Curriculum Development for the Inclusive Secondary School

Introduction

This paper addresses four guiding questions: (1) What curricular changes will we see in the next ten years, and why? (2) What will be the content of the curriculum in the next ten years? (3) What and who will influence that content? (4) Who will be involved in its development and design?

Gudmund Hernes, Director of the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), observes that in higher education and universities, subjects are "taught much the same — mathematics, biology, languages, history, economics. The theories presented and criticized, the notions expounded and challenged, the ideas used to make sense of the world — whether they are embodied in words like 'atoms' or 'galaxies' or 'algorithms' or 'syntax' — are also similar." However, this uniformity does not hold in most secondary education institutions, and according to Hernes, this is largely due to variations in secondary education and vocational training. In order to effectively plan for broad knowledge and a potent imagination — the capacity to envision possible futures and assess the effect of imagined actions — research is presented as essential. Hernes states that those who plan secondary school curricula are assisted by research because of "the methods developed and findings documented" and because "it presents actual modes of organization and structural traits, qualities and shortcomings different from those we already know. Sometimes sobering thoughts arise from vicarious experience. On other occasions, research leads to serendipitous discoveries." (Hernes, 2001)

Hernes identifies the following items on the secondary education agenda:

1) Necessary curriculum revision for better quality and relevance; 2) preparation of students to enter the work world; 3) facilitation of access for students and retention of students from disadvantaged groups; and 4) reduction of inequality in the education offered to different groups. (Hernes, 2001)

Historically and traditionally, curriculum development involved the entire staff of the school system, "under the leadership of administrators and curriculum consultants, organized into committees to develop goals, study problems, organize courses of study, and after a year or two of intensive work and study, produce the school program to be used for the next few years." Curriculum development was described as a "continuous, evolutionary process." (Hernes, 2001)

Curricular Changes in the Next Decade: What and Why?

Michaela Martin observes that relationships between universities and industries "take on a variety of very different formats. At one end of the spectrum, higher education institutions may be linked to major high-tech corporations for multi-year joint research and development. At the other end, a small regional university may collaborate with a local company by providing technical assistance to upgrade existing low-level technology and management techniques, or by offering further education programs to upgrade professional competencies." (Martin, 2000) Martin further states that the level of development "and focus of such linkages depend on a number of conditions. These include in particular the research and teaching capacity both within the higher education institutions and industry." (Martin, 2000)

Linkages between industries and universities have "a great potential to improve the relevance of teaching and research in universities, but their inherent dangers are also becoming more prominent. Within the context of current economic imperatives and impressive opportunities for individual and collective scientific entrepreneurship, university-industry linkages may provoke, in addition to the expected benefits, a number of unintended effects both in terms of the creation and dissemination of knowledge and the generation of income. These include: a possible distortion of research and training agendas, a potential diversion of energy and commitment of teaching staff interacting with industry away from traditional activities — particularly as regards undergraduate teaching — limited open communication and publication, growing internal fragmentation, and conflicts of interest among the different groups within institutions or with the public interest in general." (Martin, 2000)

Martin argues that only strict rules and regulations, along with transparency in university-industry linkages, will properly address these challenges. The IIEP publication Alchemists of the Mind (2000) states that a global culture "based on common values" is "gaining hold" and "spreading to all countries by modern media. But this very globalization threatens the richness and variety of the human heritage — many human languages are disappearing. The homogenizing forces of modern technology and communication are enormous; oneness can produce sameness. For culture, then, the effects are contradictory. The new technologies generate new disparities. Imbalances are aggravated when the most advanced nations develop most rapidly and set the new global standards others must follow, while those worst off remain stagnant or fall back. Inequities are increasing and inequalities are widening. In some cities of the world, the number of street children is growing; in others, the number of Internet cafes is sprouting. Indeed, sometimes both happen in the same city at the same time." (IIEP, 2000)

The IIEP report Vocational Education and Training for Youth (2007) identifies a major challenge for families and education authorities as the transition of youth from school to work. The report states that integration of youth into the workplace "is still faced with major policy challenges, including the provision of adequate quality post-primary education opportunities, overcoming obstacles such as costs, and diversifying learning pathways. Improving the employability of young people often involves strengthening school-enterprise linkages, providing out-of-school vocational training programs, and offering career guidance and placement services." (IIEP, 2007) The report further establishes that technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is a primary item on the education policy agenda.

The work Global Perspectives in Secondary Education states that secondary education is viewed increasingly "as an educational imperative by countries around the world. Secondary education is now part of the compulsory years of schooling in many countries, a factor that has contributed to the increase in the number of young people participating at that level of education. In South America, the number of secondary students doubled between 1990 and 2002, and in East Asia participation rates were at 70 per cent in 2002, an increase from 44 per cent in 1990." (Motivans, Bruneforth, and Kennedy, 2005)

Tennant (2005) argues that the transition from primary to secondary school "can be an unsettling experience for many students. It is also a time when many students are at risk of disengagement from learning. Further refining and developing skills that students already possess, by using activities, media and content that they find stimulating, is one way to build their confidence and self-esteem." Given students' favorable disposition toward digital media, Tennant suggests that developing their digital, media, and critical literacy skills might be one way to engage them in the curriculum and develop their self-esteem. "Students should be taught to analyze, evaluate and make judgments about the media with which they engage, and an extension of this is helping them to develop a critical disposition and skills to evaluate websites and their content. Experiencing success through engagement with these alternative literacies will help to bridge the gap between primary and secondary school for many students." (Tennant, 2005)

Content in the secondary school curriculum over the next decade is likely to reflect two broad tracks: curriculum designed for students bound for college and curriculum designed for students entering vocational and career training. These are commonly referred to as "college-track" and "career-track" programs. The former prepares students to enter college and pursue a degree, while the latter is designed to equip students for a career immediately following high school graduation.

Technology learning will be a primary focus in secondary school curriculum content over the next decade, as virtually all business processes and functions involve some form of technological knowledge. Even for students who will not attend college, technology training is important in preparing them to enter the contemporary workforce.

Curricular Content in the Next Decade

Factors and forces in curriculum development are identified in The Secondary School Curriculum to include: (1) social and educational philosophy; (2) special interest groups; (3) business and industry; (4) the federal government; (5) state legislatures; (6) the teaching profession; (7) subject specialists; (8) textbook authors and test makers; (9) community influences; and (10) the individual teacher. These represent only some of those who will affect the development of curriculum in secondary schools over the next decade. There are significant variations in the individuals, agencies, corporations, governments, policies, and agendas that shape curriculum development in secondary schools throughout the world.

Development and design of curriculum over the next decade will be characterized by collaboration among schools, businesses, industry, community organizations, and government, all working together to provide the best possible education for students and to prepare them to take a productive place in contemporary society. The National Curriculum publication The Secondary Curriculum identifies the following challenges in creating the secondary curriculum: