North-South Wales Curriculum - Case Study Example

Curriculum North South Wales (Name) (Institution) (Module) (Course) (Tutor’s Name) 11th April 2010 The Board of Studies New South Wales is responsible for assisting government and non-government schools in educational leadership for schools from kindergarten to year 12 through development of curriculum and awarding School Certificate and the Higher School Certificate. The board also manages NSW school tests for year 10 and Higher School Certificate Examinations for year 12. Through these roles, the board promotes quality education and also provides support on the grading system and educational policies. This board operates in collaboration with Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) which handles curriculum issues all over the country. This collaboration entails advising the national body on curriculum matters. The curriculum is structured in a manner that gives the Board precedence over the handling of the region’s curriculum over the national curriculum body. However, the Board has to work in collaboration with Australian curriculum to develop curriculum for mathematics, science and history. The Board has developed the following courses: Mathematics, English, science, HSIE (human society and its environment), PDHPE, creative arts, technology, languages and VET curriculum career frameworks. There are other authorities that deal with education in NSW and the rest of Australia. This pertains to religious schools and private/independent schools. The Catholic Education Commission NSW is one of them that manages and runs educational matters in collaboration with Board of Studies NSW for catholic sponsored schools. This body however, gives weight to religious mattes which are synchronized in to the Board’s curriculum. The Association of Independent Schools of NSW is more involved in curriculum issues as it develops customised courses for some members. This body has been most vocal in advocating for causes of independent schooling. Debozy, (2007) notes that this is the adequate level of democracy that allow development of education by allowing schools to invent their contents which they deem relevant. ACARA as the central body of curriculum development is Australia drafts the main curriculum which individual schools can modify a little bit. Unfortunately, as the main examination body also, the sequence of delivery and structure has to adhere to the main curriculum. Other subjects and examinable items are included in customised curriculum in independent and catholic schools. The Board makes recommendations to these schools on what is relevant and might be considered for inclusion in the customised curriculum. Curriculum development is a sensitive issue in education circles where the term curriculum is not an easy term to define (Brady & Kennedy 2007). Marsh (2004) says that the modern western world understanding of curriculum encompasses all the subjects taught in school. This is evident from the definition of Board of Studies NSW which lists its curriculum in form of subjects as listed above. However, to achieve some form of consistency in the subjects offered, a curriculum ought to have a structure. Curriculum structure comprises scope and sequence. Scope is basically the content of the curriculum while sequence is the ordering of the content. English has the most simplified sequence. The year one curriculum gives weight to construction of simple structured sentences both in spoken and written form. To develop this skill, learners are encouraged to interact more with peers and family and also read simple fiction, film and digital texts to help then home their ability to make simple sentences. In year two students are expected to comprehend, understand, evaluate and create simply structured sentences both written and spoken for persuasive, informative or literary purposes. In essence, the complexity of the sentences and the level of analysis in these sentences increase from one year to the other. There exist many definitions of the term curriculum. Marsh (2004) lists them; curriculum is- Permanent subjects that embody essential knowledge Subjects that are most useful for contemporary living Planned learning for which the school responsible The totality of learning experiences so that students can attain general skills and knowledge at a variety of learning sites What students construct from working with the computer and its various networks such as the internet The questioning of authority and the searching for complex views of human situations (p. 4) The definition adopted determines the framework used. In NSW, the definition that is consistent with the current curriculum is permanent subjects that embody essential knowledge. Marsh (2004) is against the definition which perceives curriculum as a number of fixed subjects offered by the educational system in any given state, country or school. He argues that since knowledge is dynamic, viewing education as knowledge is incomplete. He cites Rose (2000) who says that Australia has followed closely in the footsteps of the UK and developed content-based, objectives-driven and process-driven curricula. Objectives-driven curriculum is most prominent in the Catholic based school which apart from imparting formal knowledge to learners, they seek to impart life skills in the religious sense and ensure high discipline. A look at the three major subjects addressed in the curriculum is helpful in understanding the workings of the curriculum in general. The NSW mathematics curriculum which is sourced from ACARA (2010) aims to “ensure that students are confident, creative users and communicators of mathematics, able to investigate, represent and interpret situations in their personal and work lives and as active citizens” (p. 1) The content of the mathematics syllabus from year one to year ten consists of probability and statistics, measurements and geometry and number and algebra. To attain these, there are four elements that have also to be contained in the curriculum; reasoning, problem solving, fluency and understanding which are met through active inquiry and participation by students. Australia as a country has a rich history which if not well understood will impact on learners understanding of several government policies such as on the aboriginal people. Therefore, it is imperative that the Australian history is taught in schools and given the deserved weight. The History K-10 aims for instance aims at eliciting interest in history and gaining knowledge and understanding of the country’s past and how these forces play a part in the present. A look at the NSW curriculum shows that politics and patriotism have played a great role on emphasizing the importance of teaching history in the elementary school. This confirms Young (1971) claims as cited in Marsh (2004) that academic curricula weigh different subjects differently in the belief that some one field of knowledge is more important than the other. The fact that the Board of Studies NSW provides a general curriculum model which the independent and catholic school board modify to their tastes implies that it is a learner-centered curriculum framework. In such a framework, the first consideration is the learner. The educational bodies and thus responsible for developing the curriculum should fist identify the segment that they wish to serve. The Catholics for instance develop their own curriculum following the Board of Studies framework to suit a particular segment that they wish to target, Catholics. Again, the curriculum should be drafted in manner that it does not lock out potential learners. Marsh this is the reason why curriculum developers need to consult with other learning institutions and countries and even teachers (Marsh 2008). In Australia for instance, states and territories consult on the curriculum development guided by ACARA. He for instance notes the close similarity between the UK curriculum for year one to ten as a result of collaboration in curriculum development between the two countries. The realms of meaning framework as suggested by Marsh (2004) recognizes five realms; symbolics, empirics, aesthetics, synnoetics, ethics and synoptics. The catholic school curriculum for instance gives emphasis to ethics and synoptics. However, in general, the NSW curriculum, going by the subjects An education systems curriculum should have a driving force almost similar to slogans and visions held by individual learning institutions. In the case of NSW, the Board of Studies has developed individual goals and objectives to be achieved by each subject. For example in Year one English curriculum, learners are expected to be able to “comprehend, create and discuss a small range of simply structured spoken and written texts for informative and literary purposes” (ACARA, p. 10). Therefore the goal of education should not be vague and should be made as specific as possible. This according to Panar (2003) is helpful in setting exams and tests which are based purely on the objectives and goals of the course. Marsh (2003) brings into focus the weighting of the different concept is a curriculum. He identifies five key concepts namely; religion, literature and the fine arts, philosophy and moral knowledge. Catholic schools give weight to religion and moral knowledge while independent schools give weight to fine arts. While public schools have historically shown preference to general knowledge, independent schools emphasize on talent development as a more focused area of study that gives special attention to gifted students (Pinar, 2003). Education according to NSW curriculum equips students with different skills per subject. The objectives outline in each syllabus for each year helps in achieving the overall objectives. Each year has a specific objective and the expected outcomes and benefits of gaining such skills. For example “The Dance Stage 6 course equips students with life skills while also providing continuity with many tertiary and industry courses. Students who study the Dance Stage 6 course acquire skills and knowledge that give them access to professional employment in dance, the performing arts and the entertainment and leisure industries” (Dance stage 6 syllabus p. 7). In the NSW curriculum, education is portrayed as a necessity in life not only for career purposes but for fulfilment in life and achievement of personal dreams and honing of talents. Creative arts as a subject in the curriculum seek to develop and nurture talents at all levels. On the other hand, each subject is promoted as a means of survival through life by offering all the subjects as life skills. While English is taught as a national language, excellent and appropriate use of the English language fosters better communication and understanding between parties. Therefore, there is more to learning English than just being able to construct and understand sentences. It is also a sign of patriotism. The Board of Studies has endorses a number of course and subjects that individual schools can incorporate in their curriculum. These are ceramics, computing applications, English studies, exploring early childhood, marine studies, photography, video and digital imaging. These subjects allow the injection of professionalism and career development at an early stage as opposed to later stages where students are expected to major in a number of subjects according to their career choice. Learning is defined as process that combines emotional, cognitive and environmental influences in honing knowledge and skills. The NSW curriculum is very conscious on a number of learning theories especially on development psychology. The Gardner theory of multiple intelligences is best applicable in the creative arts such as drama, music and visual arts. Furthermore the varied tests are capable of capturing a wide range of topics covered in every subject. The Board is served with setting school tests for year 10 and Higher School Certificate Examinations for year 12. These tests in one way or another serve as litmus tests on the teaching methodology adopted by the teachers in following the curriculum and the syllabus. They mark points of syllabus evaluation and curriculum change. For example, the year 12 mathematic syllabus is under review and is expected to be published in 2011 to give new direction in teaching of mathematics in this level (Board of Studies NSW 2010) There are a number of theories identifiable from the NSW curriculum. First and foremost is the cognitive theory of learning. Piar (2003) describes as a theory in psychology that explains human behavior by studying the though process. It assumes that human beings will make choices according to their understanding of them. Piaget developed this idea of understanding and making choices in young children by including maturational factors. Through the study of water snails, Piaget observed that maturation was responsible for increased understanding and uptake of idea by the brain. In educational theory therefore, curriculum developers increase the contents and scope of syllabuses from the lower levels upwards. This is the major consideration in curriculum construction; to create a relevant sequence that aligns with maturation of the brain and ability to understand complex ideas (Brady & Kennedy 2007). The 21st learners are faced with many issues that were not present a few decades ago. This implies therefore that curriculum and syllabus have to be aligned to these new developments in knowledge, challenges and technology. Computers have become new learning and teaching tools that need to be adequately incorporated in the education system to ensure maximum benefits. The NSW has incorporated a broad technology syllabus which is under constant review. The current syllabus for stage six in information processes and technology is aims to “enable students to become confident, competent, discriminating and ethical users of information technologies, to possess an understanding of information processes and to appreciate the effect of information systems on society” (Information Processes and Technology Stage 6 Syllabus, p. 8). The Board also endorses computing studies as an additional life skill course in technology. Nevertheless, the curriculum has given little attention to issues of morals such as drugs, crime and violence among the youth. This is very critical at a time when Australian universities and colleges have reported hate crimes against foreign students. This may encourage some parents to consider taking their children to catholic schools which give more weight to morals and life skills. All in all the NSW has o well developed curriculum based on the broad ACARA curriculum. As the most developed region in Australia, NSW sets a good example to other states to constantly review their curriculum to keep up with changing times and requirements in the employment industry. While universities and colleges are the final career moulders in students, the fundamentals are developed at the early stages of education. References Brady, L. & Kennedy, K. (2007). Curriculum construction (3rd Ed.). French’s Forest: Pearson Debozy, E. (2007). The learning of democratic values: How four ‘out of the ordinary’ schools do it. French’s Forest: Pearson. Mathematics curriculum (2010). Viewed on 13/04/2010 http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Documents/Mathematics%20curriculum.pdf Marsh, C. (2008). Becoming a teacher (4th ed.). French’s Forest: Pearson Marsh, C. (2004). Key concepts for understanding curriculum. (3rd ed.). London: Routledge Farmer Pinar, W. (Ed.). (2003). International handbook of curriculum research. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates NSW school curriculum. Syllabus English NSW (2010). Viewed on 13/04/2010 http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/english-syllabus-from2010.pdf Read More