Curriculum Development in Higher Agricultural Education: A Case from Bénin

Abstract

This article explores different approaches to curriculum innovation in higher education. It discusses a specific case of curriculum restructuring at the Faculty of Agriculture, National University of Benin. In this faculty, an attempt has been made to stimulate a process of curriculum reform by organizing a seminar on the training of agricultural engineers in the context of a project of international university co-operation. This seminar is described as a hybrid of rational and interactive models of curriculum planning. An analysis of strategic groups involved in the seminar offers more insight in the practice of curriculum planning and puts the ideal-typical construction of curricula through predetermined planning models in a different daylight. The case also highlights the specific problems related to the involvement of foreign experts in curriculum planning. The article concludes by making an inventory of the possibilities and limitations of an interactive approach toward curriculum restructuring.