Heritage-based curriculum: Unlocking Zim’s cultural, economic potential
“A concerted effort to preserve our heritage is a vital link to our cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational, and economic legacies — all of the things that literally make us who we are.”
THESE were the words of Steve Berry in one of his many books.
In short, heritage is our contemporaneous use of the past. It is that part of yesteryear which has been bequeathed unto us and we select that which is relevant for our purpose.
It is the same legacy that we hand over to the next generation so they can apply to their own purpose.
At the risk of scaring away those readers who are not keen to read highly referenced documents I beseech the reader to bear with me and allow me to give one last quote.
“A society is only civilised to the degree that it protects the products of previous civilisations of the land it inhabits and provides these products with conditions to re-live.” (Tapan 2014)
Our heritage is not just an abstract philosophy. It is something that forms a part of our daily lives. It is a lived experience.
One of the ways we hand over both the intangible and the tangible parts of our heritage is through a “heritage-based education” system.
I am sure someone is already thinking that we are going to be teaching their children antiquated stuff with no relevancy to their current settings. Not by any stretch of imagination.
Technology in its cutting age form will be infused in our heritage as a basis for learning. That is why it is called Heritage-Based Learning.
This has become a popular turn of phrase of late, as more and more Government policies are interwoven with our heritage in Zimbabwe.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education will this month, start the implementation of the Heritage-based Curriculum Framework 2024-2030.
I personally find this development exciting as African nations increasingly move towards education that harnesses and adds practical value to their citizens.
Indeed, the 37th ordinary session of the African Union was held under the theme “Educate an African fit for the 21st century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality and relevant learning in Africa.” But what exactly is heritage-based education? Heritage-based education is focused on producing goods and services useful to the economy, based on a country’s heritage or natural endowments.
It seeks to ensure that pupils acquire skills, values and attitudes that are useful in life. Gone are the days of teaching children to draw the body parts of insects or naming all the rivers of a foreign land.
Instead, the new thrust is to impart on pupils, leadership and problem-solving skills, business and financial literacy, entrepreneurial skills and a sense of patriotism and Ubuntu.
With the new Heritage-based curriculum, Zimbabwe will not be producing graduates with theoretical high-sounding volumes of information, but rather, individuals who are equipped with the necessary scientific and technological skills needed to succeed in today’s world.
The inculcation of our heritage as Zimbabweans will also produce graduates who are proud of their identity and participate peacefully in sustainable development.
Heritage-based learning incorporates the cultural, historical, and social contexts into the learning process.
It will produce a fit for purpose graduate by providing them with deeper understanding of their heritage and its relevance to the subject matter.
Knowledge is contextualised through the grounding of academic concepts in local heritage. The understanding which learners get is more nuanced to practical applications.
This approach fosters empathy, critical thinking, and problem solving.
It helps the learners to develop a sense of responsibility and connection to their community, which in turn nurtures them in a way oriented to make them useful future contributors to it in their professional lives.
Besides the local environment awareness, this approach highlights the interconnectedness of cultures, preparing graduates for the increasingly globalised world we now live in.
This is where the adaptive critical thinking skills really find the space for expression. Let us look at the curriculum in more detail.
The curriculum being implemented in Zimbabwe now is aligned to the national vision of becoming an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
Under this new order, Infant and Junior Levels (ECDA to Grade 7) of education have been rationalised through integration of Science and Technology, Physical Education and Arts and Social Sciences.
The medium of instruction shall be the indigenous language commonly used or spoken in a particular area as outlined in the Constitution.
For lower secondary school (Form 1 to Form 4) there are five core and compulsory learning areas namely; Mathematics, English Language, Indigenous Language and Literature, Combined Science and Heritage Studies. In addition, pupils will also study three necessary electives.
Form Five and Six pupils will study subjects according to their chosen career pathway.
The Heritage-based curriculum promotes five pathways which are; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Visual and Performing Arts, Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Humanities and Commercials.
The key feature of the Heritage-based Curriculum in my view is that it provides the choice of either two routes that a child can take.
The first route is for those who want to do ‘A’ Level then university while the second route caters for those who want to acquire vocational skills.
I feel this is important because for too long, children have been pressured to follow the first route, even those who are not gifted academically, which only resulted in waste of time for both parents and children and also a waste of resources and education.
The truth of the matter is that not every learner is gifted enough for a demanding academic pathway pursuit.
Some have their talents positioned for a vocational career or a trade.
Opportunities should be availed in their environment to form and refine their talents so that they can put their best foot forward.
Forcing someone on a track which does not optimise their potential or talents is setting them up to fail. In fact, it can be argued that it is as bad as denial of participation. This means that such a person can be considered excluded.
Now we cannot have that, can we, because at the heart of our policy is a dictum which says, “Leaving no one behind”.
The Heritage-Based Education approach can be counted on to deliver an effective and equitable education.
The development trajectory of our country has already shown gaps which indicate in a clinical way that our education system is producing some cadres who are not fit for purpose. Cadres who cannot discern their environment to come up with start-ups.
The curriculum reform which is in motion in Zimbabwe is an effort by policymakers to address the early preparation of the workforce and the innovator.
The Heritage-based education curriculum is addressing the needs of the country, the ability of the learner and the aspirations of their community and their own in one sweeping change.
In today’s innovative world, parents should be more receptive of the choice for vocational skills training by their children.
Under the new curriculum, those seeking to acquire vocational skills will follow the Zimbabwe National Qualifications Framework’s skills pathway under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development.
Available for such pupils are HEXCO courses, at Form Four and National Foundation Certificate and Nation Certificate after Form Four. They can also enrol in polytechnics and vocational training colleges.
President Mnangagwa summed up Heritage-based Education on the occasion of the Children’s party held on April 17 in Murambinda.
He entreated the children through these words, “I call upon you to use your knowledge, talents and skills as well as create stronger connections between what you learn at school and your daily lives. You must be proud of being Zimbabwean by helping produce goods and services that we all need.”
Earlier this year, the President declared that “under my administration, the Heritage-based Education 5.0 model is not just an educational philosophy, it is a transformational and mind-shifting approach that empowers people to appreciate their foundational roots, understand their place in the world and envision a modern future.”
Did it ever cross your mind that learning about one’s own cultural heritage tends to make students perform better academically and have a higher self-esteem?
Well, it is proven scientific fact. So those who bash their communities, country or way of life may have some self-esteem issues, intellectual limitations or self-identification challenges.
The new curriculum is exactly what the doctor has ordered for our development and the preservation of our nationhood.