the risk of starting a business. The purpose of this part of the findings is to establish as to whether the learners can utilize and use this knowledge provided for to them to use it to identify opportunities in their area of study of a particular vocational subject.

Having established that the learners were also subjected to learn entrepreneurship as a subject the study further established as indicated above that learner had no ability to set up their own business or if they had interest to start up a business of their choice in line with the knowledge and skills, they acquired from the vocational subject they were doing coupled together with entrepreneurship.

However, the success of the 2013 curriculum is dependent on several factors. There are several parameters that can be used to establish impact of the given educational plan. The success of any curriculum will depend on the following clarity of the objectives; development of materials, staff training; school administration support; availability of teaching/learning materials; professional qualification of the teachers; teaching experience; initial teacher training; teacher instructional methods and teachers’ attitudes towards the curriculum

Arising from the 1976 educational reforms, several challenges were noticed in our education system. This included producing learners that were equipped with survival skills. Based on the needs assessment, the set objectives of the 2013 secondary education curriculum were very clear. As evidenced in the findings of the study the set objectives were very clear and responsive to the on-going need of our society as evidenced by average mean score value on the statement on objectives if they were clear which was 3.85 indicating a Moderate extent

In terms of the content of the 2013 secondary school curriculum it is worth noting that for successful curriculum and if it is to be a useful prescription for learning, its content, and outcomes it pursues need to be in tune with social and cultural realities of the times. In our case what are these social and cultural realities.

These were clearly stated in the curriculum framework as being economic and social objectives, improving the productivity of the labour force in both formal and informal sectors. A case which has not been realised as indicated by the number of those indicating that after completion of their secondary education would seek employment being the greatest with 88% and only 4% would start up their own business. This indicated that 88% of the learners aligned themselves with the formal sector whereas only 4% aligned themselves to the informal sector thereby not solving the problem on the imbalance of work force between the informal and formal sector.  Additionally, our education system is still biased towards the development of the formal sector neglecting the informal sector thereby contributing to the negative perception of vocational subjects as indicated by the number of respondents that would encourage others to take up vocational subjects in table 4.8 of which on average 67% indicated they could not encourage anyone to take vocational subjects. The inception of the 2013 curriculum was meant to reduce this imbalance that ever existed in our communities which has not been the case as evidenced by the data provided. The vocational pathway was meant to contribute to the improvement of the productivity of the informal sector by supplying it with individuals with relevant skills and knowledge.

However, to supplement the acquisition of vocational knowledge and skills, the other objective was to promote entrepreneurship and economic participation in both the formal and informal sectors with the aim of increasing the efficiency of the national economy. Table 4.10 indicated that implementation of entrepreneurship education was 100% as all the respondents both teachers and learners agreed that it was being offered in the schools. This meant that Vocationalization of the curriculum was not sufficient to solve the existing problems of school leavers equipping themselves with curriculum vistas as opposed to be employment creators. The need was to help the learners using their skills and knowledge in vocational subjects and entrepreneurship education to identify opportunities and make use of these opportunities to create business ventures they will help them to be self-reliant and reduce over dependence on employment. On contrary the data also showed that only 12% would start up a business after completion of their secondary education implying low level of skills and knowledge acquisition in entrepreneurship. There has been a great demand for employment among youths thereby creating a long queue for job seekers. Despite entrepreneurship education being offered both under the vocational and academic pathway very little impact has been noticed on the part of learners taking vocational subjects as indicated that very few had the ability to start up their own business and the majority would prefer to further their studies then get or seek employment after completing their tertiary education.

With regards to the provision of quality training for imparting appropriate vocational skills relevant to the socio-economic development of Zambia has been a challenge. As evidenced from the findings data presented in chapter four the implementation of the curriculum was being challenged by several problems. As a result of the various problems associated to curriculum implementation the acquisition of quality training in form of vocational skills and knowledge was very difficult to realise as indicated by the level of agreement in achieving the set objectives as indicated by a mean score value of 4.36 which is approximately 4.0 when rounded off to the nearest whole number indicating objectives were achieved to a moderate extent. The realization of quality vocational knowledge and skills is dependent on the availability of input factors, motivation of teachers, use of appropriate teaching and learning methods, application of relevant assessment procedures that will enhance appropriate decisions and value judgment and continuous development programs meant to enhance the teaching and learning of vocational subjects

Additionally, the social objectives indicated the following intentions: providing skills and opportunities that will respond to Zambia’s needs such as poverty reduction, improved housing, and improved health care. It is thus important to enhance continuous development programs that will equip the teachers with knowledge as to how best they can adapt and modify the curriculum to suit their condition or situation. Every school is unique, and every region or part of the country is unique as a result curriculum implementation should not take the approach of one size fits all as certain subjects may not be appropriate in some parts of the country.

Additionally, the subject matter of a curriculum should be selected in the light of its useful ness to the learners in solving their problems now and in the future. Others include significance and valid. This brings in the aspect of the two-tire system of education delivery.

The findings presented in chapter four indicated that 67% of the respondents would not encourage anyone to take up vocational subjects of which 90% of these were the learners. The results presented indicate the law rating of the vocational subjects. The strongly negative rating of vocational subjects at school level is also a clean indication that the education system in Zambia is failing to prepare learners competently for significant participation in the economic system. Although vocational subjects are intended to form part of the secondary curriculum, it is taught neither extensively nor successfully sufficient a situation which must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Despite the modifications in the manner the school curriculum may be administered thus having the educational and vocational route ways, proof display that the school system in any respect stages has continued to throw out learners who’ve no capabilities to live to tell the tale on their very own due to the fact the contemporary curriculum nonetheless has persevered to prepares freshmen for white collar jobs for both those in vocational and educational course approaches as evidenced by the number who would purse and seek employment after their completion of secondary education.

This echoes the sentiments of the 2010/11 Global Competitiveness Report which suggests that “fundamental education increases the efficiency of every individual worker. Moreover, workers who’ve received little formal training can perform only simple guide work and locate it much harder to evolve to more superior productive processes and strategies. Lack of basic schooling can therefore end up a constraint on enterprise development

Every profession demands certain specific skills and competence on the part of practitioners. Teaching is a profession; teachers should demonstrate certain skills and competencies which can influence learning in the students and help them achieve their goals of life. The point of emphasis here is that there in need to ensure CPD programs are enhanced among teacher to ensure effective teaching among teachers. Professional development.  PD offerings are key for supporting teachers in new initiatives (Rezzonico, et al., 2015; Smit & du Toit, 2016).  One benefit of PD includes teachers’ increased comfort and skill levels for implementing new curricula.  Relevant and effective PD has been found to promote confidence and a greater understanding of objectives (Lia, 2016).

 It is important that CPD programs are developed to instil certain specific skills in teachers to improve on their teaching skills. Additionally, these programs should sharpen their skills to become effective teachers. The desired skills and competencies are not only enough in the teaching and establishing learning in classroom situation and to be extended to the planning of curriculum also. The inputs provided in CPD programs will help in sharpening their knowledge in terms of construction of curriculum and principles of curriculum. The exercises and assignment that have been planned and executed sufficiently in terms of construction of curriculum with basic principles locate a very good platform for understanding curriculum construction of different levels.

The study further established that majority (76%) of the teachers did not received training in entrepreneurship while only 24% had received training in entrepreneurship. In table 4.12 the data indicated that majority of the teachers (42 giving a percentage representation 84%) did not attend any workshop training to develop their skills to enhance teaching of vocational subjects. Additionally, table 4.22 indicated that teachers agreed that there is little or no motivation for teaching staff as indicated by the mean score 3.78 which is approximately 4.0 when rounded off to the nearest whole number and that teachers also agreed that there is no job satisfaction among teachers as indicated by the mean score value of 3.52 which is approximately 4.0 when rounded off to the nearest whole number. The table further indicated that teachers agreed that teachers are not sponsored for academic conferences as indicated by the mean score value of 3.87 which is approximately 4.0 when rounded off to the nearest whole number. Teachers also agreed that the promotion of teachers is not regular as indicated by the mean score value 3.59, which is approximately 4.0 when rounded off to the nearest whole number. The data indicates that there is a connection between between CPD and teachers’ confidence thereby increasing job satisfaction. Similarly, Coldwell (2017) and Attard (2017) have both found a connection between teacher confidence and PD.  Coldwell (2017) found that PD increased skills knowledge, which enabled teachers’ confidence in specific content areas; this in turn led to increased job satisfaction and professional motivation.  A vital point in PD effectiveness includes the influencing factors and concerns that could potentially direct the outcomes of the PD.  PD quality, personal motivation, organizational support, and government mandates all fall under areas for teachers’ concerns and barriers to implementing a curriculum with fidelity.

Teacher education should be a continuing process that must be extended throughout the individual’s years of actual teaching. The foundation laid in the pre-service programme may be sound and adequate as a start, but it is not sufficient for life. As with other professionals, teachers have a responsibility, to themselves and to their profession, to deepen their knowledge, extend their professional skills, and keep themselves up to date on major developments affecting their profession. A vital education system is not static, but dynamic, promoting change, in response to the needs and expectations of society, in such areas as subject content, pedagogical approaches, pastoral care for pupils, assessment procedures, school organization and management, and relationships with parents and the community. Developments in all these aspects are under-way in Zambia’s schools.

Teachers need to be equipped with the capacity to deal with and incorporate these changes into their professional activities so that the planned educational benefits may follow. In addition to ongoing professional development, teachers need to attend to their own personal development in chosen areas of specialization. Teaching is a learned and a learning profession. Ideally, every teacher should also be learned and a learner. Diploma level teachers have been given considerable opportunity for this personal development through registration for distance education studies, followed by full-time programmes, at the University of Zambia and many other universities in Zambia. The Ministry’s support in this area is shown by its readiness to release large numbers of teachers for full-time university studies. The same readiness will be shown in relation to the new primary education degree and any other relevant degree programme for teachers. While bearing in mind the needs of its institutions, the Ministry also recognizes its obligation to facilitate teachers in improving their academic status.

The Ministry’s capacity to offer in-service training programmes is quite limited. In 1994, only 1% of serving teachers underwent formal training of one kind or another. No master plan exists to show the number and categories of teachers requiring in-service training, the nature of their training needs, the needs of the education system, and the types of programmes that would best meet these needs. At the same time, interventions to improve the quality of education may not be having the desired effects, largely because the strategy has been to move resources into schools, without sufficient attention to enabling teachers use those resources effectively for educational purposes. Cases in point are the distribution of materials for the new Zambia Basic English Course and the increase in number of textbooks and other books for class use. Many teachers do not know how to put these materials to effective use.

Meeting the diverse needs of teachers for ongoing professional and personal development is too extensive a task to be the responsibility of the Ministry alone. It requires the participation of several agencies, working along several different lines of approach. The Ministry will formulate the broad guidelines and strategic approach that will promote such development and will ensure the annual availability of some funds for this purpose. The Ministry will also exercise a coordinating function, ensuring that programmes fit within the framework of an overall comprehensive scheme for teacher development, and are not just haphazard, one-off experiences that accomplish little.

Professional development is key to the effective implementation of any education program as it as it enhances effectiveness on the part of the teachers. Entrepreneurship being a new area of study in our secondary education system there is need that teachers are equipped with knowledge and entrepreneurial skills. Due to its significance in the 2013 curriculum. Additionally, Professional Development offerings are key for supporting teachers in new initiatives. One benefit of PD includes teachers’ increased comfort and skill levels for implementing new curricula. Relevant and effective PD has been found to promote confidence and a greater understanding of objectives in several studies that have been done. Having time and conducting research to develop meaningful PD that will consider the needs, concerns, and experiences of the teacher will be valuable and likely to influence growth for the teacher.  In a study conducted by Coldwell (2017) the findings established a connection between teacher confidence and PD. Furthermore, his study established that PD increased skills knowledge, which enabled teachers’ confidence in specific content areas; this in turn led to increased job satisfaction and professional motivation.

Since independence major changes have been taking place in our education system in Zambia in terms of policies and content methods of teaching and approaches. Contrary to expectation, these changes have not always been welcomed. Teachers have, for example, been challenged to move to an outcomes-based education approach as provided in the 2013 curriculum framework as well as to attend to learners with barriers to learning in an inclusive classroom.

While these changes have allowed teachers some freedom, they have also caused stress, since many teachers are not equipped to deal with such changes. Management of human resources and continuous staff development and training has also become crucial. The successful implementation of new policies, such as the outcomes-based curriculum and inclusive education, and other notable provisions of the 2013 curriculum and its effective implementation in general will only be effective if teachers are adequately prepared and equipped by means of initial retraining and them realizing the importance of improving their practice by means of CPD. It has become necessary to help teachers update their knowledge and skills and to deal with change, on the one hand, and manage human resources better, on the other.

A vital point in CPD effectiveness includes the influencing factors and concerns that could potentially direct the outcomes of the CPD. CPD quality, personal motivation, organizational support, and government mandates all fall under areas for teachers’ concerns and barriers to implementing a curriculum with fidelity. These factors all influence how teachers respond to CPD (Coldwell, 2017). Several studies have found that teacher efficacy stands out as an area supported by effective and relevant PD (Margolis, Durbin, &Doring, 2017). The authors assessed teacher efficacy in integrating new curriculum standards into content areas in classroom teaching. The authors found efficacy to be a primary factor in a teacher’s competency level when integrating different content areas into an agriculture curriculum. They recommended ongoing and relevant PD to meet the needs of midcareer teachers.

Maintaining teacher confidence and reducing anxiety through deliberate choices in CPD content both help to support teachers through curriculum changes. In another study conducted by Grosemans, and Donche (2016) where he explored different types of CPD and their related effects on teachers the findings indicated significant variation on the outcomes.  Additionally, Kyndt et al. (2016) offer further insight into teachers’ attitudes and beliefs as well as the concerns they experience from curriculum implementation through informal learning for professional growth. Teacher collaboration, team planning, or even mentoring may all be classified as informal learning opportunities.

Informal learning, though not organized (as formal PD is), allows teachers to work together to reduce the feelings of isolation they often experience. Perhaps most important, as in a study by Kyndt et al. (2016) established that experience and age do not appear to affect new learning as much as personal attitude does. Understanding the differences in attitudes could help to break down the barriers to full curricular implementation. What this situation shows are that CPD does not always need to be formal; most teachers hope that CPD will be relevant to their content areas and will allow them to collaborate and problem-solve. As the literature has pointed out, understanding teacher concerns helps administrators when choosing the CPD that will be most relevant to teachers (Bakir, 2016). Bautista et al. (2016) substantiated this notion through a study in which they investigated teacher beliefs, priorities, and CPD needs when implementing a curriculum. Bautista et al. (2016) found that teachers commonly showed eagerness for opportunities to strengthen their expertise in curriculum areas, and they needed CPD to do so.

Teachers’ beliefs also influence their views of the curriculum. For example, if teachers perceive themselves as being unprepared or unfamiliar with a curriculum, then these beliefs will influence how they respond to and teach the curriculum. Bautista et al. (2016) recommend that CPD should require alignment with teachers’ learning demands to achieve optimal effectiveness. Professional development plays a part in reducing anxiety when implementing a new curriculum (Hall, 2015). Caropreso et al. (2016) also found this to be true when using the SoCQ from the CBAM to assess teachers’ perceptions of a mathematics curriculum during PD. Cetin (2016) found similar conclusions as Bautista (2016) regarding the benefits of PD. Cetin (2016) included an increased understanding of science teachers’ level of use for technology integration and the effect of PD sessions designed to improve comfort and proficiency. The teachers initially showed little knowledge on the subject area and a lack of training and skills necessary for successful integration. Cetin (2016) reported that following the PD sessions for technology, 58.5% of the teachers developed increased confidence and positive outlooks about the integration process. Cetin’s study (2016) provides a concrete example of how PD improves teacher proficiency as well as alleviates concerns through the practical application of the curriculum.

Teachers become more likely to implement curricula with fidelity when they feel well prepared through PD and develop the knowledge and awareness required for effective implementation (Cetin, 2016). Supporting the need for PD and for understanding the concerns connected to a new curriculum implementation, Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory emphasizes the importance of monitoring and modelling behaviours, attitudes, and emotional responses for a desired result. Bandura’s (1977) theory connects to the CBAM because of the value it places on understanding emotional responses identified through the stages of concern. The importance of PD and the effect on teachers both align with the theory by directing attention to proper training for increased success in accurate curricular implementation.

It has been a concern among educationist to develop lifelong skills in every individual for self-reliance and attainment for economic growth. The aim of the 2013 curriculum was to develop a learner who will be self-reliant. One of the challenges our education system has been facing was the inability of the school leavers to be self-reliant hence pausing a challenge in the employment sector as it could not absorb all the school leavers a situation that has led to a significant increase on job seekers. The provisions of the 2013 curriculum framework provide relevant skills development in form of vocational skills and business knowledge and skills through entrepreneurship education.

The plan for learning provides for knowledge and skills with appropriate teaching and learning strategies and experiences significant for preparing learners to enter into the career after completion of the study. In fact, career is almost impossible without some specific skills whether it is technical skills or hard skills or soft skills or life skills. Skills development in students is essential to face the challenges of everyday life. There is a dramatic change in the world due to the unprecedented use of technology during the past few decades. These transformations impact all spheres of our life including education, economy, and careers among many. To cope up with the increasing pace and changes, students should learn the necessary skills to make sure of their desired career and be self-reliant.

Despite an effective and well-planned education program there is need to expose the learners to real life situation where they can have a real experience of their skills and knowledge acquired both from vocational and entrepreneurship education. The translation of theory into practice is significant in the learning process among learners. In doing so schools can provide a market day for learners where they can showcase their knowledge and skills acquired by coming up with projects. This can help the learners to realise that the skills they have acquired can be used as source of capital than being reliant of being employed. This can help the learners to realise that being employed is not the only rout to self-sustenance and personal development. It was evidenced that most schools did not provide for such events. However, this can be used to establish the level of practical knowledge acquired by individual learners. Most school provides for career exhibition days which do not have a significant impact on student performance as learners are only asked to dress up in attires portraying their dream career. It is clear to state that the attire will not make one realise their potentials in life hence the need to come up with a well thoughtful activity that will be more meaningful to individual learners by helping them identify or to amplify their talents. In addition, market days can enhance the following benefits in the learners.

1. Critical thinking & problem solving
2. Ability to take responsibility
3. Grow confidence
4. Improve decision making power
5. Enhance a greater sense of self-awareness

Vocational skills will not only boost up your career opportunities but can also as a source of income generation for self-reliance. Market days can be used as a platform for the learners identify their potentials and field of interest in vocational skills. Then, start to learn and develop them gradually. Be efficient in some specific skills that you they like most.

Chapter four further indicated the appropriateness of the content to the learners. They were variations in terms of the responses from both the learners and teachers. Curriculum content simply means the totality of what is to be taught in a school system. The content component of teaching learning situation refers to the important facts, principles, and concepts to be taught. The findings indicated that the respondents agreed that the content was too vast and that the respondents did not agree that the content encouraged the learners to be self-reliant. The respondents were not sure as to whether the content placed much emphasis on conceptual thinking, motivated the learners to be entrepreneurs. From these findings it can be concluded that the contents must be in line with the learning experiences and there must be clear cut objective to be achieved by the end of each respective lesson. It can be in form of knowledge, skills, attitude, and values that learners are exposed to. Content involves subject matter drawn based on problems, themes or topics cutting across traditional subjects.

It is important that the content of the curriculum is valid if it is to promote the outcome that it is intended to promote. It is also the authenticity of the subject matter or content selected, to make sure the topics are not obsolete, for this to be achieve, there should be a regular check on the curriculum content and replace it if necessary. Secondly the content should be that would help learners attain maximum self-sufficiency at the most economical manner or content selection. This is done when the students or learners are given the chance to experiment, observe and carryout field study. It is notably clear that the content should be significant if it is selected and organized for the development of learning activities, skills, processes and attitude that will help in solving the problem of the country and that if It also develops the three domain of learning namely cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills and considers the cultural aspect of the learners particularly, if the learners come from different cultural background and races then the content must be cultural sensitive.

The interest of the students should be considered in selecting content because students learn best if the subject matter is meaningful to them. It becomes meaningful if they are interested in it. But if the curriculum is subject centred, teachers have no choice but to finish the facing schedule religiously and teach only what is in the book, this may explain why many fail in subject sometimes. Additionally, the content should be what the students can learn and should be within their experience. Teachers should apply theories on psychology of learning to know their subject are presented, sequenced an organized to maximize the learning capacity of the students

The usefulness of the content in solving problems now and in future is another aspect. It is more important in skill or procedural knowledge, whereby learners can put what they have learnt into practice in life activities. Additionally, this means that content should be chosen since they relate to our present social needs economic and political situation. Content must be acceptable to the culture and belief system of the people.

DUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

The concerns of the study have apparent academic implications. The effects of the study have provided empirical evidence in the assessment of the impact of the vocational secondary curriculum on the beginners in Luanshya district.

This suggests the need for the Ministry of Education to step up efforts to ensure that several the issues facing the implementation of the Vocational Secondary school curriculum are reduced from being essential ones, so that the fulfilment of the scholars in vocational subjects and entrepreneurship is increased.

This demands that the ministry of education in seeing that the vocational pathway curriculum is implemented, and that the ministry should not only bother about the availability of instructional materials but also the human resource management practices like the teachers’ conditions of services.

The reality that the objectives and goals of the vocational pathway for secondary school curriculum have simplest been achieved to a moderate volume suggesting that higher consequences might be accomplished if the teachers’ welfare practices are investigated, considering that instructors are the very last implementers of the curriculum. If the human resource management practices inside the secondary school device are taken care of, the teachers are likely to make use of fully and regularly available instructional materials

The fact that the contents of the vocational pathway curriculum are evident to be able to enhance attainment of the objectives and goals of the curriculum for secondary education, suggests that the curriculum may be reviewed regularly to meet the needs of the society. An overview of the curriculum can also call for an examination of the teaching system, substances, chemical compounds, specimens’, and other coaching aid centres for coaching the content material of the curriculum.

The fact that the slight number and quality of teachers were available to implement the vocational curriculum for secondary schools there is a need to come up with incentives that can motivate the teaching staff and inspire greater could-be-teachers to take hobby in teaching vocational subjects, and teachers already serving to commit more energy and interest in teaching these subjects.

It is when enough interest is in the job, and the teachers already in field are also sent on in-service training, that they can comply effectively with the recommended teaching methods and evaluation techniques. This could make the teachers to bring their qualification and experience to bear in implementation of the national curriculum for secondary school.

SUMMARY

The chapter presented the discussion of the findings presented in chapter four. The discussion was based on the set objectives of the study as stated in chapter one.  One of the functions of education is to instil change in the learners and if change has not taken place, then learning has not occurred. The level of encouragement to others to take up vocational subject’s dependents on the service provided to the learners. If the service is satisfactory the assumption is that the learners would be able to encourage others to take up vocational subjects of their choice.

Education should enable a human being to attain the greatest possible harmony, internal and external, spiritual, and material, for the fullest possible development of human potentialities and capacities. It is for this reason that if this is achieved an individual can to some extent encourage others to pursue the same agenda with them. Thus, this would make individuals to be self-confident and self-defendant and to make them strong physically and mentally.

It has always been idealized that education is an instrument for employment acquisition hence the focus of every individual has been on pursuing white collar oriented educational career pathways neglecting vocational subjects. In line to this on of the functions of education is to enable individuals to bring desirable changes in society not merely equip individuals to adjust with society to its customs and conventions. There has been a shift in the way people have always looked at vocational subjects thus it is clear to state that Education should enable us to move with times and attain excellence in science and technology.

From this background the study established that there was insignificant impact created on the learners as indicated by the data presented in chapter four.

CONCLUSIONS

On the basis of the evidence collected, it was concluded that the 2013 curriculum for Zambia has remained largely academic and therefore irrelevant to the nation’s aspirations and developmental needs. The government is putting a lot of efforts to provide quality education under the vocational pathway though learners still have apathy towards Vocational Education subjects. The learners perceive Vocational Education subjects (vocational pathway) not to be useful for students‟ aspiring to join university education) as is with general education programs. This may be possible that the learners are not sure of the quality of education offered in secondary schools under the vocational pathway hence the negative perception being perceived among the learners. Furthermore, it was reviewed that there are very little compliance levels to the standards as provided for in the teaching of Vocational subjects. There is need for teachers to adhere to appropriate teaching method and evaluation procedures for vocational subject. It is clear that input factors play a critical role in realising effective curriculum implementation. As a result of a number of challenges and problems experienced during the implementation process the achievement of the set objects will still remain a dream.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings of the study and their educational implications, the following recommendations are made:

1. The aims and objectives of the Vocational curriculum for secondary school have been achieved only to a moderate extent but not to a great extent. Therefore, emphasis should be placed on achieving the aims and objectives to a greater extent by reducing the problems militating against the implementation of the curriculum. It is believed that when the problems of overcrowding to receive lessons, too many tests and assignments, insecurity, coping with task of continuous assessment, inadequate texts and knowledge of subject matter are not considered as major problems teachers would teach these subjects better than is the case now. Head teacher should ensure that Supervision of teaching should be carried out on teaching regularly so as to encourage them to comply with the appropriate teaching method recommended for use in the curriculum. They should be engaged in in-service training programmes such as workshops and seminars to equip them with the current practices in teaching. Additionally, Teachers should be encouraged to use the recommended evaluation techniques very often in assessing the students. The teachers should give continuous assessment tests as when due. This should involve practical examinations wherever they are required.
2. Subject specialist and other stakeholder should ensure that the national curriculum for secondary school for the vocational pathway should be reviewed periodically to make sure it meets the needs of the society. To achieve this, topical contents of the school should be strengthened to meet the needs of the society. Additionally, the Ministry of General education should ensure that the numbers, variety and quality of teaching equipment, materials, chemicals, specimens and other teaching support facilities for teaching the contents should be provided to a greater extent than is the case now, as found in this study.
3. The teachers should very often utilize the available instructional materials for teaching and learning vocational subjects.
4. The number and quality of teachers available in schools for implementing the national curriculum should be increased. Incentives such as improved scheme of service should be provided to encourage interest in training to teach vocational subjects. The human resource management practices should be improved to motivate the teachers to put in their best. Subsequently, emphasis should be placed on carefully and vigorously reducing the problems militating against the implementation of national curriculum for secondary school vocational pathway in Luanshya by the State Ministry of Education and related agencies

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