Critical Analysis of Curriculum

Introduction

For a fairly long time now, we have been engaged in the great task of educating the children of India, an independent nation with a rich variegated history, extraordinarily complex cultural diversity, and commitment to democratic values and general well-being. Given the enormity and importance of this task, it is necessary that we create occasions from time to time to sit back collectively and ask ourselves, ‘what are we doing in our engagement with this task? Is there a need to ask ourselves afresh some of the basic questions such as what ought to be the purpose of education?’ 

 

The progress of any country depends upon the quality of education offered and its practices. Indian education was well known for its Gurukul system of education in the Vedic age. Education in India has undergone various phases and stages of development starting Vedic age to post-independence period. At all stages of development there was a

concern for bringing in the quality education reflecting on the practical aspects in education. The great Indian thinkers also emphasized on developing inner potentials of individual by reflecting on unique potential of individual. Getting educated is solely dependent upon the individual teachers role to set conditions, generate environments for learning. School education till 1976 was under the State control and centre would advice state for policy issues. Latter the Constitution was amended to include education in the concurrent list. The NPE 1986 recommended for a common core component in school curriculum throughout the country and NCERT was given the responsibility for developing National Curriculum Framework and review the framework at regular intervals. In spite of the various recommendations as per NPE 1986 the school education remained to be exam oriented, bookish and information loaded devoid of practical aspects. The recent National Curriculum Framework focuses on the following issues:

Connecting knowledge to life outside.

Shift from rote learning to constructing knowledge.

Providing wide range experiences for overall development of a child.

Bringing flexibility in the examinations.

 

Teacher has a tough time to arrange for different kind of learning experiences for catching attention of students, persisting their motivational level, energizing them to work in new situations with limited resources. As per National Curriculum Framework, “The curriculum must enable children to find their voices, nurture their curiosity – to do things, to ask questions and to pursue investigations, sharing and integrating their experiences with school knowledge rather than their ability to produce textual knowledge”.

 

The most important aspect of learning are developing capacity for abstract thinking, reflection and students learn in variety of experiences like reading, experimenting, listening, thinking, reflecting, writing , expressing oneself in speech, etc. Thus, conceptual understanding can be developed by engaging students actively in learning process. Active involvement involves exploration, enquiry, questioning, discussion, reflection leading to creation of ideas. The curriculum framework should emphasize on developing critical thinking among students and making them active learners which can be made possible only by designing and developing the course curriculum taking the various interests of the learners in mind.

 

This paper evaluates the various aspects of the present curriculum in India and aims at finding a way out to design a curriculum which is more student oriented and helps in their overall development.

 

What is Curriculum?

In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard.

However, a curriculum is more than putting together a set of academically required subjects. It must consider all aspects of the student life, the learning needs of students, the time available for the sessions and the teachers’ idea, capability and workload. 'A curriculum is an attempt to communicate the essential principles and features of an educational proposal in such a form that it is open to critical scrutiny and capable of effective translation into practice' (Lawrence Stenhouse (1975)). 

 

A curriculum, in contrast, provides information on the following aspects of learning:

- At whom is the educational processes aimed ?

- What goals and qualifications are to be achieved ?

- What contents are to be learned ?

- What teaching methods and aids are to be used ?

- How is the result to be tested ?

 

Importance of Curriculum

 

Curriculum is currently changing as we pass through this age of transition. The aspect of educational life that is reflective of society is being asked to catch up with what is current. The aspect of education that is a driver of society is being drawn along by representatives through the use of standards and high-stakes testing. As this happens, the curriculum, the structure of schooling, and the role of the teacher goes through a process of change.

 

The accomplishment of anything worthwhile, whether large or small, depends on the completion of goals, activities and milestones. An effective curriculum offers all these things. It provides administrators, teachers and students with structure and a sense of progression. Therefore, the importance and impact of curriculum cannot be overstated.

 

Impact on Administrators

A curriculum allows administrators to provide a dynamic educational program for current and prospective students. Schools, colleges and universities attract students with a variety of quality, competitive and flexible program curricula.

Impact on Teachers

A curriculum offers teachers the ideas and strategies for assessing student progress. A student must meet certain academic requirements in order to go to the next level. Without the guidance of a curriculum, teachers cannot be certain that they have supplied the necessary knowledge or the opportunity for student success at the next level, whether that level involves a high school, college or career.

Impact on Students

A curriculum gives students an understanding of what must be accomplished in order to obtain a degree. Without such knowledge, students would be lost in a maze of academic courses that seemingly leads nowhere. They would have no assurance that they are taking the proper subjects toward a diploma or a degree. A curriculum promotes a sense of order and structure in the pursuit of academic success.

Considerations

A curriculum is more than putting together a set of academically required subjects. Several things must be considered, such as the learning needs of students; the consensus of teachers and administrators; the expectations of the community; and current breakthroughs in academic fields.

Overall Significance

Designing a curriculum involves the interaction of several participants, reaching beyond the academic wall to impact the entire community. Without an effective curriculum, students would not be able to understand or meet the challenges of society. A curriculum prepares an individual with the knowledge to be successful, confident and responsible citizens.

 

Issues in present curriculum

 

The curriculum prevalent in today’s educational institutions do not meet the needs of the industry. The several drawbacks of the current curriculum and teachng pedagogies pose a great challenge towards the overall achievement of the learners objectives, teachers and the educational institutions at large. 

 

Need to design a new Curriculum

 

Faced with multiple standards and accountability tests, teachers may find themselves hard pressed to perform their core teaching tasks. Teaching activities have changed in a way that is potentially negative for learners. There is a need to develop a curriculum that makes learning accessible to students. At the same time, classroom instruction has to take into account the needs of the diverse student population in the classroom. 

Curriculum Design

In a classroom setting, teachers focus on what they teach, how they teach, whom they teach and where they teach. All these factors combine to impact the quality of learning. Curriculum design involves focusing on what to teach and how to make it accessible to students. The curriculum should be such as to enable students to learn and develop skills so that they can make their way in the world. Curriculum design should go together with differentiated instruction.

Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction is the aspect of whom the teaching is directed to, and where the teaching is done, so as to make it accessible to all students. The goal of differentiated instruction is to make sure that teachers have an orientation to processes and procedures that ensure that their teaching is accessible to a diverse audience. For instance, the teacher's audience could comprise disabled students, those with learning disabilities, and students with limited English capabilities.

Tuning into Diversity

In today's classroom settings, there is a need to combine curriculum design with differentiated instruction. If a school developed a very good curriculum but fell short in terms of meeting the needs of a diverse audience, it would not fulfill its goal. For instance, when a curriculum that does not meet the needs of those who are slow learners or of disabled students, it does not entirely fulfill its function. The curriculum would not make the learning accessible to such groups that need differentiated instruction.

Strong Curriculum Development

On the other hand, being attuned to the need to provide a differentiated instruction has to be combined with the need to develop an adequate curriculum. The curriculum could be flexible and geared to the developmental levels of everyone in the classroom, but if it does not equip the students with the skills they need, it will not be an effective curriculum. The curriculum should enable students to learn so that they can apply their learning effectively.

Factors That Affect the Curriculum Design Process

 

Several factors affect all curriculum development in meeting the needs of 21st century learners in both organized academic settings and corporation learning centers. Blueprinting curriculum development requires selecting learning goals, designing knowledge delivery models while creating assessment methods for individual and group progress. Factors affecting curriculum development include government norms, which in turn brings other factors into the process. Valid curriculum development requires awareness of the diversity of the target community socially, financially and psychologically.

 

Political

How politics influences curriculum design and development starts with funding. Both private and public educational institutions rely on funding for hiring personnel, building and maintaining facilities and equipment. All aspects of curriculum depend on local, state and national political standards. From defining goals, interpreting curricular materials to approving examination systems, politics affects curriculum development.

Economic

Curriculum developed for in house training in corporations focuses on educating employees for promotions that bring better returns in profits. Nations financing education expect an economic return from educated students contributing to the country's economy with global competition abilities in technical fields. Curriculum content influences learner goals, standards for academic achievement with an underlying influence of the nation's economy.

Technological

The computer technology of the 21st century influences curriculum development at every level of learning. Learning centers and classrooms increasingly provide computers as requisite interaction for studies among students. Technological multimedia use influences educational goals and learning experiences among students. Undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer technology increase in popularity.

Diversity

Social diversity including religion, culture and social groupings affects curriculum development because these characteristics influence the types of topics and methods for teaching information. Developing relevant curriculum takes into account society's expectations, accommodating group traditions and promoting equality.

 

Conclusion

Preparing youngsters for the realities of earning a living is a responsibility shared by many different groups of people both inside and outside the education sector. All are aware that it is vital to ensure that the trainees gain the best possible academic or vocational qualifications, in order to provide them with a realistic chance of succeeding in today's highly competitive job market. The quality of training provided should be judged above all by its impact - or potential impact - on practice. As we are aware, for the above reasons, new approaches of effective training and new strategies in their implementation have been developed during the past many years in improving the quality of training imparted. The aim of the training process is to help the development of competencies to carry out various industrial operations effectively and competently. This is achieved through careful implementation of well developed Curriculum.