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 CurriculumReforms 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 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, curriculumreform
Abstract This paper examines the American curriculum today, noting that it can be viewed as having remained substantially the same in form within, while undergoing enormous pressures to change from without. From such experimental programs as the Dalton Plan, the Winnetka Plan, and the Gary Plan, and from the pioneering work of Francis W. Parker and, notably, John Dewey, which ushered in the "progressive education" of the 1920s and 1930s, American schools, curricula, and teacher training have changed in favor of more flexible and cooperative methods. These new approaches have been pursued within a school that is seen as an overall learning community. The attempt to place the nature and experience of the child and the present life of the society at the center of school activity has been a primary focus of this approach.
From the Paper "According to several studies in the last 10 years, the use of newer forms of assessment have provided an increasing alignment between what is being taught and what is being assessed. Anderson et al. point out that if assessment continues to advance, teachers should no longer feel compelled to "teach to tests" because tests will be more in harmony with good teaching practices. In the past, there was clear evidence that teachers frequently narrowed their curriculum just to improve test scores. Therefore, students who are engaged in programs of instruction using quality literature as a basis for reading, comparing, reflecting, and writing will clearly have an advantage on new forms of reading assessment."
Abstract The paper explains that systemic reform in education is a concept that has emerged in education policy over the last ten years throughout many nations; regardless of the geographical setting, it embodies three integral components: 1) the promotion of ambitious student outcomes for all students, 2) the alignment of policy approaches and the actions of various policy institutions to promote such outcomes ,and 3) the restructuring of the governance system to support improved achievement. The author reviews five pieces of legislation designed to encourage comprehensive educational reform throughout the U.S. by appropriating federal funds to entice the states to join voluntarily in the reform movement and by supporting opportunities for all to learn and achieve, formative summative assessment, professional development of teachers and administrators, school-based management and accountability, systemic programs of school-to-work transition, safer schools, and educational research to support these provisions. The paper states that educational reforms in the United Kingdom are sufficiently different from the U.S. discussed above; of all the educational inequalities regarding policy-making, gender has shown the most dramatic shift in the United Kingdom.
From the Paper "In order to ensure improvement throughout the educational system in the United States, the National Goals Panel was established in 1990 and recognized the need for the development of "new, clear and ambitious standards for the educational achievement of all students." A few months later Congress established the National Council on Education Standards and Testing, a committee that recommended the creation of a voluntary national standard and a voluntary national standard of student assessments. This Panel adopted a charter for a National Education Standards and Assessment Council (NESAC). The mission of the NESAC was to "ensure that the many standard-setting activities currently underway move forward expeditiously and reflect a broad national consensus about what American students should know and be able to do if they are to achieve at world-class levels.""
Abstract This paper addresses major innovations in educational reform since 1983 within the United States. This paper focuses on increased accountability in education as a negative aspect of educational reform.
Tags: EDUCATION / CURRICULUM THEORY AND ISSUES, educational reform accountability
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 ..."
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 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 ..."
This paper analyzes "The Theology of the Reformers" by Timothy George, which presents the lives and teachings of three great religious reformers: Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli and Menno Simons.
Abstract This paper explains that, in his book "The Theology of the Reformers", Timothy George does not avoid presenting difficulties to believers but assists the reader in gaining faith and knowledge of God through the reformers. The author presents in detail the lives and beliefs of Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwinglu, who is considered the most important reformer in the Swiss Protestant Reformation and the only major reformer of the 16th century whose movement did not evolve into a church, and Menno Simons, who is the founder of a loosely related group of Reformation believers known today as Mennonites. The paper states that all three reformers were presented in a sympathetic light; however, George does not stop from showing the reformers belligerently holding on to their divisive approaches to the sacraments, when compromise or at least temporary concession may have been better for the church at large.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Martin Luther
Huldrych Zwingli
Menno Simons
Conclusion
From the Paper "Martin Luther was a Christian theologian and Augustinian monk whose teachings inspired the Protestant Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of Protestant and other Christian traditions. Martin Luther was born to Hans and Margaretha Luder on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben, Germany and was baptized the next day on the feast of St. Martin of Tours. Luther's call to the Church to return to the teachings of the Bible resulted in the formation of new traditions within Christianity and the Counter-Reformation in the Roman Catholic Church, culminating at the Council of Trent."
Abstract The following paper is a brief review of the religious schism that wracked Europe, principally France and Germany, during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation periods. The paper examines how the various leaders involved responded, and what the long-term consequences of their decisions were for their respective lands. The paper also notes how the period actually strengthened the French while weakening the Holy Roman Empire.
From the Paper "The history of modern Europe has seen its share of troubling religious divides and more than its share of religious violence. That being said, the French monarchy was initially repressive towards religious dissent but gradually assumed a more progressive approach as the sixteenth century drew to a close. In the early decades of the Sixteenth century, however, Francis I was notorious in his brutal crack-down of the emerging sixteenth century Protestantism; this persecution was ably pursued by his successor, Henri II who also took it upon himself to contest a variety of territorial holdings with the Holy Roman Empire, England and Spain. As the second half of the sixteenth century proceeded, French efforts to thwart the Protestant upheaval grew in conviction."
Abstract This paper explains that public administration, within the context of public sector governance, plays a key role in Philippine economic development. The author points out that major issues and factors vital to the attainment economic development of the Philippine are encompassed within the sphere of public administration and governance. This paper argues that crucial to better prospects for the Philippine economy are improvements in fiscal and administrative performance of public institutions and the public sector in general. The paper reviews some key macroeconomic issues affecting economic growth in the Philippines and attempts to give some insights into perplexing questions as to why the Philippine economy remain sluggish.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
Introduction
Public Administration Reform for Economic Development: A Conceptual Framework
Review of Related Literature: Economic Development and Role of Public Administration
Institutions and Economic Development
The Public Sector in Economic Development
Information Market Failure
Spillovers
Sunk Investment
Social Impacts
Political Pressure
Aspects of Public Finance and Growth
On Public Administration Reform and Economic Development
Fiscal Administration
Bureaucratic Efficiency and Innovation
Transparency and Accountability
Rule of Law and Judicial Reforms Review of the Philippine Situation: Administration
of Economic Development
On Fiscal Administration
On Bureaucratic Efficiency and Innovation: Rationalization Program of Government
On Transparency and Accountability
On Rule of Law and Judicial Reforms Implications to Prospects for Economic Development
Conclusion
From the Paper "Efforts on mainstreaming transparency and accountability principles practices in government operations and anti-corruption measures still remain such a formidable challenge and progress have been lacking. This is very important area for reform since it has been found out that perceptions of corruption and weakness in government to maintain and promote the rule of law has far-reaching negative economic implications. Hence sincere effort has to start somewhere."
Tags: accountability transparency, reform levers, distribution externalities
Abstract The following paper discusses the three major effects that land reform had on Guatemalan social culture. Questions such as: What groups, exactly, benefited from the reforms? What groups opposed them? What do the resulting conflicts over land reform reveal about the already existing character of Guatemalan society, and how that society partly transformed itself during the era before the "Liberation" by U.S. backed forces.\
From the paper:
"First, by redistributing land to, and encouraging greater political participation by, sectors of the Guatemalan population that had been harshly controlled and repressed for centuries, it awakened hope. Second, it brought to the fore many already simmering conflicts between different ethnic groups, classes and institutions in the countryside. Third, it invited a fanatical anti-Communist reaction by the landowners and the military that continues to shape Guatemala to the present day."
Tags: social, reform, revolution, classes, latin, american, south, america
Abstract This paper takes a look at the life and times of Martin Luther that led to a reform movement being swept across the world. It examines Luther's relationship with the Pope and Catholicism which eventually lead to the split.
From the Paper "It has seldom happened that the story of one man was essentially the history of a great movement in human progress. Martin Luther was often referred to as the monk whose words were "half-battles", was superior among the reformers, and in general stands for the Reformation itself. But recognition of Luther's dominating position and representation should not make us ignore the other factors in the religious revolution, which was the achievement not of one man, but of advancing generations with many leaders."
Abstract This essay argues that the IMF structural adjustment program implemented in Korea during its economic crisis has hindered Korea's sovereignty and domestic enterprises by promoting autonomy of the Bank of Korea and liberalization of labour market and foreign trade. Many economists argue that it is urban low-income households in Korea whose living conditions have been most hampered by the IMF structural reforms . This essay also investigates how lives of urban low-income households have been challenged as a consequence of the IMF structural reforms. Fortunately, the economy is recovering slowly. But the legacies of structural reforms still remain; state power over its central bank and legislative branch has not been restored, many of major domestic enterprises are largely owned by foreign investors and the urban poor people suffer from marginalizatoin.
From the Paper "The financial crisis that erupted in Asia in mid-1997 led to sharp decline in the currencies, stock markets, and other asset prices of a number of East and Southeast Asian countries . In an astonishingly short period of time, these along with horrendous social consequences have plagued South Korea, a nation that previously had an unparalleled record of economic development . In late November 1997, the Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Lim announced that the Government has requested the IMF's support for an economic stabilization and reform program. Corresponding to this request, the IMF launched an economic stabilization and reform program, composed of three major componenets: exchange market stabilization, financial policies and structural reform."
