About the Conference
The ever-changing education environment and the labour market demands of the 21st century arising from ICT revolution, emerging of pandemics, climate change, gender and innovations have created challenges in the curriculum process. This calls for educationists to rethink how the curriculum should be designed and implemented to ensure the acquisition of the desired knowledge, skills, values and attitudes for social economic transformation.
Therefore, it is important for educationists across the globe to converge and discuss strategies for holistic learning to ensure the achievement of the desired competencies.
It is with great pleasure that I congratulate the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) fraternity for having celebrated the Centre’s 50th anniversary. Among the activities prepared for the celebrations was the 1st International Conference on Curriculum Development. The conference theme, “Reconceptualising Curriculum in the 21st Century for Socioeconomic Transformation,” is timely and critical for the development of education in Africa. As we are all aware, a curriculum is at the centre of the teaching and learning process and has been viewed by some scholars like De Coninck (2008)1, as being at the centre of daily life and the responsibility of all stakeholders in the society as a whole. As key stakeholders of education in our respective spheres of operation, your participation in this discussion is very critical and timely considering that many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa and the world at large, are rethinking the design of curricula, with a view of equipping learners with the necessary skills and competencies to encounter the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world we live in today. The sub-themes of this conference were well thought through and took into consideration the complexities of the world today. As Chairperson of the NCDC (Uganda) Governing Council, I am confident that this book of conference proceedings will provide an excellent platform for the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and experiences among scholars, policymakers, and practitioners in the field of education. Together, we will critically examine and redefine the curriculum to meet the needs of the 21st century and contribute to socio-economic transformation in Africa. It is expected that by the end of the discussions and interactions, solutions to the challenges of the VUCA world will be realised. These will give an insight into the kind of curricula we should design for future generations.
Congratulations to NCDC on this remarkable achievement.
For God and my country
