2024-09-18
STAKEHOLDERS’ VALIDATION WORKSHOP FOR MANDARIN CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE: LEVEL 5
Kenyatta University Confucius Institute prides itself on developing and improving its teaching curriculum to meet the expectations of an ever-changing world. This is in line with Kenyatta University’s vision of developing market-driven courses.
A stakeholder Curriculum validation workshop for Mandarin Chinese Language and Culture Level 5 took place at the KUCI boardroom on the 8th of August, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:51 a.m. In attendance were the KUCI directors, Dr. Helen Kiende Guantai and Prof. Zhou Xiaodong; the KUCI head of academic and examination affairs, Dr. Susan Wachira; the Kenyatta University Curriculum Expert, Dr. Samson Kariuki; and the teaching staff of the KUCI. Also joining the meeting virtually via Google meet were the Executive Dean School of Law Dr.Richard M. Wafula , Arts, and Social Sciences; Dr.Richard M. Waful ;the Executive Dean School of Education and Lifelong Learning , Prof. Samson Ondigi; the Director Kenyatta University TVET Center Representative, Dr. Priscilla Ndegwa; TVETA Representative, Ms. Winnie Wabere; Chinese enterprises and industry representatives; the MD of China Square Mr.Cheng Lei; XRP Medical Kenya Ltd., Ltd Dee King Kenya, among others.
In her brief remarks, Dr. Susan Wachira, the exam coordinator and moderator of the meeting, welcomed and introduced those who were in attendance. She added that the purpose of the meeting was to validate the certificate course, which had been developed in-house with the support of industry players and the TVET authority.
In her speech, the director, Dr. Hellen Kiende Guantai, welcomed all the attendees ,thanking them for honoring the invitation . She said the institute has continued to offer market driven courses ;proficiency in Chinese language and culture, certificate in Chinese language and culture which now being aligned to TVET standards (Mandarin Chinese language andculture level 5,diplomain Chinese language and culture aligned to TVET standards Mandarin Chines language and culture level 6;approved by TVETA ,Beginners in Chinese language and culture which targets bonafide Kenyatta University students and staff and the Bachelor of Arts in Chinese language awaiting accreditation by the Commission of University Education(CUE).The director also said that the Institute had engaged in paradigm shift by moving away from the traditional approach to teaching to a more digitized ,online based approach and a combination of both. She explained that the approach is aimed at enhancing flexibility in teaching. She said the purpose of the meeting was to brainstorm, and gather information from all the stakeholders on the relevance and viability of the proposed mandarin level 5 course in regard to imparting skills, knowledge and competencies to the students. She said the certificate course was developed with the support of curriculum experts and industry. She added that for the proposed certificate course to be approved it must have gone through certain mandatory processes and stages including needs assessment, occupational analysis, development of competencies, verification and evaluation, stakeholder involvement, evaluation, validation and approval by the TVETA. She said the course had undergone the requisite rigorous development process .In conclusion she urged the stakeholders to provide inputs to make the course better.
In his presentation Dr. Samson Kariuki said the Mandarin Chinese language and culture level 5 is based on competency based curriculum policy aligned to TVET authority standards in developing the competency based curriculum. He said training needs assessment (TRA) were done before seeking necessary approvals from the University management and the TVET board. Upon the receipt of the approvals the curriculum team developed an occupational analysis where DACUM chart and Task analysis chart developed. The two documents informed the development of occupational standard and finally drafting the curriculum content. This was followed by an evaluation. Evaluation is done as a quality check by experts who were not involved in the occupational analysis to affirm and check on the accuracy of duties and tasks which had been developed during the occupational analysis . Thereafter is the validation and based on the outcome of validation this will be followed by the development of assessment tools and seeking again the university endorsement from the quality assurance system. The occupational analysis involved two methods; brainstorming with the people who were working within the Chinese enterprises and even doing a physical visit and having a brainstorming session with the employers and workers who are actually practicing Chinese language and culture i.e. Visit to Tamarind Language services etc. He said the education reforms in the country has made Chinese language as one of the electives required under Curriculum Based Competency(CBC) in the Junior secondary schools and therefore the curriculum team visited primary and Junior secondary schools just to get the context into which these particular language can be embedded and be part of the occupational analysis which was undertaken i.e. the team visited Kamuthatha Boarding Primary and Junior School in Embu county.Dr.Samson Kariuki explained that out of the occupational analysis this informed the collating of data and this involved coming up with duties and tasks. Additionally, the duties developed and tasks formed the DACUM chart and further analysis of the tasks brought in the task analysis chart .Subsequently, the two documents brought in the occupational standard which then informed the development of the Competency based curriculum(CBC). Based on the occupational based analysis the mandarin level 5 will perform 7 key competencies ;
- Apply Chinese listening and speaking
- Read Mandarin Chinese language
- Perform Chinese culture
- Apply pre-departure orientation to China
- Perform Chinese- English translation
- Apply business Chinese language
- Perform Chinese-English interpretation
A visit to Tamarind Language Services
Curriculum Panel:(Expert workers and Lecturers)
Developing DACUM Chart. Under the guidance of the Director.
A visit to school;Kamuthatha Boarding Primary and Junior School in Embu
The Dean School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences Dr. Wafula in his brief remarks said that there is a need for highly qualified graduates at a certificate level to bridge both the language and cultural gaps in areas of occupations in the Chinese companies and other relevant sectors of the economy. Moreover, the stakeholders input are critical in the implementation of the proposed mandarin Chinese language level 5.He added that the development of Mandarin level 5 seeks to provide solutions to the gaps in the industry.
The Executive Dean School of Education Prof. Ondigi in his brief remarks thanked all the stakeholders and Directors of KUCI .He added that the proposed mandarin Chinese language level 5 programme has taken cue of the ongoing reforms in education, to revise and aligned it with the CBC tenets, which lays emphasis on skill and knowledge development by applying competence exhibited in real life situations. He urged more collaborations between KUCI and the school of Education in developing more market driven courses.
The Director Kenyatta University TVET Centre represented by Dr.Priscilla Ndegwa said KUCI had worked together with the directorate in the development of the course and promised to work with KUCI in the future .She added that the proposed mandarin Chinese language level 5 is timely as there is a great demand of Chinese professionals in Kenya. .
The TVETA representative Ms. Winnie Wabere in her brief remarks said she was grateful to KU for the opportunity to participate in the stakeholder forum for the proposed mandarin Chinese language and culture level 5. She said that she was happy the program has been developed and aligned to the reviewed TVETA standards . She said the rigorous process taken in developing the proposed course is exceptional as it comes out with competencies required for the students to thrive in a fast changing world. She concluded by saying that the DACUM process had been adhered to.
The Managing Director of China Square Mr.Cheng Lei representing the Chinese Enterprise and industry said the Chinese course was timely as it presents many opportunities in terms of jobs and scholarships. He added that there were gaps in having specialized professional Chinese course for example in Engineering and in the medical field. He said that the institute should move with speed and fill the market need by developing courses that are tailored to specific industries/sectors.
After the intensive and extensive stakeholder engagement it was time to put forward the validation question. The validation question informs if the document is valid, valid with recommendations or not valid for use. The validation question was ‘How do you find the validity of the mandarin language and culture Kenya Qualification Framework level 5?’ .After brief deliberations, the document was voted as valid with recommendations and was proposed by Dr. Wilson Mutuma and seconded by Dr. Damaris Kariuki .
The Chinese director Prof Zhou Xiaodong in his closing remarks expressed sincere gratitude to the with Chinese enterprises and TVETA who were instrumental in developing market driven programs in KUCI. He said KUCI should endeavor to improve written and oral Chinese communication skills to students .Additionally, equip them with working skills and encourage them to acquire driving licenses. The director reiterated that all the invited guests and all the stakeholders had given valued contributions and thanked them for their continued support in promoting learning of the Chinese Language. Lastly, he said the KUCI staff had worked tirelessly to prepare the Mandarin Chinese language and culture level 5 programme and deserved commendations for job well done.