An anatomy of curriculum innovation failure: the case of political economy in Zimbabwean secondary school sector

A study on Curriculum Innovation Failure in Political Economy in the Zimbabwean educational sector.The magnitude of educational reforms and change in the first decade of independence in Zimbabwe is legendary and more or less unparalleled in the history of educational provision in post-colonial Africa. By the late 1980s, it was increasingly realised that for the then guiding educational philosophy of education with production to take root, it was necessary to undergird it with the subject of political economy (PE). It was envisaged that the subject would provide an epistemological understanding of socialism among secondary pupils who would consequently champion a socialist transformation as future citizens and leaders. The attempt to introduce political economy ranks as one of the most outstanding curriculum innovation failures in Zimbabwe. This study, through documentary analysis, informant interviews ofsome protagonists of the innovation and erstwhile school pupils who encountered the curriculum in schools, proffers that the introduction of political economy failed mostly because it was a top down process of change which was not predicated on a supportive constituency of the various educational stakeholders. The study recommends that planned curriculum change and innovation should always be informed by the values, goals and expectations of the various stakeholders it seeks to serve

Education For All In Zimbabwe: A Mirage?

A ZJER article on assessing the attainment of MDG's (Millennium Development Goals) of Education for All in Zimbabwe.This paper assesses Zimbabwe’s efforts towards the attainment of, the goals of Education For All, (EFA) as determined and agreed upon at the World Conference on Education For All (WCEFA) held in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990 and re-affirmed in Dakar, Senegal in 2000. While Zimbabwe has been noted to have made huge strides in increasing access to education for previously marginalized Africans during the first decade of independence from Britain, there is need to take stock of progress in recent years against a background of socioeconomic decline experienced in the country since the early 1990s, more so since the year 2000.The introduction of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) marked the beginning of a phase of reduced government funding of social services sectors, education included. This saw the re-introduction of school fees arid various levies in both primary and secondary schools, negatively impacting oh access to education, particularly by children from disadvantaged groups such as those from impoverished rural, farming and mining communities. Added to this is the HIV/AIDS phenomenon that has ravaged communities particularly in the last decade, leaving a considerable number of children orphaned and without a means of sustaining their livelihoods in general and to pay school fees in particular. Then came the economic down-tum of the last decade, but particularly pronounced since the year 2000, again.rendering more families poorer and with a reduced capacity to pay fees for school going children. It:is against this background, that this paper scrutinizes Zimbabwe's efforts towards the attainment, of the ERA goals. Is Zimbabwe still on course