CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT-CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES

"Educating teachers as curriculum makers is a key to the connection between policy and pedagogy and the protection of 'the practical' space for the development and exercise of professional expertise and judgment so necessary for learning to occur" (Grimmett & Chinnery 2009). Curriculum Development is a long and painful process. Georgia joined the Bologna process in 2005 and since then a lot of changes have been introduced in Higher Education of Georgia: ECTS Credit system, Three cycle System: First cycle - bachelor's degree (240 credits); Second cycle - master's degree (120 credits); Third cycle - doctor's degree (180 credits); Medicine, dental medicine and veterinary medicine (300-360 credits) lead to the qualification equal to master's degree as they are integrated education programs, Quality Assurance Services were established within the universities, and Accreditation process both on institutional level (Authorization) and program level (Program Accreditation) have been done. Simultaneously, like many Post-Soviet courtiers and not only, we had to convert our existing curricula into new competence based ones, with concrete learning outcomes and the methodology needed to achieve the overall goals of the program. A lot has been done with a help of national and international experts, to make the process smooth and the result desirable, though there are still challenges in terms of methodology and assessment systems as well as in terms of involving stakeholders in the process of curriculum design for reaching the generic and field specific learning outcomes and creating compatible product for the market. This is the perspective we view after more analysis and more trainings conducted and sharing experiences with the institutions which have already experienced the issues.