The contribution of primary school teachers to curriculum planning and development in Iraq

ABSTRACT

This article describes the role of primary school teachers in Iraq in connection with curriculum change and development. It identifies the ways in which professional teachers have been faced with increased central control and concludes by responding directly to the Ministry of Education. A survey involving interviews and question‐ naires was conducted with primary school teachers of different school location, age, gender, experience, qualifications and subjects taught, and in various school locations. Headteachers and education officials were also interviewed to establish the degree of involvement of primary teachers in their curriculum planning process.     

The significance of context for curriculum development in engineering education: a case study across three African countries

Curriculum reform is a key topic in the engineering education literature, but much of this discussion proceeds with little engagement with the impact of the local context in which the programme resides. This article thus seeks to understand the influence of local contextual dynamics on curriculum reform in engineering education. The empirical study is a comparative analysis of the context for curriculum reform in three different chemical engineering departments on the African continent, located in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. All three departments are currently engaged in processes of curriculum reform, but the analysis shows how the different contexts in which these efforts are taking place exert strong shaping effects on the processes and outcomes for that reform.     

研究模式课程发展理念与高校国家安全教育实践探索

研究模式课程发展是实践性和反思性的,课程发展与评估整合为一,教师在发展课程的同时以行动研究方式对自身教学行动进行评估。教师是研究者和评估者,通过课程发展与评估、教师成长及学生学习成效互动的过程提升课堂实效。以高校国家安全教育实践积极探索研究模式课程发展经验,总结研究模式课程发展理念和规律,基于知识有趣、易学和有用而设计教学过程评估指标。     

试论职业教育课程与教学观的新发展

当今职业教育课程与教学观发生了很大的变化，分析和研究这些变化和发展非常必要，从一个层面上说也就是研究职业教育的发展方向。本文从职业教育课程目标观、课程模式观、课程结构观、教学价值观和教学方法观等方面着重进行了探讨。     

新课程背景下农村小学语文课程资源的开发与利用

教育的改革与发展不仅仅在于教学设备的改善,更为重要的是教学理念的更新与完善。在小学语文教学中,教师首先应该立足于当地实际,从有关于农村自然的、人文的资源汲取营养。通过探究家乡历史、文化,既丰富了学生的知识积累,又让他们体验到传统美德,培养他们对美的欣赏、创造能力,加强他们对语言的领悟和驾驭能力,更增强他们传承和发展农村文化的责任感和使命感。     

高中综合学习课程开发的实践研究

本文在三年的教学实践和综合课程开发理论学习的基础上 ,运用具体实例分析了综合学习课程的三个特点 ,介绍了综合学习课程的模块化“混合式”课程组织方式及其特点 ,以及综合学习的主要方式。     

新课改背景下体育教师课程资源开发能力研究

本文通过文献资料法和比较分析法,从体育课程资源的概念、分类、体育教师课程资源开发能力培养的必要性等方面进行较深入的分析,并在此基础上提出了对体育教师课程资源开发能力培养的建设性对策。     

关于高校校本课程开发的几点思考

高校校本课程开发是一种与国家课程开发相对应的课程开发策略。高校校本课程开发的主要特征表现为课程开发是民主开放的过程，能尊重学校师生的独特性和差异性，是教育制度内权利与资源的重新分配，也是课程理论与课程实践不断丰富和完善以及国家课程开发的重要补充。高校校本课程开发面临着国家政治、经济、文化改革和高校自身改革的良好机遇，同时也遇到高校内部管理体制、教育观念、师资队伍和课程开发能力等现状的严峻挑战。高校校本课程开发的基本条件为明确教育哲学、办学宗旨、改善学校组织、强化教师培训、调动学生积极性、增加投入以及加强课程开发的评价等。     

Revisiting a student-oriented curriculum in the Nigerian secondary school system

Abstract

The increasing gap between what students learn and what they remember has agitated the minds of educators in recent times. The apparent gap is that teaching tends to be more theoretical than practical. For instance an apparent absence of relevant instructional materials, skilled vocational education personnel and the current lack of awareness on the part of policy makers on the advantages of pragmatic education, constitute current obstacles to the actualisation of pragmatic student-oriented secondary school education curriculum in Nigeria. However, this paper therefore, describes methods by which secondary school education can be made more functional through the introduction of more practical learning schemes which shall ultimately equip graduates with revenue generating and life skills. Fifty teachers and 150 students were randomly selected for the study from formal and non-formal secondary schools in Calabar Metropolis and Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State of Nigeria. Ex-post facto design was adopted. A 16 item questionnaire constructed on a modified four-point Likert-type scale was used for data collection. The data was analysed using simple percentages, independent t-test and a One-way analysis of variance. The findings revealed that, the schools lack adequate instructional materials and adequately trained vocational education teachers. Based on this, it was recommended among others, that a student-oriented curriculum be implemented in line with the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Education For All (EFA) and Universal Basic Education (UBE). Also more practical skills-oriented education and vocational education teachers should be employed to train the students on the development of functional literacy skills.     

100 years of primary curriculum development and implementation in Ireland: a tale of a swinging pendulum

There are ongoing initiatives in curriculum development and implementation in Ireland and internationally in order to enhance the educational experiences and outcomes of learners. This article is the first historical longitudinal analysis of primary school curriculum development and implementation in Ireland from the 1890s to the 1990s. The purpose of the paper is to distil key lessons from the history of curriculum development and implementation to inform contemporary policy and practice. The paper begins by situating current curriculum discourse and developments in both a national and international context. It then delineates the three main curriculum reforms undertaken in Ireland in the period under review. The section relating to each period includes an overview of the societal context in which the curriculum was developed, the process of development, the content of each curriculum and its implementation. Three key themes emerge from the analysis – the impact of wider societal factors on curriculum, the impact of the radical nature of curriculum change attempted and a lack of focus on planning for implementation.     

Localizing English literature as a school subject: a Malaysian experience

This article explores some of the complexities involved in the act of localizing English literature as a school subject. Informed by Goodson and Marsh’s stages of subject development, I explore the ways in which post-16 English literature was localized in Malaysia from an introduced and mythologized subject entitled “English” to its reconceptualization as “Literature in English” in the year 1998. The main question this article asks is: can a mythologized subject be sustained when it is introduced into another context (i.e., Malaysia)? This question is explored through attempts made to localize it by the subject’s governing body in Malaysia, namely the Malaysian Examinations Council. Relevant documents as well as an interview with a subject committee member involved in the subject’s reconceptualization form the data of this article. Analysis suggests that not only were acts of localization incoherent in the subject’s implementation, the rationale for localization was also not shared by some constituencies within and beyond the education system. This article concludes by highlighting the importance of ensuring that support from relevant constituencies is based upon a shared understanding of a subject’s role, aims and conceptualization in order to sustain subject development in an education system.     

试论高校体育课程和运动的价值取向

我国高校体育课程设置长期以来逆人本价值取向的弊端,主要原因在于传统知识观和课程观的影响,以及中国传统文化中现代体育精神的缺失。教育必须以人为本,高校体育课程和运动应体现“以人为本”的教育理念,并积极开发相应的体育课程和运动资源。     

促进学生主动发展:课程目标的转型--我国新一轮基础教育课程改革的课程目标解读

促进学生的积极主动发展是时代发展的客观要求 ,也是国际教育改革的共同目标。我国新一轮基础教育课程改革以此为目标 ,是针对时代要求做出的正确选择 ,它实现了我国课程目标的根本转型。     

我国农村中小学体育课程资源开发利用过程中所面临的困境及对策

当前,我国正在掀起一场基础教育课程改革,改革中将课程资源开发与利用提到了一个相当重要的地位。文章在对我国农村中小学体育课程资源开发与利用中存在的问题进行分析总结的基础上,对将来课程资源开发与利用提出了一些对策建议。     

普通高校体育课程结构的调整与优化

我国普通高校体育课程设计中存在着课程类型形式化,过于偏重必修课、实践课等方面问题。应树立综合价值取向的课程观,将教育的多元性和综合性融入普通高校体育课程改革之中,明确课程目标,合理地调整和优化体育课程结构,增强课程的可选择性和适应性,注重调整和丰富课程类型,力求使课程的组织形式和内容统一。     

浅谈新课改下中学体育教学的问题与对策

新课改对于中学体育教学提出了新的要求,在这样的情况下中学体育教学应该坚持与时俱进,积极采取措施去改善中学体育教学的现状。文章首先分析了中学体育教学的重要性,总结和归纳了中学体育教学存在的缺陷和不足,在此基础上提出了新课改下中学体育教学问题的解决对策。     

职业学校校本课程的开发

职业学校开设校本课程，增强了课程对学生的适应性，有利于实现培养目标，开发职业学校校本课程，必须树立新的教育理念，即：校本课程的开发要指向人的发展，指向学生专业知识和专业技能的提高，指向学生职业素质的提高和个性的张扬，在开发时，还应该注重学校办学实际，专业特色以及专业知识和技能的研究性，结合性和创新性。     

Anatomy of curriculum: Digging to the core

This viewpoint commentary, written from the perspective of a teacher who has helped to educate students in a wide variety of educational environments, is a reaction to the article published in Anatomical Sciences Education on developing of core syllabuses for the anatomical sciences. After reflecting on the definitions of both curriculum and syllabus and their importance as roadmaps for effective instruction, the value of core knowledge and core syllabuses in anatomical sciences was explored. Encouragement for the pursuit of the project proposed in the original article was provided; however, the reminder to not allow any curriculum or syllabus to prevent instructional flexibility was emphasized. Several constructive questions (regarding democracy in curriculum development, the proposed rating scale, and the desirability of reaching local or national consensus before seeking global agreement) were advanced for consideration. Anat Sci Educ 7 326–328. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.     

适应素质教育的高校体育课程评价体系研究

高校体育课程评价是推动体育教学改革、提高体育教学质量和提升高校在校生身体素质的有效措施。文章围绕素质教育的具体要求,紧密联系教学实际,探索了如何创新高校体育的课程评价体系并促进学生的全面素质的发展。     

Mind the gap: vocabulary development in the primary curriculum

In the context of an on-going project emphasising the centrality of speaking and listening in the primary curriculum, the present article turns to vocabulary development: to the wide differences characterising primary age children in this regard, to their consequent unequal access to the wider curriculum, and to means by which such deficiencies may be addressed. This article reports how, given a variety of in-service supports, teachers in a small group of schools undertook to define relevant aims and objectives and to include a range of appropriate approaches in their teaching. Particular emphasis was placed upon active and ‘explicit’ vocabulary instruction. The viability and effectiveness of the strategies employed were assessed through analysis of a range of collected data; numerous examples of which are presented and evaluated here. This article concludes by reviewing such matters from teachers’ as well as pupils’ perspectives, and by emphasising the role of explicit instruction within the various approaches discussed.