Professional Design of a Competency-Based Curriculum for Secondary School Technical Drawing in Imo State

Competency-based curriculum design in Technical Drawing ensures that secondary school students develop measurable applied skills aligned with engineering and design industry requirements, and developing such a curriculum for Imo State addresses the gap between current Technical Drawing education and professional practice. This study designed a competency-based curriculum for Senior Secondary School Technical Drawing in Owerri Municipal and Owerri North LGAs, Imo State, South East Nigeria. A professional curriculum design methodology was applied, drawing on competency mapping with 12 engineering professionals and 10 architectural technicians, analysis of current WAEC Technical Drawing syllabus gaps, and structured consultations with 15 Technical Drawing teachers and 8 curriculum specialists. Competency mapping identified 18 core competencies including freehand sketching, orthographic projection, geometric construction, section and auxiliary views, and basic CAD operation that were either absent from or inadequately developed in the existing curriculum. The designed curriculum specifies learning objectives for each competency, sequenced skill-building activities, tool-based practical assessments, and progression milestones that enable formative tracking. CAD software introduction using free-to-access Fusion 360 educational licence is integrated from SS2. Performance-based assessment rubrics replace sole dependence on WAEC theory examinations for all internal assessments. Expert review by nine Technical Drawing education and curriculum specialists confirmed the curriculum's industrial alignment. The study recommends submission to the NERDC and Imo State Ministry of Education for consideration in the state's secondary school Technical Drawing curriculum revision.

Keywords: competency-based curriculum, Technical Drawing, secondary school, Imo State, vocational education