Integration of 21st Century Skills in the Maldives Curriculum
In this case study we review the extent to which 21st century skills have been integrated across the education system in
Maldives so far and take a deeper look at coverage within elements of the curriculum.
We first conducted a needs analysis to review the 10 alignment steps for 21st-century skills integration. In the Maldivian context, all 10 alignment steps are currently undergoing review. When the curriculum was rolled out in the country in 2015, MoE ensured that schools were ready for the challenges posed by the introduction of the new era in education. Several professional development training sessions were carried out across the country to confirm that teachers had a sound understanding of the curriculum and were competent to deliver the curricular essentials to students. However this study identified a number of challenges that still hinder effective implementation of the curriculum.
Next, we carried out skills audit and mapping. This exercise brings together the information from individual subjects to identify which key skills are already well embedded in the learning area and which skills have been neglected to a greater or lesser extent. The initial skills audit and mapping of the indicators of the learning areas indicates several major benefits. The first is identifying that the level of embeddedness varies across the learning areas. It also provides an overview of the skills within the learning areas by identifying deficiencies, excesses, and expectations within the learning areas of the syllabus regarding the broader skills and skill aspects. The skills audit and mapping encourage an increase in the skill aspects of the broader skills.
Last, we brought all the elements of analysis together to form a strategic plan for further integrating skills into the curriculum and the system more broadly. The strategic plan consists of six phases. The first involved revising the core team to include a steering committee that oversees developments and formulates working groups for various alignment steps so that the work can be carried out simultaneously. Phase
two is to review and revise the existing skills framework. The third phase, audit and mapping, involved a large-scale audit and mapping across the curriculum at all the key stages to provide an overall picture of strengths and weaknesses analysis in terms of the skills embedded. The aim of phase four is to embed the skills more explicitly in the learning outcomes, assessment strategies and teaching/ learning resources for better implementation and monitoring. Phase five, application and advocacy, is expected to refine changes to policy and carrying out advocacy campaigns for widespread dissemination of the information to the public. The final phase, capacity building, is to create a series of training programs, focusing on the integration of skills in teaching and learning as well as assessment and reporting for all the stakeholders, including heads of schools, teacher trainers, supervisors, leading teachers, and teachers.