Aims 1. To recognize the main concepts related to competence- based curriculum in a variety of educational contexts. 2. To operate with the main concepts related to competence- based curriculum in planning and evaluating the teaching and learning activity. 3. To plan a training session introducing the main curriculum concepts 4. To develop a set of training materials to be used in further training activities (trainer portfolio)

21 st Century Skills  Being Creative and Innovative;  Undertaking critical thinking, problem solving and decision making;  Illustrating meta- cognition, learning to learn and original /meaningful thought.  Communication capabilities;  Collaborative capabilities.  Citizenship – local and global;  Life and Career capabilities and values;  Information and ICT literacy (learning in digital networks)  Capability to undertake Personal and Social responsibility. Ways of Thinking Ways of Working Living in the World.

Concepts to be approached Curriculum Kuwait National Curriculum Kuwait National Curriculum Framework (structure, vision, mission, philosophy, principles) Competence-based curriculum Competence Key-competence General competence Specific competence Teaching Plan

What is Curriculum? 1. Curriculum as a process The curriculum is a system of learning experiences and opportunities that are planned for children and young people through their education. A curriculum represents a multifunctional, but highly organized system of knowledge, skills and attitudes/values that all individuals are offered by a given education system (and society) and that is useful for personal fulfillment and development, inclusion and employment in a well-functioning society.

What is Curriculum? 2. Curriculum as a set of documents includes the whole system of central and school-based official and specialized regulations, instructions, etc. that describe what and how is learned in the Kuwait education system. Documents developed at the national level Kuwait National Curriculum Framework Subject curricula Teaching plan Documents developed at the school level Lesson plans Methodologies Etc.

What is the Kuwait National Curriculum? The Kuwait National Curriculum covers the overall system of learning experiences offered to children and students of Kuwait in all subjects in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes/values from the age of 3 to 18 by relevant educational institutions. The National Curriculum defines, what students should know, be able to do, and how they should behave in terms of values-oriented human beings as a result of their learning process.

What is a competence-based curriculum? The Kuwait National Curriculum is based on the competences students are supposed to acquire and the learning achievement standards that indicate to what extent this process effectively happens over the school years and/or at different stages of the process. In a competence-based curriculum, the aims of education are achieved by gradually developing a coherent system of key, general and specific competences that are measurable by means of the learning achievement/performance standards and their detailed indicators/ descriptors.

What are the competences? Competences are defined as integrated systems of knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and beliefs developed through formal (and non-formal) education that allow individuals to become responsible and autonomous persons, able to solve a diversity of problems and perform in everyday life-settings at the quality level expressed by the standards. The Kuwait National Curriculum operates with three types of competences: key competences, general competences and specific competences.

I don't know.Knowledge transmission  “as you learn more, you know more... ” I know! Knowledge

I cannot! Competence development  v “I t is not enough to be good. You should be good at doing something.” I can! Competences

What are the standards? All competence-based curricula – including the new Kuwait National Curriculum – introduce and largely use the concept of standards. According to the UNESCO – IBE definition, the standard covers “[...] an operational decision, requirement or regulation […] related to the quality level to be achieved by a certain aspect of the education system”, in our case, student’s learning.

General Competencies To be achieved by the end of grade 12 Specific Competencies To be achieved by the end of each grade Specific Competencies To be achieved by the end of each grade Performance standards Level of achievement by the end of each stage Curriculum standards Key Competencies To be achieved by the end of grade 12 Curriculum major components (operational)

The Kuwait National Curriculum Framework The KNCF has a normative, prescriptive and regulatory role. It presents the conceptual foundation, the vision, the philosophy, as well as the concrete ways in which the learning is organized and offered to children and students of Kuwait throughout various education stages, from grades 1 to 12.

The Kuwait National Curriculum Framework The Kuwait National Curriculum Framework is the main reference document for: The development of the Teaching Plan The development of the subject curricula The development of the teaching and learning resources for students and their teachers. Other types of support materials for the school principals and the teachers for implementing the new curriculum as well as for improving their continuous professional development. The Kuwait National Curriculum Framework clearly guides policy makers, curriculum writers, schools and education administrators in the process of designing, organizing, managing and assessing school activities and their effectiveness.

A common Regulatory Curriculum Document - The Kuwait National Curriculum Framework Curriculum – Assessment – Classroom Pedagogy go together  Robust Curriculum Architecture  Robust Architecture of the Assessment of Student Performance  Robust Architecture of the Pedagogy A better organized and more flexible Teaching Plan with two Components  Core Curriculum  School-based Support Curriculum A robust – integrated vision on the learner: learning for life What is new in the National Curriculum Framework

Vision statement The Vision of the new Kuwait National Curriculum is based on the vision for the future of the Nation. The new Curriculum has to assure through education the development of a new type of human resource, fully equipped for converting Kuwait into a leading international finance and business center and an attractive Oil Capital of the World. This Vision guarantees sustainable wellbeing for the people of Kuwait. Therefore, the new National Curriculum needs to prepare citizens to work hard to achieve the national vision by fully acquiring the competences required to satisfy the needs of the Kuwait State, as well as the challenges of globalization, the knowledge economy and the digital age.

Vision statement The future citizens should be: Confident in their Islamic, national and global identity Actively involved in social and individual growth Connected to other people and the environment Lifelong learners

Mission statement In the light of the Kuwaiti Vision for its future, the Mission of the new Kuwait National Curriculum is to contribute to the education of a new generation fully equipped with the key competences needed for making the country a financial and commercial power in the current world. On the grounds of preserving Islamic, Arabic and National Kuwait values, in the next twenty thirty years, we should educate citizens who cherish and respect their country, their traditions and their national identity, being at the same time open to acquiring multiple identities as citizens of Kuwait, the Gulf, the larger Arab World, and the World at large.

Philosophy The following key Educational and Curriculum Philosophies of the 21 st Century are seen as playing a leading role: Developing a holistic, complex personality, equipped with a genuine respect for Islamic, National and general human values and fully committed to personal development and the prosperity of the society. Enhancing Education for All and Inclusiveness as key pillars of the National Curriculum. Consistently infusing the life-long learning perspective as well as the pre-eminence of learning processes as compared to the teaching processes. Fully assuming the Philosophy of Globalization, the Knowledge and Learning Economy, the Digital Age and Sustainable Development, while educating students to preserve national values and traditions. Promoting the real integration of the domains of knowledge as one of the most important current trends in curriculum development and in teaching and learning internationally.

Principles Aims at ensuring coherence at the level of its design and development and – at a later stage – of its implementation A. Principles related to Curriculum as an overall System B. Principles related to the Learning Process C. Principles related to the Teaching Process D. Principles related to the Assessment of Students’ Achievements

What are the Key Competences? Key Competences: The key competences represent a transferable, multifunctional package (system) of knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, beliefs, and personal/social attributes that all individuals need to acquire for their personal fulfillment and development, inclusion and employment (i.e. for being successful in their personal and social life, as well as in their professional career). The key competences are supposed to be achieved by the end of the Secondary Education period, i.e. at the end of Grade 12. They are cross-curricular (i.e. non-subject specific), transferable and multifunctional competences – so that, in principle, all subjects can/should contribute to their development.

What are general competences? As compared to the key competences, the general competences are subject-specific. They define the most general subject-based knowledge, skills and attitudes/values embedded/integrated in students’ expected outcomes by the end of Grade 12.

What are specific competences? Are sub-divisions of the General Competences representing stages in their acquisition. Are structured and developed in students during a school year. They define more specific systems of integrated knowledge, skills and attitudes/values. They can even cover specialized, topic-based competences students are supposed to display by the end of each grade. The specific competences are clustered in the following four dimensions: A range of realities specific to the subject (knowledge); A range of operations (skills and strategies) specific to the subject; A range of personal and social responses (attitudes, values, beliefs) mobilized by the knowledge and skills acquired in a certain subject; A range of connections with other subjects and domains.

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