The content and methods of curriculum delivery has been a contentious issue within the education sector for decades. According to Bosner and Grundy (86), âcurriculum development may be generically conceived as an amalgamation of various processes employed in the pursuit of certain set goals in a school system that covers the entire spectrum of curriculum construction.â The curriculum development problem becomes poignant when its design and implementation fails to satisfy the social demands of different parties.
The most important issue in the case of Setsco Lake School is the competing interests on set curriculum from the education ministry and the curriculum demands of native communities. This is an issue concerning the content and delivery methods of social studies. The native community proposes that social curriculum content should focus on the native culture, be delivered in native language and take cognizance of the cultural aspects of the Caucasian population.
Ranked in the order of their importance, the most important issue is the culture, followed closely by political and socio-economic issues. The rumbling by the Caucasian parents revolve around the issue that curriculum contents places too much emphasis on the white settles and white cultures with very little emphasis on the native culture.
The nature of the problem at Setsco Lake School revolves around the inability to appreciate change factors in education and methods of content delivery. Research indicates that there is a continuous evolution in the process of teaching, from past practices to future concerns, and this evolutional process will continue to change and mutate.
These change factors push educators of social sciences to seek ways of gaining insight on how to change their patterns of instruction in both content and delivery. Increasing levels of cultural diversity, as well as the ever-changing styles in studentsâ learning and competition within future job markets has brought to the forefront the need to develop fully responsive curriculum content. These are issues that the Setsco Lake School have failed to appreciate.
Setsco Lake School teachers (Jeff and Kelli) have a legitimate right to influence what is taught at the school because they do not only understand the curriculum demands, but are also in the best position to understand the demands of the students and education policy. This is because of the role of education in the life of an individual.
Whereas education should not be a tool in erasing the cultures of communities, its role surpasses ensuring the maintenance of culture. Education has always been viewed and revered as the cornerstone on the basis of which civilization, economic advancement and society well being can be anchored upon.
Through education, an individual acquires the requisite knowledge that shapes his believes and thinking and which prepares him for the challenges in future. The problems of Setsco Lake School may become worse when the right to influence what is taught at the school is left in the hands of native communities and policy makers who have no experience and out of touch with demands on the ground.
The best response Jeff and Kelli could have made to John Buckley was to focus more on the role of education in the lives of the learners through a development of a culture sensitive model. This strategy would take care of the demands of both native communities and stay in tandem with the increasingly dynamic role of education. The curriculum should not only take cognizance of culture, but should exemplify knowledge, skills, and values and develop an individual to handle the competitive and complex job market.
Despite the understanding that hiring an indigenous teacher would be a viable option for Kellie; such an option would only take care of the dissenting voices within the indigenous community.
The problem at Setsco demands a broad approach that integrates the social demands of Caucasian indigenous population, the education policy and takes cognizance of the role of education. Hiring an indigenous teacher would not have made a big difference and Kellieâs choice to steer away from such a cosmetic approach in dealing with the Setsco problems is aimed at having a broad look at all challenges.
Work Cited
Bonser, Stewart, and Grundy, Shirley. Reflective deliberations in the formulation of a school curriculum policy. Journal of curriculum Studies. Vol. 31(1), pp 83-97. 1998.