Abstract

The national curricula the world over should be focused on the apposite exploitation of the natural resources for economic sustainability. In essence, the curricula which have thrusts on capacitating learners to exploit the natural resources for the improved livelihoods of the citizenry are referred to as indenized curricula. In Zimbabwe, the approximation of the indenized curriculum is dubbed the Heritage Based Curriculum (HBC). The HBC was hastily introduced at the beginning of the 2025 academic year in primary and secondary schools. There are misconstructions about the essence of HBC among the education practitioners. Misconstructions, are evoked when the crux of understanding it is hinged on the six learning areas in primary schools. The HBC is complex and should be informed by different philosophies which among others are; naturalism, pragmatism and in the Zimbabwean context, Ubuntu/Unhu. The philosophies help in developing the appropriate mind set for the indenized curriculum mutatis mutandis HBC. The research focuses on the extent of the detrimental effects of the misconstructions about the HBC. The qualitative approach was employed for the generation of data. The paradigm which guided the research was the hermeneutic phenomenology. The informants are purposively selected on the criterion that they were participants at the HBC dissemination workshops. The informants were interviewed and their perceptions were audio recorded after their consent was sought. The data were analysed thematically. The findings exposed the misconstructions about HBC and the effects thereof in stifling the efficacious implementation. The curriculum disseminators should explicate the essence and antecedents of HBC to the curriculum implementers in order to motivate them to embrace it.