The core competencies for all subjects describe a body of skills that teachers at all levels should seek to develop in their learners. They are ways teachers and learners engage with the subject matter as they learn the subject. The central them of the Common Core is that the competencies presented here describe a connected body of core skills that are acquired throughout the processes of teaching and learning.
Development of Ghanaian Curriculum
The Standards-Based Curriculum (SBC) addresses the challenges with the previous curriculum and ensures that the content of the new curriculum meets the 21st-century competencies and is also benchmarked to international standards. Based on the current education reforms, and in line with the Pre-Tertiary Act 2020 (Act 1049) Basic Education has been redefined as follows.
- Basic Education:
- Two (2) Years of Kindergarten
- Six (6) Years of Primary School; and
- Three (3) Years of Junior High School.
- Secondary Education:
- Three (3) Years of Senior High School; or
- Three (3) Years of Technical and Vocational Education and Training
This Education System was divided into five key phases:
- Key Phase 1 ( Foundation level comprising Kindergarten 1 & 2)
- Key Phase 2( Lower Primary level comprising B1 to B3)
- Key Phase 3 (Upper Primary level of B4 to B6)
- Key Phase 4 ( Junior High school level of JHS 1 – JHS 3)
- Key Phase 5 ( Senior High school of SHS 1- SHS 3)
NaCCA thus developed curricula for Key Phase 1, Key Phase 2 and Key Phase 3 which was implemented from September 2019 for the following subjects:
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- History
- Creative Arts
- Our World Our People *
- Religious Moral and Education
- Physical Education
- French
- Ghanaian Language
- Computing
- KG (Numeracy, Language & Literacy, OWOP, and Creative Art)
* From the 2024/2025 Academic Year, the content of this subject will have spaces in the other related subjects. The module will therefore cease to exist in its isolated context in the Primary Curriculum, apart from the KG
Senior secondary (B7-B12)
In 2020, NaCCA completed the development of a Common Core Programme (CCP) Curriculum for Key Phase 4 (JHS 1 –JHS 3), which was implemented progressively in the 2021/2022 academic year. Having completed the three-year learning cycle, the pioneer learners for the CCP Curriculum are expected to sit for Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) in July/August 2024.
In 2022, consultative processes for the development of the Key Phase 5 (SHS 1-SHS 3) curriculum were initiated. NaCCA adopted elaborate processes in developing the SHS, SHTS, and STEM Curricula to ensure they reflect the voices and aspirations of all stakeholders. The curriculum aims to provide learners with the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies to help them transition to further study, the world of work, and adult life. It also emphasises character development, acquiring 21st Century skills and competencies, and nurturing shared values within an inclusive learning environment. This will ensure the delivery of a robust secondary education that meets the diverse learning needs of the country's young people. By design, the curriculum is learner-centred, with the concept of STEM permeating various learning areas. Tentatively, the curriculum is expected to be rolled out progressively starting from the 2024/2025 academic year.
The National Curriculum Framework
The broader nature of our curricular presents a challenge to teachers. There are far too many curricular aims to teach and test. The result has been narrowing out too many curricular targets. It has therefore become important that we explore opportunities for building a national curriculum framework that holds teachers and students accountable to high levels of desirable achievements. The National Curriculum Framework broadly brings learners into contact with an agreed range of areas for teaching and learning experiences. This framework, therefore, has at its heart educational strategies that ensure that learners leave school better positioned to contribute societal development.