Dr Margaret Uchenna Chukwurah, Dr Nneka Ihekaugwu Otum & Dr Thankgod Abeng Igwe
Abstract
This study examined the influence of in-service training on secondary school teachers’ competence for curriculum development in Cross River State, Nigeria. Seven research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive survey design was adopted, and data were collected from a stratified random sample of 150 teachers, using a 28-item researchers-designed instrument, the In-Service Training and Curriculum Development Competence Questionnaire (ITCDCQ), validated by experts and yielding pilot reliability coefficients between .85 and .94. Data were analysed using mean and standard deviation, Pearson correlation, simple regression, independent-samples t-test, and hierarchical multiple regression. Findings showed, among others, that in-service training exposure related strongly and significantly to overall curriculum development competence (r = .730, R-squared = .534, p < .001); trained teachers scored significantly higher than untrained teachers (t(148) = 3.60, p < .001); and teaching experience significantly moderated the training-competence relationship (interaction B = 0.009, t = 2.63, p = .008). The study concludes that in-service training is an important, though not sole, determinant of curriculum development competence. It is recommended, among others, that the Cross River State Ministry of Education and Secondary Education Board embed dedicated assessment-literacy content in in-service training programmes.