The English Curriculum Implementation Consistency: A Comparative Study of Urban and Rural Schools in Burundi

Abstract

Using a comparative, cross- sectional research design, this study explores the consistency of English curriculum implementation by comparing practices between urban and rural schools in Burundi. Different items were used to evaluate different aspects of teachers’ practices, including lessons preparation, curriculum implementation, teaching approaches, assessment, lesson adaptation, and availability of teaching and learning materials.  To collect data, a likert scale questionnaire was administered to a population sample of 32 teachers (16 teachers from urban schools and 16 from rural schools). The collected data were treated by using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and an independent sample t-tests. The findings of the study reveal significant disparities between urban and rural schools. In fact, urban teachers scored higher on most items related to resources and curriculum support, while rural teachers scored comparably high on pedagogical practices and even higher in lessons adaptation. The results also indicate that items related to resources and curriculum support are the ones which constitute key differences between urban and rural schools while aspects related to pedagogical practices and lessons adaptation appear to be similar across the two contexts. The study finally recommends targeted resources allocation, support for rural teachers, policy interventions prioritizing rural schools to promote equal learning opportunities

Key words: English curriculum, curriculum implementation, urban school, rural school