Lecture 3 History

History as a

Curriculum Base

Lecture 3

PLG 517

Curriculum Studies

Dr. Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail

Example: Rules for

Teachers, 1872

Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys.

Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day's session

Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.

Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.

After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books.

Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.

Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.

Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.

The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves.

Introduction

Curriculum taught in a given classroom,

school, state or nation is never fixed in

any final sense

Any curriculum planned or enacted

should be viewed as the end point of a

series of human decisions, and such, it

is subject to constant review

New ideas about curriculum constantly

supplant old ones, and thus curriculum

inevitably change

How understanding of curriculum history

can influence decisions relating to

curriculum planning and development

The Need for Historical

Perspective

The need to understand of history to

avoid repeating the mistakes of the past

and to also better prepare for the future:

• The development of ideas in education is part

of our intellectual and cultural heritage

• A truly educated person has a sense of

historical context

• An understanding of various theories and

practices in education requires an

understanding of historical foundations

• An understanding of historical foundations in

education helps us integrate curriculum,

instruction and teaching

• History illuminates current pedagogical

practices

• In developing a common or core curriculum, a

historical perspective is essential

• With historical perspective, curriculum

specialists can better understand the

relationship between content and process in

subject areas

• References to history, especially case

examples, contribute to academic education’s

moral dimension

• The history of education permits practitioners

to understand relationships between what

students of the past learned and what

students now learn

• The study of education history is important for

the purpose of education theory and research

Three focal point for

Curriculum History

Three focal points around which

decisions about curricula can be made:

• Nature of Subject matter

• Nature of Society

• Nature of Individual

Subject Matter

• Questions: Does the subject matter being

taught adequately represent to the student

and the reality of the surrounding world?

• Does the way the subject matter has been

organised adequately reflect its own

inherent logic?

Responses:• What to include and what to exclude

• Amount of time available to teach everything that might be learned about the world

• Are some subject matter more intrinsically worthwhile than others?

• Chosen subject matter realistically represent the reality of the world beyond the student’s immediate experience

• Good subject matter should be rooted in, and

should accurately transmit, reality of the world

and the rooting may be empirical/historical

evidence etc

The Nature of Society

• Questions: Does the curriculum sufficiently

reflect a broad range of the cultural, political,

and economic characteristics of the social

context in which it exists so that the student

may both fit into the society in the future yet

also be able to change that society?

Responses:• Choosing subject matter to be included within the

curriculum is usefulness

• Does the curriculum has utilitarian value for application sake

• Curriculum derived from at least part of the society surrounding

• e.g., Computers for instance had no utilitarian value within the curriculum before there were computers, but it has had increasing value as modern society has become increasingly dependent on computers

• Curriculum promotes desirable future

changes in society e.g. desirable and

undesirable characteristics of society – e.g.

illegal drugs, street corners etc

The Nature of Individuals

• Questions: Does the curriculum

sufficiently account for the interests

and developmental needs of

individuals students so that each

individual may optimally benefit from

it?

Responses:

• The purpose of education includes fostering

the developmental growth of each individual

• Curriculum therefore to consist of eternally

true knowledge and immediately useful skills

• Curriculum should never be an end in itself,

but rather as a medium through which the

more important end of developmental growth

is fostered

• Since growth can never be quite the same for

each individual, the same curriculum can

never be equally appropriate for each student

The Case of United States

Colonial Era and the Early United States• 17th and 18th century along the Atlantic

seaboard were mainly under British control

• Settlers shared two common assumptions about education: 1) only a few people needed much formal education

• Formal education should be directed at bringing people into conformity with some prevailing ideal of what an educated people should be

The Harvard Curriculum

Harvard the first higher education in the US

founded in 1636

Its early curriculum provides a good indication

of what the elementary and secondary

education in colonial America

The curriculum specified – study of logic,

physics, rhetoric, history, botany, ethics,

politics, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy

Franklin Academy

One challenge to prevailing beliefs about

education and the curriculum of

American schools was made by

Benjamin Franklin in 1749

Proposed a creation of an academy that

would emphasize training in practical

subjects

Unsuccessful, his proposal was designed to

bring education into closer touch with the

practical pursuit of colonial life

Introduced more subjects, classical studies

would be taught but not required of everyone

Students’ prospective professions would

determine which language they studied

Summary: Curriculum and its purposes had

changed little

Harvard course of studies of 1642 still

dominant

It was until the 19th century “the second focal

point” for making curriculum decisions - that is,

society – became widely accepted, as

proposed by Franklin

Nineteenth Century

Beginning of 19th century, formal

education in the US directed toward the

training of the mind and was still limited

to the small proportion of the population

deemed suitable

During this era, many American began to

accept the idea that the masses could

also become cultivated

Influence of the political life

Major sociological changes

Urbanised and industrialise

By the end of the 19th century, the elementary schools of large American cities were flooded with students and Latin grammar school seemed inappropriate

Common School Movement and

Expansion of the Curriculum

Equal educational opportunities through

publicly controlled and financed system

of elementary and secondary education

Common school movement was an effort

to democratise American education by

making the same kind of schooling

available to all

By the mid of the century, public schools

were teaching not only the usual Latin

Grammar subjects but also subjects

such as French, Geography, Logic,

Citizenship, drawing, music, algebra,

chemistry, natural philosophy, human

physiology, bookeeping, surveying, etc

1876 – National Education

Association

Founded in 1857 the National Teachers Association changed its name to NEA in 1870

NEA in 1876 addressed the question of what the curriculum should be in a report titled” A Course of Study from Primary School to University

The committee suggested a single unified curriculum linking elementary, secondary, and higher education and that the curriculum should reflect the unified nature of knowledge

The report, was very much a defense of

subject-centred curricula

It focused on the criteria of accuracy,

breadth, and consistency of knowledge

as the justification for the specific subject

it recommended

Five essential groups of knowledge:

Inorganic Nature: Maths, Physics

Organic Nature: e.g. Natural History, Geology

Theoretical Man or Intellect: Logic, Psychology

Practical Man or Will: Social and Political Science

Aesthetical Man: Fine Arts, Literature

1893: The Committee of Ten

By the 1890s, immigration was at its

peak and the industrialisation and

urbanisation were in full swing

Elementary school is compulsory

Most children of secondary school age

were free to leave school

Summary of the committee of ten recommendation:• The classical and Latin Scientific Programs required

four years of French and German, whereas the English Program called for four years of either Latin, German or French. Commenting on the latter two programs, which did not require Latin, the committee stated: “The programs called respectively Modern Languages and English must in practice be distinctly inferior to the other two. “… Thus the committee had created a track system, with two superior and two inferior tracks. Yet the committee intended all four programs to be equally acceptable for admission to college.”

1895: The Committee of Fifteen

One group of educators was dissatisfied with the 1983 report was the Herbartians

Originally followers of the educational ideas of the German philosopher Johann Friedrich Herbart

Concerned with how knowledge is organized

Advocated correlation and concentration as principles of curriculum organisation; believed that all knowledge could be centred around the core subject of history and literature

Twentieth Century

Progressive era

Worldwide social reform movement

Progressive meant that schools should in many ways attempt to improve the lives of individuals

John Dewey became the guiding spirit of progressive education

Dewey’s writing emphasized individual experience

How individual experience is influenced by society-as-it-is but can lead to social change and why subject matter can be used to increase the quality of experience

The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education• Greater number of children remaining in schools

• Encompasses all of life experiences

• Subject of education should be:• Health

• Command of fundamental processes

• Worthy of home membership

• Vocation

• Citizenship

• Worthy use of leisure

• Ethical Character

Franklin Bobbitt and Activity Analysis

• Bobbitt 1924: Activity Analysis: The

procedures emphasised efficiency,

standardisation, and specialisation

Child-Centred Pedagogy

• Emphasised on Child nature

• Child centred pedagogy

• Yet honour the three focal points

1927 NSSE Yearbook

• National Society for the Study of Education

• Identified 18 central questions ranging from

schooling age, curriculum role in adult prep.,

social improvement, role of subject matter,

general vs specialised education, individual

differences, form of curriculum organisation,

methods of teaching etc

The Eight Year Study

• Two basic purposes

• Establish a relationship between school and

college that would permit and encourage

reconstruction in the secondary school

• Exploration and experimentation how the high

school in the US can serve youth more effectively

After World War II

• America entry into WWII national attention

turn toward training and preparedness

Sputnik and the National Response

• SU launch in October 1957 the first human-

made satellite to orbit the earth

• Calls to train better generation scientists

• Changing schools in fundamental ways

(better teachers and subject centred

curriculum)

Reform movements

21st Century Prospects

• Curriculum alignment

• High-stakes testing

• How to create a balance of the focal points

despite the general drift toward uniformity and

standardization

Malaysian Context

The country’s educational goals are manifested in the Malaysian

National Education Philosophy (NEP) which states that:

Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards further developing the

potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner so as to

produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and

physically balanced and harmonious, based on a firm belief in and

devotion to God. Such an effort is designed to produce Malaysian citizens

who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral

standards, and who are responsible and capable of achieving a high level

of personal well-being, as well as being able to contribute to

the betterment of the family, the society and the nation at large

The education system

A uniform system of education in both primary and

secondary schools has been established whereby a national

curriculum is used in all schools. Common central

assessment and examinations at the end of the respective

periods of schooling are also being practised. The national

language, Malay, is the official language of instruction.

Curriculum philosophy

The school curriculum is expected to contribute to the

holistic development of the individual (mental, emotional

physical, spiritual) by imparting general knowledge and

skills, fostering healthy attitudes and instilling accepted

moral values. The aim is to produce Malaysian citizens

who are balanced, trained, skilful and cherish the national

aspiration for unity. The general direction for on-going

curriculum reform is to improve the quality of education in

order to achieve the aims of the National Education

Philosophy

Central Curriculum Committee. (Secretariat: Central Curriculum

Committee, Ministry of Education.) Functions:

formulate curriculum policies, as well as study their implications;

determine the direction of curriculum development and co-ordinate efforts to achieve this goal;

consider and make recommendations concerning education planning and implementation, as well as to present these findings to the Educational Planning Committee;

study the implications of curriculum programmes

make decisions accordingly;

determine aspects which require research and study

Careful planning is necessary to ensure the implementation of the

curriculum. Thus, the school plays an important role in creating a

conducive environment encouraging excellence. In this respect,

headmasters and teachers need to understand and internalize the

National Education Philosophy, the aims and objectives of the

National Education Policy and the integrated approach of the

curriculum. Apart from the school and parents, society also plays

an important role. The success of the curriculum depends on

society’s support in assisting the school to develop pupils’

personalities and to participate actively in matters relating to

education

Issue: Malaysia

Sex Education

Assessment reforms

END

Thank you