General Education Curriculum Research Articles

A Study on the Development and Effectiveness Subject for Character Education Focused on Experiential Learning : A Case of ‘Creative Community Problem-Solving’ Course at A University

This study aims to develop a curriculum for ‘Creative Problem-Solving in Community Issues’ as a character education program to expand students' knowledge acquired at university to discover and effectively address real problems inherent in the local community, thereby fostering their practical character. Specifically, This study introduces cases of developing practical and experiential character education courses at ** University. The 2024 general education curriculum at ** University requires the development of related courses by distinguishing the character education area into ‘theoretical education’ and ‘problem-solving/experiential education.’ The following step-by-step research was conducted to achieve the research objectives. First, the university's character education courses should be designed to transcend a mere ethical dimension and align with the university's founding philosophy, vision for human resources, and the objectives of university education and general education. In this context, the objectives and core competencies of the character education course were designed to align with the university's founding principles of Truth, Faithfulness, and Love, and to ensure relevance to university education and general education. Second, this study focused on ‘problem-solving/experiential education’ and designed the ‘Creative Problem-Solving in Community Issues’ course, proposing suitable teaching methods, educational content, and evaluation methods to enhance the course's purpose and the learners' engagement level. Lastly, discussions and implications were presented so that the ‘Creative Problem-Solving in Community Issues’ course could be advanced and expanded in line with the university's innovation direction.

Developing the Competence of Using Tools and Materials in Learning Mathematics for 4th-Grade Students in Geometry and Measurement Content

In Vietnam's general education program, Mathematics is a significant tool for many other subjects. Mathematics originates from practicality and serves as the "key" in most human activities, as well as in learning other subjects. In teaching Mathematics, teachers not only guide students to acquire knowledge but also form and develop students' abilities and intellectual qualities, training their critical thinking and creativity. The ability to use tools and learning materials for Mathematics is one of the five components of mathematical competence in the 2018 Mathematics curriculum for general education. This article focuses on proposing some basic measures to develop and nurture the ability of using tools and materials in learning Mathematics for fourth-grade students through teaching Geometry and Measurement content.

Navigating the Complexities of School Leadership for Students With Disabilities

This case study delves into the complexities faced by Principal Williams, a newly appointed leader at Hudford Elementary School, as she navigates the challenges of providing high-quality education for students with disabilities in an elementary school. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), each student with a disability is required to have access to the general education curriculum and specially designed instruction (SDI) that is tailored to the student’s unique needs. As Principal Williams steps into her role as leader of Hudford Elementary School, she has questions about the current service delivery model for students, the distribution of responsibilities across general and special education, and the extent of inclusion. She is considering her next steps, including how she will address some problematic working conditions experienced by special educators at the school. Through this case, readers gain insights into the complexity of supporting students with disabilities in a time of teacher shortages and learn about identifying the resources teachers need to fulfill their responsibilities.

Access for Students with Extensive Support Needs to State-Adopted Grade-Level Standards and Curriculum in General Education Classes: A Content Analysis of the Literature

In this article, we provide a summary of a literature review conducted to determine how the published literature, including research articles, conceptual articles, and chapters, (a) describes access to the state-adopted grade-level standards in general education classes for students with extensive support needs (ESN) and (b) discusses recommended processes for determining meaningful access to the state-adopted grade-level standards in general education classes for students with ESN. We reviewed a total of 554 pieces of published literature considered for inclusion in our summary. Based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria, we included 32 articles and chapters in the final analysis. The review yielded important information related to six themes, including (a) the language used to describe students with ESN; (b) the varying understandings, or perceptions, of what access to the state-adopted grade-level standards means; (c) the recommended steps in the processes that teams might use to provide access to the state-adopted grade-level standards, and the alignment between standards and Individualized Education Program goals; (d) the short- and long-term outcomes of access to and inclusion in the general education curriculum; (e) who is involved; and (f) the ways in which progress monitoring and assessment were implemented. We conclude with our recommendations for future research.

APPLYING LITERARY ETHICAL CRITICISM TO TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION OF LITERARY TEXTS TOWARDS THE GOAL OF DEVELOPING STUDENTS' QUALITIES ACCORDING TO THE 2018 GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

The article begins by applying moral literary criticism in teaching literary text comprehension and provides an overview of the theory of ethical literary criticism. It proposes an approach to literary texts from the perspective of moral literary criticism to develop students' qualities. The research is based on general research methods (theoretical and survey methods) and specific methods (structural analysis methods). The results show that applying moral literary criticism in understanding the texts of the Grade 12 Literature Textbook (Connecting Knowledge with Life series) is entirely feasible, paving the way for its implementation in other textbook series. Keywords: Literary ethical criticism; literary text comprehension; qualities; 2018 general education curriculum.

THIẾT KẾ HOẠT ĐỘNG HỌC TẬP MÔN TIN HỌC CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC SỬ DỤNG MÔ HÌNH 21CLD ĐỂ PHÁT TRIỂN NĂNG LỰC GIAO TIẾP VÀ HỢP TÁC

Communication and collaboration competency is one of three core general competencies specified in the 2018 Vietnam General Education Curriculum. However, teachers encounter difficulties in designing appropriate learning activities and assessing the development of communication and collaboration skills to cultivate this competency. The 21st Century Learning Design (21CLD) model, proposed by Microsoft, is a teaching framework aimed at developing essential skills in students, including communication and collaboration. This study compared the 21CLD model with the common and core competency framework specified in Vietnam's 2018 General Education Curriculum and found similarities between the two assessment frameworks. Therefore, this article will present Microsoft's 21CLD model, detailing assessment levels according to specific criteria for each skill, and propose a process for applying this model to develop learning activities for Informatics at the elementary level to enhance students' communication and collaboration competency. Keywords: 21CLD; learning design; communication and collaboration; teaching Informatics; primary education.

The perceptions of undergraduate students toward reading contemporary fiction in English: a case study of content-based ESL instruction at a self-financed tertiary institution in Hong Kong

IntroductionThe study explores the effectiveness of teaching English literature to Hong Kong undergraduate students, particularly in a general education course titled “Fiction and Life: Understanding Human Development.” This course marked the first exposure for students to book-length fiction in English and critical response written in English, revealing the efficacy of using fictional works as content-based ESL instruction at the tertiary level in Hong Kong.MethodsEmploying a mixed-methods approach, the study included questionnaires distributed to 310 students and thematic analysis of semi-structured interview data.ResultsFindings indicate a largely positive attitude toward the reading and writing experience, suggesting benefits for ESL teaching and learning in Asia.DiscussionThe study advocates for incorporating English literature into the general education curriculum to foster a more organic and contextualized language acquisition process. This research uniquely contributes to the field by examining student perceptions in a self-financed tertiary institution context, offering new insights that have not been explored before in Hong Kong’s ESL landscape.

PHÁT TRIỂN NĂNG LỰC TỔ CHỨC HOẠT ĐỘNG TRẢI NGHIỆM CHO SINH VIÊN SƯ PHẠM

The 2018 General Education Curriculum identifies experience and career-oriented as compulsory educational activities carried out from grade one to grade twelve. These activities replace extracurricular activities, but with changes in name, objectives, content, methods, and regulations for testing and evaluating outcomes. This raises the question of what measures teacher training institutions need to take to develop the competency of organizing experiential activities for pre-service teachers, ensuring they meet practical requirements immediately after graduation. By examining curriculum documents and drawing on practical research results, this article proposes measures to develop the competency of organizing experiential activities for pre-service teachers during their training. The proposed measures emphasize integrating and embedding the development of this competency through the teaching of specialized subjects, pedagogical subjects, and Youth Union activities. Keywords: Experiential activities; competency in organizing experiential activities; competency development; pre-service teachers.

CHƯƠNG TRÌNH GIÁO DỤC PHỔ THÔNG 2018 VÀ NHỮNG VẤN ĐỀ CẦN TIẾP TỤC NGHIÊN CỨU

This report presents the theoretical and practical foundations upon which the General Education Curriculum 2018 has been developed to comprehensively enhance learners' qualities and competences. It also addresses the initial implementation of the curriculum, highlighting issues that require further research and practical resolution for advancing the curriculum and organising effective practical implementation activities. The ultimate goal is to successfully enact general education innovations in line with the Resolutions of the Central Party Committee and the National Assembly. Keywords: Curriculum; curriculum development; moral quality; capacity; assessment.

High School Students’ Statistical Literacy Changes in a Flipped Classroom Environment: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Statistics in the 2018 Vietnam General Education Curriculum for Mathematics is emphasized from Grade 2 to Grade 12, helping develop students’ competences and qualities. However, students still struggle to connect and apply statistical concepts to real-life situations. This study used a flipped classroom model to teach 10th-graders statistics to develop their statistical literacy. Using a quasi-experimental design, we evaluated how the students’ statistical literacy developed as they participated in the flipped classroom. The results show that the flipped classroom improves students’ statistical literacy. All four categories of statistical literacy increased statistically significantly, including graphical displays, measures of central tendency, measures of variability, and using statistical knowledge to solve problems. The results are explained by the opportunities embedded into the program. Time outside of class was used for the students to review content and access new concepts, along with questions to demonstrate their statistical knowledge and reveal shortcomings. The students spent the most of their interaction time in class on activities to understand concepts and applied them to real-life situations. Some lessons learned from the study are discussed.

Building the Electronic Learning Materials to Support Teaching Topics "Materials" and "Energy" in Science 4 According to the 2018 General Education Curriculum

The research paper focuses on the design of construction processes and the use of e-learning materials to support teaching and learning topics “Materials” and "Energy" in Science 4. Once we have built and uploaded online lectures to the Internet, teachers and students can utilize them in a flexible manner for classroom instruction or self-learning. In this article, we used the document research method to build a set of electronic learning materials on the topics “Materials” and "Energy" in Science 4. Additionally, it used expert methods to collect feedback from six lecturers at the Thai Nguyen University of Education and 32 primary school teachers. We experimented with a group of 30 students in the 4th grade, and the results showed that the e-learning material that we built helps students improve their autonomy and self-study, encouraging them to learn their prior knowledge at home by studying online lectures on the YouTube channel and questionnaires on the Azota app. Early research results showed that this electronic learning material has helped teachers and students teach and learn Science 4.

Using AI to Support Special Education Teacher Workload

There is a nationwide shortage of special education teachers (SETs) due, in part, to unmanageable workload expectations, which has reached crisis level. SETs are expected to modify, adapt, and accommodate general education curriculum to meet the needs of their students, communicate and collaborate with parents and general education teachers, and progress monitor on IEP goals, to name a few. SETs, especially those in more restrictive self-contained settings, report spending almost half of their time completing non-teaching tasks. One emerging and innovative solution to help SETs accomplish these tasks is using Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI powers many popular educational tools, such as predictive text, adaptive learning platforms, and digital assistants. The launch of ChatGPT, Bard, and other generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs), provides an opportunity to support SETs with some of the paperwork requirements. This is due to the GPTs ability to craft human-like responses via drafting essays, emails, lists, and the like. In this article, we provide step-by-step directions to use ChatGPT. Additionally, we illustrate how GPTs can be used to operationalize, automate, and streamline many of the SET’s non-teaching tasks through specific examples of its use in (1) collaboration, (2) adapting readings, and (3) developing progress monitoring assessments.

Inequality of Arabic Subjects in the General Education Curriculum in Indonesia

Inequality of Arabic Subjects in the General Education Curriculum in Indonesia

Teachers' Self-efficacy and Job Pressure in Response to general requirements in the new educational curriculum in Vietnam

Teachers' self-efficacy perception has played an important role in supporting them in adapting well to new changes at work. One hundred fifty-eight high school Vietnamese teachers voluntarily participated in this study. Teachers' self-efficacy scale was used in this study. The scale was translated into Vietnamese, and quantitative data was collected via online questionnaires. Qualitative data was gathered during open-ended questions about teachers' specific pressure from changes in the general education curriculum in Vietnam integrated into the survey. Factor analysis confirmed the appropriateness of the teacher's self-efficacy scale in the context of Vietnamese teachers. The pressure decreased when teachers had confidence in the effectiveness of the strategies used in teaching. In addition, three other specific items were found that caused pressure on teachers regarding the changing of the new curriculum. The conclusions have contributed practical significance to studies of teachers' self-efficacy in the multicultural context. These have also made a theoretical contribution to the studies on teachers' self-efficacy in the new requirements that need to be met in changes in educational programs.

The Implementation of Art Appreciation Courses in Chinese University General Education: A Case Study

This research critically evaluates and assesses the current status of Art Appreciation Courses (AAC) within the General Education (GE) curriculum in Chinese universities. The investigation is focused on delineating the strengths, pinpointing the weaknesses, and identifying potential areas for improvement. The research methodology encompasses a thorough review of relevant literature and the implementation of a qualitative case study approach. Interviews were conducted with four AAC instructors, selected through purposive sampling, and their documents were subjected to analysis. The primary findings suggest that the instructors are committed to enhancing students' humanities knowledge, aesthetic education, and artistic abilities by developing appreciation skills. However, they encounter several challenges, including a limited knowledge base among students, inadequate course duration, insufficient facilities, and a tenuous connection between the course and the major. The instructors adhere to a teaching philosophy integrating aesthetic education using a situational model, cultivating positive attitudes and distinctive courses. Our study recommends several enhancements for Art Appreciation Courses (AAC) in Chinese universities. We suggest diversifying AAC topics and facilitating cross-cultural comparisons. Active learning should be promoted through interactive methods and participation in art activities. Interdisciplinary integration can be bolstered by collaborating with other disciplines. Lastly, resources should be augmented, and assessments should be diversified to foster creativity, and student engagement should be enhanced.

Measuring Communication and Collaboration Skills in Sciences of Secondary School Students in New General Curriculum: A Case of Vietnam

Communication and collaboration are important skills for students in the 21st century. In order to develop these skills, students will interact with others in specific situations, where they will need to face a situation directly. In Vietnam, the new general education curriculum was issued by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2018. This curriculum has been developed using competency-based approach. Communication and collaboration are identified as core competencies in this curriculum, and these competencies have been proposed with detail components and criteria for students at the final stage of each education levels (e.g., primary, lower secondary and upper secondary education). However, one of the practical problems teachers and students facing is that these criteria are too general. Therefore, it is difficult for teachers and teachers to monitor and assess these competencies in specific subjects. The purpose of the present research is to propose a detailed assessment framework and to validate an instrument for assessing communication and collaboration competencies in the Science subject based on general criteria of these competencies in the general education curriculum in Vietnam. The present research used Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to analyse the research data. The results show that there are three components to measure communication and collaboration competencies with 19 out of 20 indicators having good factor loadings. Reliability analysis for each factor using Cronbach’s alpha shows that each factor has internal consistency, with values ranging from .704 to .861.

Barriers to curriculum accessibility for students with visual impairment in general education setting: The experience of lower secondary school students in Senegal

AbstractThis study explores potential barriers to curriculum accessibility for lower‐secondary school students with visual impairment in Senegal. A qualitative case study approach was used with purposeful sampling to collect data at a special school for students with visual impairment, and the three junior high schools that offer placement to the students with visual impairment after primary graduation from the special school. The study comprised 22 participants including six students with visual impairment, six regular teachers, three paraeducators, three special education teachers, and the four administrators of the schools. Data were collected using semi‐structured interviews, focus group discussions, and classroom observations. The study concluded that students with visual impairment in lower secondary schools face several obstacles to having proper access to the general education curriculum. The results highlight a lack of training and skills for teachers having students with visual impairment in junior high schools, a shortage of curriculum materials and adaptations, inconvenience of classroom environment, and a restricted collaboration between actors.

A Comparative Study on General Education Courses for Physical Education Majors in Chinese Universities

In order to further promote the high-quality development of general education courses in physical education majors in Chinese universities, this article adopts methods such as questionnaire survey, literature review, and logical analysis to compare the current situation of general education courses in mainland and Hong Kong universities. The research results indicate that the goals and requirements of Hong Kong's general education curriculum emphasize the breadth and connection of knowledge, adopt diverse interdisciplinary approaches, and encourage students to explore and express themselves, while the mainland focuses more on the infiltration of cultural qualities in professional education and the supplementation and correction of knowledge. The general education curriculum for physical education majors in mainland universities tends to be more focused on the field of sports science, while Hong Kong universities focus on learning broad knowledge and offer more courses for non-physical education majors. Hong Kong universities have their own characteristics in the mode of general education curriculum.

Developing Abstracting and Generalizing Thinking for Middle School Students in Teaching the Topic of Equations and Non-Equations

In the Vietnam general education curriculum, Mathematics subject has an important position, being a tool for many other subjects. Mathematics has great potential to help students develop their intellectual abilities and qualities, training them to think abstractly and generalize. Furthermore, Mathematics has its roots in practice and is the "key" in most human activities, as well as in learning other subjects. In teaching mathematics, teachers not only guide students to acquire knowledge and skills but also train them to think and learn. Therefore, training in abstract thinking and generalization thinking is necessary to help students not only understand and remember math more deeply but also develop problem-solving, logical thinking and judgment skills, thereby helping them develop more comprehensively in the learning process and life.

We Have to Talk About Something: Why NOT Talk About the Curriculum? A Guide to Embedding Language Interventions in Curricular Content.

Children with developmental language disorder frequently have difficulty with both academic success and language learning and use. This clinical focus article describes core principles derived from a larger program of research (National Science Foundation 1748298) on language intervention combined with science instruction for preschoolers. It serves as an illustration of a model for integrating language intervention with curricular content delivery. We present a five-step model for a speech-language pathologist and other school professionals to follow to (a) understand the grade-level core curriculum objectives; (b) align intervention targets with the curriculum; (c) select a therapy approach that aligns with both goals and curricular content, and (d) methods for implementing the intervention; and (e) verify that both the intervention and the curriculum have been provided in accordance with best practices. We apply this model to the Next Generation Science Standards, a science curriculum popular in the United States, and to grammar and vocabulary interventions, two areas of difficulty for children with developmental language disorders, though it would be possible to extend the steps to other curricular areas and intervention targets. We conclude by discussing the barriers and benefits to adopting this model. We recognize that both speech-language pathologists and teachers may have limited time to implement language intervention within a general education curriculum, but we suggest that the long-term benefits outweigh the barriers.