Innovations in GCE Ordinary Level Economics Syllabus as a Determinant of Students' Academic Performance: An Empirical Survey of Secondary School Economics Teachers in Cameroon

It is almost a truism that no reforms in education can succeed without teachers, as they are at heart of all education endeavors. Thus, this paper attempts to find out if the innovations in the GCE Ordinary Level Economics syllabus serves as a determinant of students’ academic performance. The study used the survey research design. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the regions while simple random sampling techniques was used to select respondents from nine regions out of the ten regions in Cameroon. Using the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table, the sample size was found to be 197 respondents out of a total population of 402. Data was collected using questionnaire, observation checklist and interview guide. To ensure reliability, the test and re-test results revealed that the instrument was 96% reliable. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. A mean of 3.00 was set as cut off point that is, all scores of 3 and above were accepted as Economics syllabus reforms or changes being strictly implemented. The overall weighted mean results of 2.74, 2.29 and 2.48 revealed that teachers do not strictly adhere to the aims, objectives and contents of the current Ordinary Level GCE Economics syllabus and that appropriate methods and instructional resources are not being used in the implementation of this syllabus. Based on the findings, it was recommended that teachers and students should use innovative teaching learning methods and materials, own copies of the current syllabus and exploit it.