Constructive Alignment and the Curriculum: A Call for Im- proved Pedagogical Practices in Higher Education

Throughout the years, the age-old practice of higher education learning and teaching has evolved in different ways, bene-fiting some students and forsaking others. From the turn of the century, there have been fervent calls to reform the curricu-lum in such a way that all students benefit. In light of heated debates, ‘constructivism ’ was embraced as the new learning theory that would cause an improvement in student learning outcomes. Much later, ‘constructive alignment ’ emerged, which sought to revolutionise the curriculum, significantly modifying pedagogical practices. Consequently, this article seeks to address constructive alignment in the curriculum and the urgent need to improve didactic practices in higher edu-cation. To this end, a discussion ensues on the curriculum and its necessity in pedagogy. The different approaches to cur-riculum design are highlighted and briefly discussed. The theory of learning is discussed, with special emphasis on con-structivism and its off-shoot, social constructivism. Outcomes-based education is discussed, paving the way for construc-tive alignment. The necessity of constructive alignment in educational practices is highlighted, together with Biggs ’ SOLO taxonomy. Information and Communication Technologies are presented as a prerequisite in a constructively-aligned cur-riculum. Further, educational leadership, pivotal to the entire process, is also considered, with special reference to peda-gogic/instructional leadership, as part of the management of change process. Conclusions are drawn from the information, establishing that a constructively-aligned curriculum has the power to maximise student learning outcomes. As an appen