Higher Education Curriculum - Essay Example

? Higher education curriculum Higher education is the final step for to be able to fit in the ever-changing global market. Higher education aims at providing skills and knowledge necessary for survival in the workplace. This survival should not be limited; rather it should aim at making sure the person they mold is globally groomed to work in any environment. For this to be true, the curriculum under the provision that provides regulation for higher education institutions should meet all the requirements in providing workplace knowledge, scenarios and also give the learners room to think and be innovative. Several things affect the curriculum changes and upgrades and these are the forces of change in the curriculum. In higher education, an academic curriculum is an academic plan that seeks to enable a learning experience as outlined in its blueprint for college and university students. The curriculum is also under a broad definition, which includes several constituents. The first is the goals for the student receiving the education; they include skills under development, knowledge gained under the curriculum and the attitude with which this knowledge is received. The second constituent in the curriculum is the content offered by the system. This is described as the subject matter which is studied in the learning experience. Sequence is also another important constituent of a curriculum. Sequence is the specific order with which information discourse to the learners (Diamond, 2008). The last constituent is evaluation, which assesses how much the learners have gained via that particular curriculum. A curriculum is subject to change and alterations depending on the outcome of the evaluations after education. The higher education curriculum has been under constant critique from its introduction due to several factors. During the 1980’s the critics were most aggressive citing lack of quality in the curriculum, poor accessibility by the learners and lack of relevance in terms of the needs of the learners. The job market and changes in tandem with the emerging challenges. This also influences the curriculum in terms of content. Therefore, there has to be constant change in order for the synchronization of students going through the higher education centers. The critiques in the 80’s were mostly managers and company heads who complained that the graduates they received had no knowledge on how to tackle problems. In developing a curriculum, one has to consider the expectations of the learners from the curriculum, and the expectations of the job market from the learners. In this way the curriculum developed is suitable for both the learner and the employer. As mentioned above, a curriculum is only effective if it molds learners to fit perfectly into the job market with less dependence on the bosses. The heads of the job fields are the main forces of change for a curriculum. No matter how much a higher learning institution feels it is providing well-educated graduates the job owners are always the final determinants of that. If they determine that a curriculum does not equip the graduates wholly, they point out where changes should be carried out and then the change is introduced to the curriculum. In changing a curriculum, the first step is identifying the problems in the already existing curriculum. In this stage, research is conducted pointing out exactly where there are limitations in the curriculum. This is done throughout the system including the knowledge provided by the institution, the method of providing it, how the learners perceive it and the sequence with which it is under provision. This step entails thorough scrutiny of the curriculum and identification of all problems. The second step is assessing what learners are available and what kind of graduates the market requires. In this stage, consideration of the learner’s expectation is important. The next step is to outline the goals and objectives of the curriculum, which help in carrying out the fourth step which is educational strategy. This is where the materials needed for learning are under recommendation. In this step, serious scrutiny of educational materials is important since only the best materials should be taken for use. The final step is the implementation of the educational strategies; this should be in a way that gives the best outcome for the learners and the employers. In order for the curriculum to be proven right and most efficient there has to be an evaluation of the whole process. A curriculum should be easy to update separately without affecting the whole system. This is due to the constant changes in the job field. Stark and Lattuca (1997) stated, "additional studies should focus on the relations among elements of the academic plan, as well as on how the environment and the plan elements are directly and indirectly affected by the internal, organizational, and external influences . . . " (pp. 383-384). Many studies have been conducted but none has strictly identified a method for developing an ideal curriculum. Internationalization is an elusive part of curriculum research. Internationalization is the ability for higher education institutions all around the world to provide all round graduates for job markets everywhere. In internationalization, the world is test not only via education but also through international integration. Internationalization includes exchanging educational, social and financial ideas with other institutions around the world. Harvard University has the best system in the world. Therefore, its graduates are best fit to work anywhere in the world with a stable economy and system. Internationalization of the curriculum encompasses curriculum development, teaching strategies and assessment processes. Besides, it leads to an understanding of the intersections of local, national and global perspectives and contrasting value systems. The university curriculum can contribute an environment and ethos where cross-cultural capabilities and global perspectives are valued and respected and its graduates are thus equipped to live and work in the global arena (Clifford et al, 2009). In the twenty first century, several factors have led to changes in the curriculum and anticipation of even bigger changes in the near future. Education has finally adapted the needs of the changing world and several government bodies in charge of higher education are optimistic about change in the value of graduates and education provided under the curriculum. A report this national panel provided shows that the changes anticipated in the near future are radical and will change the face of higher education. In this new academic curriculum, the teachers will have a central goal of culturing learning into the livelihood of learners (Bennet, 1984). This would include coming up with programs that are resourceful in empowering the learners to relate to the workplace environment. This would be collaborative in maintaining high educational standards. Change in the higher educational sector is inevitable especially with the technological development. This should mainly seek to encourage more learners to embrace courses which are technologically rewarding. However, arts too should be appreciated (Brint, 2002). In conclusion, it is true to state that the ability of the human mind to change and achieve is continually being proven. This shows that the traditional curriculum exploited many arts while the new should focus on exploiting science and technology heading towards the future. Besides, there are additional adjustments that need to be done on the current curriculum in terms of incorporating more socially interactive activities for the students. These should be additional activities other than the conventional games. They should be competitive in nature. As a rule, students ought not deviate from their conventional class works. In as much as talent development is part of the school’s curriculum, education forms the essence of schooling. This is a virtue that can only be upheld by the education officials in tandem with the administrators of schools. At the end of the day, ne should bear in mind the fact that the current world as well as the job market stipulates that graduates be all round. However, grades are significant. References Bennett, W. J. (1984). To reclaim a legacy: A report on the humanities in higher education. Washington, DC: National Endowment for the Humanities. Brint, S. (2002). “The rise of the ‘practical arts’.” In S. Brint (Ed.), The future of the city of intellect: the changing American university (pp. 231–259). Stanford: Stanford University.Press. Clifford, V., Haigh, M., Henderson, J and Adetunji, H. (2009). Risky business: Negotiating new knowledge, new values, new behaviours. European Association of International Education, 21st Annual Conference. Madrid. Diamond, R. M. (2008). Designing and assessing courses and curricula (3rd ed.) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Lattuca, L. R. & Stark, J. S. (2009). Shaping the college curriculum: Academic plans in context (2nd ed.). San Fransisco: Wiley. Read More