Curriculum as Determinant to a Schools International Status - Essay Example

? Curriculum as Determinant to a School’s International Status In formal education, curriculum plays a vital part in how an educational provides learning to their students. A curriculum is a set of courses and its content is presented as a plan or guideline on how to achieve goals and objectives for learning (Cuban 1996). Most often, when a student is to transfer schools or applying for a new school, the curriculum of the school is what’s being looked at. Every school has their own curriculum practices and theories to offer and one should closely look at them before deciding if this is what they want for their education. Further, for high school students that are graduating, they would often look for schools in other countries to enrol in for their college education. Most of the time, they choose schools by popularity and International status. But the question is, how is curriculum related or is a factor in determining the International status of an educational institution? We will dwell on the answers as we go further along. This paper will also discuss the significance of curriculum, the theories and basis of curriculum, the different approaches to learning, elements of curriculum, effects of changes in curriculum and the relation of curriculum to international acclaim. Curriculum as a Work Plan In every aspect of life, planning is required. Whether it is as simple as planning for a family vacation or things to do during the holiday break, plans play an important role in achieving objectives at the end. And in deciding on education, there should be a formal framework to be followed to ensure that the end product will come out as planned. Plans are made and drawn to be followed to ensure success. And careful planning is very much needed especially if an educational institution is to offer learning and development to its students for years. Curriculum is the plan for educational institutions (Pinar 2003). This includes the overall goal for a course, its contents, subjects to be taught and means to achieve the goal at the end of the course. However, a curriculum is not just about setting a concrete plan on how to teach students, but it also includes the deeds and experiences that a student will be able to get. In other words, curriculum will need to tackle informal education as well. Not only will it focus on the academics of the students but will include the other aspects of a student’s life like extracurricular activities, social activities, learning ability and other learning needs and (Abbott, Hughes, Williamson 2001) agrees. Further, a curriculum does not only set a plan for its students but for the mentors and teachers too. It will include an estimate measure of time regarding how many sessions should a subject matter take, the workload of teachers and their capability to teach the subject matter at hand. All of these constitute to the curriculum of a school and now, we can move forward and talk about the significance or importance of curriculum in a school setting. Significance of Curriculum in Schools As previously discussed, curriculum serves as a work plan on how a school attains objective goals at the end of a course. So, why is this important in the different levels of schooling namely elementary or grade school, high school and college or higher education. For the elementary level, the curriculum is drawn with consideration of all the learning needs of a child. At this stage (Waller & Clark 2007) says children will still have different learning capabilities and different ways of adapting to teaching methods. Such considerations will be included in the drafting of the curriculum. Students in this level will have no choice on what subjects to take as they are being geared towards studying a universal curriculum. The reason for this is that grade school students should have a complete development regarding all subject matter. In the high school level, there are more choices given to the student. Although the freedom of subjects is still limited, there is still an exercise of freedom of what path a student wants to take. The curriculum is taking into account how a teenager will also want to make decisions for himself, which is also a product of successful learning. According to Trow (1961), the curriculum for the high school level is significant as this is the period of time where they are to be ready in accepting the challenges of society once they graduate. And lastly, college curriculum is where students have the most freedom to choose what they want to study. This includes deciding on subjects to take and the mode of his learning. The curriculum made for college education is more flexible as the school wants the children to be able to make choices for himself (Barnett & Coate 2005). For the most part, college curriculum gears the student towards being successful in his profession and being a responsible citizen. As you can see, the importance of curriculum in education is vital in the success of the student someday, that is why a curriculum is made to be holistic and not just focused on the academics (Bobbit 1928). Theories of Curriculum (North America) The definition and understanding of curriculum has changed over the years, even the theories may have been altered. In Kelly (1999), curriculum is defined as learning whose planning and guidance is under the guidance of the school or educational institution, and this is what we will use as a comparison for the theories of curriculum. There are two important features of this definition: one is that learning is planned and the other is learning is guided and this is according to Kelly (1984). This refers to schools and how they educated students with the use of subjects and lessons. Now, we will look at the different curriculum theories and practices that serve as a basis when forming a school’s curriculum. The first is curriculum in the form of a syllabus. At present time, there is no question that most people will look at the curriculum of a school based on their syllabus. A syllabus is an outline or a summary of all the subjects to be taken during the whole course and it also includes activities and objectives for the subject matter (Bravmann, Windschitl, Mikel & Green 2000). It is safe to say that a syllabus also follows a textbook approach as it follows the order of topics to be taught from a textbook. However, a syllabus is not a good indication of what the whole curriculum is all about. A syllabus will not talk about the importance of the subject to be taught or why they are ordered in such a way. The primary problem with curriculum in the form of a syllabus is that it does not focus on the content to be taught. Thus, this will hinder the student’s overall planning of what his education should be. Another important thing to remember is that there should be a transmission process present in learning. Education should be transmitted effectively to students and not just by following a summary on what is needed to be done. Nonetheless, this theory and practice is still prevalent today. Curriculum as a measurable product is the next theory to be discussed. In a world where products are deemed to be a measure of success, this thinking is also practiced in curriculums and in educational settings. In this theory, objectives are set and plans are made and applied. The outcomes or what we call the products are measured. From (McIntye & Symes 2002), this practice started since the 1970s in England where Vocationalism started. It gave more bearing to competencies of graduate students rather than the success of the transmitting knowledge. Competencies have now become a measurable product. This approach to curriculum has been influenced by scientific management during those times says (Tyler 1949). There is one primary criticism about this theory and it is said that such an approach disregards the social vision for the child; rather, it only focuses on the technicalities of education. And as previously discussed, behaviour of the student is also a factor in drawing up a curriculum in the first place. Moreover, in the 1940s, popular thinkers believe that education is not simply about the academe but also focuses on the behavioural development of a student. Sometimes, in drawing up a curriculum, people focus heavily on the measurable objectives to be set while setting aside the holistic growth of the student. Tyler (1949) has given a procedure where in behavioural objectives are to be included in the formulation of a curriculum. Here is an example of the plan or steps he has laid out: 1. Determine the Need 2. Identify objectives with relation to the needs 3. Choose content—tools to achieve objectives 4. Organize contents in the most effective order to be administered 5. Determine actual learning experiences 6. Organize these learning experiences in an effective manner 7. Identify means of evaluation This approach to formulating a curriculum is systematic and organizes and many have seen problems with this approach as well. One issue is that this theory may rely heavily on objectives and how to achieve them. Another is that there is a notion of pre-specified goals at the end. And lastly, such model is keen on measurability. There are other alternatives to making a curriculum that will touch all aspects of student education, let us proceed with the next. The next theory is that curriculum is seen as a form of interaction rather than a physical document to be closely followed. To put it literally, a curriculum is a set of documents to be implemented but we are to look further than this physical matter. In this model, curriculum is much more of a process that allows the educator to interact with its students. To put it simpler, curriculum is not just a framework but it is actually what is taking place within a classroom according to (Bobbit 1928). Hence, such method places a very big and important role on how the teacher will go about his classes. Here is a summary of how such a curriculum is put into effect: The teacher, getting ready for a class is now equipped with critical thinking on how to put education into action. Not only will he religiously depend on a written document to guide his way of teaching, but he is to think on his own on how to make the interaction a success and an effective teaching method. With such interaction, the educator will know what is expected of him by the students. Throughout constant interaction, the teacher will now have a better basis for evaluation if he is successful in teaching and imparting the subject matter with his students. There are two important features of this approach that sets it apart from the previous theories. The first is that imparting education is a priority rather than the objectives laid out and second, teachers develop their own way of how to approach the class lessons rather than merely following an outline. Stenhouse (1975) described curriculum as similar to a recipe in cooking where in there is part for experimentation and another part of following a set of guidelines. It is also given this analogy because an educator should think if the recipe he is cooking nourishes the mind of the students. Also, different recipes will leave different tastes in the mouth, but as you go along, you can make the perfect recipe that everyone will appreciate which is also similar to how a curriculum should be carried out. And the last theory is about curriculum in practice. We can simply say that curriculum in practice is the development of curriculum as a process. The previous theory placed heavy emphasis on live action, interaction and how a teacher and student should connect. However, there isn’t really a clear statement on how the primary interests should be attained. In this theory, curriculum aims in developing interaction with reflection, allowing the student to develop his own critical thinking. In summary, curriculum is not just a set of plans and a means of interaction, but it includes an integration of all the processes needed like planning, implementing and evaluating (Reid 1999). And in the middle of this all is an informed and committed action from the curriculum. With all these theories, there are still issues and criticisms that arise. For the first two theories, it is said that the methods were focused on measurability and objectives. For the latter, it was focused on action rather than context. But in order to make the right curriculum, it should have a balance of these factors. Elements of International Curriculum According to (Hayden, Thompson & Walker 2002), curriculum in International schools is meant to be education agencies that guide that system of education. The curriculum is expected to teach and point out the learning goals on an education system. Thus, there is a difference between intended curriculum and implement curriculum. Intended curriculum is referred to as classroom instruction. Attained curriculum is also a part of the intended curriculum as it focuses on the knowledge, skills and behavior of the students after they have learned the subject (Hayden, Levy & Thompson 2007). In the late 20th century, most international schools have switched to a curriculum that is more focused on educational policies. Further, international schools also put importance in understanding concepts and procedures which led them to using intended curriculum as a critical policy instrument. Curriculum makes believe that students are to acquire higher-order knowledge that will enable them to be socially and economically effective after schooling and (Bagnall 2008) agrees with this. To be able to achieve this, educational policies should be written down and pointed out clearly. A curriculum should be formulated and it will include the different mechanisms to implement the curricula effectively. This is the best way the children will maximize his learning. It is safe to say that the intended curriculum to be formulated is not just about the concepts but it also takes into account how the curricula will be implemented. It is also deemed to influence teacher training, teacher certification, course offerings, study resources and materials and accountability. This curriculum reform policy for international schools now aims to formulate new curriculum that will include curriculum guides, study programs, framework and other documents that will help shape and guide the student’s experience and knowledge during schooling. There are three important elements of an International curriculum to watch out for. The first element is function and authority. As mentioned, a curriculum should serve as a guide or framework and this is where international schools will base their teachings on. However, there will also be varying emphasis on curricula for varying countries as they also have to fit it to their culture. In Norway, they call their curriculum guide as “Curriculum Guidelines” while in Australia, they call it “Course Advice”, and these are just example of the different functions of curriculum for each country. There are curricula that will allow teachers to be responsible on how they will go about the subject while other curricula will have specifications on how to teach the subject, study materials to be used and strategies to assess the learning of the student. Most curriculums will still believe that teachers will know best how to implement the course as they are the one interacting directly with the students, as long as the educators have a shared goal, all implementation will revolve around this. Hence, the documents of intended curriculum for international schools vary. Some will be more prescriptive and will state clearly the policies, objectives, and goals while other international curriculum will be more facilitative and will just give suggested strategies for teachers on how to implement the curriculum. Although such a difference is present, many countries still agree that the perspective approach is better for curriculum guides where policies, goals and content are outlined clearly as opposed to simply a guide material on how educators will implement a curriculum and how assessment strategies should take place (Maurice 1980). Studies show that countries with the highest levels of student achievement have been using a perspective curriculum that lies heavily on skills and contents that a student should master per year level. The success of these international schools is supported by a centralized form of curriculum policy structure. The second element of international curriculum is globalization. With globalization, countries have become more concerned with their schools’ curriculum compared to countries that are more successful in the economic sphere. Curriculum makers will often think of how a curriculum would enhance economic competitiveness for the country (Anderson & Cox 1988). Countries reach a consensus that a rigorous curriculum is to be made that will heavily focus on academic disciplines that is connected to the economic discipline of the student in the latter years of schooling. If one may have noticed, there is already an international consensus on how mathematics and science should be taught internationally. Educator institutions, governments and the business community are now starting to get concerned with achieving “world-class standards” for their country’s schools (Peters, Britton & Blee, 2007). But what are “world-class standards” anyway and what are the expectations for this standard. One of the ways world-class standard is measured is through international benchmarking. Businesses often identify point of reference where they will benchmark their company’s position to this point of reference. In the case of educational curriculum, a country will have to identify what educational system they’d like to learn from. The concern for world class standards and competitive curriculum has attracted cross-national studies and curriculum makers to improve on their framework and work towards the standards as well (Barton 2006). One of the countries that serve as a benchmark is the United States. It is said that students from the United States are always first when it comes to Mathematics and Science and international schools want to copy educational policies done by schools in the U.S. Benchmarking has also pointed out the differences in learning goals of international schools. U.S. as a high achieving country will definitely have a different set of fundamental goals from the lower achieving countries. Such fundamental goals include the student mastering the curriculum and then being given another set of more challenging priority goals. Grades have become a determinant on what challenging goals are to be added. But, it is important to note that focus and coherence in curriculums should be present. Lower achieving countries can do benchmarking but they need to make sure all aspects of the curriculum are coordinated and will fit their students at the same time. The last element of international curriculum is learning. The end product of intended curriculum is to give the child an opportunity to learn the best way he can. This goes by saying that world-class standards should not only measure how the school performs but it should also be in line with how a student achieves learning goals. International students are given achievement tests to assess if their skills and knowledge are growing and if the content of the curriculum as given them various learning opportunities. These tests not only measure the student’s knowledge on a specific subject but it to assess the inter-structural relationships between subject matter and how the student applies such knowledge and skill, particularly Math and Science. Further, not only is the content of the curriculum nor the time used to teach it promotes learning, but there are also other pedagogies that aims to achieve higher cognitive demand and learning from students which is what international curriculum is aiming for. Intended curriculum will still need much empirical work to study the new methods of building policies, curriculum and benchmarking. Walker (2004) says that all in all, learning should be the utmost goal in any method of the 21st century curriculum planning. But for future curriculum makers, there must be a focus on policy instruments as well as both formal and informal processes on how intended curriculum should be exercises. Taking into consideration the different levels of an educational system and how the decision for the goals and objectives are reached. Moreover, a close eye should be kept in taking into account the learning experience of the student. Curriculum as a Determinant to International Status Taking into account the significance of curriculum, the theories of curriculum and the examples of how it changed the learning experience of young students in the United Kingdom, we wonder, how is curriculum a determinant to a school’s international status? As we’ve discussed, a curriculum is vital in a student’s learning process because the school basically revolves around the curriculum they have built as this is their framework (Pinar, Reynolds, Slattery, Taubman, 1995). And once a curriculum is in place, every aspect of the school will revolve around it including the content, the subjects to be taught, how teachers will teach the subjects, how students are expected to respond to teachings as well as measuring the results and outcome from the students. Now, for someone looking for a school in another country to transfer to and enroll in, it is crucial that one will take a look closely at the curriculum and by this, we just not mean the syllabus. Dig deeply into the curriculum as this is the only way you’ll know if you can adapt to the school’s way of teaching. Sometimes, for a school to get popular international status, school’s make it a point to have a rigorous curriculum and they measure the success of their teaching through examination results. Sometimes, there are exams that measures GPA and GPA score becomes a determinant of the quality of the school that a transferee came from. But as you can see, all these are measurable and learning should encompass this. Unfortunately, there is little to no definite measurable evaluation on a child’s behavioral and social learning and this can be easily looked upon. Take the example of the UK schools, they have made a simple change in their curriculum and all the cities have noticed dramatic changes in their students. And because of this, the UK National Curricula has gotten global and international acclaim. This just proves the fact that curriculum is indeed a determinant to a school’s international status because the success of the child lies in the curriculum of the school (Hollingsworth 1997). It is a determinant for international status in a way that it has provided students with knowledge, experience and awareness of their environment through the school’s teachings. Further, not only is achieving objectives the goal here, but how they are achieved as well. Measurability is not the only factor to determine the success of the child, rather, it is his overall development including critical thinking, self-analysis, self-management, decision making, citizenship and awareness (Westbury, 2007). The international status of a school should be based on these factors and this goes by saying that the curriculum should also include all these aspects of learning as well. Conclusion Human life is guided by specific tasks and it is through education that we learn how to go about these tasks and prepare each and one of us for the life ahead. In the theories of curriculum, there are four forces that guide it namely the liberal, scientific, person-centered development and the social. All these forces are what will prepare each student for the specific tasks to be done in life and in the future. And undoubtedly, schools play a major role in cultivating and building how a child will prepare for life. It is important that a curriculum not only seeks international recognition for its rigorous framework but rather, the content and the means to take into account the child’s needs, learning patterns and individual interests (Drake & Burns 2004). A curriculum should be good mix and balance of all the four forces for the North American theories of curriculum. This is the best way to touch all the areas of a child’s learning. It is critical that a school builds a solid learning foundation of a child at a young age and this is another reason why curriculum is very important to educators and students alike. A curriculum should encompass meeting goals and objectives, selecting content directly related to goals and objectives and determining the means in which content will be taught and administered (Raggatt & Weiner 1985). It should also encompass principles to determine the progress of the student as well as the teacher. A curriculum should not be focused on the academics only, it should also include the child’s social and personal development above all else. Curriculum makers will always face the temptation of formulating curriculum basing on one theory or practice alone, and this should be avoided at all cost. 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