Curriculum

Helpdesk information

Posted on 10 November, 2017 13:0

Technical education and vocational training (TEVT) plays a key role in any country’s economic growth. Graduates from this sector are the basic economic drivers in that they provide the required basic skills in all sectors of the economy, and these skills must be relevant and be able to meet the local labour market demands. Full employability of skills by industry requires that training programmes should match with skills or competence demands and this has a basis on the type of curriculum used in training personnel. For some time now, there has been an outcry from industry that curriculum was not meeting the requirements of industry and TEVETA, through its Curriculum Development Unit, has attempted to overcome this challenge by adopting a Curriculum development and review system that said to be more effective and efficient in producing curricula that is industry focused. For some time now, there has been an outcry from industry that curriculum was not meeting the requirements of industry and TEVETA, through its Curriculum Development Unit, has attempted to overcome this challenge by adopting a Curriculum development and review system that said to be more effective and efficient in producing curricula that is industry focused. Systematic Curriculum And Instructional Development (SCID) System The approach currently being used by TEVETA in curriculum development and review is the Systematic Curriculum and Instructional Development (SCID) System. TEVETA has adopted and adapted this model for curriculum development as its main approach because it has been found to be more efficient and effective for creating Work-based Outcomes oriented curriculum and instructional materials. It has five major components compressed as follows:-. Curriculum Analysis This has the following main areas: Needs identification and analysis (determination of actual training needs) A need for development of a new programme or review of an existing programme can be identified by any stakeholder, that is either by Industry, Trade or Professional Associations, training providers, the community, or TEVETA. Once a need is identified, TEVETA starts planning. An appropriate Curriculum Development or Review Team (CDRT) is identified, and this is the team that convenes to develop/review the curriculum. The CDRT is made up of people from Industry, trade or professional associations, training providers, and other experts in the field who may not belong to any of the above categories. Job profiling -involves standard task analysis The development or review of any curriculum, one a need is identified, starts with job profiling. This involves identifying performance tasks, duties and responsibilities, essential knowledge, attitudes, and industry standards, etc. needed to develop accurate and relevant teaching and learning materials. Job profiling is carried out using the DACUM approach. Job profile validation – for task verification The developed job profile is subjected to appraisal by more experts, especially those from industry and professional associations to provide a means of rating the importance and difficulty of each task and obtaining other valuable decision-making information. Tasks are sorted out - selected or deselected for inclusion into the program. Curriculum Design & Instructional Development This is done after job profiling and comprises the following components. Curriculum Framework Development This involves interpreting competences from the job profiles into instructional materials. It includes formulation of learning objectives/outcomes and content for each task or group of tasks from the profiles, and also setting of the learning standards suitable to achieve the set objectives. Output: Curriculum Framework (commonly referred to as Curriculum Chart) Curriculum Detailing This is where a more detailed version of the curriculum framework (chart), commonly known as the syllabus, is produced. This includes:- Formulating specific learning outcomes for each unit; Specifying required learning conditions, including equipment, tools and materials Specifying of learner/ trainer activities Development of assessment criteria. Recommended reference books Output: Syllabus Preparation of Qualification Descriptors This is the document that is registered on the TQF and is prepared by TEVETA staff and training providers. It indicates competences that should be assessed and achieved by learners. Curriculum Validation Curriculum validation is the process through which independent experts in relevant disciplines validate (i.e. the checking of the curriculum for correctness or for compliance). TEVETA ensures that those involved in this exercise were not involved in the curriculum development exercise. Curriculum Approval The Occupational Standards, Curriculum and Qualifications Development Sub-Committee of the TEVETA Board is responsible for the approval of developed/revised and validated curricula. Once curricula are approved, they are ready to be used in institutions for training. Training Implementation This is putting the new programme into practice and is done at institutional level. This stage involves:- Activating the training plan. After institutions have been inspected and given authority to run the programmes, learners are recruited, instructors selected and trained, and the availability of facilities, supplies, equipment, and other resources confirmed; Interpretation of the curriculum through Schemes of work, Lesson plans, Learning programmes and other Learning Supporting media; Conducting of formative evaluation of learner and instructor performance, and generally programme delivery and the delivery environment; Documenting training (student achievement and instructor performance records) The student records can be used to report achievement to parents and potential employers as well as to administrators, and are needed for curriculum evaluation. Curriculum Evaluation This entails upraising a training programme in order to determine its success and what challenges were being encountered, if any. TEVETA’s policy is that a comprehensive review should be done every four years for courses up to Craft Certificate level and every five years for Technician and Diploma courses. A review can be undertaken earlier than this depending on identified challenges. This curriculum evaluation is very important in that it provides data that helps in making decisions on the way forward with a training programme, and forms the basis for curriculum review. Competency Based Modular Training (CBMT) System. Another system which is slowly becoming familiar is the Competency Based Modular Training (CBMT) System click here for guidelines. This system is very similar to the SCID approach, the main difference being in the mode of delivery. Emphasis in this approach is on acquisition of competence and learners take charge of their own learning and move at individual pace, whereas the SCID system is outcomes based and there’s adherence to set durations. Conclusion TEVETA values the input of industry and ensures that they are involved throughout the curriculum development process. For the curriculum to be really outcomes based, the focus must be on current industrial technology and prevailing trends.


TEVETA Zambia 2024. (MOTS statutory agency)