Bridging the Gap: World Cafe session
At the 2023 Basic Education Lekgotla, the Department of Basic Education committed to strengthen the curriculum by infusing skills and competencies into Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS), in order to enhance the relevance of the curriculum in preparing learners for work and life in a fast-changing world. Save the Children, South Africa (SCSA) have embarked on a process to advocate for enhancing the breadth of skills in the South African education system. Strengthening the curriculum by infusing skills and competencies into CAPS is critical to enhancing the breadth of skills in the South African education system. SCSA also acknowledges the importance of teachers in the implementation of a strengthened curriculum. Teacher development will be a key lever for ensuring a seamless implementation of the strengthened curriculum.
To provide guidance and advocate for the implementation plan, SCSA commissioned JET Education Services (JET) to conduct research examining the governance arrangements affecting teacher development related to curriculum reform. One of the data collection methods is a world café, a participatory research method designed to facilitate open and intimate discussion, gathering perspectives of a large sample of diverse viewpoints. This method is particularly useful for gathering qualitative data. The conversational method helps groups to engage in constructive dialogue focused on critical questions. SCSA and JET have selected a range of participants to participate in the World Café. Participants provide a representative overview and perspective of governance arrangements affecting teacher development related to curriculum reform. Participation in a World Café is however limited to between 40 and 50 participants. Participants represent national, provincial and district education departments as well as government agencies, academia, teacher unions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as donors.
World Café topics aim to collect data that informs the ways in which national and provincial education departmental structures align policy formulation and implementation related to teacher development. Additionally, sessions intend to collect data that can inform the ways in which agencies, organisations, and institutions, contribute to and influence policy formulation and implementation related to teacher development.
