Ideal Curriculum for a Business Management Course Essay

Meaning of the term-Curriculum

The term curriculum is used by scholars and researchers to imply distinct meanings which make it necessary to comprehend the exact meaning and connotation of the word concerning the particular context (Smith & Lovat, 1990). The meaning of the term ‘curriculum’ is directly associated with the several crucial issues associated with it including the primary goals, the intended purpose, the focus, and the very conception of the term ‘curriculum’.

According to Glatthorn (1987), an ‘ideal curriculum’ is one that suitably meets the specific needs of the students, while an ‘entitlement curriculum’ would encompass the societal views when teaching students. Glatthorn (1987) also elucidates that the ‘intended curriculum’ is implemented by way of a syllabus document, an ‘available curriculum’ is one that can be easily accessed by teachers while an ‘implemented curriculum’ is practically taught by the teachers in the classroom.

Finally, a curriculum is believed to be ‘achieved’ when the students have successfully learned what the teachers have taught, which is assesses by the ‘attained curriculum’ which is effective in measuring the success of learning taking place in students.

Another scholar, Print (1993) described a curriculum as a collection of information to be taught which is experienced by the students in their course of study. According to him, ‘Curriculum’ is then an ‘intention’, since the learning of the students is intended and implemented through the curriculum. Print (1993) also views the curriculum as a representation of the culture of the prevalent society in which the students acquire knowledge through a continual process of learning and acquiring knowledge.

Factors to consider in the Process of enacting a Curriculum

The varying views of various scholars suggest the different ways in which the curriculum can be evaluated or planned. The word curriculum in its origin means a “racetrack” or a “course to be run” (Smith, 1988) which implies that a curriculum can be a different track to be run by students of different ages and at different levels of education including their cultural settings, age or personal experiences.

For instance, a group of students undergoing vocational programs in Australia would be undergoing different courses which would depend upon their experiences and the various modules within a curriculum. The curriculum for students who opted for the pre-vocational course would be vastly different from the high school students (Smith & Lovatt, 1990). Similarly, the apprentices would have a course dissimilar from the Engineering production students. Thus, while all the students would be under a similar training package, the curriculum would differ in its content about the experience and capacity of the students being catered to.

Considering that the apprentices would be spending eighty percent of their time at the workplace, as compared to the pre-vocational students who would not be spending any time at the workplace, the curriculum would have to be drafted keeping in mind the differences in the students about experiences and their previous successes at other educational programs. There would be great variations in the students’ abilities and capabilities to attend and deal with the intended curriculum.

Thus we see that the curriculum content would be different for pre-vocational students offering the same program as the Engineering students. This difference would arise from the fact that the pre-vocational students would have recently completed their ‘year 12’ in high school whilst the Engineering Production students would have completed the same course, several years back, and probably with limited success. These are the most obvious reasons why the curriculum intent would be different while catering to diverse students.

Curriculum Intent

Curriculum intent refers to the intentions and desired results of the developers and sponsors of the enacted and implemented curriculum. The curriculum is a document that is produced by appropriate planning and accurately states the materials which should be taught by the teachers along with the suitable process of teaching the same (Print, 1993). The intents of the curriculum are thus the ‘goals’ in the minds of the policymakers while drafting the curriculum along with the several ‘aims’ for the outlined courses. Additionally, the intent of the curriculum also refers to the ‘objectives to guide the instructors and teachers in the course of implementing the curriculum, by way of the ‘syllabus’.

It is necessary for the sponsors that the implementation of the curriculum conforms to several standards and regulations in vocational education including the National Competency Standards, several of the Accreditation procedures, and the Training packages to ensure that the curriculum is homogeneously implemented at a national and central level.

The curriculum which is intended must also be the curriculum that is ideal and should be able to meet the specific requirements by the aims and objectives of the curriculum. For instance, while preparing a curriculum for a business course, the requirements and intentions should be laid out clearly throughout the process of developing a curriculum to fit the purpose of the respective students of business. This is achieved using a written document that includes the specific units to be taught in the class. Such written documents which comprise the details of the study matter to be taught are the aims and goals of the course to be completed. The syllabus also provides additional information on the intention of the curriculum. It is also vital that the syllabus must match the intents of the curriculum.

Role of the Teacher in Enacting Curriculum

The impact of a teacher on the development and transformation of a curriculum in the process of enacting it could be significant and according to Silbeck (2002), there is an argument by the government to involve teachers in the decision-making processes of curriculum development at the school level. Teachers have the authority to participate in the development and formulation of a curriculum to meet the requirements of the potential students of the specified course. Silbeck (2002) asserts that the responsibility to draft a curriculum should be removed from the teachers and technical institute and argues that such responsibility should be given to the respective industries by including them as members of the advisory committees. This would ensure that the goals of a curriculum are met and that they are also uniform.

The role of a teacher in the implementation of a curriculum is immense (Silbeck, 2002). However, according to Silbeck (2002), a tool should be put in place to ensure that the uniform implementation of the curriculum by the teachers. This could be accomplished with the help and aid of the syllabus which would provide detailed contents of material to be taught in addition to the desired and intended results.

There is a close connection between the intended and the enacted curriculum. An intended curriculum is developed by the government and would be implemented by the teachers who may not be able to enact it by the intent of the curriculum.

This could be due to the different needs of a teacher to deal with the students in a certain way. The teachers may have implemented the specified curriculum successfully, but not have enacted it in a specified manner. The enacted curriculum enables the teachers to acquire the knowledge as to how a curriculum through is structured and transformed in the process of its implementation.

Factors that influence the Structure of the Intended Curriculum

The development and enactment of a curriculum are affected by both external and internal factors. The internal factors include the educational institutions and the trainers while the external factors are those outside the educational community and include the government, the public enterprises, interested individuals, communities, trade unions as well as teachers’ unions. Several factors influence the changes in the structure and mode of the intended curriculum and the enactment at the hands of the teachers.

For instance, a teacher compliant with an intended curriculum to teach a class of students can realize that the students are performing well and so may decide to change the structure of the curriculum to fit the needs of the students. Sometimes, the facilities available in a teaching environment, for example, the introduction of computers in a college, could also make it necessary to change the structure of the intended curriculum which was originally designed to suit face-to-face learning.

In vocational training, the enacted curriculum is controlled through the syllabus. The state mandates the content of the material to be taught as well as the desired outcome of the intended curriculum, to ensure the achievement of the intent of the developers. The awarding of diplomas and certificates makes it mandatory that the intentions of the developers and sponsors are complied with. Jackson (1993) proposes that a competent mode of training would be optimal to enable a uniform system throughout Australia which is, however, not easy to achieve due to the factors that have been discussed in the preceding paragraph. The enactment of the intended curriculum will also depend on the expertise of tutors, the character of the learners, the tools available for teaching, the environment, and the beliefs of tutors.

While considering the ideal curriculum for business management courses, it is vital to consider the availability of not only the desired curriculum but also the necessary materials for its implementation which can be successfully applied in the classrooms by the teachers.

Kinds of experiences provided to the students by implementing the Curriculum

The external factors determine the courses to be taught at a certain institution considering the types of learners involved; the mature students or vocational students. Internal factors would include the means of supplying resources and facilities to the staff and facilitating the learning environment

Loucks (1998) posited that the implementation of a curriculum must always take into consideration the effects it could have on the students, who participate in the learning and training and must take their interests and views into consideration. If the interests of the concerned students are not taken into consideration, it could result in a lack of commitment to the curriculum. The best way to implement change in the curriculum would be the involvement of the individual participants, to ensure that the fear of the unknown is avoided. This would facilitate positive experiences in the participating students when they encounter the new curriculum system.

The trainers need to acquire good skills when a change is required in the enactment of a curriculum to ensure that it does not interfere with the interests and expectations of the learners. The trainers also need to ensure the support and commitment while implementation changes in the enactment of a curriculum so that the learners can appreciate the introduced system.

The experienced curriculum can be defined as an outcome of students’ knowledge which they have acquired through a curriculum by the educational institution (Lovat, 1996) According to Smith (1998) individuals make meanings of themselves, and when they come into contact with others who can influence their understanding of issues, or through experiences that have impacts on them, following which, they can successfully comprehend the entire process of learning. The learning experiences also affect the individual actions of the students as they acquire new experiences through the process of learning which influences how they think and act from what they encounter.

Wertsch (1998) argues that, apart from the accomplishment of the intentions of the curriculum, the outcomes of the learning are also very important. He states that since individuals are capable of producing meanings out of subjects, teaching should not be forced by teachers who may not be interested in the subject. In this regard, he recommends appropriation, or offering the students what they believe and are interested in to obtain optimal results.

The interests and views of the students and teachers should therefore be appropriately applied while developing the curriculum, to ensure that their needs are met and what they believe in is taught to them. If these issues are considered, then commitment students can be easily obtained and the motives of the experienced curriculum will be easily achieved (Posner, 1982). The beliefs of students also determine the experiences they undergo in learning processes. For example, if students believe they can discover something important from a course then the outcome will result in a positive experience.

Most desirable approach for Development of Business Management Curriculum

An ideal curriculum ideal for a business management course would take into consideration the major aims, goals, and objectives, which are meant to be achieved at the end of the learning. An ‘ideal curriculum’ would be able to meet the specific needs of the students, and one which can be easily accessed by teachers Glatthorn (1987). The curriculum confirms must conform to the several standards and regulations in vocational education including the National Competency Standards, several of the Accreditation procedures, and the Training packages and must be homogeneously implemented at a national and central level. For the Business Management course, the requirements and intentions should be laid out clearly to fit the purpose of the respective students of business, using a syllabus.

The powers of the trainers to reform the implementation and enactment of the curriculum should be controlled. Such a curriculum should put keenness on the objectives and aims of the course throughout its development. In its implementation, the views of all the participants, who include the trainers, the students, and other institutions, must be looked into to ensure the best results are achieved.

References

Glatthorn A. Curriculum Leadership. Glenview, Illinois: Scott Foresnam. 1987.

Jackson N. If competence is the answer, what is the question? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Vocational Education Research 1 (1), pp. 46-60. 1993.

Hall G.E., & Loucks S. Teacher Concern as a Basis for Facilitating and Personalizing Staff Development. Teachers college record. Vol. 80, 1, pp. 36-53. 1978.

Louks, William. The Curriculum Change and Case Studies: The Case of United States and Great Britain. London: Routledge publishers. 1998.

Lovat, The Curriculum Implementation: Curriculum Planning in Colleges. New York: McGraw Publishers. 1996.

Posner, G. A.. A cognitive science conception of curriculum and instruction. Journal of Curricilum Studies, 14 (4), 343-351. 1982.

Print, M. Curriculum development and design, 2^nd edition, Sydney: Allen & Unwin. 1993.

Silbeck, Thomas. Education On The Digest. New York. McGraw Publishers. 2002.

Smith, D.L., & Lovatt, T.J. Curriculum: Action on reflection, Wentworth Falls, NSW: Social Science Press. 1990.

Smith, Irvin. Social Efficiency and Education: A study on the Social Relations Interactions in Education. California. Appleton Press publishers. 1998.

Wertsch J., W. Mind as action. Oxford University Press. New York. 1998.