Curricular Issue within My Milieu and the Recommendation to Solve It

 

Curricular Issue within My Milieu and the Recommendation to Solve It

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

 

 

It is learned that a curriculum is a medium that enables students to have constructive experiences from the methodologies described and is a guide for the teacher to have improved educational processes that facilitate instructions in the classroom for better learning (RIDE, 2021). On the contrary, despite the best curriculum being designed, the issues during the implementation process are always seen everywhere. In most cases, the curriculum is designed by the higher officials without proper research, and they also fail to revisit the academic resources that have become obsolete. On the other hand, we know that the curriculum contains the sets of goals and objectives that enable any teachers to be on the organized path (Williams, 2019) but quite often, due to many reasons, the very purpose of the curriculum is defeated as we observe poor learning output in the school.

 

As per my milieu, one pertinent curriculum issue that I see even today in my country is the poor implementation of the curriculum by the teachers and the schools as a whole. The most affected people due to the problem stated are the students because it is evident that the performance level of the students is very poor in their academics. Many students today are performing below the expectations of their grade level on both basic and advanced academic skills, and lack basic communication and analytical skills (CERD, 2009). It is realized that students are never taught to recognize how to contemplate and have never been encouraged to think, use logic or analytical skills, or even be inquisitive despite the clear-cut curriculum in hand. It is found that the language skills, lack of child-centered and child-friendly teaching-learning processes and materials, and low Professional knowledge of teachers were some of the most urgent issues that need to be addressed (CAPSD, 2007). However, most teachers end up using the lecture method in the classrooms that encourage rote learning that never makes students intellectually sound.

 

Some reasons for the above-mentioned problems are the minimal professional development programs for teachers, proper deployment of the teacher to the students that suits their qualifications, and lack of an intensive monitoring system in the school. For instance, professional development programs or refresher courses are rarely conducted. If even conducted, they are done based on general theories in which the learning will be minimal. Due to the decentralized monitoring system, monitoring is carelessly carried out just for record-keeping. On the other hand, the workload of the teacher is another factor in which they hardly get time to sit and have any kind of professional communication. Poor teaching quality due to the teacher deployment process is another issue we see mostly. Presently, many primary teachers are placed in Lower Secondary School and Middle Secondary School, whose qualification is only class X and who underwent Primary Teacher Certificate training. They are trained to teach only in the primary classes, who hardly understand the literature themselves.

 

Some of the ways that can address the problems stated above are first, professional development programs should be increased for teachers so that they specialize themselves in their subject areas because it enables any teachers to stay updated with better planning and organization and can better their skills in organizing their lessons (MeraEvent, 2020). According to Mizell (2010), teachers do not improve their skills in the teaching process if they do not experience professional development programs that would ultimately make students suffer. Secondly, monitoring of teacher work and the process should be frequent so that they improve their efficiency in teaching. The monitoring of teaching should be embedded by the school in its agenda for better follow-up and implementation (Glasgow, n.d.). It ensures accountability, proper planning, and the performance of the teacher. On the other hand, the deployment of the teacher and the job assignment should be done properly based on the qualifications and expertise of the teacher because it ensures quality learning outcomes. Finally, frequent support from the management of the school is necessary to encourage teachers to work well in the school. The system of recognition and reward should be introduced both for the teacher and the students so that the school can create a conducive learning environment.

 

In conclusion, every teacher should reflect on why the curriculum is essential for better teaching and learning process, and what the factors that affect curriculum are. Moreover, I feel that through the monitoring process, we can get an opportunity to reflect on our teaching and practices. Most importantly, I learned how we can identify some curricular issues and learned what to suggest within our milieu. 

 

 

                                                                         Reference

 

All Answers Ltd. (2018). Factors Which Make Implementation of the New Curriculum a Challenge. Retrieved November 17, 2021, from https://ukdiss.com/examples/challenges-to-implementing-curriculum-change.php?vref=1

Centre for Educational Research and Development. (2009). Quality of Education in Bhutan-Proceedings of National Seminar. Paro: Department of Education, National Institute of Education, The Royal University of Bhutan.

Glasgow. (n.d.). Monitoring of Teaching and Learning. Retrieved November 17, 2021 from https://www.snct.org.uk/library/126/Glasgow_LNCT_-_monitoring_teaching_&_learning.pdf

MeraEvent. (2020). Importance of Professional Development for Teachers. Retrieved November 17, 2021 from https://www.meraevents.com/blog/importance-of-professional-development-for-teachers

Mizell, H. (2010). Why professional development matters. Retrieved November 17, 2021 from https://learningforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/professional-development-matters.pdf

RIDE. (2021). Curriculum Definition. Retrieved November 17, 2021 from https://www.ride.ri.gov/InstructionAssessment/Curriculum/CurriculumDefinition.aspx

Williams, M. (2019). Why is curriculum important? Retrieved November 13, 2021 from https://www.classcraft.com/blog/why-is-curriculum-important/

Centre for Educational Research and Development. (2009). Rabsel- the CERD Education Journal, Volumn XII. Paro: Department of Education, National Institute of Education, The Royal University of Bhutan.