Contemporary issues in curriculum design and implementation

¶ … Curriculum

Assume you are the asst. Superintendent of Curriculum of your district. Considering the diversity of your area what is right or wrong with the overall curriculum in your district.

The district school system has a high commitment to diversity and has updated its mission statement, policies and procedures to reflect this dedication on a system-wide basis. The school's staff reflects the ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools. Teachers participate in continuing development programs where they are taught how to increase their multicultural instruction skills. Teachers are encouraged to differentiate their instruction to meet the learning styles of students that arise from membership in unique groups.

The school's curriculum and educational materials do a good job of incorporating and integrating diversity across several areas. In non-technical areas of study such as social studies and humanities, multicultural content integration has been extensive. Assessors have reviewed curriculum for accuracy and completeness. The curriculum is highly inclusive of ethnic and cultural groups as well as women and increasingly incorporates the experiences of the students.

The curriculum is designed to help students both value their own backgrounds as well as those of others. Educational materials used in both the classroom and in libraries are also inclusive of different ethnic and cultural groups and are also reviewed for accuracy and completeness.

In addition to curriculum, school programs and activities have been reformed to embrace diversity. The school encourages open participation in all activities such as athletics and clubs and even solicits students when activities do not reflect the diversity of the school. The school recognizes and respects the various racial, ethnic and cultural holidays of all students.

2) What would you change about the overall curriculum and how would you bring it about?

While the school has a strong commitment to diversity and has tackled many challenges for reform, there is still much work ahead. As mentioned, the school has been very proactive in multicultural content integration in non-technical areas of study such as social studies and humanities. However, it is challenged in how to develop methods that will help students from diverse backgrounds perform well in more technical subjects such as math and science. For this challenge, the school needs to engage in even greater levels of differentiated instruction to meet the different learning styles of unique students.