Compare and Contrast Integrated and Subjective Approach - Essay Example

Compare and Contrast Integrated and Subjective Approach No one could effectively dispute that education is the main edifice upon which life opportunities would rest. It invariably determines and predicts the route charted by the youth of any nation. Although no one can predict the future accurately, people in leadership capacities such as teachers should make guesses about the probable future, and then plan appropriately. Teachers need to plan their curriculum such that students are equipped with the proper skills. As much as it sounds like an oft-repeated cliché, the fact remains that there would be hardly any society in any part of the world that would blatantly deny the importance and significance held by education, especially the education of little children. And the UK is no different. Thus, it is only fair that the builders of the future societies of any nation are well looked after, especially in the area of primary education not only by the parents, but also by the schoolteachers, principals, and other related authorities. In the context of National Curriculum, Primary National Strategy and Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, the scope of this essay is to ponder upon, and make an attempt to answer the following questions: 1) How do you define Subjective and Integrated based curriculum? 2) What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach with focus on the Key stage 1 and 2 and the Primary education? It now becomes fairly apparent that things concerning educational matters are not to be trivialized and deserve serious attention by the concerned people. It is for this reason that the education building mechanism in places of learning is selected and processed very methodically and scientifically. The National Curriculum The National Curriculum was introduced into England, Wales and Northern Island and as a national curriculum for primary and secondary state schools after the Education Reform Act 1988, which makes sure that the state schools of all Local Education Authorities are following a common curriculum. The subjects that are compulsorily taught are divided into two key stages, key stage 1(age 5-7) and key stage 2 (age 7-11). All students at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 are required to study (wikipedia, 2006): Mathematics Science History Geography Art and Design Music Design Technology Physical Education Sex education, in some schools. Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE). ICT The Primary National Strategy The Secretary of State launched Excellence and Enjoyment - A Strategy for Primary Schools on May 20th 2003. It declares the vision for the future of primary education and would be useful for a sector where high standards are obtained through an exciting curriculum, which develops children in a range of ways. Important points in the vision included the need to make curriculum innovative by the primary schools, encouraging schools to network together and learning to share and develop good practice, the Government acting as a catalyst by empowering teaching leadership and providing opportunities for children to have a whole range of learning experiences ( The Standards Site- Primary, n.d.) . The Subjective and the Integrated – based Curriculum Subject-based Curriculum, as indicated by the name itself, assumes that there is supposed to be one expert teacher or ‘specialist’ for one subject. The particular expert in that area handles all the issues with regards to that subject. For example, a physics teacher would typically handle and be responsible for all questions regarding physics only, and would not deviate from the main subject at all. The teacher would not look into other subjects like math, chemistry, etc nor would approach or consult teachers of other subjects. This approach thus, assumes that teachers of a particular subject are to handle their specialized subjects alone, and are not supposed to know and teach about other subjects. Every subject is considers an entity in itself. In contrast to subject-based teaching, integration approach deals with the merging or combining of two or more subjects with regards to teaching and learning. A very good example of this is learning foreign language through singing rhymes of numbers. It’s Language, Mathematics and Music rolled into one (Getting Started in Language, n.d.). Considered also as an integrated approach is the linking of a subject to other subjects. An example of this is a discussion of the impact of science to history. The question now arises on which of the two is more effective. To be able to answer this (and since we are concerned with Key 1 and Key 2 stages), we must delve on the philosophy of the learning process of children. One of the popular notions is that of Jean Piaget’s idea of children as little philosophers According to Piaget (1990), a child’s learning process is basically the same as that of a scientist wherein new ideas are synthesized from previous knowledge. By reflecting on the effects of their own previous knowledge, a child is able to organize increasingly complex structures For example, once a young child can consistently and accurately recognize different kinds of animal, they then acquire the ability to organize the different kinds into higher groupings such as ‘birds’, ‘fish’, and so on. It is by this reflection on their own actions tha they develop a logical awareness. “It is through the process of objectification, reflection and abstraction that the child constructs the principles on which action is not only effective or correct but also justified.” From the foregoing, one can see that a child learns more complex things by relying on his past knowledge. One may argue that teaching a child therefore involves providing a sound knowledge database from which he can reflect on. The subjective approach, due to focus on a single subject, can provide sufficient data and ideas on a certain subject. However, it is limited, in the sense that it does not establish the connections between subjects. Why is this important? We must bear in mind that Piaget’s child learning process also involves reflection. Take for example the following: Subjective: Science - study of the circulatory system Physical education – exercise is good because it enhances blood flow Integrated: Exercise is good because, when training the muscle, blood flow is enhanced. The body develops an increased capacity in transporting oxygen and taking away carbon dioxide. An activity is made wherein as one is exercising, the teacher poins to an illustration of te human body and specifies what is happening. From here we can see that the information relayed to the student by the integrated approach is more complete in the sense that it gives the students the idea of how to properly relate information. That is, the integrated approach provides the framework on how to properly reflect and relate ideas - not only the knowledge database. How does it fit to the Primary Strategy? If the child develops the ability to properly make use of information, then he can easily appreciate the relevance of the topics given to him making it an enjoyable learning process. Another notion of child learning is that of Russian psychologist Vygotsky (1978) who cited the importance of others as learning catalysts. He insisted that in infants, communication between the mother and infant) is a pre-requisite to the child’s understanding of concepts and language. He showed that in the absence of communication, there could be no thought. Thinking he argued, does not exist independent of the world. The second important way in which Vygotsky thought learners could communicate with each other was via the ‘Zone of Proximal Development”. According to this theory, students can learn things own their own, but beyond a point, they need the influence and mediation of other to move to the next level of learning.. Students can then learn to internalize external knowledge. From this notion, one can see the importance of others as a necessary tool for learning. The analysis done using Piaget’s applies to the idea of Vygotsky. There is a need for someone to teach the child how to relate ideas and how it can be applied, not just give him details. The integrated approach, due to its holistic nature, opens up the imagination of the child. He then learns that we need math to do science or that geography also uses mathematics. He is made aware of the interrelatedness of ideas and arouses his curiosity. From experience, once you get a child curious, he gets more interested in learning. Another notion is that Jerome Bruner. Bruner (1996) stated that the intelligence of the learner is framed by the surrounding ambience and learning is sharing of that ambience. In Bruner’s view, to be culture-free would amount to being devoid of intelligence. Cultural interaction would be important to develop learning capacities. Bruner’s idea was actually influenced by that Vygotsky. It stresses the importance of others in the learning process. If that teacher is focus on only one subject, then the child’s mind is compartmentalized. It would seem to him, that since the teacher does not tackle anything else, then it has no bearing to other subjects while in fact it is. In accordance to the theory, it would seem that the Integrated approach is the better alternative. A report/survey on UK schools suggested otherwise. In the 1992 report entitled Curriculum Organization and Classroom Practice in Primary Schools, it was found that teaching focused on single subjects benefited primary pupils especially with Key Stage 2. Integrated teaching was deemed highly questionable as it led to excessively complex classroom practices (A Review, 1999.). This report, however, is mainly a qualitative one and statements such as “there is ample evidence” is not supported by data. Also, the Integrated approach, through its activities is responsive to the issue of inclusiveness, social justice and cultural diversity. Activities such as learning languages through singing numbers in foreign language offers inclusiveness and social justice since one can learn another language without buying expensive books . The approach is responsive to cultural diversity because one may design an activity wherein different cultures can be highlighted and appreciated such as dancing with different cultural styles. It is also inclusive since one who loves math but hates language can now find a means to reconcile the two. Conclusion At the end of the day, Integrated approach offers the best type of Curriculum. Not only does it opens up the imagination and arouses the curiosity of the child, it is also more appealing since students who love one subject but hates the other can now appreciate the two subjects. The approach also conforms to child learning theories. Subjective approach, although offers more focus on a subject, is non-responsive to learning process of a child. It falls short when it comes to providing learning of children as our analyses of our theories have shown. References: 1. Wikipedia ( 2006). National Curriculum. Retrieved October 7, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_curriculum 2. standards.dfes.gov.uk. (n.d) The Standards Site- Primary National Strategy. Retrieved October 7, 2006 from http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/about/ 3. standards.dfes.gov.uk. (n.d.) Getting Started in Languages. Retrieved October 6, 2006 from http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/publications/languages/languages_guidance/pns_mflpart2_190505_start.pdf 4. Piaget, J. and B. Inhelder (1990). The Psychology of the Child. New York: Basic Books. 5. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978) Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press 6. Bruner, J. (1996). Towards a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press. 7. archive.official-documents.co.uk. ( 1999) . A Review of Primary Schools in England. Retrieved October 7, 2006 from http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/ofsted/ped/ped-it.htm A review of Primary schools in England, 1994 - 1998 8. Alexander R (2004) ‘Still no pedagogy? Principles, pragmatism and compliance in primary education Cambridge Journal of Education Vol. 34, No 1, March 2004 . Retrieved October 6, 2006 from http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/download/CCJE_34_1_02LORES.pdf 9. Department for Education and Schools, http://www.dfes.gov.uk/index.htm Read More