In September 2010, the Bermuda Public School System will be adopting the Cambridge International Curriculum as the basis for teaching English, Mathematics and Science to all public primary, middle and senior schools. In June this year, Education Minister, Elvin James described the new curriculum as the "most significant step taken in the last ten years to improve public education in Bermuda". But how will it affect the students, teachers and parents?

The Royal Gazette sat down with the new Education Commissioner, Wendy McDonell, who explained what it's all about.

The Royal Gazette: What is the Cambridge International Curriculum?

Wendy McDonell: The Cambridge International Curriculum is used outside the United Kingdom in over 157 countries. It includes a broad range of education programs, including academic and vocational qualifications for five to 19 year olds. It does not emphasise recall of facts or the learning of details like the Cambridge that we had years ago. In the past, students would graduate knowing a lot about England but very little about their own country. It's a customised curriculum, which means that we can use content about Bermuda, whether it's information from the Bio Station, or a study of hurricanes and pressure for science. The Cambridge curriculum provides learning objectives and a variety of different assessments. The curriculum doesn't lay out the specific content, but provides it does provide a framework and guidelines. Parents will like the progression from P1 to S2. When students in the Primary schools complete certain assessments they earn a certificate of achievement at the end of primary years. The Primary curriculum is an excellent preparation for senior education. The feedback from the assessment will help parents understand their child's abilities, strengths and weaknesses.

RG: Why was this particular curriculum chosen?

WM: For some time now there has been some dissatisfaction that the graduation certification that is gained in the public school system was not recognised internationally. It was recommended that we identify a curriculum that provided our graduates with an internationally-recognized certification. This is the reason that our curriculum was changed. This certificate is accepted globally.

RG: How is the Cambridge Curriculum different from the current curriculum?

WM: In actual fact there is a lot more overlap and alignment than we originally thought. The actual difference lies in completing the final assessment — what you receive after is an internationally-recognised certificate. But the content, especially in Mathematics, Language Arts and Science, is universal, so we can continue to learn about ourselves and others, but attain international standards.

RG: Where and how is it being implemented in schools?

WM: It will be a gradual process. We will have full implementation by 2010. This year we will be in a year of preparedness — looking at where the gaps are, aligning the year level content and selecting the materials. So this year will be a soft launch in preparing teachers to be ready to engage and teach with full implementation by September 2010. It's important that we help teachers and parents understand the curriculum, have their questions and concerns addressed, and work out the kinks so that we can be successful. Different people will be at different stages depending on their training. We have some teachers who are familiar with it because they taught or trained in England, or they have looked online at the curriculum. This September, before students come in, teachers will receive training over four days so that they can see for themselves what it is, how it's different and how they will teach it. We will also have conversations with parents and invite them to be part of the process.

RG: Change can be difficult and not everyone will welcome the new curriculum. How will you overcome this?

WM: We want to ensure that we have ongoing conversations with our employees and parents throughout the process. If the new curriculum is going to be maintained and sustained, it has to be done right. We have to take the time to ensure that our staff are trained and knowledgeable. They will need to have time to become familiar with the materials, and understand how to transition over to the Cambridge curriculum frameworks. You can't just say 'You do it!' and start. We have to stay committed to the process and give them the support to be successful with our learners.

RG: How will you incorporate local content into the curriculum?

WM: We already have an excellent science curriculum which includes modules looking at hurricanes and the ocean, and we make use of the Bio Station. We continue to use these resources as we identify the learning objectives for Cambridge Science framework. We will use our local materials and content and the Cambridge resources. When it comes to Language Arts, there is a lot of material that we will have brought in from the UK — quality children's books for Primary Schools and materials for all levels. We will continue to use material from our own authors. They will complement each other. I truly believe that a good curriculum is both a window and a mirror. It's well researched that if you know yourself and the rest of the world, you will receive the best education — both national and international.

RG: How has the Curriculum been received by teachers and parents?

WM: Often we think it's all negative, but when we went to the UK, the teachers who came back were very excited about trying it themselves, wanting to give it a go and asking good questions. And I would say that it was a very positive experience for both teachers and staff from the Ministry who went also. We realised that the curriculum was child centred included good teaching and learning strategies and had a lot of alignment with what we are already doing. Our Ministry staff were also acknowledged for creating a curriculum that would work well with the Cambridge Examinations. While on the one hand our certification is not known internationally, when we showed what we were doing, our curriculum was recognised as quality work.

RG: Does the new curriculum allow parents to track how their children are doing at school?

WM: The Cambridge Curriculum works very well with parental involvement and there is a lot of online information for parents on how to do this. When a school becomes a centre, parents will have access to the programmes. It's vital that parents stay engaged in their children's education. We can't be successful if we don't work together. Over time we will make more information available on our Ministry website.

RG: What are the immediate challenges for implementation?

WM: No matter what curriculum you chose, it's not just the curriculum that will improve the quality of teaching. You have to ensure the teacher has the ability to teach and has an understanding of instructional strategies that work for a variety of children. Knowing how to interact with children and how to meet their social and emotional needs is also important. We have to ensure that our educators have the ability to engage the children in an innovative and meaningful way, as well as make use of the best practises in terms of instruction. Just adopting a new curriculum will not solely improve student performance.

RG: Do you have a message for parents, teachers and students?

WM: Everything we are going to do will be guided by what's best for children. Education is too important to be taken lightly. We owe it to our students to make good decisions and do what is best for them to learn and be successful in life beyond school. Our vision at the end of the schooling identifies a learner profile that has all the attributes of the 21st century. We have excellent teachers in our system and we need to harness and motivate our parents and teachers to work together for our future citizens. If we can sustain this initiative we can make long term change to the academic outcomes of our children.