Formal School Curriculum Research Articles

Appreciating, (Re)-Thinking and Diversifying Arts Education: Learning to Be a Choral Conductor/ Trainer/Director/Educator in Kenya

The tremendous growth of choral music in Kenya over the last 50 years has largely been realised in three major establishments, namely: the Church, institutions of learning, and political arenas. Whereas choral music presents a field that can draw from diverse inquiries, the article focuses on music education as a component of choral music. It is motivated by the concern that the majority of choral trainers/directors/educators in Kenya are not products of formal choral training programmes. For the few who have obtained formal musicology, ethnomusicology and music education qualifications, observation shows that choral training or directing either forms a minimal part of, or is not included in, the various certificate, diploma or degree courses offered. Although conducting and/or art music as course units are offered in selected universities no institution of learning in Kenya offers a full course that focuses clearly on training choral trainers/directors/educators. Thus, choral directors may be the product of music training programmes other than formal school curricula. Whether in institutions of learning or the Church, the article views a choir situation as an alternative classroom, where the choral conductor/trainer/director/educator not only artistically imparts knowledge to the singers (learners), but also to prospective choral directors, hence acting as a role model. Therefore, the article demonstrates the alternative methodologies employed in Kenyan choral music. To address these concerns, the study relied on an ethnographic research approach that involved interviewing choral artistes, as well as observing how they practise their music, besides group interactive strategies.

Exploring student and teacher usage patterns associated with student attrition in an open educational resource-supported online learning platform

Online learning platforms integrating open educational resources (OERs) are increasingly adopted in secondary education as supplemental resources for teaching and learning. However, students report difficulties sustaining their engagement because of the self-paced nature of OER-supported learning environments. We noted that little attention has been paid to factors related to student perseverance and attrition in the learning environment. Little knowledge about these factors prevents discussion on how to promote OERs as pedagogical tools that complement the formal school curriculum. To address this research gap, we analyzed student- and teacher-level usage data, and demographic information. The purpose was to explore student- and teacher-level factors associated with the duration of student usage in Algebra Nation, an OER-supported online learning platform adopted in many secondary schools. The results revealed that at the student level, student engagement with video lectures, self-assessment, social tools, and additional videos relevant to solved test items significantly predicted student usage duration. At the teacher level, teachers’ use of teacher resources was positively associated with student usage duration. An additional analysis of student and teacher total usage time indicated that, compared with heavy users, light and medium users were more likely to discontinue their engagement in the long term if their teachers did not use the platform. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations for promoting student engagement with OER-supported online learning in secondary education contexts.

Challenges of Teaching Akans (Ghana) Culturally-Specific Environmental Ethics in Senior High Schools: Voices of Akans and Biology Teachers

Indigenous cultural groups have lived sustainably with their natural resources (land, water bodies, forests, wildlife animals and plants) by employing particular culturallyspecific environmental ethics. These include spiritual perceptions about natural environmental resources, totemic beliefs and taboos. Consequently, many scholars in the country have recommended the integration of these culturally-specific environmental ethics in environmental policies and formal school curricula. The purpose of this research was to explore the views of Akan indigenous knowledge (IK) holders and senior high school Biology teachers on challenges they predicted could confront the teaching of Akan culturally-specific environmental ethics in the senior high school Biology curriculum. An interpretivist paradigm with an ethnographic, naturalistic research style, using in-depth conversational interviews was employed to explore the views of research participants. The perceived challenges included stigma attached to culturally-specific environmental ethics; requirement of proof and experimentation; the use of a foreign language in schools; formal education; loss of the fear for the gods and spirits in nature; centralised curriculum; democracy and political biases. The research concluded that being aware of the possible challenges to the teaching of the Akan culturally-specific environmental ethics can influence policies related to these ethics as well as guide Biology curriculum developers and stakeholders.
 Keywords: culturally-specific environmental ethics; Akan cultural group; Akan nature conservation; Ghana Biology curriculum

Hemorrhage-Control Training in Medical Education.

Objectives:To evaluate and analyze the efficacy of implementation of hemorrhage-control training into the formal medical school curriculum. We predict this training will increase the comfort and confidence levels of students with controlling major hemorrhage and they will find this a valuable skill set for medical and other healthcare professional students.Methods:After IRB and institutional approval was obtained, hemorrhage-control education was incorporated into the surgery clerkship curriculum for 96 third-year medical students at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences using the national Stop The Bleed program. Using a prospective study design, participants completed pre- and post-training surveys to gauge prior experiences and comfort levels with controlling hemorrhage and confidence levels with the techniques taught. Course participation was mandatory; survey completion was optional. The investigators were blinded as to the individual student’s survey responses. A knowledge quiz was completed following the training.Results:Implementation of STB training resulted in a significant increase in comfort and confidence among students with all hemorrhage-control techniques. There was also a significant difference in students’ perceptions of the importance of this training for physicians and other allied health professionals.Conclusion:Hemorrhage-control training can be effectively incorporated into the formal medical school curriculum via a single 2-hour Stop The Bleed course, increasing students’ comfort level and confidence with controlling major traumatic bleeding. Students value this training and feel it is a beneficial addition to their education. We believe this should be a standard part of undergraduate medical education.

Notas introdutórias sobre os saberes construídos a partir da tradição oral da Comunidade Quilombola de Onze Negras do Cabo de Santo Agostinho-PE

The personal concern to investigate such a theme arises from the need to monitor and reflect on the interlocution between the formal school curriculum and the traditional knowledge of quilombola peoples, with orality as a historical thread for the perpetuation of this knowledge among quilombolas, specifically about the Quilombola Onze Negras Community located in Cabo de Santo Agostinho. To this end, the general objective of this work was to present a brief historical and semantic incursion on Quilombo in terms of curriculum and orality with special attention to the Remaining Community of Quilombo Onze Negras, located in Cabo de Santo Agostinho-Pernambuco. To resolve these questions, documentary and bibliographic research was used as the methodological path that best relates to this theme and in order to answer these initial concerns. Such investigation was based on a personal concern to deal with an academic gap that referred to the interlocution between the knowledge resulting from the oral tradition typical of the remaining quilombos groups and the formal knowledge brought from the school curriculum, especially to understand this relationship in the locus of the Quilombola Onze Negras community located in Cabo de Santo Agostinho. A preliminary investigation on the topic in the Sucupira, USP and Federal University of Pernambuco databases shows few academic productions about the mentioned universe, and none that deals with the dyad-school curriculum and traditional quilombola knowledge in the community orb located in Cabo de Saint Augustine. The novelty of the theme brings relevance to research at the local and national academic level&nbsp

Junior Doctor Evaluation of Radiation Oncology Education and Training in Medical Schools and Prevocational Training in Australia.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate radiation oncology (RO)-specific education, confidence and knowledge of junior doctors in Australian teaching hospitals. A 38-item web-based survey was emailed to prevocational junior doctors working in Australian hospitals in New South Wales (NSW), Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Queensland (QLD) between November 2017 and January 2018. The survey evaluated RO educational and clinical exposure of participants during medical school, and prevocational training and their confidence and knowledge of the specialty. A total of 183 respondents across 17 Australian hospital networks completed the survey. During medical school, 53.4% had RO incorporated into their formal curriculum, 19.5% had no formal lectures and 51.7% had never visited a RO department. As a junior doctor, 73.8% of respondents did not receive any formal RO education. When compared with other oncology specialties, fewer junior doctors were confident in consulting the RO team (21.0%) compared with medical oncology (42.0%), palliative care (75.2%) and haematology (40.1%). Majority of respondents (61.6%) showed limited understanding of radiation safety. On multivariate sub-group analysis, both confidence and knowledge in RO improved when RO was incorporated into the formal medical school curriculum. This survey highlights the current low confidence and poor knowledge standard amongst Australian junior doctors on RO due to inadequate teaching during medical school and prevocational training and suggests improvement through standardisation of formal RO curriculum teaching within medical school and prevocational training.

PERANCANGAN AUGMENTED REALITY SEBAGAI ALAT BANTU EDUKASI PELAJARAN SEJARAH DI INDONESIA BAGI SISWA SMP

History is a compulsory subject in the formal school curriculum in Indonesia. Through history lessons, students can understand and know the existence of events that eventually can foster cultural values and become the foundation of the progress of a nation. Moreover, Indonesia is a country that has a long history, one of the topics are about kingdoms that once grow and develop in the territory of Indonesia. Unfortunately, history lessons are unfavored by most junior high school students, because of their monotonous methods. Therefore, the purpose of this design is to create an interactive media for learning history in Junior High School, which until now still using teacher center learning method. Technological advances and changes in children's habits in understanding something by playing became the foundation of the concept of making history game. Interactive media created is a board game combined with Augmented Reality technology to add immersion in the game. Augmented Reality can provide experience in playing so that students can feel a real impression in the game. In addition to the game board as the primary media, used as well as media campaigns supporting the form of x-banner, advertising on social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Through the board games, students are expected to better understand the learning of the Hindu Buddhist Kingdom in Indonesia and not feel bored while studying.

Graffiti as a site for cultural literacies in Zimbabwean urban high schools

It is widely believed that education is a socially situated cultural process. Generally, schools are regarded as the key educational institutions. However, education can be formal, non-formal and informal, based on media-driven communicative settings. These types coalesce within formal institutions of learning. This study focuses on the transmission of cultural knowledge in informal spaces such as the bathroom. It argues that graffiti is a medium that offers students a unique communicative dynamic enabling an open engagement with issues they would otherwise not do elsewhere. It facilitates the transmission of vital cultural knowledge/literacy whose length and breadth cannot be adequately exhausted by the formal school curriculum alone. Bathroom interactions, therefore, bring a different dynamic to cultural education in learning institutions. Sexuality, hygiene and decency, among others, are negotiated from a strictly student perspective. A trip to the bathroom therefore marks a crucial transition from formal to informal education, and back.

Perceptions of adolescents and teachers on school-based sexuality education in rural primary schools in Uganda

BackgroundEvidence-based sexuality education programmes are a cornerstone in reducing adolescent sexual risk behaviours and promoting sexual health. Several initiatives aimed at reducing sexual and reproductive problems among adolescents have been done. These initiatives include life skill education and abstinence program. Despite these initiatives teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and abortion are still common among school going adolescents. ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of adolescents and teachers regarding school-based sexuality education in rural primary schools. MethodsA purposive sample was drawn from primary school-going adolescents aged 12–16 years and teachers aged 28–52 in four rural schools. Eleven audio taped individual interviews and eight focus group discussions were used to collect data. A constant comparison method of data analysis was applied by following the Strauss and Corbin (1998) analysis process of open, axial and selective coding to analyse textual qualitative data until themes, categories and sub-categories were identified and developed. ResultsData analysis revealed that adolescents benefitted from School Based Sexuality Education but the implementation of programmes was undermined by physical and contextual factors such as challenges at national, institutional, community, family and individual levels. ConclusionIt is vital to review the teaching and learning resources and to fully integrate sexuality education into the formal school curriculum. A combined effort of major stakeholders including teachers, community leaders, adolescents, healthcare professionals and parents is needed for sexuality education among adolescents to succeed.

Development of Curriculum Management Model Based on Multicultural Character in Pesantren Khalafiyah

This article is a result of research on the development of multicultural character-based curriculum management model in the Islamic Boarding School (henceforth: Pesantren) Khalafiyah. The education pattern in Pesantren Khalafiyah is a boarding school pattern. Pesantren khalafiyah is unique compared to other school types. The school's curriculum is an integrative one that combines the formal school curriculum and the pesantren curriculum. In addition, because learning patterns incorporate habituation to form multicultural characters, the curriculum development model is typically relevant to the typology of Pesantren Khalafiyah. This research was conducted at Pesantren Khalafiyah Assalam Kudus and Pesantren Muhammadiyah Kudus. The data were analyzed using the Research and Development approach. This study aimed to develop multicultural character-based curriculum management models and procedures. The results show that the boarding school-based Pesantren Khalafiyah has special features seen from the school governance, specialty outputs, curriculum loads, and evaluative models of learning. In addition to applying the formal school curriculum, Pesantren Khalafiyah also applies non-formal charges and hidden curriculum. The cost incurred in this type of school is the overlapping between subjects - the number of subjects is more than that in regular schools - and the evaluation model of learning. The provided solution to the problems of the boarding school requires the development of integrative curriculum, which combines the madrasah, pesantren, and habituation curriculum. The integrative curriculum development design contains curriculum formulation procedures by integrating the formal school curricula with the non-formal curricula (pesantren), including the preliminary evaluation procedures.

Innocent Experiments: Childhood and the Culture of Popular Science in the United States by Rebecca Onion

Reviewed by: Innocent Experiments: Childhood and the Culture of Popular Science in the United States by Rebecca Onion John L. Rudolph (bio) Innocent Experiments: Childhood and the Culture of Popular Science in the United States. By Rebecca Onion. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2016. Pp. 240. $29.95. Many of us (at least those of a certain age) can recall a variety of childhood experiences with science. There were the chemistry sets that showed us how to produce dramatic color changes in a test tube, the science fairs where we could watch a simulated volcano fizz and bubble, and field trips to science museums where we encountered awe-inspiring displays that excited our interest in the natural world. These are the activities Rebecca Onion chronicles in her book, Innocent Experiments: Childhood and the [End Page 197] Culture of Popular Science in the United States. In this work, Onion examines the “emotional pedagogy” that occurred in various spaces outside of the formal school curriculum, where children encountered science with all its social and cultural appurtenances and explores, in particular, the longstanding association between ideas of childhood curiosity and scientific thinking—the idea that the young child is a scientist by nature in her wonderment about the world around her. Throughout, she applies a cultural lens to consider how issues of race, gender, and class were woven through the fabric of the out-of-school activities she describes. Although there is no strong historical narrative connecting the various episodes of the book, each contributes in its own way to our understanding of how science and children have come together in a variety of informal settings during the course of the twentieth century. She opens with a look at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, where white, middle-class children were provided their own space to internalize adult values of “community building, carefulness, and thrift” as they collected and studied birds, minerals, and other natural objects. This is followed by a historically rich look at the efforts of chemical manufacturers and commercial toy companies to sell chemistry sets to boys in the interwar years. The detailed instructions they provided for putting on “chemical magic” shows for appreciative audiences—with the help of an assistant dressed as “an Ethiopian slave”—are particularly fascinating. Onion goes on in the longest chapter (which seems more a stand-alone piece than an integral part of the whole) to detail the history of the Science Service and Westinghouse-sponsored science talent searches following World War II, using it to argue for a shift in the public perception of science from something to encourage for its natural ability to inspire (as depicted in the Brooklyn Children’s Museum of the early 1900s) to a career goal to which adolescents might aspire. The last two chapters cover young adult science fiction novels of the 1950s and the story of the founding of the Exploratorium in San Francisco in 1969. The discussion of science fiction centers on the writings of Robert Heinlein, of Stranger in a Strange Land fame, and his efforts to reassert a vision of rugged individualism for boys in the face of the overly feminized culture of mid-1950s America. In the story of the Exploratorium, Onion comes back to the theme of youthful delight and engagement with the wonders of science. She relates the radical vision of free play and active engagement that the founder Frank Oppenheimer (brother of Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb) advanced in the space of the museum. It was a place where even adults could be children again as they pushed, pulled, and climbed on the various elements of each exhibit. Beyond the delightful stories of the individual chapters and the rich historical details they contain, it’s difficult to see any strong argument being made about the interactions between children and science across these spaces and times. Onion makes her points about the exclusion of girls [End Page 198] and the privileging of middle-class sensibilities and whiteness along the way, to be sure. But these points don’t seem to tell us much about the particular issue of how children and science came together—they could be...

Stories of learning: Inquiry-based pathways of discovery through environmental education

AbstractIn our work in environmental education (EE) as part of formal schooling we partnered with local schools to explore the practice of embedding, or integrating EE within formal school curriculum using inquiry-based pedagogies. In this paper we report on and discuss our growing understanding of the practice of pedagogical documentation and the subsequent creation of learning stories within the context of EE. Our thinking is focused on how teacher practice in the use of learning stories might strengthen student self-determination in inquiry-based environmental education opportunities. We describe the E4E (Educating for Environment) school project, and provide samples of learning stories as evidence for analysis and discussion. Working with a grounded theory approach, we propose that student thinking in inquiry-based contexts might follow one or more of five thinking/learning pathways (reasoning, propositional, action-oriented, metacognitive and emotive). We close with comments on the benefits to studen...

The Impact of Hands-On-Approach on Student Academic Performance in Basic Science and Mathematics

<p>Children can learn mathematics and sciences effectively even before being exposed to formal school curriculum if basic Mathematics and Sciences concepts are communicated to them early using activity oriented (Hands-on) method of teaching. Mathematics and Science are practical and activity oriented and can best be learnt through inquiry (Okebukola in Mandor, 2002) and through intelligent manipulation of objects and symbols (Ekwueme, 2007). The study tries to ascertain the impact of Hands-on-approach on the students’ academic performance and the students’ opinion about this activity-based methodology. The general objective is to assess the impact and provide another platform for students to display their understanding of what they have learnt other than the usual written tests with memorized formulae. The activity focuses on Mensuration and Geometry (with 25% questions in each area) and separation of mixtures (pure and impure substances). This paper includes the analysis of the feedback of the pre-test and post-test scores of the students before and after the Hands-on-approach was given as well as students’ interview responses. The study showed positive improvement on both the students’ performance and participation on mathematics and basic science activities and willingness on the part of the teachers to use Hands-on-approach in communicating mathematical and scientific concepts to their students.</p>

High school students' learning and perceptions of phylogenetics of flowering plants.

Basic phylogenetics and associated "tree thinking" are often minimized or excluded in formal school curricula. Informal settings provide an opportunity to extend the K-12 school curriculum, introducing learners to new ideas, piquing interest in science, and fostering scientific literacy. Similarly, university researchers participating in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach activities increase awareness of college and career options and highlight interdisciplinary fields of science research and augment the science curriculum. To aid in this effort, we designed a 6-h module in which students utilized 12 flowering plant species to generate morphological and molecular phylogenies using biological techniques and bioinformatics tools. The phylogenetics module was implemented with 83 high school students during a weeklong university STEM immersion program and aimed to increase student understanding of phylogenetics and coevolution of plants and pollinators. Student response reflected positive engagement and learning gains as evidenced through content assessments, program evaluation surveys, and program artifacts. We present the results of the first year of implementation and discuss modifications for future use in our immersion programs as well as in multiple course settings at the high school and undergraduate levels.

Journal of Research in Nursing and Midwifery

The main purpose of the study was to assess and compare reproductive health awareness among urban and rural secondary school students in Cross River State Nigeria. A comparative descriptive survey design was used for the study. The sample size consisted of one thousand one hundred and ninety-nine (1199) Senior Secondary School Students drawn from 87 out of 229 Public Schools using multistage proportionate sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a self developed validated 20 items questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of .80. Data collected were coded for entry and analysis was done using population t-test and independent t-test. The findings revealed a statistical difference of t-test calculation of 2.81 of awareness of family planning practices between urban and rural school students. Also results on prevention of STI and HIV/AIDS prevention of unwanted pregnancy and harmful traditional practices revealed a non statistical calculated t value of 1.13 1.88 0.600 which was less than critical value of 1.98. In the light of this study students from rural schools had limited knowledge on reproductive health issues. This calls for intensive reproductive health awareness by parents and teachers in rural schools. Also government should include reproductive health education in formal secondary school curriculum.

Assessment of potential risky sexual behaviors among Dilla University students: A survey study for enhancing self- protection from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection

The aim of this research was to examine risky sexual behaviors and pre-disposing factors among Dilla University undergraduate students and to design feasible strategies to mitigate acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases. Mainly, a qualitative method of data collection was utilized to get a number of 187 participants (181 regular students and 6 academically dismissed female students) and 44 purposively selected informants from the administrative workers. The data were analyzed manually using the thematic framework method. The results of the study revealed risky behaviors of the students as follows: having sex without condom on campus, rape attempt, loss of virginity, unintended pregnancy, abortion, lawlessness of the students, substance and alcohol use etc. Moreover, various predisposing factors for risky sexual behaviors of the students were identified. To mitigate the problems, immediate holistic and integrated efforts are needed. Moreover, this finding also recommends new approaches such as providing pre-hand orientation for the fresh university students, reviewing the existing curriculum and academic promotion policies, integration or separate inclusion of sex education, including HIV issues into university and formal school curricula and provision of special attention to female students who are being dismissed from the universities. Key words: Vulnerability, unintended pregnancy, self-protection, risky sexual behaviors, pre-disposing factors.

Multiliteracies in an Outcome-Driven Curriculum: Where Is Its Fit?

This paper describes how the pedagogy of multiliteracies was piloted in a language arts curriculum for high-ability adolescent students. Specifically, it delineates the pedagogical intervention that was needed for its implementation within the formal language arts curriculum. Drawing on ethnographic research in two classes of 14-year-old students in Singapore, the study highlights that implementing multiliteracies within the formal school curriculum cannot be imported holus-bolus into the classrooms. It also emphasizes that teachers’ willingness to innovate is crucial for bringing about sustainable change in the classroom. In addition, the study also suggests that unless the learners’ literacy practices are considered, several literacy activities could be meaningless to the students. Finally, contrary to the widely-cited view that multiliteracies are paramount for the 21st century, this paper also highlights adolescents’ preference for traditional print-based literacy in language learning and tensions in implementing multiliteracies within the formal curriculum.

The Australian-ness of Curriculum Jigsaws: Where Does Environmental Education Fit?

AbstractThis paper reviews Australian Government actions related to environmental education, particularly in the past decade, and examines the actions forthcoming from two national action plans (Environment Australia, 2000 and DEWHA, 2009), the implementation strategy for the Decade of ESD (DEWHA, 2006) and developments related to the Australian Curriculum. This analysis is inspired by the Australian-ness of the metaphor of the curriculum as a jigsaw puzzle suggested by Robottom (1987), the seemingly constant battle for survival in the formal curriculum that environmental education has faced since the 1970s (Fensham, 1990; Gough, 1997), and the ongoing tensions between science education and environmental education in Australia's formal school curriculum.

Impact Evaluation of a Privately Managed Tuition-Free Middle School in a Poor Neighborhood in Montevideo

Using a randomized trial, we evaluate the impact of a free privately-managed middle school in a poor neighborhood. The research compares over time adolescents randomly selected to enter Liceo-Jubilar and those that were not drawn in the lottery. Besides positive impacts on expectations, we find better educational outcomes in the treatment group relative to control subjects. The features of Liceo-Jubilar -autonomy of management, capacity for innovation, and adaptation to the context- contrast with the Uruguayan highly centralized and inflexible public education system. Our results shed light on new approaches to education that may contribute to improve opportunities for disadvantaged adolescents in developing countries. Unlike the experiences of charter schools in developed countries, Liceo-Jubilar does not have autonomy regarding the formal school curricula nor depends on public funding by any means.

Continuity and change in the development of moral education in Botswana

This article traces the development of moral education (ME) in Botswana from pre‐colonial times to the present day. It shows how during this time ME has undergone three distinct phases of development, each emphasising a particular ideology. In pre‐colonial times ME was offered as part of indigenous education in the home and community, both formally and informally, directly and indirectly. During the missionary/colonial period (1870s–1966) and in the first three decades of Botswana’s independence (1967–1998), ME was taught in the formal school curriculum as an aspect of religious education. During this period religious education was confessional, using Christian moral values as a yardstick in exploring the material content of the syllabus. Since the national educational reforms of the 1990s, ME has undergone a paradigm shift, whereby it has become disengaged from religious education and secularised as a stand‐alone subject in the junior secondary curriculum. This paper examines each of these three phases of development, and concludes by offering an assessment of the efficacy of the current phase, given the religiosity of Botswana as a country and the consequences of previous teacher training with ME having been located within religious education.