Title: FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRESS UPDATE: NATIONAL CURRICULUM STATEMENT FOR GRADES 10
1FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAININGPROGRESS
UPDATENATIONAL CURRICULUM STATEMENT FOR GRADES
10 12 (SCHOOLS)
2STRUCTURE OF REPORT
- The report seeks to present
- Progress on planned processes for NCS development
and OBE introduction in 2004. - Emerging positions w.r.t the Qualification and
Assessment structure. - Imminent implementation challenges and
implications. - Perceived tensions and contradictions.
3National Curriculum Statement
- Presentation to HEDCOM 9/09 and CEM 16/09.
- Release of NCS for public comment - 20/09
- The structure of the NCS
- 1. Introduction and overview.
- 2. The policy context.
- 3. Principles.
- 4. Subject statements purpose, scope and
learning outcomes. - 5. Qualification framework and assessment.
- 6. Key implementation issues.
4QUALIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT
- Recommendations
- A single exit qualification an FETC at Level 4.
- Statements of competence credits at Level 2 and
3. - MML to be phased in gradually beginning with 4
credits in 2004. - For articulation with GET subjects should be
organized into learning fields. (CL/PM
Sc./B,EM Sc./ HS Sc./Technical/Services). - LO to be a 6 credit fundamental in Grds. 10 and
11. - Subjects in Report 550 to be offered as
electives during the transition.
5NQF Structure FET Band
Further Education and Training Certificate LEVEL 4 FETC Further Education and Training Certificate LEVEL 4 FETC Further Education and Training Certificate LEVEL 4 FETC
GSC Level 2 GVC Level 3 OC Level 3
GSC Level 2 GVC Level2 OC Level 2
General Academic SCHOOLS General Vocational FET COLLEGES Occupational WORK BASED
6Rules of combination
- The aggregate system should be abolished.
- All level and exit qualifications should be whole
qualifications. - Level descriptors will determine the level at
which qualifications are pegged. - There should be equivalence between subjects in
the General pathway and unit standards in the
Vocational pathway at the same level. - Marks to be replaced by a criterion-referenced
approach to assessment.
7Rules of combination (continued)
- A 5 point grading scale from not achieved to
achieved with distinction should be used. - Condonation will be considered for descriptor 2
partially achieved. - Such condonation shall apply only once.
- Candidates will offer 6 subjects and achieve in 5
to proceed to the next level. - The subjects will include 3 fundamentals, 2 core
subjects drawn from a learning field and 1
elective from any other field.
8Rules of combination (contd)
- An alternative system of differentiation to
replace HG/SG. - A performance threshold beyond the minimum of 120
credits to be used for differentiation. - Differentiation to reflect levels of difficulty
of assessment tasks in SBA and in final written
exams. - A maximum number of additional credits in each
subject to be used to cater for differentiation. - 29,5 hours of actual teaching time a week with
5,5 hours for breaks. - FETC to offer general admission to Higher
Education (HE). - HEIs may require additional requirements.
9IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
- Draft one of the strategy is being scrutinized.
- A gradual and incremental phase-in phase-out
strategy over a period of between 4 6 years. - Emerging FET Branch positions
10Context of the Curriculum Roll-out
- There is overwhelming support for outcomes-based
education (OBE) as an alternative curriculum. - There is relative stability in the system.
- Readiness and will characterize the mood on the
ground. - Experiences of the advocacy trail misinformed
but positive. - Decisive and visionary leadership and guidance is
key.
11Implementation Challenges
- Simultaneous implementation in both GET and FET
in 2004. - Resident resource capacity will be overstretched.
- Fiscal constraints are unlikely to ease off.
- Senior Secondary School teachers are less
amenable to change than Primary Schools. - Outcomes-based is a resource hungry form of
curriculum. - Up to 10 of teachers in Grade 10 will be
rendered redundant when the previous curriculum
is phased out. - The introduction of MML, LO and Arts and Culture
subjects mean a re-tooling of educators.
12MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
- Teacher Preparation
- By July 2003 all Grade 10 teachers will have
received three teach reflect teach type
sessions of training. - Follow-up training will consolidate subject
specific teaching and assessment strategies. - Subject specific teacher guides will be prepared
as part of the development of the NCS. - A dedicated cadre of curriculum implementers,
lead teachers and head teachers will conduct
teacher preparation.
13MANAGEMENT STRATEGY (cont)
- Follow-up, on site support will be provided on a
district and school cluster basis. - Training will be designed and conducted jointly
with HEIs and NGOs carefully selected on the
basis of their strengths in selected learning
fields.
14Learning and Teaching Support Materials
-
- LTSM is broader than textbooks.
- It includes equipment such as reference material,
teacher guides and libraries etc. - Subjects in FET are in established fields and
knowledge areas 8090 material is usable. - However, the material should be delivered and
assessed differently. - New textbooks are urgently needed for new
subjects such as MML, LO and Compu-typing.
15Learning and Teaching Support Materials
- In the interim some existing textbooks supported
by subject specific teacher guides supplemented
by clearly designed exemplars and teaching
activities should suffice. - The Publishing Houses, working in close
interaction with teachers and curriculum
specialists should develop textbooks between
January 2003 and June 2004 to accommodate the 18
months lead time. - New textbooks will thus be introduced in 2005 for
Grade 10, 2007 for Grade 11 and 2009 for Grade 12.
16LTSM
- The second glossy and durable edition should be
developed over a period of no less than 2 yrs
with teacher involvement. - A book selection list to be compiled centrally by
the national Department of Education, provinces
and partners. - Textbook writing should be a two phased
developmental process - Phase 1 First edition in simpler, cheaper form
and material. - Phase 2 Second edition in glossy, bound form.
17CHALLENGES
- MANAGING INHERENT TENSIONS
- Sensationalist and deliberate distortions or
misinformation campaigns versus constructive
critique and engagement. - Entrenched traditions and conventions versus new
OBE compliant approaches and practices
assessment vs. exams, coordination, coherence and
integration vs. sectorial, separatist interest
driven turf guarding tendencies, LTSM vs.
textbooks etc.
18Challenges
- Integrating education and training within the
band. Vocational/occupational and general
education being perceived as not similar but
related programmes in a continuum for the
enhancement of the skills base of the country. - Responding to the bulge of the out of school and
unemployed that is courtesy of the apartheid
education.