Strategies to Enhance Primary School Teachers’ Participation in The Namibian National Curriculum Development

The subject of this investigation was to establish the strategies that could be employed in the Namibian education system to enhance effective participation of primary school teachers in the development of the national curriculum. The research objective for this study was to establish the strategies that could be employed to ensure effective participation of primary school teachers in Onamutai circuit in the development of the national curriculum. The study was framed within an interpretivist research paradigm, emphasizing the subjective experiences of primary school teachers in Onamutai circuit. It adopted a qualitative research design, specifically a case study approach, to provide a detailed and contextually rich exploration of primary school teachers' participation in national curriculum development. In this study, the population of interest are the (283) primary school teachers in the Onamutai Circuit, Oshana Region of Namibia. In addition to 283 primary school teachers, the population of the study is made up of 12 senior education officers from the directorate of education in Oshana Regional. The primary research instrument was semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis. The research findings revealed that improving communication and fostering collaboration among educational stakeholders are essential strategies for enhancing primary school teachers’ participation in national curriculum development. In addition, the research findings revealed that implementing strategies that focus on professional development, fostering dialogue as well as providing incentives, the education system can better utilize teachers' expertise in shaping the national curriculum that meets the needs of the Namibian learners.