Showing papers on "Curriculum published in 1986"

The struggle for the American curriculum, 1893-1958

Abstract: Professor Kliebard explores the subtle and complex forces that helped to shape the contemporary American curriculum, focusing on the years 1893 to 1958.

The Social Context of Effective Schools.

Abstract: This article analyzes differences in the operation of school effectiveness factors in high- and low-SES effective schools. Observable differences are found on several effectiveness variables. The social context of the effective schools appears to influence the breadth of the curriculum, the allocation and use of instructional time, the instructional leadership role of the principal, the nature of the school reward system, and the type of expectations embedded in school policies and practices. These findings, though tentative, indicate that practitioners should not treat the well-publicized effectiveness factors as generalizable to all school settings. In addition, the results suggest that researchers concerned with understanding the process of effective schooling should focus on the manner in which these schools translate contextual expectations into school policies and classroom practices.

Teacher Education and the Politics of Engagement: The Case for Democratic Schooling

Abstract: Henry A. Giroux and Peter McLaren argue that many of the recently recommended public-school reforms either sidestep or abandon the principles underlying education for a democratic citizenry developed by John Dewey and others in the early part of this century. Yet, Giroux and McLaren believe that this historical precedent suggests a way of reconceptualizing teaching and public schooling which revives the values of democratic citizenship and social justice. They demonstrate that teachers, as "transformative intellectuals," can reclaim space in schools for the exercise of critical citizenship via an ethical and political discourse that recasts, in emancipatory terms, the relationships between authority and teacher work, and schooling and the social order. Moreover, the authors outline a teacher education curriculum that links the critical study of power, language, culture, and history to the practice of a critical pedagogy, one that values student experience and student voice.In presenting this essay, the ed...

Learning to program = learning to construct mechanisms and explanations

Abstract: Teaching effective problem-solving skills in the context of teaching programming necessitates a revised curriculum for introductory computer programming courses.

The approaches to learning of students in a traditional and in an innovative problem‐based medical school

Abstract: The way in which students approach their learning is dependent on a variety of factors including the characteristics of the departments and teaching to which they are exposed. These factors appear to influence whether the students adopt a surface, deep or strategic approach. In order to explore further the relationship between educational context and approach to learning, a comparison was made between students attending a traditional medical school and those attending a problem-based medical school. The results showed marked differences, with the problem-based school being higher on deep approach and lower on surface approach than the traditional school. This study provides one of the first pieces of evidence of a difference between students in the two types of medical school which can be directly attributed to the educational environment. Students in the problem-based school appear to have an approach to learning which more closely approximates the aims of most medical schools. The results provide support for the philosophies and strategies of the problem-based schools.

Course Design: Developing Programs and Materials for Language Learning

Abstract: Thanks Introduction 1. The fact-finding stage: assessing societal factors 2. The basis for curriculum and syllabus designing 3. How goals become realized through instructional plans 4. A curriculum developed on communicative goals 5. The scope of a communicative syllabus 6. Focusing on language content in a communicative syllabus 7. Focusing on process: materials that deal with sociocultural appropriateness 8. Focusing on product: materials that deal with the reading skill 9. Creating materials: the links between syllabus and audience Epilogue Cumulative bibliography Acknowledgements Index.

Ten questions to ask when planning a course or curriculum.

Abstract: This brief practical aid to course or curriculum development cannot replace educational qualifications or experience, but it does examine ten basic questions, any of which may be all too easily neglected. These are: What are the needs in relation to the product of the training programme? What are the aims and objectives? What content should be included? How should the content be organized? What educational strategies should be adopted? What teaching methods should be used? How should assessment be carried out? How should details of the curriculum be communicated? What educational environment or climate should be fostered? How should the process be managed? Each aspect is illustrated through the analogy of car manufacturing. The ten questions are relevant in all situations where a course or curriculum is being planned, including an undergraduate degree course, a short postgraduate course or a 1-hour lecture.

Formative evaluation of individual student programs: A new role for school psychologists.

Abstract: Problems associated with the school psychologist's traditional assessment functions and methodology are identified and contrasted with the need for assessment information that can contribute meanin...

Learning Strategies: An Instructional Alternative for Low-Achieving Adolescents

Abstract: As mildly handicapped students move from elementary to secondary school, they are expected to deal with increased curricular demands. The University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities has designed and validated a set of task-specific learning strategies as an instructional alternative for these students. Learning strategies teach students “how to learn” so that they can more effectively cope with increased curriculum expectations.

Induction Support of New Teachers: A Functional Approach.

Abstract: Odell completed a functional analysis of the needs of teachers by recording the forms of actual assistance given to first year and "new to system" teachers in a teacher induction program. Eighty-six first year and 79 new to system teachers were involved in the study. The two pri mary needs of both groups of teachers included (a) obtaining information about the school district and (b) obtain ing resources and materials pertinant to the curriculum to be taught. Of particu lar interest is Odell's fnding that experi enced teachers who are new to a school system do not have remarkably different needs from those of first year teachers.

Curriculum as a political problem : changing educational conceptions, with special reference to citizenship education

Abstract: Curriculum as a political problem : changing educational conceptions, with special reference to citizenship education

The first year of teacher preparation: Transition to pedagogical thinking?

Abstract: * An earlier version of this paper was presented as part of a symposium entitled 'Teacher Thinking and Curriculum Change: New Perspectives', at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April 1984. The authors wish to acknowledge and thank Deborah Ball, who assisted in project management and data collection.

A model curriculum for a liberal arts degree in computer science

Abstract: This report proposes developing a rigorous undergraduate curriculum for a B.A.-degree program in computer science. The curriculum is intended as a model not only for high-quality undergraduate colleges and universities, but also for larger universities with strong computer science programs in a liberal arts setting.

The Null Curriculum: Its Theoretical Basis and Practical Implications

Abstract: In this essay we take a critical look at the concept of “null curriculum”—what schools do not teach—and ask two questions: 1) Can the term “null curriculum” be defined adequately for curriculum theorizing?, and 2) Is this concept in any way useful for practice? Our consideration of the null curriculum centers on its possible uses in terms of theory, research, and practice. In each of these areas, particular attention is given to the problems involved in clearly defining this rather ambiguous concept. We note that conceptions of curriculum play the dominant role in how null curriculum is defined, and point out that a given null curriculum can be identified only in relation to what is valued as educationally significant. Although the notion of null curriculum cannot be defined in precise terms, we conclude that it does have worthwhile application in certain practical areas of curriculum development and evaluation.

Effective Curriculum and Instructional Models for Talented Students

Abstract: This article presents an historical perspective on the evolution of three curiculum and instructionial models that have been shown to be effective with gifted learners in various contexts and at va...

Culture Wars: School and Society in the Conservative Restoration, 1969-1984

Abstract: This lively and controversial work critiques the conservative efforts in the 1970s and 1980s to undo the educational reforms of the 1960s, to reestablish control over the curriculum, and to change the nature of the debate and the goals of education. "An outstanding work of educational theory and history."--John Coatsworth, University of Chicago

Direct Instruction: A Research-Based Approach to Curriculum Design and Teaching

Abstract: Direct instruction has come to have many different meanings, all of which are associated with some form of structured teaching. In this article, Direct Instruction refers primarily to the work done by Engelmann and his colleagues. Further, this article focuses on curriculum analysis, an aspect of Direct Instruction that is frequently neglected or obscured by an emphasis in the literature on classroom management and teacher performance. We discuss explicit strategies as they are used to teach higher cognitive skills, the importance of teacher training to an appropriate use of Direct Instruction curricula, and the supporting empirical research—from the mildly to the severely handicapped—for this highly successful approach to instruction.

Are teachers losing control of their skills and curriculum

Abstract: (1986). Are teachers losing control of their skills and curriculum? Journal of Curriculum Studies: Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 177-184.

Curriculum and aims

Abstract: With a new chapter focusing on cross-currents of reform, this text provides a broad perspective on the basic curriculum questions educators face regarding the purposes, content, design, and structure of educational programs. After examining aims that have been proposed by classical educational thinkers and reviewing the dominant educational debate of this century between traditionalists and progressives, the authors deal with fundamental issues of curriculum theory and instructional practice.

The superintendent as instructional leader: findings from effective school districts

Abstract: The study reported on in this article examines how instructional leadership is exercised by superintendents in effective school districts. We employ concepts drawn from school effectiveness studies and from organizational literature on coordination and control in an attempt to understand how superintendents organize and manage instruction and curriculum in these effective districts. Specific instructional management practices are examined within a framework of six major functions, setting goals and establishing expectations and standards, selecting staff, supervising and evaluating staff, establishing an instructional and curricular focus, ensuring consistency in technical core operations, and monitoring curriculum and instruction. Based on interviews with superintendents from 12 of the most instructionally effective school districts in California and analysis of selected district documents, we present descriptions of district‐level policies and practices that these superintendents use to coordinate and control the instructional management activities of their principals. Similarities and differences in the patterns of control and coordination found in these districts are highlighted. The implications of the findings are then examined in light of recent findings regarding coupling and linkages in schools. The results of this study suggest that superintendents in instructionally effective school districts are more active “instructional managers” than previous descriptions of superintendents would have led us to expect. In particular, coordination and control of the technical core appears more systematic in these districts. The results do not, however, provide a uniform picture of how instruction is coordinated and controlled. A wide range of both culture building activities and bureaucratic policies and practices were emphasized by the superintendents in this study as they exercised their instructional leadership roles.

How Textbooks Affect Achievement in Developing Countries: Evidence From Thailand

Abstract: For the past decade, researchers have documented the effects of textbooks on achievement in developing countries, but no research has explored the mechanisms that account for this contribution. This paper analyzes longitudinal data from a national sample of eighth-grade mathematics classrooms in Thailand and explores the effects of textbooks and other factors on student achievement gain. The results indicate that textbooks may affect achievement by substituting for additional postsecondary mathematics education of teachers and by delivering a more comprehensive curriculum.

Promoting Moral Growth in a Summer Sport Camp: The Implementation of Theoretically Grounded Instructional Strategies.

Abstract: The present field experiment was designed to explore the effectiveness of social learning and structural developmental prescriptions for moral pedagogy in a summer sports camp. Eighty‐four children, aged five to seven years, were matched on relevant variables and randomly assigned to one of three classes: (a) social learning, (b) structural developmental, or (c) control. Each of the classes shared similar curricula and was taught by two trained instructors for a six‐week period. Educators is the experimental conditions implemented theoretically grounded instructional strategies in their weekly emphasis on specific moral themes. Analyses indicated significant pre‐to‐post gains on a Piagetian intentionality task and a measure of distributive justice within both experimental groups, but MANCOVA results indicated differences between the experimental and control conditions only approached significance.

Student Perceptions of Academic Language Study

Abstract: This article reports on a study done to determine how nonnative English speakers studying in US colleges and universities perceive their language learning experiences and how they use English in academic settings Open-ended interviews, using a structured set of topics, were conducted with 80 students Areas investigated included the value of the US language training program, how the program addressed specific skill areas, how outof-class experience contributed to language learning, what teacher qualities were valued, and how English was used in the academic setting In general, students supported the design of most intensive ESL training, but they raised questions about some skill-area emphasis A strong desire for more interactive instruction was expressed as well as an appreciation for personality, 'rather than technical, qualities of teachers Students indicated the importance in academic work of the receptive skills of reading and listening over the productive skills of speaking and writing Curriculum design in ESL programs for academic preparation has, in general, failed to use the experience of students themselves as a basis for planning and decision making This article reports on a study that attempted to discover what students believed contributed most to their language learning The subjects had studied in intensive ESL programs in the United States and were engaged in academic study at the time of the investigation Student attitude toward teachers and teacher behavior was also studied Last, the study attempted to determine how these students were using English in their academic work

A Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach: An ESL Content-Based Curriculum.

Abstract: ABSTPACT The Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) is an instructional program for limited English proficient (LEP) students who are being prepared to participate in mainstream content instruction. CALLA students are taught to use learning strategies derived from a cognitive model of learning as aids to comprehension and retention of concepts in the content area. This report provides a broad perspective on the integration of language, content, and strategy learning for LEP students at upper elementary and secondary levels. Intended to serve as a coordinating link between ESL or bilingual teachers and mainstream classroom teachers, the report contains five chapters on the following topics: characteristics of the CALLA model; English language development (1) through science, (2) through mathematics, and (3) through social studies; and assessment and evaluation (of academic achievement and English language proficiency). It is noted that the CALLA approach is based on the observation that many LEP students fail to realize the promise of their early successes in learning English by continuing to master English once they advance to content-area instruction. Contains 65 references. (LB)

Prigogine: A new sense of order, a new curriculum

Abstract: (1986). Prigogine: A new sense of order, a new curriculum. Theory Into Practice: Vol. 25, Beyond the Measured Curriculum, pp. 10-16.

Approaches to curriculum planning

Abstract: This booklet describes different ways used to tackle the problem of curriculum planning. By studying these approaches teachers can get an insight into the process in their own school. First they must decide whether there should be a particular focus for curriculum planning and if so what it should be. In the light of this they can modify their school's approach. To what extent do they wish to focus on: aims and objectives (engineering approach), teaching methods (mechanics approach), content (cookbook approach), timetable (railway approach), problems (detective approach), one idea or strategy (religious approach), the regulations (bureaucratic approach), or a curriculum designed to attract sponsorship (public relations approach)? The magician approach, in which it is not clear how a curriculum is developed, is not recommended. Second, what should be the pattern of staff involvement--a representative group or committee (United Nations approach), all the teachers (people's congress approach), one individual (the dictator approach), a collaboration with students, patients and other professional colleagues (consumer approach), or a collaboration with an external consultant (consultant approach)? Whichever approach is adopted, advantages should be maximized and deficiencies minimized.