Difficulties in Managing the Educational Program - Essay Example

Managing the Curriculum Introduction The content and structure of educational policies in countries worldwide are not standardized. Differences can be identified in regard to the targets set, the resources employed and the requirements set both for students and for educators. This paper aims to present the various aspects of a critical element of education: the Curriculum. In practice, the term is used for referring ‘either to a syllabus or the means for the implementation and the assessment of learning outcomes’ (Middlewood and Burton 2001, p.4). In this paper emphasis is given to the second aspect of Curriculum, i.e. to the identification, implementation and evaluation of policies that aim to support the various phases of learning, as these activities are also known as management of the curriculum. The review of the literature related to this subject has revealed an important fact: the state has the key role in defining the curriculum, both as a syllabus and as a learning process; still, the decisive role of principal/ head of educational institute in managing the curriculum cannot be doubted. In fact, the terms on which the management of curriculum is based are highly influenced by the decisions of principals and educators; the latter are those who apply the curriculum in practice and can, therefore, introduce important changes in each management on the basis that the key principles of education, such as equality and diversity are not violated, as analyzed below. 2. Management of Curriculum 2.1 Managing the Curriculum and inclusion A critical issue when managing Curriculum is the right of all children/ students to education no matter their physical or mental conditions. This right has been also described as the right to inclusion and refers to the need for securing the access to education for all children and students despite their potential disability (Wearmouth et al. 2013). Inclusion, as described above, is considered as a reflection of social justice, i.e. the need for the elimination of discrimination in all aspects of social life (Wearmouth et al. 2013). However, in order to be effectively promoted inclusion needs to be based on specific criteria. In other words, without a carefully planned strategy inclusion cannot be achieved at the level that delays would appear in regard to each of its processes (Sydney 2013). From a similar point of view it is noted that inclusion cannot be achieved only by applying a specific policy (Sydney 2013). Rather, it should be based on the understanding of all people in the educational site involved of the value and the necessity of inclusion; in other words, inclusion is achieved through specific schemes but it cannot secured without the change of existing perceptions on inclusion (Sydney 2013). Moreover, inclusion requires the establishment of a mechanism that will monitor all tasks related to the promotion of inclusion; for example, each school that aims to support children with social needs should have a supervisor that will check the progress of inclusion, i.e. whether fairness and equality are promoted (Sydney 2013). Schools that are based on inclusion can offer to their pupils/ students equality and understanding of their needs (Hayden and Thompson 2013). In such schools all pupils/ students feel welcomed, a fact that highly contributes in their high school performance (Hayden and Thompson 2013). 2.2 Curriculum and equality Equality is a concept of similar importance with inclusion. In general, equality implies the provision of equal chances to students to participate in the learning process (Bell and Rhodes 2002). Participation is related to the right to make suggestions, to exchange ideas and to take part in events organized in the context of the learning process (Bell and Rhodes 2002). On the other hand, Cole and Hill (2013) have noted that equality in school is often difficult to be secured mostly because of the following reason: modern schools are units where pupils of different cultural background co-exist. In these units the promotion of equality is a challenging task especially when the local social ethics and culture are not clearly opposed to discrimination (Cole and Hill 2013). Moreover, equality is not just a concept but also a mode of behaviour; people cannot be forced to respect equality, at least not in all aspects of their life. In other words, personal perceptions on cultural differences and discrimination can be preventive to the support of equality in an educational site (Phillips and Walford 2006). Also, the promotion of equality is not just an issue related to educators but also to the learners; this means that even if an educator tries to promote equality his efforts can be led to a failure if there is no support by the learners’ side (Phillips and Walford 2006). Similar assumptions can be developed in regard to diversity, a concept that aims to secure the following fact: that each learner will be welcomed in an educational site no matter his cultural or social background (Arnesen 2008). It should be also noted that in the context of education diversity cannot be secured without the active support of the educational leader, i.e. the principal or the head of the school/ University (Glatthorn and Jailall 2009). 2.3 Skills for managing the Curriculum In order to be able to manage the Curriculum effectively an individual needs to have appropriate skills and experience. In general, educators and school principals need to be able to understand the structure/ content of the Curriculum so that they can identify the most effective method for delivering it (Hoyle et al. 1998). In many cases, the methods required for the successful delivery of the Curriculum may not be clearly described in the rules of the educational site involved; also strict criteria in regard to the delivery of the Curriculum may not exist by the state’s side. In this case, educators need to be able to take initiatives and to be creative, depending on the social and cultural characteristics of their pupils/ students, their learning potentials but also their ability to respond to the financial needs of the learning process (Kitson and O’Neill 2002). For example, in a school where there are children of families with quite low earnings educators should not base the learning process on the use of costly equipment; they should rather try to use the school’s existing resources/ equipment so that all pupils/ students are able to participate equally in the learning process (Kitson and O’Neill 2002). Moreover when managing the Curriculum the use of relevant tools based on advanced technology should be also required. Reference can be made, as an example, to Moodle, a software application which can support the online development of courses of all types (Hollowell 2011, p.2). Moodle is one of the most popular software applications of such type; currently, Moodle hosts about 49,000 educational sites worldwide (Hollowell 2011, p.2). Today, software applications have become a critical part of the learning process. Most courses are supported by online seminars while there are also courses that are delivered only online, meaning especially the case of the online learning schemes available in most educational institutes internationally (Hollowell 2011, p.2). It is implied that people who have to manage the Curriculum need to be aware of the technological advances related to education and learning and should be able to manage the relevant software/ IT devices, at least at an average level. Another issue that should be taken into consideration by the people participating in the management of Curriculum is the following: in the context of managing Curriculum an individual should be willing and capable of supporting innovation, if such need appears (Markee 1997). In regard to education innovation reflects the changes made on the curriculum (Markee 1997). These changes are applied after their need is verified either by ‘a member of the same social system (immanent change) or by a person outside the social system, a case known as contact change’ (Markee 1997, p.48). As for the term social system, the particular term is used for referring to the social environment in which the change is attempted; for example, the social system of a University includes the University’s teaching community while, in certain cases, the term can be expanded including also the University’s students/ learners. Under these terms, teachers who are asked to apply/ deliver the Curriculum can have different roles, as members of the innovation process: a) teachers can act as change agents, suggesting changes to the Curriculum, as defined by the state, b) they can also act as suppliers, bringing in the class material, such as books, journals, reports and so on, that supports the changes attempted, c) at the next level, teachers can choose to accept the suggestions made by students in regard to the changes attempted; in this case, teachers become adopters; d) teachers could follow a different strategy; they may decide to reject the ideas/ suggestions of their students in regard to the changes attempted; in the last case teachers are characterized as resisters (Markee 1997, p.44). In order to respond to the needs of the above roles teachers should be appropriately skilled, meaning that they should have an educational background that would allow them to understand the characteristics of each of the above roles (Markee 1997, p.44). Preferable, teachers should also have experience in relevant projects so that they are able to meet unexpected problems, if any, and to suggest alterations, if required, to the phases of the change process. In any case, teachers can support innovation only if they perceive innovation as a necessary part of the learning process; if their attitudes towards innovation are negative then their resistance to such initiatives could be considered as guaranteed. At this point, particular reference should be made to the skills required for the delivery of Curriculum in early years. In the context of Primary school the successful delivery of Curriculum has been related to the ability of the headteacher to organize the learning process, to identify the most effective delivery method and to give guidelines to educators in regard to ‘the approaches they should use for securing the equal participation of children in all learning-related activities’ (Bell and Rhodes 2002, p.70). At this educational level, educators should have in their mind the following fact: their choices in regard to the learning process should be appropriate, being able to prepare the pupils for the learning processes used at upper educational levels, as for example, at high school and so on (Phillips et al 1999). This means that in early years educators should try to help pupils to understand the need and the value of learning process; it is during the early years that pupils learn to love or to hate the learning process, as during this period the learning process is directly related mostly to the educational environment and not so much to the Curriculum itself (Phillips et al. 1999). In this context, it is suggested that ‘an effective early years head should have both leadership and management skills’ (Moyles 2006, p.68). 3. Conclusion The effective management of Curriculum, as a core part of education, is related to many difficulties. Indeed, the literature reviewed, as presented above, has indicated that managing the Curriculum successfully requires a series of skills; the support of the internal environment is also critical in the successful completion of the relevant processes. The development of strong resistance by learners or the lack of willingness to support innovation can lead to the failure of an educator’s efforts to manage the Curriculum. However, even if the support of learners is guaranteed, there are other problems that need to be overcome for securing the successful delivery of the Curriculum: the technology required for supporting the various phases of the delivery process may not be available; also, the external environment may be opposed to the methods employed by educators for delivering the Curriculum. For example, in poor communities the delivery of Curriculum using only online courses could be proved as a disaster since most of the students might not have access to Internet. This means that the management of the Curriculum needs to be based on flexible rules; the methods chosen should be aligned not only with the internal but also to the external environment. Also, changes should be always permitted but only after the careful review of their criteria and elements. In addition, methods such as the ‘Curriculum Management Audit which checks the adequacy of the Curriculum’ (Frase et al. 2009, p.9) should be also used for securing the quality of Curriculum as of all its phases. In general, as a process the management of Curriculum in an educational unit can be quite complex but its difficulties could be reduced by adopting practices that have been already tested, with success, in other units of similar social and cultural characteristics. References Arnesen, A., 2008. Policies and Practices for Teaching Sociocultural Diversity: Report on the Survey on Initial Education of Teachers in Sociocultural Diversity. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. Bell, L. and Rhodes, C., 2002. The Skills of Primary School Management. London: Routledge. Cole, M. and Hill, D., 2013. Schooling and Equality: Fact, Concept and Policy. London: Routledge. Frase, L., English, F. and Poston, W., 2000. The Curriculum Management Audit: Improving School Quality. Oxford: R&L Education Glatthorn, A. and Jailall, J., 2009. The Principal as Curriculum Leader: Shaping What Is Taught and Tested. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press. Hayden, M. and Thompson, J., 2013. International Schools and International Education: Improving Teaching, Management and Quality. London: Routledge. Hollowell, J., 2011. Moodle as a Curriculum and Information Management System. Birmingham: Packt Publishing Ltd. Hoyle, J., English, F. and Steffy, B., 1998. Skills for Successful 21st Century School Leaders. Oxford: R&L Education. Kitson, N. and O’Neill, J., 2002. Effective Curriculum Management: Co-ordinating Learning in the Primary School. London: Routledge. Markee, N., 1997. Managing Curricular Innovation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Middlewood, D. and N. Burton, 2001. Managing the Curriculum. London: SAGE. Moyles, J., 2006. Effective Leadership And Management In The Early Years. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill International. Phillips, D. and Walford, G., 2006. Tracing Education Policy: Selections from the Oxford Review of Education. London: Routledge. Phillips, S., Goodwin, J. and Heron, R., 1999. Management Skills for SEN Coordinators in the Primary School. London: Psychology Press. Sydney, A., 2013. A Handbook for Inclusion Managers: Steering your School towards Inclusion. London: Routledge. Wearmouth, J., Glynn, T., Richmond, R. and Berryman, M., 2013. Inclusion and Behaviour Management in Schools: Issues and Challenges. London: Routledge. Read More