What Impact Does the International Primary Curriculum Have on the Current National Curriculums - Essay Example

?International Curriculum Introduction Beck defines curriculum as the s or units that comprise a of study in an education It must include the syllabus or the topics in a given course of study or teaching, specifically for evaluation purposes. It can also be defined as the planned, organised and implemented learning that takes place in schools. Each country has its own modules composing of different topics and syllabuses. Currently, there is an ongoing process of developing a national curriculum starting from kindergarten to the age of twelve years, introducing English, mathematics, history and science subjects followed by languages, arts and geography (Beck, 2000,209). The goal of international curriculum is to improve the quality of education and competitiveness across schools in the nation. It has been realised that the national curriculum did not prepare children for the future, thus it is not standard. With the changes in economy and technology, there is need to adopt a healthier curriculum that will help teachers and parents to know what children are supposed to learn and at what age to open their mind, an effort to prepare them to live in the contemporary world. The curriculum covers learning framework, professional development and evaluation of both teachers and students to assess their potential (Rajaonarison, 1995, 12). Literature Review Initially introduced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, National curriculum became a curriculum for primary and secondary state schools under the education reform Act 1988. The curriculum excludes private schools which have the mandate to design their own curricula. The law dictates teaching all students the basic curriculum of religious education and national curriculum. The primary objective of national curriculum was to make the material taught across school standard in order to promote evaluation of individual schools. Parents were given an opportunity to decide which schools their children should be enrolled. The two fundamental aims of the curriculum were to lay a ground for children’s learning as well as development of their social, moral, religious and cultural background in preparation for opportunities, experiences and responsibilities of life. The school is supposed to prepare students with the necessary literacy and numerical skills, information and communication technology, opportunities for creativity and innovation. The compulsory subjects were science, design and technology. Each topic is seen as contributing to promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, citizenship and key skills. It is meant to provide learning opportunities for children with disabilities, special educational needs, and those from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Other extra curricula activities besides the national modules were designed to cater for the need of personal needs such as speech and language therapy, use of ICT, health and safety (Coulby,1996, 27). International curriculum aims at ensuring that the laid down learning objectives, method and content of instruction, teaching versus learning strategies and teaching aids will all contribute to academic excellence. Hence, the purpose is to investigate the social effect on the method of preparation and determine the role played by politics in education. This information will establish a foundation for future action with the goal of improving the curriculum and helping people to realize change in such a multiracial and multicultural society. The international primary curriculum is large creative, encompasses many aspects of education including the method of instruction, teaching and teaching aids all aimed towards international mindedness and individual learning. The design ensures that teachers make learning such a busy, interactive and realistic environment for children. It is a comprehensive system where children apply where they are living with other places in the world. Thus, the aims can be summarised as improving and extending knowledge to promote international understanding, facilitate student mobility and provide an educative service to internationally mobile community and work together with national education systems in developing an effective and equitable international education (Hayden & Thompson, 2007, 244). There are two main stages in a national curriculum. The first and second year of primary education are known as key stages one while the third to sixth year are phase two. The compulsory subjects in both stages are mathematics, English, science, design and technology, history, geography, music, physical education, art and design. This foundation will ensure that children do not experience problems in future. A students learning becomes effective when it is conducted in a practical and multidisciplinary manner. This means that it is relevant to the upcoming issues in terms of economic, social and technological advances. The original or traditional subject areas can not be done away with; they must support and complement the current ones. The curriculum framework for universal basic education is a reply to questions raised by teachers, school administrators and parents as a result of pressure from the perspectives of different sources. The primary years program has been set such that improvement in a classroom setting only occur in the context of overall school performance. With the crucial role that leadership plays in a school set up, how well the program will be effected lies on the support of administrators. The aim of the program is to produce globally minded people who will make a better and more peaceful world in future (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2007, 12). An education institution is considered to be a set of learners. The knowledge acquired mainly in the area of research and understanding is growing continuously and teachers are supposed to be learners throughout their lifetime. The school’s commitment to effective professional development will be a sign of acceptance of change for improvements in the learning arena. The elements of the curriculum framework are based on concepts, knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour all which are demonstrated in a learner’s profile. The goal is to promote confidence, appreciation, cooperation, creativity, empathy, enthusiasm, independence and integrity. These elements are expected to be valuable in public and international schools when examining the international mindedness. It is therefore important for teachers to assess what students are learning, how they are putting into practice what they learn and ways of nurturing them in the context of a school community. Another consideration is to look at how students are connecting school life, at home and the outside world, a move that will ensure that a solid foundation is built for them in future (Arthur, 2010, 136). The program however has the capacity to expose the student’s minds to the modern world. It is a major benefit to schools for both instructors and learners because of the structural transformations it has undergone. Academic standards have been raised, and the students are adequately prepared substantially in the area of creativity and innovativeness. Students are seen to gain conceptual and social skills to be able to adapt in the contemporary world. The system is as relevant as it encompasses ideas relevant to the globalization of national education. The end results are a more knowledgeable, compassionate generation, and an appreciated representation of national recognition within a global foundation of liberal respect (White, 2004, 60). Implementation of the International Curriculum several education policy makers assert that the implementation of the international curriculum in the united kingdom depend on several factors such as the learning environment, the information and communication technologies available, the content of the learning materials, and the professionalism in the curriculum. The new international curriculum must be able to link learning and the learning environments. Factors that affect the successful implementation of the international curriculum include the ability of teachers to offer quality education, socio economic status, good teaching and how well the environment in which learning is to take place has been designed (Bates, 2011 p 165). The international curriculum must be able to offer quality to the students. This can only be achieved through proper training of teachers on the best way to deliver knowledge to the students. Quality of instructional materials to be used by teachers must also be assessed. The curriculum must be able to provide measure in ensuring that there is quality. Further, educational planners must also come up with measures on how to evaluate quality of the curriculum designs. The international curriculum should also be able to come up with measures to ensure that there are better education standards in the whole world (Gadsby & Bullivant, 2011 p 82). The international curriculum should be evaluated on the basis of principles of learning and teaching. The curriculum must be able to provide the learner with life skills and be able to make an impact globally. Without effective impact globally, the international curriculum cannot be effective. It should aim at creating uniformity at workplace. Every student who undergoes this system must be able to fit in any employment around the globe. This means that the curriculum must foster the learning of common values among students. In addition, non formal leaning processes such as games must also be included in the curriculum; however, due to its application in the international level, it is difficult to determine which kinds of non formal learning activities should be used in different countries (Gadsby & Bullivant, 2011 p 82). Consequently, affecting the implementation of the international curriculum is the problem of developing a common language. Language aspects such as vocabulary provide complex implications in the designing of instructional materials to meet the objectives off the curriculum. Learning environments to be designed by the curriculum must also be uniform in all countries even though it is not easy to achieve. Klaannen (2001 p 47), asserts that the international curriculum has got both the capability to empower and to disempower both men and women. Other curriculum theorists in other regions of the world have asserted that the curriculum discriminates in terms of race, class, sexuality and gender. These challenges affecting the curriculum can be seen through what is referred to as “hidden curriculum” where there is the chance of developing school rituals and teachers’ values. In addition, sexual differences and ethic rivalries have also been predicted. These can be necessitated through the formation of competing class alliance based on race, ethnicity and sex thus affecting the process of learning. There is no guarantee in the curriculum that it will bring about or has brought about equality in the representation of all sectors of the society based on race, ethnicity and gender. The curriculum further provides challenges to students in the classrooms and after they have done their exams. Examinations should not be used as a measure of how students will be successful in life. The curriculum has been seen to be discriminating against those who are intellectually challenged and cannot perform well in the class. The curriculum should be able to provide suitable environments in which all students discuss together irrespective of their physical and mental abilities. Further, the curriculum should also consider putting in measures to ensure that no student is discriminated of their socio economic status in the society. The curriculum risks being challenged when measures are not implemented to ensure that no discrimination of any kind takes root in schools, inclusive education should be the ultimate goal of such curriculum (Coulby, 2000 p 114). Other challenges that schools will have to deal with include both external and internal barriers to learning. Students normally encounter external problems even before getting enrolled into various schools. The nature of the external barrier could be due to the geographical location of the school, socio-economic factors and social stigma. The policy makers should ensure that the international curriculum put in measures to ensure that there are adequate learning facilities to cater for all sorts of students regardless of their geographic origin. Measures should also be put in place to address the socio-economic challenges that may prove to be a barrier in accessing education. It should be noted that children with disabilities will experience challenges if the international curriculum has not been designed to suit their needs (Coulby, 2000 p 114). There is also the possibility of learning institutions to avoid admitting students on grounds that they do not have adequate facilities especially for students who are challenged in their physical well being as well as mental capabilities. Other learning institutions may also avoid admitting students on grounds that their guardians are not able to pay for the required school fees. The international curriculum must be affordable to all or, policy makers must ensure they provide measures to cater for those students who cannot pay for their school fees. The solutions to these problems require the implementation of strong policy interventions (Marsh, 2009 p 170). International curriculum implementation may not be successful since the curriculum may not be child friendly or is not important to the needs if the children. The curriculum risks being in effective if contents concentrate on rote learning. There is more emphasis on memorization in early stages of education than on such important areas such as intelligence development. However, most policy implementers in the United Kingdom have stated that the international curriculum does not concentrate on rote learning. It concentrates on the building of creativity among students (Sylvester & Maclure, 2005 p 399). Factors that Influence Successful Implementation The curriculum aims at providing a healthy environment where health discussion is nurtured. Secondly, the curriculum seeks to ensure that learning institutions respond to the nature of the learning environment and to foster the values of international education. International curriculum aims at developing values that will help teachers, students and parents work in harmony. Hit will ensure that people of different ethnic and racial origin work together and in harmony. The international curriculum aims at bringing the increasingly divided world together (Crawford, 2011 p 39). International education curriculum ensures that different students in the world come together in search of common values that can foster unity and counteract challenges brought about by differences in ethnicity and race so as to bring about change. Development of international curriculum will help students of different nationalities infer respect as well as appreciate diversity and uniqueness between different races and cultures (Cowen, Kazamias & Unterhalter, 2009 p 382). The curriculum is also expected to ensure that the teaching methods are of high quality as well as ensured that there is consistency in the deliverance of information to students in class. The global perspective to learning is seen as being a good promoter to the understanding of students. This enable them make informed choices and connections on matters affecting the local and global environments. There is need for students to discover international similarities and differences and relate these differences to the daily challenges that affect them (Marsh, 2009 p 170). The curriculum also provides teachers with a chance to benchmark with other learning institutions in the world. This enables them to make constructive decisions on how to help the student achieve the best grades or how to improve the learning process. In addition, international benchmarking will enable the teacher provide necessary advices on how to progress in studies. This will enable learners to identify their strengths and weaknesses in major subjects such as English mathematics and science. Students can use the feedback from the benchmarking process to improve on their study skills; teachers will also get advice on how to improve on their teaching methods (Daugherty, 1995 p 121). International curriculum enables students to understand international challenges affecting the world. Such challenges include important information on disasters, wars and conflicts. Students will also be able to learn factors leading to the violation off human rights and the dictatorship forms of governance witnessed in several parts of the world. Global understanding of the worlds is an important aspect in the lives of students. The young people are affected by consumer goods and cultures. Further, since they are likely to seek employment in any part of the world, a clear view of the cultures and the societies of the world ( Hayden & Thompson, 2001 p 278). Conclusion The department of international school of Geneva came up with some principles of international education. These are: supporting students language development, ,recognising the importance of international education, encouraging universal values, providing a balance of knowledge experience and adopting an innovative approach to learning and teaching. International education is a reality and its kind instils a set of values to the learners. However the question is, what are these global values and who decides them? The other issue is where the formal education system fits in relation to this type of education. Within a global village, several different degrees of international communities exist. Some are influenced by trade, commercial and media values of internationalism on one hand and formal education beliefs of national interests on the other. This could be defined as domestic international community. Others are influenced by formal beliefs of the host country. Hence, they face varying degrees of tensions between different value systems influencing their development. The degree of opportunity for international education increases. The differences in value systems can be contradictory or supportive (Pinar, 2003, 190). References Arthur, J (2010), Learning to Teach in the Primary School, Routledge, Taylor & Francis. Bates, R (2011), Schooling Internationally: Globalization, internationalization, and the future of international Schools, London: Taylor & Francis. 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Hayden, M & Thompson, J (2007) International Education: Principles and Practice, Routledge, Taylor & Francis. International Baccalaureate Organization (2007) Primary Years Programme: making The PYP Happen: A Curriculum Framework For International Primary Education, Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire. Klaannen, R (2001), The international University Curriculum: Challenges in English-Medium Engineering Education, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Marsh, C (2009), Key Concepts for Understanding Curriculum, London: Taylor & Francis. National Curriculum Website, Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. http:// curriculum.Qca. Org.uk/key- stages-1-and-2/values-aims-and-purposes/index.aspx. [Accessed 2012-05-19] National curriculum". Teachernet website. Department for Children, Schools and Families. 2007.http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/atoz/n/nationalcurriculum/. Retrieved 2012-05-19 Pinar, W (2003) International Handbook of Curriculum Research. Pinar. Rajaonarison, A (1995) An International Curriculum for Global Awareness, PhD Thesis, University Of Glasgow. Sylvester, D & Maclure, S (2005), Education Documents, England and Wales, London: Taylor & Francis. White, J (2004) Rethinking School Curriculum: Values, Aims and Purposes, Routledge, Taylor & Francis. Read More