Call for Papers for the State of Higher Education Report in Zambia 2022

A curriculum is a very critical aspect of intended output and quality of education. It determines and influences the type of graduates that the education sector produces. As a central tenet of any education system, it is critical that a curriculum is premised on national, regional and global aspirations for education and human resource development.

In the context of Zambia, the development of curriculum should be anchored on the aspirations of national and regional development plans, as well as global commitments. It is through the development and implementation of relevant curricula, that a country’s human capital is developed to play the pivotal role of driving the National Development Agenda.

In recognition of the need to ensure the relevance of curricula at all levels of education, the Zambian government has been carrying out policy reviews, which have culminated in the adoption of curriculum frameworks for primary, secondary and technical education, vocational and entrepreneurship training (TEVET). Despite the policy provisions and reviews, there has been no comprehensive curriculum framework to guide the development of the higher education sector. Consequently, there has been concerns about the relevance and quality of the curricula developed and implemented by higher education institutions (HEIs).

In response to these concerns, the government has been promoting quality and relevance of curricula in HEIs through quality assurance and accreditation of learning programmes. Thus, the Higher Education Authority started accrediting learning programmes in higher education institutions in 2017.

While curriculum reviews and accreditation of learning programmes continue, the higher education sector is still grappling with a number of issues and questions related to the curricula in higher education. Some of these are whether the curricula is in tandem with modern trends in higher education, the centrality of quality assurance in curricula development and implementation, responsiveness of graduates to societal needs and the robustness of curriculum delivery approaches and assessment methods. These issues call for critical reflections and debates on various aspects of curriculum in order to provide a coherent picture on the state of higher education curricula.

The State of Higher Education Report – 2022, in this regard, seeks papers that reflect on the following themes and subthemes in relation to the theme, which is ‘Curricula in Higher Education’.

In order to address these issues, the Higher Education Authority invites submission of research and policy papers that link curriculum development and implementation in higher education. In particular, the papers should provide insight into the experiences of diverse actors in varying institutional settings.

Authors should select and write papers on any topic under the following sub-themes:

1. Curricula Development Process
   • Trends in curriculum development (e.g., Objective Based Vs Outcome Based Curriculum
   • Issues and challenges in curriculum development
   • Assuring Quality in Curriculum Development

2. Curricula Delivery Methods
   • Pedagogy or andragogy (e.g., learner centred vs teacher centred approach)
   • Delivery modes (e.g., blended learning, online teaching and learning)
   • Quality assurance in various delivery modes

3. Relevance of the Curricula
   • Responsiveness of curricula to learners, industry and society
   • National, regional and global development objectives (8NDP, Vision 2030, Agenda 2063, SDGs)

4. Assessment Methods in a Changing Technological Environment

5. Status of STEM in Higher Education

Submission Instructions

1. Abstract

Prospective authors are invited to submit abstracts of not more than 300 words by 6^th February, 2023. The abstract should include the aim of the paper, issues being addressed, the methodology and approach. The abstracts will be subjected to peer reviews. The selected abstracts will proceed to final paper submission.

2. Full Paper

The full papers should not exceed 2,000 words and should be in font size 12, Times New Roman. Figures and Tables should be inside the text. The Harvard style of referencing should be used.

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All papers should be submitted electronically to:

Mr. Denny Nsokolo

Email: denny.nsokolo@hea.org.zm

Phone: +260977459475

Deadline

The full papers should be submitted to Higher Education Authority no later than 31^st March, 2023.