This study sets out to describe the new secondary school syllabi that came into use in Cameroon in the 2014/2015 academic year superseding the syllabuses that had been in use in the past thirty years. The present syllabi have been created to reflect the national and international learning needs in terms of knowledge, know-how and attitudes. Cast in the Competency Based Approach to teaching and learning, it draws from the vision of education contained in the Education for All goals (EFA) ,Jomtien, (1990), the Dakar (2000) framework for action, Sustainable Development Goal, 4 to “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (p.18, 2015), the national education policy (1998) document, the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (GESP, 2010) as well as Cameroon Vision 2035 (2009). Structured into five “area of learning,” with different weights, the syllabi are held together by “Families of situations” around which teaching and learning activities are developed and implemented in a bid to enable learners develop both the subject competences, as well as, the cross-curricula competences. The specific roles of learners’, teachers’ and parents’ are clearly delineated to facilitate implementation.
References
[1]
Humanium (1990) World Declaration on Education for All and Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Need.
[2]
Dakar (2000) World Education Forum; The Dakar Framework for Action: Education for All: Meeting Our Collective Commitments.
[3]
United Nations (2015) Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, A/RES/70/1. https://sdgs.un.org/
[4]
Tambo, I.L. (2005) National Education Policy since the 1995 Forum. Press Book Ltd., Limbe.
[5]
Alemnge, F.L. (2019) Curriculum Reform in Cameroon: An Analysis of the New Primary School Curriculum. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development, 3, 902-913. https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd29264.pdf
[6]
Elton, G.R. (1967) The Practice of History. Fontana Library, London.
[7]
Bell, J. (1993) Doing Your Research Project. Open University, Celtic Court, Buckingham.
[8]
Scott, J. (1990) A Matter of Records. Polity Press, Cambridge.
[9]
Luke, A., Wood, A. and Weir, K. (2012) Curriculum Design, Equity and the Technical Form of the Curriculum.
[10]
Michael, J.V.W (2005) Constructing a Syllabus: A Handbook for Faculty, Teaching Assistants and Teaching Fellows. W. S. Center for Teaching and Learning. Brown University, Providence.
[11]
Diamond, R.M. and Forward, I.J. (1998) The Course Syllabus: A Learning-Centered Approach. Anker Publishing Company Inc., Bolton.
[12]
Halpern, D.F. and Hakel, M.D. (2003) Applying the Science of Learning to the University and Beyond: Teaching for Long-Term Retention and Transfer. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 35, 36-41.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380309604109
[13]
Republique du Cameroun, Les Ministeres du Secteur de L’education (2013) Socle National des Competences.
[14]
Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (2009) Cameroon Vision 2035, Working Paper.
[15]
Robertson, D.L. (1999) Professors’ Perspectives on Their Teaching: A New Construct and Developmental Model. Innovative Higher Education, 23, 271-294.
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022982907040
[16]
Habanek, D.V. (2005) An Examination of the Integrity of the Syllabus. College Teaching, 53, 62-64. https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.53.2.62-64
[17]
Grunet, J. (1997) The Course Syllabus: A Learning-Centered Approach. MA: Anker Publishing, Inc., Bolton.
[18]
Peer, K. and Martin, M. (2005) The Learner-Centered Syllabus: From Theory to Practices in Allied Health Education. Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practices, 3, No. 2.
[19]
Vygotsky, L.S. (1980) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvjf9vz4
[20]
Brown, J.S., Collins, A. and Duguid, P. (1989) Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning. Educational Researcher, 18, 32-42.
https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X018001032
[21]
Streibel, M.J. (1989) Instructional Plans and Situated Learning: The Challenge of Schuman’s Theory of Situated Action for Instructional Designers and Instructional Systems. Journal of Visual Literacy, 9, 8-34.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23796529.1989.11674442
[22]
Republic of Cameroon, Ministry of Secondary Education, General Inspectorate of Education (2014) Programme of Study: Literature in English (Anglophone) Secondary General Education First Cycle: Forms 3, 4 and 5. Inspectorate of Pedagogy Incharge of Letters, Arts and Languages.
[23]
Republic of Cameroon, Ministry of Secondary Education, General Inspectorate of Education (2014) Biology Syllabus, Form 1 and 2: Inspectorate of Pedagogy Incharge of Science Education/Biology Department.
[24]
Republic of Cameroon, Ministry of Secondary Education, General Inspectorate of Education (2014) Mathematics Teaching Syllabus, Forms 3, 4 and 5. Inspectorate of Pedagogy Incharge of Science Education/Mathematics Department.
