Curriculum planning and reform in sub-Saharan Africa

Using exemplars from selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, this article considers trends in curriculum reform and the related policy challenges. Particular attention is paid to aspects of the curriculum that affect quality. These include aims and objectives, moves towards outcomes-based education, new areas of concentration in response to social changes, the balance between subject-disciplinary- and learning-area-based approaches, the challenges of effective pedagogy, the move towards assessment for learning, curricular interventions that affect inclusion and equity positively, and the centrality of teachers in improving learning.