A highlight of my summer has been the opportunity to contribute to Haiti’s national curriculum reform as a language education expert. The project is led by Haiti’s Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP), with technical support from UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education (UNESCO-IBE) and collaboration with members of the UNESCO Chair in Curriculum Development at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Grounded in Haiti’s Curricular Orientation Framework (COC), the reform promotes a competency-based, student-centered curriculum that emphasizes inclusion, active pedagogy, education for sustainable development, social cohesion, civic responsibility, and the value of the Creole language. Its broader goal is to support a forward-looking reform of Haiti’s national curriculum, with an eye toward 2054, the 250th anniversary of Haitian independence, by strengthening education as a foundation for the country’s future.
My work has involved leading the writing and ongoing revision of English language curriculum materials for fundamental education, in collaboration with the English team composed of Haitian colleagues. This has included drafting and reviewing curriculum documents, helping ensure alignment among competencies, learning units, assessment criteria, classroom activities, and progression of knowledge, and supporting coordination across language teams.
The project has also offered an opportunity to think deeply about multilingual education in the Haitian context, including the relationship among Haitian Creole, French, English, and Spanish in students’ educational trajectories. It has been deeply meaningful to bring my expertise in second language acquisition and curriculum development to a Haitian-led reform rooted in co-construction and reciprocal sharing of expertise.