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Learning about curriculum development is critical for middle managers of technical vocational institutions in order to assume curriculum leadership in maintaining and enhancing the quality and relevance of their educational programs. This case study reports on the design and effects of a professional development arrangement (PDA), with such a focus, for 13 middle managers of a technical vocational community college in a developing country. The findings indicate that the middle managers appreciated the relevance of the PDA for curriculum development at the community college and gained substantial learning about systematic curriculum development. However, the middle managers' post-PDA curriculum development improvement efforts were minimal and characterised by individual initiatives, due to a lack of senior management support, unfavourable work conditions, and a high rate of middle manager attrition. The conclusion drawn is that for trained middle managers to lead systematic curriculum development practices, contextual and organisational barriers germane to technical vocational education in developing contexts need to be considered.

The Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) curriculum requires continuous renewal and constant involvement of stakeholders in the redesign process. Due to a lack of curriculum design expertise, TVET institutions in developing contexts encounter challenges maintaining and advancing the quality and relevance of their programmes to the needs of the labour market. The purpose of this multiple-case study is to describe the potential of teacher collaborative curriculum design (TCCD) in TVET colleges for improving the internal and external consistency of curricula. The study describes how four teams from different TVET college departments redesigned their programmes systematically and relationally to improve their internal and external consistency. The findings indicated that although the teams found the re-design task a challenge, they felt positive about the TCCD experience and its outcomes. The design teams also perceived the consistency of their programmes to have improved. The criticality of the support offered to the teams and the variety of the teams' design work were salient themes captured during the design process. It is concluded that supported TCCD teams, applying a systematic and relational approach, can be an efficient strategy for maintaining the consistency of the TVET curriculum.

Improving curriculum development practices in a technical vocational community college: Examining effects of a professional development arrangement for middle managers.