Towards the implementation of the ‘School on the Shop Floor’ Curriculum Strategy in Zimbabwe Secondary Schools

The purpose of this study was to unpack why the School on the Shop Floor curriculum strategy has yet to be implemented since its birth in 2015 (Moyo,2015) before the competence-based curriculum was introduced in Zimbabwe Secondary Schools in 2017 (MoPSE,2015). The notion was to unearth the causalities of failure to embrace this educational thrust towards education 5.0’s initiative, teaching, research, community service, innovation, and industrialization by the school heads, heads of departments, and subject teachers. The study was guided by the bottom-up model for policy implementation based on a competence-based education curriculum that hinges on the transformation of society’s lives through innovations and industrialization by Royan and Grayson in 2003. The qualitative case study design was employed, where semi-structured interviews were instituted in data collection from school heads, heads of departments, subject teachers, and training officers. Selected school heads, heads of departments, subject teachers, and training officers were purposively considered to participate in the study. Three subject teachers, three training officers, three heads of departments, and three heads of schools comprised the selected participants. The study findings indicated that inadequate human, capital, and material resources were the major hitches to the implementation of a competence-based curriculum strategy in Zimbabwe secondary schools. The study was evaluated against Education 5.0 with the insertion of innovation and industrialization. All participants lamented the need for public-private partnerships in curriculum design and implementation, shared resources, knowledge, and skills for the benefit of the learners and community. The researcher recommends that the authorities under this Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, (MoPSE) should observe that all incapacitated schools need to be resourced for the benefit of all the learners regardless of the regional sphere towards the development of the country and the world’s labor force to promote community service and entrepreneurship skills development (ESD).