ALIGNING TEACHER EDUCATION WITH EDUCATION 5.0 POLICY IN ZIMBABWE: CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES

ALIGNING TEACHER EDUCATION WITH EDUCATION 5.0 POLICY IN ZIMBABWE: CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES

CASSIAN MAKOTA

A. T. MUNZARA

TICHAONA MAPOLISA

This paper seeks to explore and explain the challenges and opportunities faced by implementers in
aligning teacher education with Higher and Tertiary Education 5.0 policy in Zimbabwe. While this study
appreciated the efforts that were being made to align the TE practice with the intended curriculum, it
was concerned that possible opportunities were probably not being exploited in the face of emerging
curriculum transformation challenges. There was the much publicised misalignment of teacher
education with Higher and Tertiary Education 5.0 policy in Zimbabwe. This misalignment scenario
culminated in initiatives like the University of Zimbabwe Vice Chancellor’s Teacher Education
Curriculum Transformation Programme, meant to address the gaps. However, there seemed to be
some emerging challenges that could derail such processes.
This study sought to add to literature on teacher education curriculum transformation and also
promote the development of entrepreneurial and innovative teacher graduates for industrialisation
and sustainable development. This study was guided by the constructivist philosophy and the
interpretivist paradigm. The study adopted the qualitative research approach and the multiple case
study method because of the flexibility and diversity in data generation that they allow. The purposive,
non-random probability sampling procedure, featuring judgemental and convenience sampling was
employed in the study. Data generation process involved key and other informant interviews, focus
group discussion, observations and qualitative document analysis. Data was presented and analysed
using the thematic and N-vivo approaches respectively.
The study found that there were emerging challenges and unexploited opportunities in aligning the
intended Heritage based, HTE 5.0 informed curriculum with TE practice in Zimbabwe. This study,
therefore, suggested and recommended the Programmatic Teacher Education Curriculum
Implementation Framework (PTECIF) for the Zimbabwean context. The study contributes to
curriculum transformation and policy-practice alignment discourse by making multiple theoretical
insights. The study, therefore, complements the extant perspectives on curriculum review and
transformation in teacher education for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth

Global Scientific Journals

2023