Curriculum Review - Social Studies IV - V

CURRICULUM DOCUMENT REVIEW – SOCIAL STUDIES IV-V
ACADEMIC PAPER
INTRODUCTION
This academic paper aims to describe and reflect the overall understanding about Curriculum, steps of curriculum planning, different approaches, orientations to curriculum, links between curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment, graphical analysis and critical observations of the curriculum document and finally the conclusion
What is curriculum?
Education means the activities which bring about learning (Pring, 2000) and to systematically organize these activities a curriculum use to be designed. Curriculum leads to education and the concepts of education according to Pring (2000) is to help people capacities to transform to live a fuller and more distinctively human life. To organize these educational activities a curriculum is very much necessary. Curriculum is an ‘interaction’ between students and teachers that is designed to achieve specific educational goals (Miller & Seller, 1990). While an another definition of curriculum according to Saylor & Alexander (1974) is a plan for providing sets of learning opportunities to achieve the broad goals and related specific objectives for an identifiable population, served by a single school centre.
What is curriculum document?
A course document which describes the features and structure of the program. This document ensures the consistency of the program and validity of assessments. It includes course aims, objectives and course contents.
An ideal Curriculum
My understanding through class presentations, facilitators’ explanations, peers interaction and literature review, an ideal curriculum should have the following characteristics
1. Effective activities
2. Total school environment
3. Entirety of experience
4. Curricular and co-curricular trends.
5. Educational trends.
6. Development of balanced personality
7. Dynamic
8. Philosophy of life.
9. Achievement of goals.
Syllabus + co-curricular activities + various parts of educational environment = Curriculum
The Focused Curriculum Document
The curriculum document we had selected was the Social Studies IV & V prescribed by the Ministry of Education (Curriculum Wing) in 2002. In comparison with an ideal curriculum document, this document has following characteristics or features available.
1. Introduction.
2. Broad Aims.
3. Skills.
4. Specific learning objectives divided under broad topic.
5. Details objectives with supporting contents and activities.
These characteristics follow the tradition of Social Studies as citizenship transmission.
CURRICULUM PLANNING APPROACHES
According to Marsh & Willis (1995) there are three alternative approaches to curriculum planning.
1. Tyler's Rational-Linear Approach
2. Walker’s Deliberative Approach
3. Eisner’s Artistic Approach
Tyler's Rational-Linear Approach sometimes called as the ‘FATHER OF CURRICULUM’ (Murray, 1987), which concentrates on four steps of a curriculum planning; i.e. Objectives, Selecting Learning Experiences, Organizing Learning Experiences, Evaluation.
The document we had selected contains all the major components of Tyler’s Rational-Linear approach like, Objectives, Activities, Content, but it was lacking evaluation portion. Therefore our analysis leads us to say that the document planning was done keeping Tyler’s Rational– linear approach.
Meta-Orientations
According to Miller & Seller (1990) the meta-orientations have been identified for the curriculum as Transmission, Transaction and Transformation.
Transmission
1. The function of curriculum is the cultural transmission in the most specific sense, and to cultivate the child’s intellect by providing him opportunities to acquire the most powerful products of human intelligence (Miller & Seller).
2. Education to transmit facts, skills and values to students.
3. Stresses mastery of traditional school subjects through traditional teaching methodologies.
4. Linked with rote learning method.
In this document the evidences like ‘Name the provinces (p.140)’; ‘Tell the total number of population (p.141)’ etc. lead us to say that this curriculum falls under the ‘Transmission Curriculum’.
Transaction
1. Dialogue is going on between the student and curriculum.
2. Develop problem solving skills by developing students intelligence.
In this document some evidences like; ‘Much of the pupils learning should be based on the direct experiences and practical activities (p.139)’; ‘To record and present the finding of the inquiry in a variety of ways oral, written, pictorial etc (p.139)’; ‘Engage in their imaginations and enable them to find out more about the world. Visiting different institutions of public utility (p.141)’ lead us to assume that the document also falls under Transaction Curriculum.
Transformation
1. It is a vision and focuses on personal and social change.
This Document does not directly mention transformation oriented objectives, but a teacher could use the content matter in the document to promote changes in student thinking and societal interactions.
Five Orientations to Curriculum
According to Eisner & Vallance (1974) have described five orientations to curriculum as;
1. The Development of Cognitive Processes.
2. Curriculum as Technology.
3. Self-actualization or curriculum as consummatory experience.
4. Social reconstruction-relevance.
5. Academic rationalism.
Out of all above five orientations, our analyzed curriculum document meets the characterizes of ‘Academic Rationalism’ which specifically tell as the function of curriculum is that of cultural transmission in the most specific sense, and to cultivate the child’s intellect by providing him opportunities to acquire the most powerful products of human intelligence
Graphical Analysis of the Curriculum Document
Analysis of Objectives Vs Activities
Analysis of Objectives according to Bloom’s Taxonomy
Analysis of Objectives according to major domains

Link between Curriculum, Teaching, Learning & Assessment
All the four basic components of Education are interlinked and can not be separated as all of them reciprocally dependent on each other. Because when a curriculum is designed then there should be clearance guidance that how to teach that curriculum and how the learning will occur through assessment we can judge, hence we can say that all the four basic components are respectively important and interconnected. Curriculum has already been discussed in the beginning of this paper and other components will be discussed here.
Teaching
Children often are unaware of the goal of the activity in which they are participating, but at the earliest levels this not necessary to learning. The caretakers guidance permits children to engage in levels of activity that could not be managed alone (Tharp, R., & Gallimore, R. (1998).
Teachers must provide grade- and age-appropriate activities and assignments that encourage mastery of basic concepts and development of inquiry/research skills. To make their programs interesting and relevant, they must relate the knowledge and skills gained to wider issues and problems. Teaching methods and learning activities that encourage students to recognize the value and relevance of what they are learning will go a long way towards motivating students to work and learn effectively. Students develop a better understanding of various aspects when they can see and experience.
Learning
The central educational function of schools is to enable young people to learn what is valuable and significant like ‘facts’, concepts, principles, skills, attitudes, habits and competencies (Pring, 2000). There are four levels of learning, cumulative, assimilative, accommodative, transformative (Illeris, K., 2003). While formulating a curriculum all these aspects of learning use to be kept in mind to make it effective. Learning is also attached with the different teaching approaches. Effective teaching approaches can enhance the learning level of students.
Assessment
The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. Information gathered through assessment helps teachers to determine students’ strengths and weaknesses in their achievement of the curriculum expectations and to assess the teaching and learning standards. This information also serves to guide teachers in adapting curriculum and instructional approaches to students’ needs and in assessing the overall effectiveness of programs and classroom practices. Evaluation refers to the process of judging the quality of student work on the basis of established criteria, and assigning a value to represent that quality. In order to ensure that assessment and evaluation are valid and reliable, and that they lead to the improvement of student learning, teachers use assessment and evaluation strategies.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CURRICULUM
Weaknesses
1. Activities not according to Objectives
2. How teachers should perform? (Professional Development)
3. Lack of evaluation and assessment
Strengths:
1. Easy to difficult – Spiral Curriculum
2. Covers the major disciplines (History, Geography, Political Science, Economics
3. Flexibility & Contextual
Conclusion
• Tyler’s Rational-Linear Approach
• Meta Orientations (Transactional + Transmission)
• Spiral Model (Concepts Sequenced)
• Objectives only of cognitive and lower order thinking skills – Recommended adding high order thinking skills.
• Represents national & Islamic ideology.


REFERENCES
Armstrong, T (1994). Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom. Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Eisner, E. W. & Vallance, E. (1974). Conflicting conceptions of curriculum. Barkley: McCutchan Publication Corp.
Illeris, K. (2003) Towards a contemporary and comprehensive theory of learning. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 22(4). 396-406
Marsh, C. & Willis, G. (1995). Three Alternative Approaches to Curriculum Planning. In C. Marsh & G. Willis, Curriculum: Alternative Approaches: Ongoing Issues (pp. 11 – 29). London: Prentice Hall.
Miller, J.P., & Seller, W. (1990). Curriculum: Perspectives and Practice. Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman Ltd.
Pring, R.(2000). Philosophy of Educational Research. London: Continuum
Saylor, J.G., & Alexander, W.A. (1974). Planning Curriculum for schools. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Tharp, R., & Gallimore, R. (1998). A theory of teaching as assisted performance. Learning relationships in the classroom. London: Open University.