CHALLENGES OF CURRICULIM INTEGRATION AT PRIMARY SCHOOL: THE CASE OF SOCIAL STUDIES IN ZIMBABWE

This quantitative study sought to explore the challenges that primary school teachers experience in teaching Social Studies as an integrated subject. Data for the study was gathered through a questionnaire sent to 178 practising teachers from urban and rural schools and interviews with ten lecturers from four teachers training colleges. Findings suggest that teachers experience several challenges such as inadequate grounding in the subject to enable them to effectively deliver the subject, a limited conception of curriculum integration and lack of resources to facilitate the implementation of the approach. The study recommends that teachers training colleges and universities should evaluate their current Social Studies courses so as to equip trainees with the knowledge and skills to handle the subject. Also, professional development opportunities should be regularly availed so that teachers can keep abreast with the current developments in the subject.