Introduction
The word Curriculum was borrowed from Latin implying racecourse. In learning, curriculum implies the course of studies to be pursued by learners in their training institutions. Conversely, a curriculum may be characterized as the entirety of the subject, actions, and experiences, which make up a pupil’s educational life. A subject of study is the material generally in booklet form, which describes to the instructor such things as the goals and ingredients of a particular topic and the activities as well as books to be utilized in attaining preferred results.
The curriculum is the youngster’s preface to life as coaching is the grounding for it. When aspirations and goals have been classified accurately and in real terms, the need of structuring a curriculum based on mental, communal, and educational concerns could crop up. Solid values aimed at attaining the objective should be developed. Brady & Kennedy 2010, indicate that the primary step should be to categorize these concerns sequentially based on their significance. The principal category of action that constitutes human life needs to be given priority.
Learning is life-centric and child-centric in the 21st century hence any curriculum should reflect on this aspect. Scholars have argued that a reasonably visualized curriculum should focus on two major features that are, the nature of the youngster and the necessity of the society. This article summarizes the principles of a good curriculum and develops a chart as well as a matrix plan for teaching.
Scenario
Bushvale Primary School is a public institution located in the southern environs. It has 450 learners from various cultural settings although learners are principally Australian-born with Caucasian mothers. Approximately 15% of the learners are from African emigrant ancestors and getting standard employment is a dilemma for their parents. The training institution’s literacy and numeracy reports from nationalized taxing information center pointed out that the learners are performing dismally, which is not good for the country.
There is a characteristic of ethnically based anxiety in the playing field of Bushvale Primary School with some reported cases of maltreatment. The institution borders a small sovereign Islamic school with a student population of about two hundred. Nearly everyone at the Islamic school has studied English as a second foreign language. There are reported cases of persecution of Islamic learners after lessons by students from Bushvale. In other words, the relationship between the two schools is not stable since they do not interact in any significant way.
It, therefore, follows that the curriculum to be made should incorporate the above issues. The contemporary world demands that the welfare of a child be analyzed from all viewpoints. The objective of learning is to empower a child to be an ideal and creditable member of society. Correspondingly, the curriculum must be structured to focus on the life of the youngster and help him/her to grow through the ranked stages that are, physically, intellectually, ethically, and communally.
Key Issues and Solutions
The curriculum ought not to be simply a hypothetical study of particular sorts of data that is not linked to the child’s welfare. The area under discussion in the curriculum must be connected directly to the intricacies of contemporary life. Through the dynamism of diverse activities and familiarities offered by the curriculum, a child must develop functional expertise, behaviors, knowledge, positive reception, feelings, and human principles required for his/her living in the current world.
Children seem to have dissimilar capabilities and propensities. Grownups must not enforce a rigid set of course resources for students. The curriculum must be organized perfectly to convene diverse needs such as physical conditions, physical growth, logic realization, decision-making, and taking care of children with special needs. A child’s mental personality gets strong only through the culture. Therefore, the curriculum ought to be prepared based on communal demands, social issues, and requirements of the growing child.
There should be provision for professional education so that a youngster is allowed to earn his/her living in this aggressive society. More so, the curriculum must be based on activity and familiarity than information to be obtained and data to be accumulated. It has to be activity-based and there must be stipulations for work education. It must consist of different sorts of practical skills such as songs and fine art, physical actions, and other essential social skills. The workshops and training institutions should be merged.
Consistent planning and solidity of subjects should reconcile mental ordering of resources in harmony with the child’s welfare and dreams in a certain subject area. Relationships and harmonization of the course matter are of significance at each phase. The complete course must be prepared in such a way that it is in unity with the child’s capability. Several areas of learning are to be linked up and amalgamated as much as possible. Moreover, the curriculum needs to be structured in such a way that it is complete and all-encompassing. The expanded course must satisfy the personal talent and capability of each student.
The curriculum must consist of all those activities and skills that are least expected to be offered adequately by other learning organizations. In each topic, the student is to have the pleasure of innovation and imaginative activity; he/she must be contented with the travail of his/her character. In a well-planned learning structure, opportunities will be offered at each stage to the learners enable them to exercise philosophical influences, creative abilities, and realistic work. Finally, the curriculum must prepare the individual not only for employment but also for life. A curriculum must be elastic, adaptable, and vibrant that is, in agreement with the requirements of students and changing situations of the world.
Cultural Diversity
School curriculum is not always objective since it is a product of various bodies that is, governments, the community, and the scholars of education. The syllabus is usually reached after a comprise meaning that it represents the interests of competing bodies. According to Brady and Kennedy (2010), the school curriculum should endeavor to cater to the interests of all groups in society. The two scholars observe that the school course should inevitably turn out to be a choice of knowledge, skills, and principles out of the total universal pool of knowledge.
The existing Australian curriculum was carefully made while adhering to the main concerns, standards, and needs of the society. A curriculum is what the older age group decides to inform the younger cohort. It is chronological, political, cultural, gendered, phenomenological, autobiographical, artistic, theological, and global. This procedure of selection is clearer in social issues such as History, English Literature, and open-minded studies than in science, mathematics, and physical education. Choosing of syllabus takes place at various levels.
Several reasons are considered when choosing syllabuses. Policymakers determine what to include in the curriculum since not every concept is relevant at the junior level. Some courses are compulsory even in other states such as Mother-tongue language, mathematics, and science. Even the implementation of broader curriculum controllers for instance ‘key Learning Areas’ has not altered much the subject base of school themes. Curriculums should observe cultural diversity. Scholars who go to schools with people from other cultures can influence their children to accept diversity, therefore, facilitating cultural unity.
However, as government schools become more diverse, various individuals demand the most useful techniques to assist all learners to succeed in life. Teachers have a major responsibility of ensuring that cultural diversity is achieved. They can only do this by coming up with a culturally neutral curriculum. The major challenge that teachers face is a lack of sufficient training to cope with cultural challenges.
Most educational scholars observe that “ethnicity” has substituted “race”. Ethnicity is commonly used in classifying people into small antagonistic groups. Scholars do conceive that feeling a sense of belonging to an ethnic group is a learned rather than natural process. As various cultural (racial) groups migrated to Australia, willingly or against their will, it was claimed that all groups would integrate into the conventional Australian culture. In reality, several groups have reached the diverse stage of integration.
It is also factual that conventional (white) culture does not yet recognize most groups. For this egalitarianism to be realized, a key transformation must take place. This can only happen when the curriculum is adjusted to suit the wishes, traditions, and cultures of every individual. Traditionally, viewpoints about race and customs have changed. The original theory was straightforward in perceiving non-Caucasian ethnic groups as different from and lesser to the Caucasian culture physically and mentally regarding the measures of similarity expressed by the Caucasian racial group.
The subsequent shift was to the principle of sameness popularly referred to as color-blindness, which supported the actuality that supposing we are all equal under the same skin, then probably we enjoy equal chances in Australian society. The problem followed later when some individuals failed to achieve the set targets. People of color were seen to be underachievers and inferior since they failed to meet societal standards.
Currently, the concept of “Multi-culturalism” is being publicized as the answer to the crisis. This unsophisticated approach does not bear in mind several issues. Whites cannot form a multi-cultural curriculum without the help of other stakeholders. Major attempts aimed at achieving multi-cultural curriculums have been incomplete that is, they cover a limited range of courses. Curriculums with cultural diversity have small or no effect as regards people’s education or transforming their perspectives about ethnic conflicts. Attempts to generate Multi-cultural curriculums are diluted by institutions dominated by whites.
Learning Activities/Lessons – Year 5
- The arts. Students will be introduced to artistic works from Australia with an aim of giving them an overview of cultural diversity. The instructor would afterwards request an elderly aboriginal citizen to visit the class and demonstrate or explain any artistic work of his or her choice. Students would then be given an opportunity to develop their own artistic works and demonstrate them in class since they will be called upon to replicate them during School’s Festival National Programs where parents will be invited.
- English. The instructor would read a few short narratives to students, particularly an aboriginal story. The learners would then be called upon to present their views pertaining to the narrative. This enhances cultural diversity, as each student is free to give his/her view.
- Reading. In the course of library visit or lesson, the students will be requested to carry out an investigation as regards to aboriginal dreaming tales. Students will be supposed to summarize the key tenets of the story from the novel. This would be taken out as an assessment.
- History. Students will be required to discuss in groups how the Australian culture developed. The instructor will then take students through the immigration policies and how they affect Australian culture. The aim of the lesson will be to make students appreciate diversity and view the world around them in a diverse perspective. Each student should narrate his/her culture and try to compare it with those of others.
Conclusion
In summary, a curriculum should be a child or learner-oriented meaning that its main aim is to assist a student excel in life. As observed by Marsh, the teacher should ensure that a curriculum serves the interest of the student not the interest of stakeholders. After graduating or attaining necessary academic papers, a student should be well versed with certain knowledge.
A Curriculum needs to be detailed and precise so that it does not confuse the student as well as the teacher. A Good curriculum incorporates co-curriculum activities such as sports and songs. Children should be allocated enough time for playing since it helps them develop physically and mentally. Finally, a quality curriculum must observe cultural diversity.
References
Brady, L., & Kennedy, K. (2010). Curriculum construction, (4th ed.). French’s Forest: Pearson.
Marsh, C. (2010). Becoming a teacher (5th ed.). French’s Forest: Pearson.