The International Bureau of Education (IBE-UNESCO) has launched the first postgraduate Certificate In Curriculum Design and Development for Central-East Europe Central Asia in Lithuania on 28 November, followed by the first postgraduate Diploma for the Arab States in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 4 December. These build on the success of the curriculum accredited Qualifications (Diploma and Master’s) launched in 2010 in partnership with universities in Africa (AFR) and Latin America (LAC) and rolled out to over 63 countries.
Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance has made significant contributions to fund the programs.
These qualifications are tailor-made training opportunities to enhance the capacity of all professionals involved in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 and the Education 2030 framework: “To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
Renato Opertti, who coordinates the qualifications on behalf of IBE-UNESCO, the leading Institute of UNESCO specialising in the field of curriculum, says, “Good education reforms and good education processes are sustained by good curricula proposals. That’s why curriculum is at the heart of education reform and policies”. He continues, “Our qualifications promote training and capacity development in curriculum matters ensuring links between teacher education, curriculum development, smart learning and assessment.”
The intention is to enhance competencies in understanding, leading, researching, planning, designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the curriculum, as well as in decision-making about curriculum and education in general. The methodology is highly interactive starting with compulsory face-to-face sessions - comprising workshops, roundtables, school visits and conferences animated by distinguished international and national experts – and online learning sessions and activities over a period of nine months.
The program is mainly addressed towards policymakers, planners, curriculum specialists and developers, educators, principals, supervisors, teacher trainers, teachers and researchers. The benefits are acknowledged by one of the graduates of the Africa diploma in 2012, “This course has given me a lot of knowledge about work I should do to bridge the gap between the curriculum designed by curriculum developers, and the actual implementation in the classroom…that is, the knowledge of the teachers and which methodology, teaching, and learning processes are required to meet the needs and expectations of the learners and the community at large.”
The Certificate for Central-East Europe-Central Asia is a partnership with
Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania within its existing Master’s in Educational Management. The first Arab Diploma in Curriculum Design and Development is a partnership between
Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBSMU) and the Section of Teacher's Development (ED/ESC/TED).
Curriculum: fundamental to create lifelong opportunities for all
The curriculum is one of the most fundamental tools for bridging the gap between education and development. However, to date, there has been little normative guidance on what constitutes a well-balanced responsive curriculum at different levels of education. IBE-UNESCO is a global centre of excellence in curriculum, setting the standards and guidelines for what must be regarded as quality curricula.
For countries to benefit from the true development value of the curriculum, there is a vital need to move beyond traditional concepts, where the curriculum is viewed simply as a collection of syllabi, study plans, and textbooks. IBE-UNESCO’s work with countries involves deepening the understanding and paradigm shifts in curriculum by working to explicitly articulate the developmental value of curriculum to democratize learning and to create lifelong opportunities for all.
For further questions, please contact:
Ms. Lili Ji, Assistant Programme Specialist, IBE-UNESCO:
l.ji@unesco.org
Ms. Eliane Jadah, Coordinator of the Diploma, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University:
pgdcdd@hbmsu.ac.ae
For more information:
Arab Diploma
http://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/news/sheikh-hamdan-bin-rashid-al-maktoum-donates-12-million-implement-ibe-diploma-arab-regionhttp://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/news/expanding-diploma-curriculum-design-and-development-arab-regionhttp://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/news/signing-ibe-hbmsu-partnership-postgraduate-diploma-curriculum-design-and-developmenthttp://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/news/2016-postgraduate-diploma-curriculum-design-and-development-arab-states
Lithuania
http://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/news/planning-certificate-curriculum-development-central-east-europe-and-central-asia
Innovation Arabia 10
http://www.innovationarabia.ae/
IBE-UNESCO Diploma in Curriculum Design and Development
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2407A645F80B5DEC
