From Content Knowledge to Competencies and Exams to Exit Profiles: Education Reform in Zimbabwe

Abstract For over two decades, Zimbabwe has been embroiled within a complex web of economic, political, and financial challenges. In 2013, the country embarked on an ambitious journey of overhauling its education system by moving from content knowledge to a competency-based curriculum. The theory of change, in particular, was that, if the curriculum is entirely overhauled from outdated knowledge-based to twenty-first-century skills and competencies, then in the long-term, students would ultimately be able to meet the economy and labor market demands. The reform was phased from 2015 to 2022 and at the time of writing is in its last leg of implementation; there is much to appreciate and learn from the progress thus far. The chapter begins with an overview of the country’s education system and conditions that shaped the reform, followed by a more detailed description of the reform. It then analyzes the reform stages through Reimers’ five perspectives of educational change (Reimers, Educating students to improve the world. Springer, Singapore, 2020), and concludes by presenting the results and challenges at the time of writing. The success of such reform requires a systemic collaboration and stable conditions, and at this stage, it remains to be seen, which direction the reform takes.