Structure and Development of Curriculum - Article Example

Running Head: Structure and Development of Curriculum Structure and Development of Australian Curriculum: North Territory Curriculum Framework [Client's Name] [Affiliation] Various researches indicate that high quality education is the key to progress and development. A country whose education and literacy rates are high have high participation in the labor forces and thus has a higher probability of enjoying economic growth because of the potential contributions educated people may bring to the economy. There are a lot of factors that creates a high quality education. One of the main elements that dictate the quality of education is the curriculum. This paper will identify the structure of the curriculum used in Northern Territories in Australia; evaluate how its scope and functionalities address the need of the 21st Century learner; and identify how well the curriculum agrees with the existing theories of learning and human development. Curriculum: Definition and Theories A curriculum is loosely defined as a set of prescribed course of studies that a student must pass satisfactorily in order to obtain a completion of a certain level of education (Lockett, 2009). It contains information about what knowledge and information are to be shared, how these knowledge and information are to be taught, and how should educators evaluate the contribution of the information in the learning process. Each level of education follow different curricula as various levels of learning requires different standards of completion. Different countries use different curricula, particularly in the elementary and secondary education programs, taking into account the social and cultural differences between and among them. In emerging and developed countries, it is typical for the curricula to take into account the potential contribution of its graduates in the labor force (Deakin, 1971). In some countries, the development of curricula depends largely on the learning needs and requirements of the students (Pungwa, 1982). This just shows that understanding how curricula are developed and to what extent it relates to the educational needs of the nation is in itself a tool in gauging the quality of education in that country. Curricula are important for three major reasons: (a) First, the areas of knowledge and learning included in the curricula determine the competence of the learners. Discarding the individual learning capacity of students, the theoretical foundation of knowledge acquired by students in formal education depends largely on the areas of learning introduced to them (Bines, 1993); (b) Second, learners that are exposed to advanced learning curricula in Math and Sciences in the early stage have the tendency to perform better as they move up various levels in education and this will have immense impact on the process of education of a nation (Bruner, 1977); and lastly (c) a good curricula indicates a better chance for economic growth and development as discussed earlier (Deakin, 1971). As can be noted from the discussion above, curricula are created and developed to address specific social or cultural or economic issues of a country (Locket, 2009; Deakin, 1971). They typically target special needs or requirements for a particular group of learners and are based on solid theoretical frameworks. Some of the most common considerations of developing curricula include (1) the learning requirements of the students, (2) the knowledge and skills that needs to be acquired and developed by the learners, (3) the organizations of all the educational experience, and (4) the evaluation process required to measure the effectiveness of the curricula versus the learning requirement. For these reasons, curricula are developed in a step by step process starting with the identification of appropriate theories and principles of education, the elaboration of the goals and aims of the curriculum, the definition general objective for such modes of instruction and the specific objectives and required outcomes, the development of assessment and task analysis, selecting contents, and the outline of the activities needed to achieve the goals and aims of the curriculum. So far, only the importance of the curricula and the step-by-step development of the curricula are explored. The specific requirements for curriculum development as it applies to the unique contexts of learning of a specific nation are not yet mentioned. There was also no mention of what specific items are placed in the curriculum. According to Bines (1993), some of the basic principles needed in developing curricula include the following: the selection of the subject matter which includes the scopes of each subject, the sequences of the subject, and the contents of the subject; the ability of the curriculum to integrate itself smoothly or continuously with other existing curriculum (example, the transition from secondary to tertiary level); a sense of balance between and among curriculum; the ease with which the output of the curriculum is assessed and evaluated; the nature and the needs of the learners which is apparent when one considers special learners or various levels and skills of learners (grade school learners versus tertiary level learners); availability of resources (funds and facilities usually); teacher development; and the most applicable available teaching methodologies. Curricula of Northern Territories Australia The curriculum used by the Northern Territories of Australia is patterned largely on the global challenges faced by its learners. The structure of the curriculum is constructed in such a manner that the learner’s connectedness with the external elements surrounding his learning process – the family, his peers, the community, and the national global stakeholders are integrated into the curriculum as it prepares learners to the roles they will be playing for these external stakeholders in the future. NTCF uses a circular structure in its curriculum to take into account the two-way interaction between learners and how they contribute to the external stakeholders and how the external stakeholders contribute to the learning process of the learners. The goal of the NT curriculum is to prepare the individual to become an integral part of the elements of his external environment, integrating with the learning process social and ethical awareness, community involvement, and sustainable development for a progressive future (NTCF, 2002). It is clear to see that North Territory Curriculum Framework provides generic approach to learning and at the same time integrate very specific expectations and requirements in order to achieve its goals. The Northern Territories Curriculum Framework (2002) identifies four major areas it needs to develop in a learner in order to achieve its monumental goals of sustainable future. These areas are of learning are composed of the Inner Learner, the Creative Learner, the Collaborative Learner, and the Constructive Learner. The Inner Learner is a holistic person capable of understanding who he is and realizing how he can contribute with what he has. This is the general picture of what NTCF wants to achieve. Developing the Inner Learner is very important since this is the very foundation of all the development in learning. By developing the Inner Learner, NT argues that it can guide the learners to take three important roles in the projected sustainable future which are characterized by creativity, constructivism, and collaboration. As the Inner Learner began to realize his potential through the curriculum framework, the framework further expounds the learners’ interests and capacities to explore ideas (Creative Learner), connect and work with others through effective communication process (Collaborative Learner), and aid the learners in accessing tools and information and using these to come up with the optimal outcomes (Constructive Learner). Moreover, the learning processes included in the curriculum involve development in major real-life and educational contexts of knowledge and learning which is done by creating clear and coherent relationships between the four domains it has identified. The specific requirements and expected outcomes of NTCF are given by the specific subject matter and expected output from the learners determined by various bands and domains of learning. The domains of learning as used by NCTF refer to the breakdown of the expected results from the bigger learning process. For example, Inner Learner has six domains that need to fulfill while Creative Learner has three. These specific domains are then justified by the learning perspectives that must be integrated to the learning perspectives and then attached to an essential learning process that it integrates with. For example, the first domain of the Inner Learner requires the second domain of Construction Learner (Con 2) and will need the perspectives of Learning Technology and Vocational Learning. By developing the Inner Learner and the supporting Learners, NTCF argues that it can be able to produce whole learners who are not only competent and competitive but are also confident about their knowledge and their potential contribution for the sustainable development of the region. In order to do this, NTCF provide both general and specific key areas for development in order to attain the level of competence and learning it require. For each domain of learning, NTCF outlines expected outcomes that learners are to be gauged against which also serves as a tool for assessment on the effectiveness of the curricula. From each domain and expected outcome, specific subjects or course studies are fitted to complete the picture. For example, the domain 3 of Inner Learner (In 3) aims to develop the Inner Learner to “Make decisions and takes actions based on personal values and principles that reflect empathy and integrity”. Band 2 Learners are expected to “consider the situations of others in order to develop understanding” among other things and learners are exposed to the Learning areas of English, Health and Physical Education (HPE), and Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE). Discussion and Analysis The development of curriculum in Northern Territories rests largely on the specific needs of the region. The NTCF identifies its present and future needs for sustainable development which is mainly inclined towards the integration between the knowledge and skills of its learners with the global demand for that knowledge and skills. From the perspective of NCTF, this need arise from the fact that cultural diversity has increased significantly in the last few decades and the need to provide a culturally diverse student populace high quality, appropriate, and competent learning has become more apparent. The strength of the NTCF is it is able to identify the most important factor of the learning process of its learners – the Inner Learner. By doing so, NTCF is able to build equally strong frameworks around the core learning need of its learners, even creating subsystems within the Inner Learner to enhance the holistic learner it aimed to develop. The generality of the aims and objectives for the curriculum frameworks is grounded on strong theories on education and human development. As one can easily identify, finding the Inner Learner and developing it will be fruitful and meaningful as the Inner Learner will eventually grow and develop to become the holistic individual through different modes of Learning that could contribute to the sustainable development of the family, peers, communities, nations, and eventually the world. The specificity of its domains, learning perspectives, and contributory domains as outlined in each type of Learners complements the strength of NTCF. This is because NTCF did not just pull concepts and theories on thin air; what it did is create logical arrangements and structure of its curriculum development that eventually moves towards the achievement of its general objectives. Conclusion What makes NTCF a good framework is not the elaborate details of its goals and objectives. It is a good framework based on the discussion of an ideal curriculum simply because it is able to identify what it needs, how to address it through education, and determining what curriculum it needs to develop in order to achieve its goals and objectives. Because NTCF is able to identify its needs for sustainable development, and because it is able to translate these needs into a part of its curriculum framework, it can be argued that NTCF’s curriculum framework is most appropriate for its 21st century learners. Its framework is also timely and appropriate as it is able to address the social and cultural changes that took place in the region. References Bines, H. (1993). Curriculum Change: A Case of Special Education. British Journal of Sociology of Education. 14(1); 49-56 Bruner, J. S. (1977). The process of education. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press Deakin, A. (1971). Mathematics Curricula for Developing Countries. Mathematical Association of America. 1017 – 1019 Luckett, K. (2009). The Relationship between Knowledge Structure and Curriculum: A Case Study in Sociology. Studies in Higher Education. 34(4). Pp 442-453. Northern Territories Curriculum Framework. (2002). Retrieved online from http://www.det.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/2361/b_essential_learn.pdf Pungwa, L. (1982). Development of Social Studies Curriculum Content for Zambian Junior Secondary Schools. African Studies in Curriculum Development and Evaluation. No. 72 Read More

So far, only the importance of the curricula and the step-by-step development of the curricula are explored. The specific requirements for curriculum development as it applies to the unique contexts of learning of a specific nation are not yet mentioned. There was also no mention of what specific items are placed in the curriculum. According to Bines (1993), some of the basic principles needed in developing curricula include the following: the selection of the subject matter which includes the scopes of each subject, the sequences of the subject, and the contents of the subject; the ability of the curriculum to integrate itself smoothly or continuously with other existing curriculum (example, the transition from secondary to tertiary level); a sense of balance between and among curriculum; the ease with which the output of the curriculum is assessed and evaluated; the nature and the needs of the learners which is apparent when one considers special learners or various levels and skills of learners (grade school learners versus tertiary level learners); availability of resources (funds and facilities usually); teacher development; and the most applicable available teaching methodologies.

Curricula of Northern Territories Australia The curriculum used by the Northern Territories of Australia is patterned largely on the global challenges faced by its learners. The structure of the curriculum is constructed in such a manner that the learner’s connectedness with the external elements surrounding his learning process – the family, his peers, the community, and the national global stakeholders are integrated into the curriculum as it prepares learners to the roles they will be playing for these external stakeholders in the future.

NTCF uses a circular structure in its curriculum to take into account the two-way interaction between learners and how they contribute to the external stakeholders and how the external stakeholders contribute to the learning process of the learners. The goal of the NT curriculum is to prepare the individual to become an integral part of the elements of his external environment, integrating with the learning process social and ethical awareness, community involvement, and sustainable development for a progressive future (NTCF, 2002).

It is clear to see that North Territory Curriculum Framework provides generic approach to learning and at the same time integrate very specific expectations and requirements in order to achieve its goals. The Northern Territories Curriculum Framework (2002) identifies four major areas it needs to develop in a learner in order to achieve its monumental goals of sustainable future. These areas are of learning are composed of the Inner Learner, the Creative Learner, the Collaborative Learner, and the Constructive Learner.

The Inner Learner is a holistic person capable of understanding who he is and realizing how he can contribute with what he has. This is the general picture of what NTCF wants to achieve. Developing the Inner Learner is very important since this is the very foundation of all the development in learning. By developing the Inner Learner, NT argues that it can guide the learners to take three important roles in the projected sustainable future which are characterized by creativity, constructivism, and collaboration.

As the Inner Learner began to realize his potential through the curriculum framework, the framework further expounds the learners’ interests and capacities to explore ideas (Creative Learner), connect and work with others through effective communication process (Collaborative Learner), and aid the learners in accessing tools and information and using these to come up with the optimal outcomes (Constructive Learner). Moreover, the learning processes included in the curriculum involve development in major real-life and educational contexts of knowledge and learning which is done by creating clear and coherent relationships between the four domains it has identified.

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