Teacher Professional Growth: Towards Lesson Implementation in Zambia: A Case Study of Design and Technology

This research investigates a critically important deficit in Zambia’s educational performance, specifically the persistent inability of secondary school learners studying Design and Technology (D&T) to develop functional, innovative, and problem-solving project outputs. Despite the existence of a robust national curriculum that explicitly promotes creativity, practical competence, and learner-centred inquiry, evidence continues to show that most learners struggle to translate theoretical knowledge into viable design solutions. This situation raises pressing concerns regarding the effectiveness of instructional delivery and the overall fidelity with which D&T education is being implemented in Zambian secondary schools. The study argues that the core challenge does not lie in the curriculum’s structure, intent, or content; instead, it emerges from substantial implementation gaps at classroom level.

These gaps are principally shaped by teachers’ persistent reliance on traditional, positivist pedagogical orientations that prioritise rote learning, teacher authority, and procedural reproduction of knowledge. Such approaches stand in direct contradiction to the mandated constructivist paradigm underpinning the Competence-Based Curriculum, which requires learners to actively construct meaning, engage in inquiry-driven tasks, and apply design thinking to real-world problems. By continuing to employ outdated instructional strategies, many teachers inadvertently limit learners’ opportunities to explore, experiment, and iterate solutions—processes that are essential for developing technological literacy and practical innovation. Consequently, learners are often unable to produce holistic, functional projects that demonstrate transferable problem-solving capabilities. This research therefore, highlights the urgent need for pedagogical reform, targeted professional development, and strengthened curriculum implementation mechanisms to ensure that D&T education fulfils its intended role in nurturing creativity, critical thinking, and technical proficiency among Zambian secondary school learners.