Organizations Selected
While a time-consuming and complicated procedure, curriculum articulation and alignment are nevertheless essential to ensure students’ progress within the educational system. Articulation, or alignment of standards, expectations, programs, and courses at high school and university levels, is vital for improving higher education, as it affects affordability, efficiency, and productivity of both high schools and universities. A successful alignment plan would require collaboration and cooperation of education managers, teachers, and regulators (Dortch, 2012). Consequently, the present paper looks at the progress of students from high school to higher education to determine an appropriate improvement plan.
Analysis of Curriculum Articulation and Alignment
Effective communication between high schools and higher education institutions is essential to the success of their students, as it improves student graduation rate by making the transition from school to college smoother for them. Currently, high schools located in the same region can interact with each other as to align and share instructional strategies, resources, and rubrics. This practice ensures that students get a uniform education and develop the same abilities and skills, regardless of which school they attend. Since high schools are organized based on their geographic proximity and colleges are grouped together with their feeder high schools, there is a lot of potential for cooperation. Thus, a strategy of sharing should be adopted to align the needs of high schools and higher education establishments, as it increases students’ chances of success (Dortch, 2012).
In many cases, being underprepared in the high school academic context is a strong indicator of failure in college. While the enrollment rate for minimally qualified or unqualified students is high, their completion rate is low due to their unpreparedness. In order to solve this problem, two processes should be adopted to ensure curriculum alignment: horizontal articulation and vertical articulation.
Horizontal articulation
Horizontal articulation involves curriculum alignment and collaboration by teachers working with the same age group. Teachers play a fundamental role in helping students forge core skills. Specifically, learners will be able to demonstrate multicultural skills that vary in demand based on their economic, political, and cultural contexts. Learners should also be able to gain knowledge from a continuum of subjects which will then allow them to gain a sense of direction and purpose (Martone & Sireci, 2009). Consequently, linking subjects is essential for horizontal articulation, as learners gain intellectual knowledge that can be used across courses to fill in the gaps where their knowledge may be insufficient. Essentially, horizontal articulation leads to the establishment of an exciting, vibrant, and relevant curriculum.
Vertical articulation
Vertical articulation entails collaboration between high school teachers and college professors. Students thus become aware of their position within the feeder program which allows them to know which colleges they can attend after high school. This knowledge is vital for them as they can prepare in advance for the courses that they are interested in taking in college. Moreover, it allows the students to interact with each other and to stay informed about the schools that they plan on attending in the future (Dugdale, 2009). College professors play an integral role in this process as they can improve curriculum articulation, so the students are aware which subjects they should follow in high school to make it easier for them to take certain courses in college.
Transitional support can also improve alignment between the two levels through meetings between parents and stakeholders at universities and high schools. By better understanding their role in the transition, parents can influence their children to make more suitable choices. Improving articulation agreements would require the introduction of performance metrics and institutional funding (Bryman, 2008). Sufficient financial support would facilitate the creation of a strategy that would strengthen the cross-school transfer mechanism to improve student mobility.
The alignment of expectations toward the curriculum is essential for sustainable and effective learning. If the curriculum expectations are not met, both learners and teachers could lose interest in the subject matter. A poorly formulated curriculum hinders the transition between high school and college, as there is no continuity between the two. This problem is especially salient in the case of vertical alignment, but it can be successfully solved if all stakeholders come together to deal with the issues that can arise during the transition (Dortch, 2012). Ensuring that the curriculum remains understandable while also expanding the subject is vital to improving the transition.
The curriculum should remain challenging but at the same time not overwhelming. The pace and content of the curriculum should be taken into account to ensure that the implemented changes do not make it more difficult for students to move from high school to college.
Improvement Plan
The proposed improvement plan entails enhancing collaboration between high schools and universities, meaning that the students should have the opportunity to attend bridging programs that would take place at the universities. Such programs present an opportunity for students to explore their interests and to understand what is expected of them when they start attending college. These programs can also improve students’ academic advancement as they detail what subjects a student should choose to progress into college with ease. Prospective students get an opportunity to interact with the faculty, administrators, and current students so they can ask questions about possible issues and about structuring their current education in such a way as to ensure successful progression into college (Anderson, 2002).
The improvement plan also entails interaction between high school and university staff so teachers can get insights into preparing students for taking college entrance exams. Essentially, stakeholders in both high schools and universities should play a part in formulating and designing a curriculum that is of relevance to both levels of education (Martone & Sireci, 2009). This would ensure students are not burdened with unfamiliar subjects when they enter college.
The proposed improvement plan uses a model of assessment as a means to ascertain the learner’s capacity to recall and retain information. Since a large part of knowledge gained from practicing or learning by doing is eventually lost, the curriculum also gets lost in the process. The process of knowledge acquisition involves curriculum delivery and assessment, with learner progression creating holistic learners. Alignment of this aspect requires consideration of multiple learning orientations for learners and their teachers (Dugdale, 2009). All involved individuals should be able to understand the curriculum.
The perfect balance between the curricula absorbed by learners, taught by teachers and analyzed by learners is often undesirable and unrealistic. It arises from a culture of credentials where different people’s expectations are often not met.
Development and implementation of an articulation and alignment plan can encounter several issues, arising from limited funds, socio-cultural norms, and inconsistencies in learner toolkits. These factors can make it difficult to achieve the desired outcome. Regardless of how well-developed the strategy to ensure the effective transition is, factors, external to the learning environment, can arise, making it harder to achieve success (Anderson, 2002).
In conclusion, curriculum articulation and alignment between high schools and higher education institutions is vital to ensure the success of learners. It is beneficial to teachers, students, and parents alike, as it provides an academic connection between high schools and universities. The proposed improvement plan requires high schools to provide the necessary foundation for the students to succeed in college. Additionally, universities will be able to guarantee admission to students if they meet the required entrance qualifications in order to ensure high completion rates.
References
Anderson, L. W. (2002). Curricular alignment: A re-examination. Theory into Practice, 41(4), 255–260.
Bryman, A. (2008). Social Research Methods. Oxford, UK.: Oxford University Press.
Dortch, C. (2012). Implementation issues. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.
Dugdale, S. (2009). Space strategies for the new learning landscape. Educause Review, 44(2), 7-51.
Martone, A., & Sireci, S. G. (2009). Evaluating alignment between curriculum, assessment and instruction. Review of Educational Research, 79(3), 1–76.