Adaptation of the curriculum in response to social change, the needs of the current generation of learners, and ways to meet those needs

 

Adaptation of the curriculum in response to social change, the needs of the current generation of learners, and ways to meet those needs

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

 

Social change in other words means the transformation of society’s beliefs, customs, traditions, laws, and institutions (A Research Guide, 2019). I believe that the curriculum must be revisited, revised, and reformed continuously and should adapt to any form of social change so that learners’ needs are fulfilled based on the current situations and learners’ way of living. Often, social changes are inevitable because they occur due to various reasons such as cultural diffusion due to frequent social contact, advancement of technology and creation of a new social group, political situations, economic situations, varied ideologies, growth in the population, etc. (Sarbah, 2019). Such changes lead to social modification that ultimately brings a huge gap in the learning process of students. Thus, schools, colleges, and institutions should adapt to these changes to act as a bridge to meet the learner’s needs because curriculum adaption can enable educators to have a deeper understanding of the features of teaching and learning to improve classroom learning outcomes.  

Adaptation of the curriculum in response to social change

We know that there will be students from diverse cultural backgrounds in the classroom. Understanding students’ learning needs and promoting inclusive classrooms to help the students with special attention is crucial. To promote an inclusive classroom, teachers need to modify or differentiate the curriculum based on the learner’s needs (IPL, 2021). 

To adapt the curriculum in response to social change, we must first identify the actual needs that the learners require in society. Identifying the actual needs of the learners is essential because society changes with change in time. We should then have to make a thorough study of the curriculum that is currently in use to outline some of the changes seen in the society after which we should, based on our educational ideologies, through the identification of the learning needs. It creates a forum to come up with a valid educational purpose. Finally, the act of reforming the curriculum must be enforced so that learners are not left behind as per the needs of the curriculum. It should fill in the learning gap based on the gaps identified and should act as a bridge. For instance, at present, technology is playing a greater role in changing society socially, culturally, and emotionally which has brought a great impact on the learners. Thus, integration of technology in the classroom has become an immediate need in the present scenario.

To seek the societal gap, I seriously think that teachers and influential stakeholders from varied backgrounds and communities should come together as a team to explore and study the very needs of the learners in creating long-term plans with specific objectives that influence resources, expectations, methodologies, and professional development as a part of curriculum development (Jacobs, 2010). They should then redesign every unit of the curriculum by defining learners’ interests and knowledge so that they are ready for entry to the units (STEM Teaching Tools, 2019) with the use of curriculum mapping to determine purposeful areas of inclusion in the curriculum (Sarbah, 2019). Noddings (2007) rightly stated that the Curriculum for the 21st Century should be reorganized based on the traditional disciplines, in which the focus on educational aims for the changing world is considered. 

On the other hand, the school should infuse social control in the curriculum in which the wider forum is created by engaging students through activities that train them to socialize and behave in the manner that society accepts. By doing so, any forms of social values that are present in any student will be informally introduced to one another and can gradually control the social disparities. It helps students to understand other cultures and respect them being comfortable to adjust to different cultural complexities (Mubarak, 2014).   

The needs of the current generation of learners, and ways to meet those needs

Today’s students are likely to face a more sophisticated and digitalized future with extended global challenges, and preparing them for such a future is a critical task for any teacher. It is because they need to face the 21st-century challenges and succeed anyhow. Thus, identifying skills, traits, abilities, and the best knowledge for them is essential so that they remain alert and save themselves to exist well in this complicated world with no hassle in the future. We know that with the rise in the rate of unemployment rate around the world, students should not only prepare to acquire jobs but also prepare for their unique careers so that they do not stumble later if they do not get the job. I believe that they should be prepared to solve any unidentified problems, likely the upcoming technologies that are still unknown to all of us. Johnson (2019) stated that students in school should be provided with skills, knowledge, and attitudes that best suit the complex and unpredictable world which cannot fail them even by artificial intelligence. It is the role of educators and schools who wholeheartedly take responsibility in creating a forum for students to be skillful and mindfully able to cope with the challenges they are going to face.

To do so, educators should promote learning by doing in the classroom to make them independent learners, empowering them with skills and knowledge, and being valuable members of society. We as educators should teach them to acquire skills and knowledge in the simplest manners and involve them to think more strategically so that they become proactive in taking any form of action for the task they confront soon (Driscoll, 2021). 

Moreover, some of the essential abilities that Noddings (2007) listed are also some of the effective ways that we can inculcate in our students so that they are prepared for their future such as:  

·         Training students to communicate effectively

·         Preparing them to work as a team through collaboration

·         Making them become a flexible and open-minded person

·         Train them to face changes and challenges through risk-taking

·         Train them to identify the problems and solve them

·         Infusing analytical and critical skills

·         Encourage them to learn and contribute new things

·         Preparing them for innovation and creativity

·         Building them for self-reflection and management.

·         Training them to have ethics and accountability.

 

Whatever the skills, knowledge, and attitude that we talk about imparting to the students, the most important thing to consider is the readiness from the educator’s side because if they are serious about our student’s future and the quality, success would be right in front of their door. It is just a matter of how we think and how we put things into action. To me, seriousness about the future from both ends should be given more importance.

 

Reference

A Research Guide. (2019). How Does Education Facilitate Social Change? Retrieved January 3, 2022 from https://www.aresearchguide.com/education-facilitate-social-change.html

Driscoll, M. (2021). 3 Tips to Meet the Needs of 21st Century Learners. Retrieved January 3, 2022 from https://thinkstrategicforschools.com/3-tips-to-meet-the-needs-of-21st-century-learners/

Jacobs, H.H. (2010). A New Essential Curriculum for a New Time. Curriculum 21: Essential Education for A Changing World. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/109008/chapters/A-New-Essential-Curriculum-for-a-New-Time.aspx

Sarbah, B. K. (2019). A Good Curriculum Must Adapt to Societal Changes. Retrieved January 3, 2022 from https://educationinsightafrica.wordpress.com/2019/06/16/a-good-curriculum-must-adapt-to-societal-changes/

STEM Teaching Tools. (2019). Using curriculum adaptation as a strategy to help teachers learn about NGSS and developing aligned instructional materials. Retrieved January 4, 2022 from http://stemteachingtools.org/brief/5

IPL. (2021). The Importance Of Curriculum Adaptation In Education. Retrieved January 4, 2022 from https://www.ipl.org/essay/The-Importance-Of-Curriculum-Adaptation-In-Education-FK535QH4SCFR

Mubarak. M. K. A. (2014). Education System Needs to Adapt to a Fast-Changing World. The National. Retrieved January 3, 2022 from www.thenational.ae/education-system-needs-to-adapt-to-a-fast-changing-world-1.473481

Noddings, N. (2007). Curriculum for the 21st Century. Educational Studies in Japan: International Yearbook №2, pp.75–81. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ842882.pdf