Abstract The paper defines "curriculum" and states that the educational curriculum has undergone dramatic changes, reflecting the changes in culture today. The paper relates that the educational curriculum has undergone many reforms, as the classrooms of today are filled with students of diverse age, socioeconomic status, etc. and that their diversity is definitely greater today than at any other time in the history of education. This paper analyzes and outlines the reforms in the educational curriculum over the past 25 years and includes a discussion on diversity.
Outline:
Introduction
Definition of Curriculum Curriculum Reforms
Diversity
Conclusion
From the Paper "Diverse educational goals, as well as varying life and economic circumstances, produce different patterns in student attendance. What was at one time the traditional college student, a white male of 18 to 20 years old, attending a four-year, liberal arts college full-time, and living on campus, is now a minority student in higher education. In addition to those students, the current college population also includes significant proportions of older students returning to school due to changes in the economy, women's roles, and work environments. Over half of the undergraduate population is over 21 years of age, and 41 percent are over 24 years of age. Another difference is the socioeconomic status of current students. This ranges from those whose families are able to finance their education fully, to adults whose incomes must also cover family expenses, to low-income students who require financial assistance. Students from lower economic and societal classes during their youth have led many of today's college students to value vocational training over learning for learning's sake. As compared to the past, women currently make up the majority of most institutions' undergraduate student bodies."
Abstract This paper is a position paper on multicultural curriculum. The paper discusses what a multicultural curriculum is and why it is needed in today's multicultural classrooms. It looks at the division among those who support a multicultural curriculum and those who don't. The paper briefly discusses how to teach the multicultural curriculum.
From the Paper "According to Gollnick and Chinn multicultural education has the purpose of further developing a democratic society by providing and promoting a respect and understanding of diverse ethnic and cultural groups ..."
Abstract This paper first provides a definition of the term 'curriculum'. It will defines and discusses such ideas as learning outcomes and assessment strategies. Once the overall idea of curriculum has been sufficiently defined, the attention of the essay turns to a more specific topic. The paper then lists some of the varying ways that even an ordinary curriculum can be spruced up, seeming attractive and non-threatening at the same time.
From the Paper "As the time has come to pick a particular area on which to focus my study in regards to curriculum, there is first a simpler issue which needs to be addressed. This issue is the definition of curriculum, or what curriculum actually is. Once this essay sufficiently defines curriculum, the more specific area of curriculum for adults learning online can then be addressed. Curriculum is, at its most base definition, the coursework and courses that make up the avenue which leads to a particular degree, specialty, or training. These are the courses which one must take and pass in order to finish the given field of study, thereby not only demonstrating a knowledge and grasp of this particular field, but learning to work within said field in a later, professional career. "
This paper reviews a chapter in "The Clearing House" entitled "Development of Curriculum Resource Guides in a Secondary Education Course" by Bullock et. al.
Abstract In this paper the author critically reviews Bullock et. al.'s chapter in "The Clearing House" entitled "Development of Curriculum Resource Guides in a Secondary Education Course". The original work reported the results of an undergraduate-level education course in which students were to compile an annotated list of source material for use as curriculum guides. The reviewer addressed the positive aspects of this assignment as well as its limitations. The review found this article to fall short. Criticisms include that the authors did not provide any critique of the final result, nor did they give any description of how the students proceeded with their project. Also, there was no indication of how the students were led through the process of evaluating the materials examined.
From the Paper "This diverse approach to generating curriculum guides is an interesting approach that should encourage the teams to find a wider range of informational sources than the students might have found if, for instance, only future math teachers looked at math curriculum guide materials and only elementary teachers looked at materials for elementary students."
A review of the issues of race, gender and ethnicity in the education field as detailed in Patrick Slattery's "Curriculum Development in the Postmodern Era."
Abstract This paper examines how modern curriculum development has systematically and philosophically tended to ignore issues of race, gender and ethnicity and discusses how potentially contentious matters such as race and gender infuse all aspects of our daily lives including education. The writer of this paper concludes by submitting two critical questions to generate and facilitate seminar debate.
From the Paper "Curriculum in the postmodern era should acknowledge openly the pressures and "absurdities" of the longstanding modern bias as well as the traditions of discriminatory assumptions shaping educational culture; such open admissions are not in place, he states, "to perpetuate paralysis and hatred but to constantly remind us of the consequences of racism, sexism, and cultural elitism." Racial discrimination with the curriculum does exist, Slattery essentially argues, as does ethnic stereotyping and gender bias and the first step in addressing these deeply-rooted imbalances is to admit openly that the exist in even the most "liberal" institution or program."
Abstract This paper looks at how a variety of factors influence the curriculum changes at colleges and universities and how the universities must respond to these influences. The paper also compares the regular GPA evaluation and general requirements, major, and electives method, with a more comprehensive and portfolio building approach.
From the Paper "Changes in the requirements of employers in the nature of society and even in fads and trends all influence the design of college curriculum. Colleges and universities must keep pace with the times or suffer from decreased demand for their services, measurable as declining enrollments. Changing a curriculum to address these concerns is made more complex by the fact that colleges are being challenged to devise curriculum reform efforts that enhance their innate capacity to ensure that students graduating or completing a..."
Tags: education, colleges and universities, curriculum reform
Abstract This paper describes several factors which are influencing the practice of nursing. The author indicates that to attract people to the fields changes need to be made in the curriculum. The paper points out these changes.
From the Paper "The field of nursing is challenged today by a number of factors among which are the nursing shortage, managed care and its consequences, emergent technologies and their demands and new practice opportunities ... According to some analysts, responding to these challenges and encouraging students to enter the field of nursing is mandating the advancement of scholarship through curriculum planning, development and evaluation. This report will consider the kinds of changes needed to improve the curriculum for ..."
Abstract This paper provides an exploration of curriculum in the classroom. It discusses how school-based curriculum development is one of the many tasks that school staff are now responsible for as a result of school- based management and how teachers' responsibility for curriculum decision-making is now extended beyond their own classrooms to whole school initiatives.
Outline
Defining Curriculum The Teacher's Role in Curriculum Decision-Making
Factors Shaping Teachers' Curriculum Decision-Making Space
Impact of Recent National Trends on Curriculum Decision-Making
Proposed Interview Questions
From the Paper "Outcomes-Based Education is a curriculum approach that inverts traditional planning, focussing on the outcomes stakeholders wish students to demonstrate as a result of their education (Brady, 1996). Once these desired outcomes have been identified, the challenge presented to schools, teachers, parents and students is to determine how they will ensure that these outcomes are achieved and demonstrated by all students. Lorenzen (1998, p.1) clarifies this process saying, "All curriculum and teaching decisions are made based on how best to facilitate the desired outcome." In this educational approach, the focus is no longer on what has been taught, but rather, what the students are able to demonstrate they have learnt."
Abstract The paper explains the origin of the word curriculum and concentrates on one approach, specifically "curriculum as process" which it discusses extensively. The paper states that different types of schools in the U.S. and other parts of the world are enticing students to enroll by offering a more effective curriculum than other schools. The paper then poses the following questions and attempts to answer them: 1. What exactly is a curriculum? 2. What are the approaches used in curriculum theory and practice? This paper explains all this and enumerates the different approaches in curriculum theory and practice and gives a brief description to each approach.
Outline:
Curriculum As Process
Strong Points
Weak Points
Curriculum Designing
From the Paper "Curriculum as Process" approach has its weaknesses. First, this approach does not guarantee a degree of uniformity in what is being taught in the classrooms. Since this approach encourages interactions and discussions among students and teachers, interactions might take most of the time and that the real subject matter is not properly taken up. Secondly, this approach may lead to different means of teaching in different classrooms and may vary greatly in terms of the content being learned. Another weakness of this approach is that it entirely depends on the quality of the teachers being employed by the school. If the teacher is not well-prepared in his/her lessons, discussions and interactions may greatly deviate from what the teacher actually wants to achieve educationally."
Abstract This paper explains that the effects of the hidden curriculum are often unnoticed, though its influence on educational institutions can be profound, impacting the behavior, both students and the instructor, often resulting in a less then optimal learning environment. The author points out that, in the United States, the hidden curriculum imparts respect for authority, good conduct and discipline by the organization of the classroom itself with the teacher seated at the front, which implies a hierarchy. The paper suggests that teachers and students can develop a critical awareness of the hidden curriculum by recognizing the many factors, which become part of the hidden curriculum, such as the media, and by being aware of the effects the hidden curriculum can have on topics such as race, class and gender.
Table of Contents
Hidden Curriculum Effects of the Hidden Curriculum Awareness
From the Paper "As a tool for socialization, the hidden curriculum is an important means for preparing students to take on social roles. Jackson (1968), for example, believed that the values taught in the hidden curriculum provided students with a strong foundation to take on the working world. In most American schools, for example, students are expected to concentrate on their own work and to excel, rather than take time to tutor slower students. These practices prepare students for the competition inherent in the American business world and American society in general."
Abstract This paper explains that there is an extensive body of literature discussing the roles of the curriculum coordinator, but there is no consensus on what that role entails. The paper stresses the importance of role theory in issues of position definition. The author states that the proposed research will examine the perceptions of the role of curriculum coordinator held by teachers, principals, vice-principals and curriculum coordinators themselves and will test whether these perceptions differ in relation to the perceivers' position within their schools.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Role Theory: Theoretical and Historical Research
Applications of Role Theory to Organizations, Institutions and Educational Institutions
Application to Organizations/Institutions
Direct Application to Educational Institutions
Application of Role Theory to Role of Curriculum Coordinator
Perceptions of the Role of Curriculum Coordinators
Summary and Conclusions
From the Paper "In some of the earliest research on role theory in direct relation to educational institutions, Biddle (1961) applied the theory to the role of the public school teacher and the relationships between the teacher's role and the problems of teacher recruitment. Specifically, the study examined teacher differences in teacher roles as perceived by teachers, college education majors and college students in other fields. The assumption underlying the study was that occupational choice was most often made because of role concepts and expectations. Questionnaires were used to elicit respondents' views of positive norms, negative norms, and expectations for teacher behavior in a variety of settings and situations."
Abstract This paper examines the concept of curriculum and provides the writer's definition of it. In so doing, the paper outlines why conceptions of curriculum which focus predominantly upon describing it as course syllabi and learning modules are inadequate in large measure because they fail to take into account the sociological and ideological aspects of the concept. The paper also discusses E.A. Todd's definition of curriculum in "Curriculum Approaches and Definitions" and argues that it is overly broad and insufficiently descriptive.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
What is Curriculum?
From the Paper "In closing, the preceding several pages have outlined this writer's conception of what the term "curriculum" really means. In so doing, what it is hoped has been revealed is just how enormous in scope the term really is and how merely confining one's understanding of it to course outlines, course modules and to technical competencies taught (and hopefully learned) is to really overlook many of the ideological and sociological aspects of curriculum. In the end, the concept "curriculum" is really an enormous and enormously important one."
Abstract This paper explores the issue of whether Australia should implement a national curriculum. The paper begins by outlining the positive aspects of doing so and then, in order to provide a more rigorous and insightful approach to developing a basis for a national curriculum for Australia, the paper incorporates the research report 'Rethinking National Curriculum Collaboration; Towards an Australian Curriculum' by Alan Reed. The paper examines both sides of the debate on the issue and looks at some of the challenges that would be faced in the implementation process. The paper concludes that the implementation of a national curriculum is crucial to the future of Australia as it seeks to grapple with the complexities of globalisation, the speed of knowledge production, and the challenges of diversity.
From the Paper "There have been various attempts to engineer various national curriculum agreements such as the attempts in the period from 1989-93 to establish a single national curriculum to form a national collaboration. The most recent manifestation of a national curriculum collaboration was the decision in July 2003 by the Minister Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) to develop national curriculum consistency in Mathematics, Science, English and Civics. There has also been a search for curriculum commonality and recently the Commonwealth has tied State-territory funding for education to their participation in assessment/performance testing in primary and secondary schooling which in effect determines curriculum design."
Abstract This paper provides an analysis of curriculum trends in America's public and private schools over the next decade and notes that the trend in the past has been to modify the curriculum in an effort to learn and do the right things. The paper includes a summary of the research in the conclusion.
Background and Overview
What Curricular Changes Will We See and Why?
What Will be the Content of the Curriculum in the Next 10 Years
What and Who Will Influence Content?
Who Will be Involved in its Development and Design
What Part will you Play in Curriculum Development in the Next 10 Years
How will These Changes Impact you Personally
From the Paper "In spite of initiatives such as the Eight-Year Study and student-centered learning, public schools in American have remained deeply entrenched in traditional teaching; nevertheless, because the need is so great, renewed efforts to reconceptualize teaching in order to improve learning continue to emerge (Gross, 1997). What subjects should be taught in our schools, by what means, to whom, under what circumstances, and with what objective in mind? According to Reid (1999), these are the fundamental questions of curriculum that continue to be debated by politicians, administrators, educators, and, not least, the public at large; however, just what is curriculum? "It is a multitude of encounters between teachers (practitioners) and students (clients) in circumstances of great individuality, where outcomes are seldom predictable" (Reid, 1999, p. 3). In addition, a curriculum is also, by necessity, an institution. This is possible because both educators and the public alike have a firm conception of curriculum as institution, which includes concepts of "gradedness" (what it means to be a fifth grader), concepts of "subjectness" (what it means to study fifth-grade geography), and so forth (Reid, 1993). "
Abstract This paper discusses and compares three types of education curriculum. These are the High Scope Curriculum, the Emergent Curriculum, and the Academic Curriculum. This paper explains and then examines the advantages and disadvantages of all three, from the perspective of early childhood education.
From the Paper "The demands that are placed on education continue to change each year. The testing trend of today's school systems as well as accountability of teachers and administrators has been brought to the forefront in recent years. Through this, early childhood educators have held strong in their plight to provide a quality and meaningful education to every child during the formative years when learning is all that matters. In an effort to examine the best teaching practice for early childhood programs, this paper will focus on three types of curriculum in comparison. They are the High Scope Curriculum, The Emergent Curriculum, and the Academic Curriculum."
