Comparison Between Holistic And Subject Based Approaches to Curriculum Essay

Comparison Between Holistic And Subject Based Approaches to Curriculum Organization - Essay Example Influential individuals Gur (2006) explain and outline the key factors that affect change in curriculum structure and composition. The first factor that initiates change is a strong and charismatic leadership system that is accepted by the academic staff members. The Main feature of such leadership is to have the necessary capacity that attracts other academic staff to agree and; rally behind the principled educational objectives supported within the environment or institution. A good and appropriate curriculum will ensure a good output especially for a class with an average or reasonable number of students (Gur, 2006, p41). This is because with a smaller class, teacher-student personal relationship is always possible. There is always an anxiety by students to produce constant excellent results because an alteration in the syllabus or curriculum. The relationship eases the performance anxieties experienced by such students and temptation to submit work that is not theirs to the tutor s. However, it should be noted that individual influence on the curriculum change has its own side effects. 2. The need to improve staff training Research has proven the emergence of curricula related challenges in most institutions, especially at the nursery and primary levels of studies. Change in curriculum always comes with the need for better-trained staff members. It requires new teaching skills aimed at meeting the objectives and goals set by the new curriculum system. This may prove to be a significant challenge to most institutions implementing their own curriculum, as they will be required to come up with an impromptu notice for hiring new teachers or training the existing staff. Therefore, the curriculum change is viewed as one of the main and... This essay stresses that several changes are always proposed because of their undisputable goodness. One would find it hard or rather stupid and awkward to argue. For instance, it would be strange to hear an individual arguing that the introduction of laboratory classes for science-related subjects was a wrong idea. Similarly, it is imagined that most leaders would accept that changes in curriculum are indispensable for the students going to various fields of study. Curricula changes and implementation would therefore ease. This paper makes a conclusion that curriculum in any organization plays a significant role in the teaching-learning process in all the educational institutions. The instructional materials, nature of the training the teachers underwent, development of teaching materials, assessment of learners, designing for guides for both the learners and instructors, and setting the principles, are all anchored on the curriculum which is a vital educational document. Thus the role of curriculum in any organization plays a vital role and absence of the document in any educational organization means that the institution cannot function as expected. Curriculum is an educational document, which guides and used for ordering the teaching-learning understandings, which the learners encounter in the educational organization. Curriculum organization involves provision of curriculum and maintaining it to run uninterrupted.

The Impact of Student Fees upon Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Impact of Student Fees upon Society - Essay Example The sociological theory of functionalism argues that societies, much like the human body, are made up of separate but interdependent parts (Taylor et al, 2000). Each part has a distinct but important function in maintaining the whole. If something should disturb one part of the system, then all other parts will be affected too; in order to survive they then have to work together to re-establish equilibrium. Functionalists argue that members of a society must hold some common beliefs, perceptions and attitudes - a value consensus - in order to function effectively. This consensus is achieved through socialization, which is performed primarily by the family and the education system in modern industrialized societies (Taylor et al, 2000). This is to say that each part of society functions both in autonomy and dependence upon each other part. Thereby, on a macro level, one can examine how nations work, with governments, religious systems, educational systems, families, and other institutions each fulfils its own ascribed purpose, and effectively makes the nation function well as a whole. On a smaller level, one can see how communities work, with churches, schools, businesses and families working to make their communities a pleasant place to be. At the university level, however, we see the inter-workings of functional institutions as well; academics, athletics, student organizations, instructors, and students themselves all work together to form a unified whole that is the university. Furthermore, that university, in turn, becomes an important part of society, helping it to function as a whole by providing education and socialization experience to its citizens-the students. Emile Durkheim, arguably the father of the functionalist approach to sociology, viewed education, primarily as a way of projecting the norms and values of a society on to a younger generation, thereby creating value consensus - a generally accepted view of the aims and goals of society (Taylor et al, 2000). For example, if a child is able to respect and understand the rules and values of a school, then she will be able to assimilate to the rules and values of wider society. "It is by respecting the school rules that the child learns to respect rules in general, that he develops the habit of self-control and restraint simply because he should control and restrain himself. It is the first initiation into the austerity of duty. Serious life has now begun," (Durkheim in Taylor et al, 2000). That is to say that children are socialized or interpellated into society through their interactions with social institutions. This socialization does not however, cease in grammar school. Rather, it continues well into adulthood, and the mid-twenties, where individuals are still learning how the world really works. (Sorry, No reference here-My own idea.) Durkheim believed individuals are born 'asocial beings' - having no understanding of society's language, ability, or traditions, and in order to survive we must learn these both as members of a group and as individuals. We must become "social beings" (Durkheim, in Taylor et al 2000) - that is, individuals must acquire a sense of belonging to something far wider than their individual situation, and that developing an allegiance to the wider society is an essential aspect of maintaining a healthy society