Designing a competency-based curriculum framework for the industrial mechanics' discipline at the second cycle secondary school level

The purpose of this study was designing a competency-based curriculum framework for the industrial mechanics' discipline at the second cycle secondary school level. According to the concept and the nature of study, it was a mixed methods one, with content analysis and descriptive study design; and according to the objectives, it was an applied study.The research sample consisted of 44 curriculum experts, teachers and the elites in the industrial mechanics' discipline and 35 sources related to the topic. The data collected through the Delphi technique was analyzed using descriptive statistics, i.e., frequency, percentage and cumulative percentage and Kendall test. Findings of this research are a competency-based curriculum framework for the industrial mechanics' discipline which includes the components of the logic of the curriculum, the function, the scope and domain of the curriculum, the pattern of the curriculum design, structure, curriculum table, the curriculum objectives, content, learning activities, methods of assessment, and the characteristics of each one. This framework which was the result of the consensus of the authorities has been designed for the first time in Irān, considering the propositions of the national curriculum and the comprehensive system of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as its main charateristics. The results of this research could be used not only for designing a competency-based curriculum for the industrial mechanics' discipline at the second cycle secondary school level, but also developing such a curriculum framework for the other TVET disciplines.