Co-organized by the African Curriculum Association (ACA), the CESA Curriculum cluster of the African Union (AU), the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education of The Gambia, the Organisation of Educational Cooperation (OEC) and UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education (UNESCO-IBE), the 3rd African Continental Conference on Curriculum themed “Education Technology & Curriculum Alignment in the New Era” will take place in Banjul, Gambia from May 23-26, 2022. The event will bring together curriculum developers, implementers, education administrators, partners, teacher trainers, and other key stakeholders to discuss and explore solutions to the education challenges in Africa.
There is considerable need for national curricula to reflect on the changes that are taking place in the world inside and outside educational institutions. Africa, like any other continent around the globe, is faced with rapidly changing demands to respond to economic, environmental, social and political transformations, which implies usage of innovative and higher order competencies (knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and their application). Within this context, education is not only expected to meet novel demands, but also to prepare students for a future where the competencies they will need in order to succeed are constantly changing. Therefore, quality education is at the centre of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Continental Strategy for Africa also advocates for increasing access to quality and relevant education and learning.
The quest for lasting solutions to education problems in Africa requires that practitioners dialogue and come up with strategies to address the challenges in a holistic way. It is in this context that the 3rd African Continental Conference on Curriculum is conceived. The Conference will provide a unique opportunity to reflect on possible mismatch between the intended, the implemented, and the achieved curriculum, explore the potential of technology and innovations to enhance curriculum processes and products, and consider the curricular implications of translating global goals into national contexts. The discussions are expected to lead to recommendations on how Africa can make progress towards holistic, quality curricula and education using hybrid mode, which requires that many countries redesign their national curricula in order to prepare young people for critically addressing current and coming challenges.
The Conference will be carried out in various formats, including plenary sessions, presentations, breakaway sessions, workshops, ACA General Assembly at the closure of the Conference, and tour of the most important sites in The Gambia. Three sub-themes will be elaborated: 1) Curriculum Transformation & Representativeness, 2) Teacher Education & Professional Development, and 3) Learning Assessments. The following outcomes are expected:
- Participants’ knowledge and experience will be shared on the different themes presented;
- Participants will have better understanding of the need for curriculum, teacher education, learning assessment, and other related processes to be aligned;
- Recommendations will be made on the application of technology in curriculum, teacher education, learning assessment and other related processes, as well as in the process of aligning them;
- The Conference will also lay the foundation for long-term partnerships between the co-organizers and other institutions.
OEC sincerely invites your participation to this event. Registration for the Conference is now open for both in person and online. Do not hesitate to mark your calendar and start actions! Please note that all participants are required to register on the Conference website: https://conference.acuass.org/. The Conference fee is USD 150 for in-person attendance and USD 50 for virtual participation. Information about the payment is provided on the registration website. Participants can finalize payment at the Conference venue.
