International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)

Volume 4 Issue 6, September-October 2020 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470

Curriculum Content Quality and Educational Wastage in

Secondary Schools of the Littoral Region of Cameroon
Agborbechem Peter Tambi, Ndifor Jean Ndemmazea
Department of Curriculum Studies and Teaching, Faculty of Education, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon

ABSTRACT How to cite this paper: Agborbechem

Education is a vital tool in the developmental process of any given nation and Peter Tambi | Ndifor Jean Ndemmazea
therefore a critical examination of any weakness in education is essential, for "Curriculum Content Quality and
it has a bearing at both individual and national fronts. In spite of the heavy Educational Wastage in Secondary
investments made by the Cameroon government on education, the delivery of Schools of the Littoral Region of
quality secondary education still faces various challenges. One of these biggest Cameroon"
challenges is wastage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the Published in
influence of curriculum content quality on educational wastage in English International Journal
speaking secondary schools of the Littoral Region of Cameroon. This objective of Trend in Scientific
was then transformed into research question and hypothesis. The mixed Research and
research methodology with an explanatory sequential design was used. The Development
accessible population of the study was made up of 2166 elements from where (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456- IJTSRD33296
a sample of 568 participants was selected, distributed as follows: 412 lower 6470, Volume-4 |
sixth students, 112 teachers, 12 vice principals/deans of studies and 32 Heads Issue-6, October 2020, pp.32-41, URL:
of Department. Data were collected using questionnaire, interview guides and www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd33296.pdf
focus group discussion guides. The reliability coefficients for the students’ and
teachers’ questionnaire were of 0.743 and 0.768 respectively. Qualitative data Copyright © 2020 by author(s) and
were analyzed thematically, while quantitative data were analyzed using International Journal of Trend in Scientific
descriptive statistic. The hypothesis was tested through inferential statistics Research and Development Journal. This
using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The findings revealed that is an Open Access article distributed
curriculum content has an inverse influence on educational wastage. The under the terms of
study then recommended that more hands-on activities be included in the the Creative
curriculum, while secondary schools should have direct links with industries Commons Attribution
that can prepare teachers and students towards job creation. License (CC BY 4.0)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by
KEYWORDS: Educational Wastage, Repetition, Stagnation, Dropout, Non- /4.0)
employability, Non-usability of knowledge and Curriculum content quality
INTRODUCTION
Education is very essential in the developmental process of to achieve its objectives (Yusuf, 2014). He also views
any given country or nation. It is believed to be the root to wastage as failure of students to attain the qualifications
economic prosperity, the key to scientific and technological they had registered for in a given course. According to Ajayi
advancements, the means to combat unemployment, the and Mbah (2008), wastage arising from repetition and drop
foundation of social equality, equal wealth distribution and out is a sign of internal inefficiency in the education system.
the spearhead of political socialization and cultural diversity UNESCO (1970) defined wastage to include drop outs,
(Psacharopolous, 1988). This view has made many repetition, premature withdrawal from schools, non-
individuals and nations invest immensely in education. employability of school leavers and non-usability of school
Expounding further on this belief, Ojiambo (2009) argues learning. Economists liken education to industry, with
that the wealth of a nation depends on the capacity to capital invested in plant, and raw materials being processed
develop their human resources and not so much on their into finished products. What is being wasted is human
physical resources. He also says that a country which is learning, school buildings and equipment and the labour of
unable to develop skills and knowledge of its people and to teachers. Wastage occurs through the failure of countries to
utilize them efficiently in the national economy will be achieve their educational objectives, when children fail to
unable to develop anything else. The recognition of the noble reach target achievement levels as exhibited in repetition of
role of education in society has led to concerns on the quality grades, in premature school leaving, in unemployable school
of education as provided in the school, family and society. leavers (UNESCO, 1971). Sunita (2011) holds that dropout is
Any institution consumes inputs to produce outputs. If the a universal phenomenon of the education system in India,
institution is quite efficient, it will make adequate use of and that it spreads over all levels of education, in all parts of
appropriate inputs to yield optimum outputs. If the system of the country and across all the socio-economic groups of
the institution is not efficient it may waste some inputs in population. The dropout rates are much higher for
producing outputs. It will not use inputs efficiently because educationally backward states and districts.
of high entropy as upheld by the systems theory.
The academic fields of curriculum studies saw light in the
The term wastage is used within the field of education to late nineteenth century with debates over creating the
describe various aspects of failure of an educational system American school curriculum and debates over creating

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
professional historical practices. American educators and Teachers still see students failing to complete secondary
historians attempted to transform both educational and schools, leading to dropouts. The researcher also realized
historical practices by adopting German methods of that there has been a considerable low rate of students’
pedagogy and research. In each case, the application of performance at the GCE Ordinary level examinations for the
German methods and theories was used to reform what past five years. The average GCE performance for these years
could be described as more “native” practices of education is below 40%, as revealed by the examination results
and history, both of which had arisen from Puritan colonial booklets from the Cameroon GCE board.
educational and intellectual practices. During the first half of
the twentieth century, social efficiency that had been one of The consequences of wastage in secondary schools are
the tenets of the progressive education reform movement severe, especially on the human, economic and material
became an underlying premise of Ralph Tyler’s resources. All those students who repeat or drop out of
rationalization of the school curriculum. Furthermore, school cause a huge public menace, given that they mostly
Tyler’s rational curriculum discourse dominated much of the turn to criminality, drug consumption and other societal ills.
curriculum field for most of the second half of the century Secondary school completion has become a basic
(Stephen, 2002). The field of curriculum studies, as a distinct prerequisite for higher education, and dropouts who join the
area of educational research, emerged in the 1920s. From its labour market mostly have low earning profiles. These
inception, the field was strongly influenced by social dropouts do unskilled jobs or work at low paying service
scientific methodologies used to underpin education as a occupations that offer them little opportunities for upward
pedagogical science. mobility. Most of the few students that complete school
experience high rate of non-employability, and also non-
In Cameroon, despite the enormous investment in education, usability of their learning in Cameroon, especially that our
the enterprise has been accused of various predicaments cities and most urban areas are crowded with job seekers
which include the widening of the gap between the rich and and very few job creators.
the poor due to school dropout rates, high rate of
unemployment, reduced number of job creators and a high Faced with the above worries, the researcher was therefore
increase in the number of job seekers as observed by the prompted to find out the influence of curriculum content
researcher. The purpose of this study therefore was to quality on educational wastage in English speaking
investigate the influence of curriculum content quality on secondary schools of the Littoral Region of Cameroon.
educational wastage in English speaking secondary schools
in the Littoral region of Cameroon; a region that shows a OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
very large gap between the rich and the poor. By extension The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of
the study shall equally propose some mitigation strategies to curriculum content quality on educational wastage in
remedy this situation of educational wastage. English speaking secondary schools of the Littoral region of
Cameroon. By extension the study shall also bring out the
Statement of the Problem causes of educational wastage and suggest some mitigation
Education is regarded as a prime mover for the socio- strategies.
economic development of countries and accounts for as
much as 20% of the annual Gross National Product (GNP) of RESEARCH QUESTION
developing nations (Alvares, Gillies & Biadsher, 2003). What is the influence of curriculum content quality on
Despite this importance, educational wastage of different educational wastage in secondary schools of the Littoral
forms seems to have become a universal issue, and therefore region of Cameroon?
affects Cameroon.
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
The Cameroon government and her citizens have invested Ho : There is no significant relationship between
heavily in improving both the access and quality of education curriculum content quality and educational wastage in
in an effort to realize the promise of education as well as to secondary schools of the Littoral region of Cameroon.
achieve the education-related Sustainable Development Ha : There is a significant relationship between curriculum
Goals, especially goal four and also vision 2035 for content quality and educational wastage in secondary
Cameroon. The government has created many additional schools of the Littoral region of Cameroon.
secondary schools, more teacher training colleges have also
been opened. Few in-service training seminars are organized REVIEW OF LITERATURE
at the regional and divisional levels to update teachers. Some concepts related to this study were reviewed.
There have also been the introduction of the competency
based approach (CBA) to better the curriculum. Some Education and Educational Wastage
additional infrastructure, equipment and teachers are being There are certain necessities without which a man cannot
provided to schools through the efforts of both government live a life of his own. One of these is education. The Greek
and parents’ teachers’ associations (PTA). philosopher Aristotle said that man is a social animal by
nature and by necessity (Rattansingh, 2011).The word
Despite this enormous investment in the education sector of education comes from the Latin world ‘educere’, meaning “to
Cameroon, the enterprise is been accused of various lead out”. It is indeed, difficult to define education. Education
weaknesses, especially given that the objectives of education is a relentless process of becoming. To the human being we
are not fully being achieved. The researcher noticed that educate, and to the animal we train. According to Wikipedia
there are high rates of repetition, stagnation, low transition Encyclopedia, education in the broadest sense is any act or
rates in secondary schools and the presence of over aged experience that has a formative effect on mind, character or
students in examination classes (forms five and upper sixth). physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense,

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
education is a process by which society deliberately time. This makes them frustrated and depressed, hence, it is
transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from vital for the individuals to make use of education by getting
one generation to another. engaged at least in some honorary work. In this way, they
are able to make use of their educational skills and abilities
Education is the basis for development and empowerment in some manner for the welfare of the community (Samuel,
for every nation. It plays a vital role in understanding and 2017).
participating in day to day activities of today’s world. It
builds one’s character and plays a significant role in Forms of Educational Wastage
transmitting one’s culture, belief and values to others in the According to Brimer and Pauli (1971), Educational wastage
society. It helps in creating innovations and meeting the occurs in the following forms:
growing needs of every nation. The development of a nation
is not measured through the buildings it has built, the roads Inability to Provide Universal Education: The Declaration
it has laid down or the bridges it has constructed but by the of the Rights of the Child (1959) includes the child’s right to
human resources, the nation has developed through a well- education, and a country which is unable to make provision
defined system of education. Education is therefore a more of educational opportunities for the entire child population
crucial factor not only to equip the new generations with is not acknowledging its duty and objectives. Children are
skills essential for earning a livelihood, but also to create the future citizens of the country and when they will receive
among them an awareness to social and environmental good quality education, they would efficiently contribute
realities and inculcate in them scientific temper, towards the progression of the country. Education leads to
independence of mind and spirit which are of paramount development of human resources. This is not to say that all
importance for the individuals to become responsible such countries are responsible. Many of them are
citizens (Narayan and Reddy, 1979). Tambo (2012) also economically unable to make such a provision, but to the
defines education as the formal or informal training of extent that they cannot or are not able to receive any kind of
children to acquire knowledge, skills and also to develop assistance. In order to provide good quality education, the
attitudes, values, abilities, emotional and spiritual forms of country needs resources.
behaviors required to develop the society in which they live.
Inability to Recruit Children into the System: The demand
Wastage according to Samuel (2004); is an unprofitable and for education is normally greater as compared to supply.
uneconomical utilization of time and resources. The inability Lack of resources, materials, infrastructure, civic amenities,
of a student to obtain a school certificate at the normal time proper teaching-learning processes, instructional strategies
for any reason whatsoever is regarded as wastage. On the and other facilities are the factors that cause inability to
other hand, wastage means the input, time, efforts expended recruit students into the education system. The existence of
in doing things but with no positive outcomes or outputs. legal prescription of the age at which children should begin
school, together decrease the incidence of the second source
Educational wastage has been a challenge in many countries. of wastage at the first and second level. Yet such forms of
Failures, stagnations and drop-outs are stated as the main wastage still need to be considered, above the age of
factors that cause educational wastage. If an individual fails compulsory education. It is one of the most important factors
in school or leaves, before obtaining the diploma or the in making provision of additional and higher education.
degree, then the investment made does not give Recruitment into the voluntary sectors of an educational
commensurate returns, as both finances as well as human system depends upon ensuring that the pupils and their
resources are wasted. Educational wastages mean families recognize the objectives and the framework of
premature withdrawal of child or students from school at education as compatible with their own goals.
any stage before completion of the prescribed courses. This
implies that within an academic year, some student’s Inability to Retain Students within the System: The
dropout of schools for various reasons. The ultimate goal of retaining capacity of the educational system in both its
every individual is to obtain employment. Well paid jobs voluntary and its compulsory sectors depends upon external
require good education; hence, if a person is not educated and internal factors. The social and economic conditions of
and does not possess the degree, then he may experience the educational institutions are primarily responsible for
problems in finding employment opportunities. Educational retaining students. Good quality education, extra-curricular
wastage has three components: failures, grade repetition and activities, kind and approachable teachers, proper
drop-outs. There are various forms through which it takes infrastructure and facilities and amiable environmental
place, failure of the system to provide universal education, conditions of the schools are the primary factors that
failure to recruit the students within the system, failure to contribute in retaining students. Absence of any of these
retain students, incapability on the part of the system to set factors may cause drop-out of students from schools. As a
appropriate objectives and inefficiency in the achievement of result, it causes educational wastage. Since it is within the
objectives. Repetition of classes is also one of the important capability of the system to reduce these sources of drop-out,
features of educational wastage (Samuel, 2017). they are suitably regarded as forms of wastage.

Individuals are required to experience many detrimental Nevertheless, in many countries, the number of available
effects of educational wastage. These include unemployment, school places at successive levels of education decreases, and
less income earnings, increase in criminal and violent acts, it would be inappropriate to assume that all nations intend
public dependency and deprived health conditions. When to retain children, primarily recruited into the system
individuals are well educated and they experience problems throughout the total range of provision. However, it is logical
in obtaining good employment opportunities, then in most to recognize the primary objective as being to retain all
cases they remain unemployed for a considerable period of students, recruited into the system until the objectives have

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
been adequately satisfied. An estimate of wastage should Factors Influencing Educational Wastage
include an index of drop-out, which relates premature Brimer and Pauli (1971) identify a series of factors that
leaving to the number of children, who are recruited at the influence educational wastage. These factors are discussed
beginning of each cycle. below.

Inability to Set Appropriate Objectives: In the present Family problems have an impact on students. The families of
world, there are differences among nations in setting individuals are the foundations from where learning, growth
objectives for the entire education system and its and progression take place. It is the responsibility of the
components. In most cases, the strongest single influence in parents to get their children enrolled in good educational
the determination of objectives arises from a traditional institutions and ensure that their pursue for education takes
conception of what an educated person should be. The place in an appropriate manner. The parents in most cases
curriculum content and processes, which have promoted this encourage their children to study, get them enrolled in good
view of the educated man, over many decades and even over educational institutions and want them to obtain good
centuries still continues to have a considerable influence quality educational qualifications. On the other hand, there
upon the concept of what education would make an attempt are parents, who are unable to make provision of proper
to achieve. education for their children, hence, they either drop-out of
school or are unable to get enrolled into schools. The main
Inability to achieve a balance between the demands of reasons have been financial problems or inability to
education in leading to operative growth and progression of understand academic concepts. In some cases, parents
the individuals, and the production of trained and skilled involve their children in domestic work, hence, they do not
human resources needed by the economy. This characterizes find sufficient time to devote towards studying and as a
the incompetence of the educational system. So far as the result, their academic performance suffers a setback.
international comparisons are concerned, each nation must Support from the parents is of utmost significance for the
be responsible, for setting its own objectives, and for individuals in order to prevent educational wastage and
determining whether or not they have been achieved. make complete utilization of skills and abilities.

Inefficiency in the Achievement of Objectives: Every Criminal and violent acts are common in communities,
educational institution has certain goals and objectives. The where individuals do not recognize the significance of
goals of enhancement of the educational system, leading to education. These include verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual
operative growth and development of the students, making harassment, theft, robbery, rape and murder. The individuals
use of modern and innovative strategies and methods and belonging to deprived, marginalized and socio-economically
making provision of necessary facilities and equipment are backward sections of the society, who have the main
some of the common goals. In order to achieve these goals, it objective to enhance their living conditions by making
is vital for the individuals to be skilled, aware, competent money, may get involved into various types of violent and
and knowledgeable. They need to possess the traits of criminal acts and do not recognize the significance of
diligence, conscientiousness and resourcefulness to meet the education. These individuals do not make effective use of
desired goals and objectives. The individuals are required to their educational skills and abilities and hence, it can be
work in collaboration and share with each other, ideas and stated that prevalence of any types of inappropriate acts and
suggestions. It is vital for them to create an amiable violence are major influencers of educational wastage.
atmosphere within the school environment and implement
truthfulness, honesty and ethics. Absence of any of these Students themselves have a big role to play in their
factors would cause inefficiency in the achievement of education. It is up to the individual himself to put in all the
objectives. dedication and hard-work towards learning. They have to
work diligently towards acquisition of education, be
The primary aspect in which teachers are required to depict attentive in class, complete their assignments on time and
efficiency is within the education system. There are provide solutions to various kinds of problems that arise
numerous factors that are included within the education within the course of attainment of education. When students
system, in which the teachers and the staff members of the are unable to understand academic concepts or do not take
schools are required to be efficient. These include the interest in studying, then they are likely to drop-out of
teaching-learning methods, instructional strategies, time school, hence causing educational wastage. When they feel
management, tests, class assignments, homework vulnerable in communicating with their teachers in order to
assignments, competitions, workshops and other areas that solve academic problems, then they usually feel reluctant in
are needed to enrich learning among students. It is vital for going to school and the ultimate outcome is school drop-out.
the teachers to be experienced, skilled and qualified. These There have been cases of individuals who work from an
should possess efficient knowledge regarding how to put early age and are unable to find time for studies, or
into practice, the strategies and approaches that are required experience difficulties in understanding academic concepts;
to improve the standing of the educational institutions hence, they are unable to achieve good grades in tests and
within the community. The individuals need to be aware of assignments. As a result, they may fail and have to repeat a
how to utilize the financial resources of the schools in an school year. This is one of the major factors of educational
appropriate manner, especially when they have limited wastage.
funds. In order to depict efficiency in the achievement of
objectives, and to make the education system productive, it The school environmental conditions should be favourable
is imperative for the human resources to be competent and to enhance learning and enable the students to make
proficient in the performance of job duties. effective use of their education to lead to development and
progress. There should be provision of facilities, equipment,

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
infrastructure and other materials that are needed to make to financial problems, they are unable to obtain coaching or
effective education. When there are availability of facilities seek admission, thus students are unable to enrich their
and equipment within the school environment, then it does learning and education by obtaining higher education. This is
not only enhance learning, but also leads to an increase in termed as educational wastage.
enrolment and retention rate. On the other hand, students
may drop out, if there are absence of civic amenities and The education system has numerous aspects that are taken
proper facilities. The schools should organize competitions into consideration besides the teaching and curriculum and
and workshops that are not only regarded as ways to enrich instructional methods. One of the most important aspects is
learning, but also provide direction to the individuals to provision of equal opportunities. There should not be any
make use of their education. For instance, in schools, kind of discrimination between individuals on the basis of
students are encouraged to participate in social work, where caste, creed, race, ethnicity, religion and socio-economic
they conduct classes for the children belonging to deprived background. When there is organization of competitions or
and backward communities, who cannot afford education. events or functions in schools, then students should be
provided with equal opportunities to participate. Grading
Teachers have the duty to facilitate learning and education should solely be based upon the performance of the
among students. They should therefore possess the required students. There should be discipline within the school and
educational qualifications, skills, abilities and an the classroom. The individuals should communicate with
approachable attitude. They have to implement proper each other in a decorous manner and provide effective
teaching-learning methods and instructional strategies. They resolutions to the occurrence of conflicts and disputes.
need to make sure that these are put into practice in
accordance to the needs and requirements of the students. Examination systems usually cause stress and anxiety among
The students usually drop out of school, when the teachers the students. In the examination system, there is a certain
are too strict in attitude. There have been cases where passing percentage, if a student meets that percentage, he is
teachers get involved into criminal acts, such as verbal and passed, whereas if he scores below the passing percentage,
physical abuse of the students. The students have developed he is failed and may have to repeat the entire year.
an apprehensive and a vulnerable attitude due to these acts Therefore, they have to work diligently towards preparation.
and therefore, have dropped out of schools, even before, When students receive complete encouragement and
their educational skills are honed. On the other hand, when support from their parents, they entirely devote their time
teachers are unapproachable in attitude, do not possess towards studying and score good grades. On the other hand,
efficient knowledge and awareness or are inefficient in when they do not receive support from their parents, they
managing the students, then it leads to improper functioning become unable to adequately prepare themselves for the
of the educational institutions and educational wastage exams, then they will be unable to score a passing
(Patel, 2017). percentage and have to repeat the entire year, hence leading
to educational wastage.
The curriculum and instructional methods can strongly
influence students’ interest. When students possess certain Working in other areas is also identified as a factor that
negative viewpoints regarding the curriculum and the influences educational wastage. There have been cases of
instructional methods, then they usually leave their individuals, who have obtained good quality education and
education before completion. In most cases, difficult subject are even professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, engineers,
areas require private tuitions. When parents are able to teachers, researchers, educationists, managers,
afford tuitions, then students may understand curriculum administrators and so forth. Yet they experience problems in
and instructional methods. On the other hand, when parents obtaining employment opportunities in their respective
are unable to provide tuitions or any kinds of assistance, areas. In order to sustain their living, they get engaged into
then they are unable to achieve desirable grades. They are other jobs, which are not related to their field. Hence, when
unable to understand the utility of various topics that are an individual is unable to make use of his educational
taught (Patel, 2017).When students do not develop interest qualifications to sustain his living and is not making any
and enthusiasm in the curriculum and instructional methods, contributions to lead to well-being of the community, then it
then they are likely to drop out of school. Hence, the aspect is regarded as educational wastage. Hence, individuals
that is of utmost significance is, teachers need to make use of usually aspire to obtain employment opportunities relating
curriculum and instructional methods that are manageable to their fields.
and understandable by the students. The lesson plans should
be made interesting by even introducing role plays into them Wanjiku (2014) who qualifies the causes of educational
(Patel, 2017). wastage as determinants of educational wastage groups
them into three namely: schools based determinants, socio-
Financial problems of individuals have been severe, cultural determinants and student’s personal determinants.
especially with those belonging to deprived, marginalized
and socio-economically backward sections of the society. Consequences of Educational Wastage
Upon completion of formal schooling, when students aspire The economic consequences of wastage in secondary schools
to obtain admission in higher educational institutions, and are myriad and severe. Advances in technology have fuelled
they do not obtain any kinds of financial assistance, then the demand for a highly skilled labour force, hence,
financial problems prove to be impediments within the transforming high school education into a minimum entry
course of acquisition of education. In obtaining admission into the labour market. Further, secondary school
into professional courses, students have to take an entrance completion has become a basic prerequisite for higher
examination; hence they normally have to join coaching education, meaning that a dropout who joins the labour
centres to obtain good quality training and preparation. Due market will have low earning profiles because they are likely

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
to work at unskilled jobs or at low paying service withdraw from school (Newmann, 1981). Studies have
occupations which offer little opportunity for upward shown that some students leave school primarily because
mobility. Dropping out also severely impairs a young they feel that the teachers did not care about them or viewed
person’s job prospects and earning potentials and in turn them as troublemakers and were not supportive of them
causes other secondary indirect problems such as low self- (e.g. Fine, 1986). In addition to student teacher relationships,
esteem and reliance on public assistance (Goodland & other factors that affect a student‘s decision to alienate and
Anderson, 1987). eventually withdraw from school include school structure
and social organization (Bryk & Thum, 1989).
Curriculum Content Quality
Curriculum content simply means the totality of what is to be One can deduce from this theory that when a person sees
taught in a school system. The content component refers to his/her efforts to achieve a goal being frustrated by one
the important facts, principles and concepts to be taught. The reason or the other, there become a high tendency for the
content can be in the form of knowledge, skills, attitude and individual to perform poorly or abandon the process.
values that learners are exposed to. Content involves subject Relating this theory to education, it can be seen that the
matter drawn on the basis of problems, themes or topics nature of a curriculum and the quality of teachers that
cutting across traditional subjects (Tyler, 1949). implement this curriculum may strongly determine whether
a learner’s effort could be considered wasted or not.
Tyler (1949) identifies the following criteria for selecting
curriculum content, namely: validity, self-sufficiency, The Choice Theory Curriculum of Glasser (1998)
significance, interest, learn ability, utility and consistency The Choice Theory was developed by Glasser (1998), to
with social realities. assist high school students in developing a method for
understanding their motivation for learning. The general
The content of a curriculum is valid if it promotes the goal of Choice Theory/Reality Therapy (Glasser, 1998) is to
outcome that it is intended to promote. It is also the help individuals meet their basic needs through assessment
authenticity of the subject matter selected ensuring that the of current behaviour so that they may make more needs-
topics are not obsolete. A self-sufficient curriculum helps satisfying and positive behavioural choices.
learners to attain maximum self-sufficiency. Therefore it
gives learners the chance to experiment, observe and carry According to this theory all behaviour stems from a need to
out field study. Significance means the content of the meet one of the five internal needs namely survival,
curriculum is selected and organized for the development of love/belonging, power/mastery, fun, and freedom; and that
learning activities, skills, processes and attitudes that will individuals have the power to change their lives for better or
help in solving the problems of the country. The content of a for worse, based on the choices they make. It also believed
curriculum should also be selected while taking into that all people have a responsibility, towards themselves and
consideration the interest of the learners. This is because others, to make choices that do not interfere with the rights
students learn best if the subject matter is meaningful to of others to also make choices.
them. Learn ability describes the ease with which students
can learn the content. The content should therefore be Reality Therapy is the therapeutic technique used to apply
within the experience of the learners. Content utility is the Choice Theory so that an individual may satisfy his or her
usefulness of the content in solving problems, now and in the own needs in a way that does not interfere on another
future. It is more important in skill or procedural knowledge person's ability to meet their needs. A person applying the
whereby learners can put what they have learnt into techniques of Reality Therapy focuses on the present, avoids
practical life activities. Curriculum content is consistent with looking into the past for reasons or excuses, encourages
social realities when it is chosen based on the fact that it others to self-evaluate their present actions, helps others
relates to our present social, economic and political create specific, workable plans, and asks others to evaluate
aspirations. The content should be acceptable to the culture their progress.
and belief system of the people.
Glasser (1998) stated that most human problems stem from
THEORETICAL REVIEW relationship problems. Extrapolating further, Glasser
The researcher made use of two theories namely the believed that the failure of some students to learn is related
Alienation Theory and the Choice Theory Curriculum. more to the relationship between teachers and students than
it is to students' ability to learn. He proposed that if teachers
The Alienation Theory of Fine (1986) were to learn and practice Choice Theory, students would be
The Alienation theory, which is used to explain why students more motivated to learn. Specifically, at-risk youth may
drop out of school, is derived from Merton‘s strain theory benefit from the opportunity to learn and understand their
(LeCompte & Dworkin, 1991). According to this theory as reasons for behavioural choices while practicing Choice
proposed by Fine (1986), when individuals feel the strain of Theory. Working towards becoming a Glasser Quality School
not closing the gap between their experiences or capabilities means the staff is moving away from boss-management,
and cultural norms, one response these individuals may have towards lead-management. They have a basic understanding
is to alienate themselves from society. In reference to of Choice Theory and Reality Therapy (Glasser, 2001) and
dropping out of school, alienation theory suggests that are working towards greater self-understanding. The
students who drop out of school do so because they lack meaning of this theory is simply that people select what they
positive relationships with teachers and peers, resulting in do, depending on how their needs will be met, but that this is
an individual alienating himself from school, thus creating an done without preventing others from achieving their own
environment that provides a reason for a student to needs.

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
From this theory the researcher thinks that the content of
our school curriculum and the relationships between
teachers and students should be rich and good enough to
attract the students to learn. In addition the relationships
should not hinder other students’ progress. This can go a
long way to encourage students’ retention in schools.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
For this study the researcher used the mixed research
methodology that involves both quantitative and qualitative
research methods. Specifically the researcher used the
Explanatory sequential design, where the quantitative data is
first collected and analyzed with more emphasis before
qualitative data. The quantitative data collected is also
backed by qualitative data.

The researcher found this design suitable because the Figure 1: Detailed map and location of the Littoral
quantitative approach provides more structured, specific Region
and precise findings based on quantification; it is also used Source: National institute for statistics, Littoral Region
to describe current conditions or investigate relationships.
While the qualitative approach gives an in-depth Population of the Study
understanding of the phenomenon under investigation; it The target (parent) population of this study was made up of
helps to provide information used to back quantitative all the students, teachers, vice principals and Heads of
findings. McMillan and Schumacher (2001) also affirm that Department of English speaking secondary schools in the
qualitative research is an interactive inquiry in which Littoral Region of Cameroon. The accessible (sampled)
researchers collect data in face-to-face situations by population was composed of all lower sixth students,
interacting with selected persons in their natural settings. teachers, vice principals and heads of department of the
twelve selected secondary schools. These selected schools
In view of this mixed methodology therefore, the study made were made up of four public, four denominational and four
use of a survey, interview and focus group discussion (FGD). lay private secondary schools from across the four divisions
Surveys are used to gather data from a sample of a that make up the Littoral Region of Cameroon. A total sample
population at a particular time while interviews and focus of 568 participants was used, distributed as follows: 412
group discussions allow respondents to express their own lower sixth students, 112 teachers, 12 vice principals and 32
opinions that the researcher could not predetermine. Heads of Departments. The selection of the sample took into
consideration the school type, class section (lower sixth arts
Area of Study or science) and gender.
This study was conducted in the Littoral Region of
Cameroon, The Republic of Cameroon lies between latitudes Sampling Procedure
20 North to 140 North of the equator and latitudes 80 East to Vice principals and Heads of department were selected using
170 East of the Greenwich meridian. The country is bound to the purposive sampling technique, given that it permits the
the North by The Republic of Chad, to the West by the researcher to meet the respondents of his interest. The
Federal Republic of Nigeria, to the East by the Central stratified sampling technique was used to select the twelve
African Republic and to the South by Equatorial Guinea, schools, to ensure the inclusion of all three types of schools
Congo and the Atlantic Ocean. English and French are the namely public, denominational and lay private schools. The
official languages of the country. Cameroon is often referred researcher employed the simple random sampling technique
to as “Africa in miniature” for its geological, environmental to select the students and teachers, while applying caution to
and cultural diversity. The Republic of Cameroon is divided ensure gender balance.
into ten regions with Littoral being one of these regions. The
ten Regions of Cameroon are divided into 58 divisions and Instruments for Data Collection
360 sub-divisions. Littoral Region is a coastal region with a The instruments for this study were constructed to collect
surface area of 20,248km2 and an estimated population of both qualitative and quantitative data. Three instruments
3,803,138 inhabitants (2013). Littoral as a region has four were used in this study: the questionnaire, interview guide
administrative divisions namely: Moungo, Nkam, Sanaga- and focus group discussion guide. There were two sets of
Maritime and Wouri which are also broken down into sub- questionnaire, one for students and another for teachers. An
divisions. The Region has many ethnic groups, including interview guide for administrators was used to get
immigrants from other regions and different countries like information from vice principals and deans of studies while
Nigeria, Chad, Mali and China.The capital of the Littoral the focus group discussion guide was used for the heads of
region is Douala, the most populated city (2.446.945 department. These instruments were formulated by the
inhabitants) as of 2017, and the economic capital of researcher with directives from the supervisors. The
Cameroon. Being an economic capital therefore, a study on questionnaire for students and teachers were each made up
educational wastage will have respondents from many of background information, followed by two sections A - B.
different economic backgrounds (From documentary Each of these sections was made up of eight structured or
analysis). The map and location of the Littoral region are closed ended items to elicit quantitative information about
shown below in figure 1.

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
curriculum content and educational wastage. Each of the reliability coefficients of the students’ and teachers’
questionnaire was a Likert scale type with four options i.e. questionnaire were respectively 0.743 and 0.768
strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree. There
were also two open ended questions at the end of the two Administration of Instruments
sections. In total therefore each questionnaire was Questionnaire (for students and teachers) and interview
composed of 10 items/questions (8 closed ended and 2 open guide (for vice principals/deans) were personally
ended questions). administered by the researcher in their respective schools,
after taking permission from the various principals. For the
The interview guide for vice principals and deans of studies focus group discussions with heads of department, the
was made up of three items, all aimed at collecting researcher conducted this with the assistance of one of his
qualitative data about the study, while the focus group course mates who played the role of a secretary. Every focus
discussion guide also had three guiding issues for discussion. group discussion was organized in the staff rooms of the
respective schools during break periods after obtaining
Validity of Instruments permission from the school principals. The researcher
The researcher carried out both content and face validation selected the participants from different subject areas in
of the instruments to ensure that they were good enough for order to encourage a good debate over the issues discussed.
the study. After the instruments were constructed, the
researcher presented them to his peers and supervisors for FINDINGS
any necessary adjustments (face validity). The researcher Data collected for this study were both quantitative and
then carried out a pilot study where the instruments were qualitative. The data were entered using EpiData Version 3.1
administered to some of the students and teachers who did (EpiData Association, Odense Denmark, 2008) and analyzed
not form part of the target population to ensure that the using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)
constructs were all understood (content validity). Standard version, Release 21.0 (IBM Inc. 2012). The data
were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential
Reliability of Instruments statistics. The qualitative data were analyzed thematically by
The researcher further carried out a reliability analysis on grouping common ideas or themes together. Quantitative
both sets of questionnaire for students and teachers after data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages while the
conducting a pilot study. This was to see that all sets of Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the
questionnaire had satisfactory reliability coefficients above hypothesis. The results of the analysis are presented in
the 0.50 value of Crombach’s alpha (Cronbach, 1951). The Table1.

Table 1: Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis of the Relationship between Curriculum Content Quality
and Educational Wastage in Secondary Schools of the Littoral Region of Cameroon (N=412)
Variable ∑X ∑X2
∑Y ∑Y2 ∑XY Гxy p-value
curriculum content(X) 7070 125543 135861 -0.40** 0.000
educational wastage (Y) 8050 165053

The result of the analysis reveals that the absolute calculated entrepreneurship, few contextual or day to day life issues.
Гxy -value of 0.40 is higher than the critical Гxy -value of 0.098 The curriculum was perceived to have little relevance to the
at 0.05 level of significance with 410 degrees of freedom. learners although few projects and club activities are found
Also the p-value of 0.000 is lower than 0.05. With the result in the schools. They generally recommended that the above
of this analysis, the null hypothesis was rejected and the aspects of the curriculum should be improved. A thematic
alternative hypothesis retained. This result therefore means overview of the data obtained from interviews and focus
that there is a significant relationship between curriculum group discussions reveals that all participants agreed with
content quality and educational wastage in secondary firmness that educational wastage was an issue to reckon
schools of the Littoral Region of Cameroon. with. They also affirmed that curriculum content, influences
educational wastage. The following remedies were then
Since there is a significant relationship between curriculum prescribed: non admission of under aged children into
content quality and educational wastage in secondary primary or secondary schools, strict respect of pass mark
schools of the Littoral Region of Cameroon, a further boundaries during promotion, parents to play their role in
exploration of the relationship showed that the Гxy = -0.40 monitoring and advising children,
was negative. This indicates that the better the curriculum
content quality the lower the educational wastage in p*<0.05; df=410; critical Гxy =0.098
secondary schools of the Littoral Region of Cameroon.
creation of an examination body to better organize entrance
From descriptive statistics, it was observed that the vice examinations into secondary schools like common entrance
principals/deans of studies were generally pessimistic with and first school leaving certificate and also to tailor the
respect to the ability of secondary school graduates to create curriculum towards specialization and professionalism.
jobs. Only one out of them was optimistic. The vice
principals, deans of studies and Heads of department DISCUSSION
generally affirmed that the secondary school curriculum in The findings revealed that there is a strong inverse influence
the greater part does not teach creativity. It mostly teaches of curriculum content quality on educational wastage in
general concepts and theories, no professionalism, no secondary schools of the Littoral Region of Cameroon. This

@ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD33296 | Volume – 4 | Issue – 6 | September-October 2020 Page 39

 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
means that the better the curriculum content quality the repetitions; inability to make use of the knowledge acquired
lower the educational wastage in secondary schools of the to earn a living or for the welfare of the society, and inability
Littoral Region of Cameroon. Therefore, the null hypothesis to get employment. One of the aspects that is of utmost
was rejected and the alternative hypothesis retained. significance is to make use of education in implementing the
traits of morality, ethics and behaviour. The individuals
These findings are in line with the Alienation Theory of Fine should be equally honest in their conduct and possess
(1986) which is used to explain why students drop out of effective communication skills. In order to alleviate this
school. It is derived from Merton‘s strain theory (LeCompte problem of wastage, it is vital to make improvements within
& Dworkin, 1991). According to this theory, when the education system, through the provision of a rich
individuals feel the strain of not closing the gap between curriculum content
their experiences or capabilities and cultural norms, one
response these individuals may have is to alienate Therefore, curriculum content as a cause of education
themselves from the society. In reference to school dropout wastage in secondary schools is a pertinent issue in the
or educational wastage, this theory supports that students provision of quality education and unless this is addressed
who drop out of school do so because they lack positive by all the education stakeholders in the country, a certain
relationships with teachers and peers or interest on the percentage of the citizens will miss out on development
content, resulting in an individual alienating himself from agenda both at the society and the individual levels. In as
school, thus creating an environment that provides a reason much as this state of affairs is not controlled, there will be
for a student to withdraw from school (Newmann, 1981). wastage in terms of human capital and other resources. The
mitigation strategies proposed to minimize education
In the same light the Choice Theory Curriculum of Glasser wastage in secondary schools are quite practical in
(1998) holds that all behaviour stems from the need to meet applicability and if they are given a chance, the percentage of
one of the five internal needs namely survival, repetition, stagnation, drop of students, non-usability and
love/belonging, power/mastery, fun, and freedom; and that non-employability would indeed be minimized thereby
individuals have the power to change their lives for better or minimizing education wastage in secondary schools.
for worse, based on the choices they make. Students will
therefore want to make a choice over the content of the Recommendations
curriculum studied based on the relevance and quality of the The findings of this study, have provided many suggestions
content. that if put into practice may go a long way to alleviate the
situation of educational wastage in secondary schools. The
The findings are also supported by Patel (2017) who holds study recommended that more hands-on activities be
that when students possess certain negative viewpoints included in the curriculum, while secondary schools should
regarding the curriculum and/or the instructional methods, have direct links with industries that can prepare teachers
then they usually leave their education before completion and students towards job creation. Cameroonians should be
and that in most cases, difficult subject areas require private encouraged to step-up consumption of locally made
tuitions. Onyango (2013) in a study to establish the products to encourage creativity amongst graduates.
relationship between curriculum content and academic
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