Strengths And Weaknesses Of Curriculum Development

Part: 1 Explanation and discussion of the curriculum design and development process currently used in Australian Secondary schools.

Curriculum, as stated by Glickman (2014) “is the what of instruction”. Additionally, Ornstein and Hunkins, (as cited by Glickman, Gordon and Ross-Gordon, 2014) have listed the elements of the curriculum and they “are sequence and continuity, scope and balance”. The mastery with which a teacher can incorporate the elements of the curriculum in instruction is categorized by levels. The levels of teacher involvement in curriculum implementation are described and exemplfied

Having assessed the class, teachers’ second role is that of a planning according to needs, researching any unknown and organizing timings, material etc. Teaching should meet both students’ needs and course requirements, particularly if leading to an exam. There may already be a syllabus in which case it needs to be adapted or the teacher may need to write a new one. In both cases the learning outcome must be clearly defined so that time, resources and delivery / assessment methods are carefully selected. If courses are leading to a qualification then teacher need to be also aware of the requirements of the awarding body and make sure that all outcomes are reached within the time frame provided. Due consideration should also be given to health and safety.

A study conducted in 2003 by Ofsted that involved England, Denmark and Finland, showed England’s national curriculum compared to the other two countries was:

Brady and Kennedy (2010) define the term curriculum as ‘the means by which young people and adults gain the essential knowledge, skills and attributes they need to be productive and informed citizens in a democratic society.’ However the term has many varied definitions, it can be described as being the subject matter, the overall plan for teaching or the outcome of what is taught (Wiles, 2005). Marsh and Willis (cited in Marsh, 2009, p. 3) break curriculum down into three individual areas of ‘planned curriculum’, the objectives and aims, ‘enacted curriculum’, how the objectives are

Schools are always changing and evolving with new students every year; so why not change some other things to benefit the school system. Changing and adding different curriculum in the school environment, is something that should be considered to benefit Streator High School. For example, changing the school starting time to give students more time to prepare themselves for another day at school. Another change that would be advantageous to be brought into Streator High School is to add open campus lunch. Changing up the curriculum would also be obliging. Adding a sign language class would be beneficial to staff and faculty. This would be for students to be able to interact with others that use that for their only communication with others, resulting in a closer, more friendly school environment. There would be an overall positive impact in the school community by adding these changes. More involvement, improvement in the the economy of our town, and improving the overall academics at the high school would be the result of these changes.

An initial concept of the curriculum formed by Tenorio is that curriculum is not just the books and lessons but everything, the relationships, interactions and inspirations teachers have with students, students have with parents, schools have with the wider community (Churchill, 2011). This definition explains in broad terms how curriculum influences everyone’s lives in certain ways, however it does not explain what the curriculum does, how it is constructed or how it works in a school setting. The Australian Curriculum (AC) defines curriculum as used to develop successful learners. Who are confident, active and informed citizens and “is presented as a progression of learning from Foundation to year 10 that makes clear to teachers, parents,

Curriculum in simple and its purest definition means everything that takes place/ happens during the day in an early childhood setting (Ministry of Education, 1996; Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett & Farmer, 2015).It includes what is planned or intended to be part of the curriculum, but also includes the unplanned, spontaneous experiences or interactions that children have or go through in a day at an early childhood centre. Te Whāriki is a New Zealand framework for supporting tamariki / children’s early learning within a sociocultural context. It has its principles and strands that reflect what a curriculum looks like in the context of Aotearoa, New Zealand. If anyone approached and asked me what is a curriculum , my response would be, curriculum in my mind and in children as Te Whāriki states curriculum is the sum total of the experiences, activities, and events, whether direct or indirect, which occur within an environment designed to foster children’s

Defining and creating the perfect curriculum has been a struggle for educators and administrators since the creation of universities. This struggle has continued throughout the evolution of the American higher education institutions. Starting with Harvard University in the 17th century and following all the way through to today where there are over 4,000 institutions of higher education in the United States. The goals of universities have stayed relatively the same in that they want to create prepared individuals who go out into the world ready to work and make it a better place. The challenge has been that what the world requires is constantly changing and therefore the knowledge that individuals enter the world with needs

The term ‘curriculum’ is used in a variety of ways when used in a teaching and schooling context (Churchill, 2013, pg. 186). Typically, the word curriculum refers to the knowledge and skills that a student needs to learn (Abbott, 2013). The Australian Curriculum is used in all Australian states and territories and it outlines the learning standards or objectives that the students are expected to meet. It includes the learning areas of the curriculum, the general capabilities that the students will need to learn the content of the curriculum and the cross-curriculum priorities that engage and support modern learning (Australiancurriculum.edu.au, 2015).

Developing a curriculum is a difficult process, moreso when an educator has to keep in mind the number of students they are trying to reach. At the secondary level, it is not uncommon for a teacher to be responsible for 150 or more students. Each of these students presents a unique and trying task for educators who want to help students learn. Students have different modalities for which they gain knowledge, and it is the teacher’s job to engage those

From the Rusken College speech in 1976, a whole new approach to education was to be invented and from this came the introduction of the craft based qualifications, his idea of the government putting money into education and seeing very little return, made him concentrate on making people fit for work, in turn helping the economy and paying the government back on their investment. This is the main model used in my specialised curriculum. One of the attractions of this approach to curriculum theory is that it involves detailed attention to what people need to know in order for it to work. Lesson plans are produced with the main theme of ‘by the end of the session the learner will

The meaning of the term’ curriculum’ is difficult to define. For school, Pratt (in Brady and Kennedy, 2014, p. 3) argues that curriculum can be ‘an organized set of formal educational and training intentions’. For students, Marsh and Wills (in Brady and Kennedy, 2014, p. 3) maintain that curriculum is ‘an interrelated set of plans and experiences that a student undertakes under the guidance of the school’, while for teachers, the challenge is to develop curricula that will cater for the needs of all students (Ah Sam & Ackland, 2005). There are various meanings attached to the term’ curriculum’. My personal definition for school curriculum is that schools develop programs of different study areas basing on the content of the national curriculum document; teachers plan their teaching basing on the programs; eventually, students experience the curriculum by engaging in diverse teaching activities. In this essay, I will be discussing The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) in relation to the strategic plan and teaching philosophy of Hampton Park East Kindergarten.

These stakeholders often have various interests and ideas about what should be included in the curriculum (Blaise & Nuttall, 2011). They also have differing degrees of authority (Brady and Kennedy, 2007). When the official curriculum is being developed, all the stakeholders, with their varying opinions try to shape the official curriculum (Brady and Kennedy, 2007). The official curriculum is often a product of different viewpoints such as truths', interests and beliefs between the different stakeholders.

Prospective student teachers were required to choose a curriculum document from either the primary or secondary school sector for evaluation. They were required to conduct such an evaluation using the Daniel Stufflebeam’s CIPP (Context, Input, Process and Product) Model. The CIPP Model would be used to determine the usefulness of the curriculum in meeting the needs of the Trinidad and Tobago society. Based on possible weaknesses found in the document, prospective teachers were to offer appropriate alternatives to improve the document’s content and implementation.