ISSN 2039-2117 (online) ISSN 2039-9340 (print) Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences MCSER Publishing, Rome-Italy Vol 5 No 7 May 2014 443 Towards a Differentiated and Vocational Oriented Secondary Schoool Curriculum in Zimbabwe 1 Bhebhe, S. 1 Dziva, M. 2 Maphosa, C.* 1 University of Venda, South Africa 2 University of Fort Hare, South Africa Doi:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n7p443 Abstract Curriculum should ideally be differentiated to suit the needs, capabilities and intelligences of the learners. However, learners are often exposed to an academic oriented curriculum even if this results in failure and production of unemployable school graduates. Underpinned by the multiple intelligences theory, in this paper the researchers explore an alternative to the current largely academic curriculum in the Zimbabwean education system. The concepts differentiated and vocational curricula are discussed and challenges of an academic curriculum examined. The advantages of a vocational curriculum are further discussed by drawing examples from successful case studies. A differentiated curriculum model is suggested, explained and implications for implementation are assessed. Keywords: Academic curriculum. Vocational education. Employment creation. Different abilities. Secondary school. Zimbabwe 1. Introduction Issues of relevance in education systems are perennial and highly debated. Tied to relevance is the common argument that educational curricula should serve to produce school products that fit in society by serving in different capacities. The Nziramasanga Commission tasked to look into the Zimbabwean education system and provide recommendations for policy planning and curriculum improvement (Nziramasanga, 1999) observed that: … the current secondary education was academically good but did not cater for the majority of the students, neither did it prepare them for the skills needed in the world of work. An irrelevant educational system is one that does not imbibe adequate social responsibility. To this end Mahatma Ghandi cited in Sing (2008) notes that true education is one that liberates from different forms of servitude. One form of servitude is the desire to look for a job after receiving an education. In most developing African countries such as Zimbabwe, unemployment levels have reached alarming levels as school graduates continue to be churned out of school systems without basic survival skills. Solutions to the education system do not lie in making innovations to the curriculum but by transforming the very core of the school system (Whitby, 2010). Whitby (2010) further advocates the need for an education system that caters for the different abilities of learners as opposed to a one size fits all one. In the Zimbabwean education system, curriculum at secondary school level is generally the one size fits all type as all learners are exposed to the mainly academic curriculum, which they have to pass as a route to the so called better life. Murphy (2007) argues for an education system that should prepare students for life. On the view that school system needs change in order to remain relevant, Murphy (2007:1) postulates that: Systems, just like organisms, must adapt and evolve or become less relevant over time. This is also true for education systems. The above observation is true for the Zimbabwean secondary educational system whose mainly academic curriculum annual pass rate at Ordinary level stand at an average of less than 18% for students with a full certificate comprising five subjects with a pass in English Language, the country’s official language. With this type of a scenario