The National School of Forestry Sciences (ESNACIFOR), is a higher education institution in Honduras. Over its thirty years of existence, due to its diversified academic, research and extension programmes, ESNACIFOR earned a regional leadership.
Due to the economic crisis that affected Honduras in the beginning of the 80's, a series of structural changes have been introduced in the management of natural resources. In order to respond to these trends as well as to other important social needs, ESNACIFOR has often been compelled to revise its curricula.
The strategies used for curricula revisions and development, mostly participatory, comprise three main steps: (i) the precise identification of the professional profile; (ii) the development of the educational system and; (iii) the update of the study plan.
In its curricula development and revision processes, ESNACIFOR takes into account some internal parameters such as: (i) the law amendments; (ii) the academic rules and internal regulations; and, (iii) the strategic development plan. The major external parameters are: (i) the higher education law and rules; (ii) the technology progress and the evolution of the job market; and, (iii) the ongoing forest policy.
The major stakeholders involved in the curricula processes are: the faculty and staff members, the students (present and former), the potential employers and other institutions. The mechanism used to promote the participation of the stakeholders consists of individual, well-structured and regularly repeated interviews (every five years). The relevant results are then analysed and amendments are made accordingly, to respond to national and regional needs. However, the main problem in running these processes remains the lack of experienced and trained personnel and the follow-up in the implementation.
