The work of Curriculum Development Division is to develop and disseminate guidelines and resources that assist teachers to translate strategic national goals into student learning in the classroom. This places the division at the heart of the Ministry of Education and all activities conducted by the various Divisions and Units of the Ministry of Education can be seen as supporting the curriculum initiative.

In a broad sense, the curriculum development process includes the design, development, implementation and evaluation of curricula. As one examines the process more closely it becomes evident that each component may itself comprise several varied but inter-related activities. In fact, the work of the division may be more adequately described as designing, developing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reviewing curricula that are appropriate and relevant to the needs and interests of a developing nation, such as ours, interacting in a globalized context.

Responsibilities

In order to carry out the mandate to design, develop, implement, monitor, evaluate and review/renew curriculum, officers of the division must engage in a range of activities. The following is a list of some of these activities:

• Design, develop, review, evaluate and re-engineer curriculum for primary and secondary schools
• Monitor and supervise the  delivery of the curriculum in schools
• Conduct research and evaluation to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the curriculum
• Design and develop tests for lower secondary level in collaboration with the Division of Educational Research and Evaluation
• Provide technical advice to the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) in the development of the Secondary Entrance Assessment examinations
• Assist the Examinations Section of the Ministry of Education in conducting of CXC and Cambridge (‘O’ and ‘A’ levels) School-Based Assessments and practical examinations
• Support and monitor the work of Curriculum Facilitators assigned to the various subject areas
• Assess the qualifications of applicants to determine their suitability for promotion or entry into the teaching service
• Assist the Teaching Service Commission in conducting interviews to recruit new secondary school teachers and Heads of Departments in schools
• Evaluate the curriculum-related resources of private educational institutions to advise on suitability for registration with the Ministry of Education
• Provide technical assistance to government and non-government institutions as required to provide curriculum input:            e.g. Represent the Ministry of Education on inter-ministerial and NGO committees;  Assist with co-curricular activities such as quizzes, competitions and fairs
• Plan and implement school sporting activities in education districts and at the national level
• Manage an in-service teacher education programme to maintain an adequate supply of competent and qualified teachers
• Advise on matters relevant to educational policy as well as curriculum planning, designing, implementation and evaluation
• Provide technical advice on the facilities, equipment and instructional materials to support the curriculum
• Assist the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) with conducting their activities such as curriculum subject area planning and student assessment.

In addition to the above, the officers of the Curriculum Development Division collaborate with many other stakeholders - internal and external – to perform duties related to education.
 As the work of the division continues, the officers take pride and pleasure  in being able to contribute to the achievement of our national goals for education and to the attainment of  first-world status by the year 2020.