Relevance Of Curriculum Research Articles

Implementation and Relevance of Curriculum of Health Insurance Diploma at the Health Insurance Education Institutions

Good quality curriculum is very important to create highly competitive graduates, thereby it require curriculum review regularly to adjust recent health insurance institutions needs based on graduates users needs particularly at the Diploma Program of Health Insurance STIKIM. The research aims to understand the implementation and relevance of the diploma program curriculum in health insurance at the health insurance education institutions. We used a qualitative method by interviewing 5 informants who consists of the Head of Health Insurance Diploma Program STIKIM, 1 lecturer, 1 alumni, 1 student, and 1 graduate user, and then the data were analyzed using Bogdan and Biklen model. The result showed curriculum implementation of Health Insurance Diploma Degree STIKIM 2010 academix year still relevant to the expected measure, this reflected from alumni is easier getting a job in their respective field. However, there are still weakness in the implementation of the curriculum such as internship program for final year student is still limited due to lack of cooperation with government and private sectors. This study concluded that curriculum of Health Insurance Diploma Program STIKIM 2010 academic year is still relevant to the to the needs of graduates users, so for now it is no needs to update the curriculum of Health Insurance Diploma Program STIKIM 2010 academic year.

Monitoring and analysis of the change process in curriculum mapping compared to the National Competency-based Learning Objective Catalogue for Undergraduate Medical Education (NKLM) at four medical faculties. Part II: Key factors for motivating the faculty during the process.

Objective: After adoption of the National Competency-based Learning Objectives Catalogue in Medicine [Nationaler Kompetenzbasierter Lernzielkatalog Medizin, NKLM], the German medical faculties are asked to test the learning obejctives recorded in it and evaluate them critically. The faculties require curricular transparency for competence-oriented transition of present curricula, which is best achieved by systematic curriculum mapping in comparison to the NKLM. Based on this inventory, curricula can be further developed target-oriented.Considerable resistance has to be expected when a complex existing curriculum is to be mapped for the first time and a faculty must be convinced of its usefulness. Headed by Tübingen, the faculties of Freiburg, Heidelberg, Mannheim and Tübingen rose to this task. This two-part article analyses and summarises how NKLM curriculum mapping was successful at the locations despite resistance. Part I presented the resources and structures that supported implementation. Part II focuses on factors that motivate individuals and groups of persons to cooperate in the faculties.Method: Both parts used the same method. In short, the joint project was systematically planned following the steps of project and change management and adjusted in the course of the process. From the beginning of the project, a Grounded-Theory approach was used to systematically collect detailed information on measures and developments at the faculties, to continually analyse them and to draw final conclusions. Results: At all sites, faculties, teachers, students and administrative staff were not per se willing to deal with the NKLM and its contents, and even less to map their present curricula. Analysis of the development reflected a number of factors that had either a negative effect on the willingness to cooperate when missing, or a positive one when present. These were: clear top-down and bottom-up management; continuous information of the faculty; user-oriented support in the mapping process by reduction of the mapping categories, portioning and condensation of the NKLM via student pre-mapping (blueprint) and visibility of growing consent. Apart from that, there were a series of frequent questions, objections and concerns that could be countered strategically and by argumentation. They particularly referred to relevance, benefit, feasibility and effort of curriculum mapping.Conclusion: An overview of beneficial framework conditions, strategies and results from different points of view is achieved and interrelations are made visible. Based on literature results, the motivating factors as well as their implementation and effects in the faculties involved are critically reflected on. Recommendations can be derived that can support other faculties in practice.

The predicament of library value

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on library ‘value’ in collection management. It is written from the perspective of library practice in a developing country. It focuses on the micro-level of individual library and archival items and comes to the conclusion that value is a multidimensional concept and that one item can have many different values for different individuals, different groups of people, different uses and purposes which are not static but changing over time. This makes de-selection or ‘weeding’ of library and archives material a complex exercise, affecting the benefits from library use in various ways. There may be educational, entertainment, informational, research, evidential (legal), monetary, intrinsic, sentimental and other values inherent to individual library material. Weeding driven by narrowly interpreted criteria of usefulness, curriculum relevance and concerns about storage cost, may not do justice to the educational, social and cultural common good embodied by libraries.

Factores que determinan el sentido de pertenencia de los estudiantes de la PUCMM-CSTA

El sentido de pertenencia es un sentimiento de identificación de las personas a un grupo o a un lugar que incluye componentes afectivos y de compromiso que se derivan de esta identificación. Integra una dimensión psicológica, una afectiva y una física. En los contextos educativos, emerge una dimensión académica. Este sentimiento está configurado por factores relativos a las dimensiones mencionadas y la forma en que estos se manifiestan puede obstaculizarlo o facilitarlo. Esta investigación persigue conocer los factores que determinan el sentido de pertenencia de los estudiantes de la Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM-CSTA) y analizar la influencia de estos factores en el desempeño académico, en la identificación con la escuela de la carrera y con la Universidad. Para lograrlo, se llevó a cabo un estudio que permitió medir el grado en que se manifiestan estos factores y su relevancia, a partir de las informaciones obtenidas mediante un cuestionario aplicado a una muestra de 238 estudiantes de las distintas carreras de grado que se ofrecen en la institución. Atendiendo a los resultados, se concluyó que la pertinencia curricular, el apoyo de los profesores y del departamento, una planta física funcional y un clima permeado por el afecto y la cordialidad contribuyen a que se sientan pertenecer a la Universidad y a facilitar el buen desempeño académico.
 

Designing Computer-Supported Complex Systems Curricula for the Next Generation Science Standards in High School Science Classrooms

We present a curriculum and instruction framework for computer-supported teaching and learning about complex systems in high school science classrooms. This work responds to a need in K-12 science education research and practice for the articulation of design features for classroom instruction that can address the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) recently launched in the USA. We outline the features of the framework, including curricular relevance, cognitively rich pedagogies, computational tools for teaching and learning, and the development of content expertise, and provide examples of how the framework is translated into practice. We follow this up with evidence from a preliminary study conducted with 10 teachers and 361 students, aimed at understanding the extent to which students learned from the activities. Results demonstrated gains in students’ complex systems understanding and biology content knowledge. In interviews, students identified influences of various aspects of the curriculum and instruction framework on their learning.

THE EUROPEAN CONCEPTION OF THE UNIVERSITY KNOWLEDGE WITHIN THE BOLOGNA-INITIATED COMPETENCE-BASED CURRICULUM MODERNISATION: REPERCUSSIONS AT THE NATIONAL POLICY LEVEL IN ESTONIA AND LITHUANIA

The European 'knowledge economy' policies and higher education policies and reforms associated with the Bolognian process, as largely driven by efficiency concerns, have continually stressed the failures of European universities to meet efficiency targets. This has provided the justification for a radical European-wide modernisation of the higher education curriculum which has uniformly introduced a competence (outcomes)-based curriculum rationale to all European universities as a strategic device to enhance the efificiency and relevance of the university curriculum. Within the competence-based curriculum rationale, c ompetence has been designated as a major component within the university curriculum, whereas knowledge, traditionally being the main educational category of the university curriculum and a fundamental pillar of the university research, has been increasingy given a scarce mention in the European policy documents dispite the common European policy discourse on the 'knowledge economy' and 'knowledge society' and a new prominence of knowledge that these notions imply. Accordingly, t he European assumptions about the nature of the university curriculum knowledge have had significant implications for the way university knowledge and the role of university have been defined at the national policy level in the light of the curriculum change. Thus, it becomes important to examine the explicit and implicit epistemological stances behind the Bologna-initated competence-based curriculum modernisation and their repercussions throughout the national higher education policies. The aim of this paper is to examine the way the European assumptions about the nature of the university curriculum knowledge as implied within the Bologna initiated competence-based curriculum modernisation reverberate throughout the national higher education policies in Estonia and Lithuania. The objectives of this study are to examine the ongoing Bologna-initiated university curriculum modernisation as based on the competence framework and its assumptions about the nature of the university curriculum knowledge and to map the way the European policy assumptions about nature of the university curriculum knowledge as implied within the curriculum modernisation reverberate at the national policy level in Estonia and Lithuania. The research methods served are qualitative research methods, namely, an overview of research literature and a content analysis of the official strategic European policy documents and Estonian and Lithuanian national policy documents. The main results of the study are the following: situating the phenomenon of the competence-based curriculum modernisation within a broader socio-economic and political context and, in doing this, providing the basis for a better understanding of the driving forces generating this curriculum change; discerning the main patterns of the Bologna-initiated higher education curriculum modernisation and its underlying assumptions about the nature of the university curriculum knowledge and the role of universities both at the European and national levels; providing insights about the way the higher education curriculum modernisation has been taken-up at the national policy level in Lithuania and Estonia; revealing the lack and the need for educational arguments as informed by curriculum theory to complement and challenge the currently predominant economic rationale underpinning the higher education curriculum modernisation in Europe. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eis.0.10.14534

Situating the Lesotho secondary school geography in curriculum relevance debate

ABSTRACTThe issue of curriculum relevance has attracted attention of academics and the general public in Lesotho where there are social, economic, environmental and political challenges confronting the society. To address these challenges education, through various school subjects, is expected to play a pivotal role. However, there are concerns that the current Lesotho secondary curriculum does not adequately prepare school leavers for the world of work and further education. This paper takes a reflective approach to debate the potential contribution of secondary school geography to national development goals in Lesotho. It draws on relevant Lesotho national policies to highlight synergies between the national development priorities and the content of secondary school geography. Based on the review of geography syllabus, it is argued that in the light of the current development challenges such as global climate change, natural disasters, increasing levels of unemployment, human trafficking and advancement in technology, geographical understanding is more important than ever before. The paper ends by discussing implications for a geography teacher education programme that would be supportive of a continued survival of geography in the school curriculum.

National Curriculum for Physical Education in the United States

ABSTRACTSince the publication of A Nation at Risk, some scholars have argued that a national curriculum and national testing are necessary to hold school personnel accountable for student achievement and, ultimately, to raise educational standards. The idea of developing a nationwide curriculum has been widely debated in the United States, where the traditions of local control and state responsibility are dominant. Thus, this article examines the relevance and feasibility of a uniform curriculum in physical education. A core curriculum for physical education has the potential to provide clear goals, coherent instructional guidelines, and relevant assessments aligned with designated program outcomes. A more advanced curricula framework with clear guidance for P-12 curricula and pedagogical practices could promote system-wide changes in school-based physical education. In contrast, the adoption of an overly rigid national curriculum would create a stifling educational context where cultural differences and local flexibility are not allowed.

Gerencia Deportiva para la Masificación Deportiva Planificada y Ejecutada por las Organizaciones Sociales. Críticas a Modelos, Experiencias y Propuesta de Acompañamiento Metodológico

La presente propuesta de análisis, interpretación, desmontaje, autocrítica y orientación nace y surge de experiencias de trabajo de masificación deportiva planificadas en y por organizaciones sociales, contrapuestas-no en sentido comparativo- a los modelos convencionales de gerencia deportiva, estatal y empresarial-privada. El aporte que hacen las experiencias de gerencia deportiva desde espacios de poder, bien sea estatal o empresarial son innegables y su impacto es difícil de expresar en números por su valor humanista, el cual es incalculable. No obstante, es urgente recalcar los productos y resultados alcanzados por algunas organizaciones sociales vinculadas a la actividad deportiva; como constituyen los casos referenciales en Higuerón y en el municipio Independencia del estado Yaracuy. Desde un análisis dialéctico de la realidad, tratamos de comprender el complejo sistema que supone la gerencia deportiva de alto nivel y rendimiento, nos introduciremos en las nociones práxicas de la actividad deportiva asociada y aplicada al enfoque del trabajo social y comunitario. Como cierre y apertura de procesos de investigación-acción, haremos una propuesta de acompañamiento a referentes de gerencia de masificación deportiva por y desde las organizaciones sociales. Esta propuesta se construye desde un diseño curricular novedoso, flexible, abierto, integrador y con pertinencia social, comunitaria y organizacional.

English

There has been emphasis on the study of entrepreneurship in tertiary institutions in Nigeria for both management and non-management students like those undergoing engineering programmes. While much work has been done to assess the relationship between the teaching of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship intentions of recipients, very few studies have been carried out – especially in the Nigerian context – on the perceptions of technically-inclined students to the teaching of entrepreneurship. This study sought to find out the perceptions of engineering students of one university in Nigeria to the teaching of entrepreneurship education (EE). Perception of EE was defined in terms of perceived need for EE, Perceived relevance of curriculum, and Perceived competence of EE lecturers. A census was carried out on the 141 final year engineering students and data were descriptively analyzed using mean and standard deviation, and inferentially, using multiple regression analysis. The study shows that EE was positively perceived across all dimensions. The study further shows a strong positive relationship between perception of EE and entrepreneurial intentions. The study concluded that building a positive perception of EE among students is fundamental to achieving its primary objective Key words: Entrepreneurship education, perceived curriculum, perceived competence of lecturers, perceived role of university, engineering students, entrepreneurial intentions.

Competencies Learned and Relevance of the Business Administration Curriculum to the Graduates’ Job

The necessity for higher education is considered as an essential vehicle to alleviate a person’s productivity and employability. Many graduates find difficulty looking for suitable jobs nowadays. Any job opportunity even if not in line with the educational training is grabbed. This study gathered inputs on the competencies that the graduates of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration learned and the relevance of the program to their job. Furthermore, the result of the study aimed to improve the school’s quality education through the formulation of an intervention scheme that primarily focused on the transformation of the course syllabi to outcomes-based system. The study made use of descriptive-survey research design, adopting the standardized tool Graduate Tracer Study by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Utilizing purposive sampling, 52 graduates served as respondents. Findings showed that graduates were employable across various lines of businesses. The skills and competencies learned in college were relevant in their current jobs. However, relevant skills and competencies like communication skill and practical knowledge need to be enhanced so that future graduates of this program will have a competitive advantage in the labor market both locally and internationally. This issue can be addressed by improving the curriculum and the teaching-learning activities in the classroom that must be reflected in the course syllabi.

Interest, learning, and belonging in flexible learning programmes

This paper expounds a dynamic understanding of interest, including cognitive and affective dimensions. This conceptualization of interest is applied to findings from research in two flexible learning settings that provided access to foundation-level credentials for young people who, for whatever reason, had disengaged from or sought alternatives to traditional schooling models. The discussion of findings begins with an outline of how interest played out in the two programmes, before examining how interest was related to learning and to belonging. In relation to learning, interest acts as a motivator, draws on short- and long-term goal relevance, and enhances academic achievement. In relation to belonging, interest serves to build in-group connections through shared identity, but also acts as a platform for launching enhanced connections with the wider community. We conclude that interest is about more than curriculum relevance for individuals, and holds significance for both learning and belonging. This may inform approaches to education not only in flexible learning programmes but also in conventional schools.

Using Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment to Develop a Patient Safety Curriculum for Surgical Residents

The objective is to use qualitative and quantitative analysis to develop a patient safety curriculum for surgical residents. A prospective study of surgical residents using both quantitative and qualitative methods to craft a patient safety curriculum. Both a survey and focus groups were held before and 4 months after delivery of the patient safety curriculum. The University of New Mexico Hospital, a tertiary academic medical center. General surgery residents, postgraduate years 1 to 5 RESULTS: Qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed areas that required attention and thus helped to mold the curriculum. Qualitative analysis after delivery of the curriculum showed positive changes in attitudes and normative beliefs toward patient safety. Specifically, attitudes and approach to quality improvement and teamwork showed improvement. Survey analysis did not show any significant change in resident perception of the environment during the time frame of this study. Using qualitative analysis to uncover attitudinal barriers to a safe patient environment can help to enhance the relevance and content of a patient safety curriculum for general surgery residents.

Integration, Diversity, and Creativity

Webinar: Monday 6 June at 2pm EDT[1] In November 2014, the College Music Society (CMS) released a preliminary version of "Transforming Music Study from its Foundations: A Manifesto for Progressive Change in the Undergraduate Preparation of Music Majors," a report compiled by the society's Task Force on the Undergraduate Music Major; this document will hereafter be called the Manifesto for short. The 2012-14 president of CMS, Patricia Shehan Campbell, appointed the task force, comprising eight scholars from different U.S. universities and colleges that represented various disciplines within the music academy: music education, jazz, ethnomusicology, music theory and musicianship, music history, composition, orchestral conducting, and instrumental performance. The purpose of the task force was to articulate "what it means to be an educated musician in the twenty-first century and, in turn, what recommendations may follow for progressive change in the undergraduate music-major curriculum" (Manifesto, i). A final version of the report, approved by the CMS Board of Directors, is expected to be published in the society's journal, College Music Symposium. However, the introductory material that precedes the report includes the disclaimer that the report represents only the opinions of the members of the task force, and not those of the CMS or its Board of Directors.[2] This document encourages faculty and administrators to embrace fundamental curricular change, not only bottom-up but also top-down, originating from a high level of the administrative structure if needed. At its heart, the Manifesto "takes the position that improvisation and composition provide a stronger basis for educating musicians today than the prevailing model of training performers in the interpretation of older works" (2). More generally, the recommendations in the report are based on the principles of creativity in music-making (improvisation and composition as well as interpretive performance and analysis), diversity of repertoire (music from different cultures, times, and social contexts), and curricular integration (of music theory, performance, and music history with musicianship, improvisation, and composition), which are described as "three key pillars necessary to ensure the relevance, quality, and rigor of the undergraduate music curriculum" (2). These are not new ideas: they are strongly reminiscent of the Comprehensive Musicianship movement that began in the late 1960s, and have been espoused in more recent work by Lucy Green on pre-college music education and in many of the articles in Engaging Students: Essays in Music Pedagogy and the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy. The Manifesto also calls for teaching to reflect new research in cognition, for student engagement in curricular planning, and a broader conception of the skills needed for professional development (3-4). Some general suggestions for approaches, courses, and degree programs are included, but the specifics of their deployment are left up to the individual institutions. (It is worth noting here that while it is not a response to the Manifesto, the integrated undergraduate music curriculum outlined by John Covach fulfills many of the same objectives, and could serve as a useful point of departure for curricular change.)[3] While the Manifesto encourages discussion among all instructors of music, many within the music-theory community have felt a polarization between those who support it and those who do not. Some members of the field also felt that the Manifesto mischaracterized actual teaching practices in the field as more uniform and tradition-bound than they actually are--in the words of the report, "isolated, resistant to change, and too frequently regressive rather than progressive in its approach to undergraduate education" (2). The lack of evidence-based research supporting the claims made in the Manifesto, and its minimal consideration of the increasingly important role of technology in music creation, consumption, and education, have also been viewed as problematic omissions. …

Adequacy and relevance of Indian optometry curricula to practicing optometrists

Context: To ensure that future optometry graduates receive appropriate knowledge and skills to provide comprehensive primary eye care, it is important to evaluate the current optometry curricula. Aim: To evaluate the relevance of optometry curriculum in India by assessing the perceptions on the curriculum strengths and lacunae by practicing optometrists. Setting and Design: Questionnaire-based survey in India. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was used to elicit the opinions of purposively selected, 4-year trained optometrists, on the adequacy, and relevance of the optometric curriculum subjects offered in the optometric institutions. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive analysis was used to show reported frequencies of single responses to questions. The Cronbach's alpha test was used to measure consistency of responses to questions. Results: One hundred and three valid complete responses were received. Fifty eight (56%) participating optometrists were females. The most adequately covered optometry subjects as reported by the participating optometrists were contact lenses (n = 87, 85%), refraction (n = 86, 84%), ocular investigation (n = 75, 73%), and ocular disease (n = 75, 73%). Ocular diseases, low vision, and dispensing optics were, reportedly, covered sufficiently in theory, but the participants lacked adequate practical exposure. Basic optics had a maximum score regarding practical exposure, among support subjects while communication skills, computer skills, and community optometry were rated very low. Business aspect and legal aspect were inadequately taught. The optometry curricula in India are considered as being adequate and relevant, some subjects need more practical demonstrations and teaching of support subjects needs amendments.

Curriculum relevance and graduate career: a tracer study of Cemba, Cempa and industrial mathematics graduates

The study traced the graduates of CEMBA, CEMPA and MSc. Industrial Mathematics programmes in the distance learning mode at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi from 2010 to 2012. The descriptive survey method was used to assess the large and scattered graduate population. The main instrument used in gathering data was a questionnaire. A face to face interview with employers was also conducted in order to support data from graduate respondents. A total of 450 graduates participated in the study. The SPSS statistical software was used to generate results from the acquired quantitative data. The findings revealed that majority of the graduates in the three programmes were employed in the public sector, and mainly in the field of education. The Graduates found the content of their programme relevant to their career. The results also showed that job performance of graduates improved after their study. Work supervisors rated the graduates very high in terms of job performance indicators such as 'improved work competence' and 'team working ability'. Based on the findings, it is recommended that the Institute of Distance Learning and the Department of Mathematics utilise the findings/result of the study to review their curricula to meet workplace demands.Keywords: IDL-KNUST, graduates, tracer study, job performance, relevance.

Energizing Occupation as the Center of Teaching and Learning.

The concept of occupation has experienced a renewal in the past 3 decades and is widely accepted as the core subject in occupational therapy. Professional education has a critical stewardship role in continually enhancing how occupation is taught and understood to enrich new occupational therapy practitioners' ability to grasp the purpose of the profession and reason clinically in complex practice environments. The authors discuss three questions that frame approaches educators can use to effectively centralize occupation in teaching and learning environments: (1) To what degree is a curriculum and its courses and class sessions subject centered? (2) To what degree do instructional processes create links to occupation? and (3) To what degree do instructional processes expose and promote complex ways of knowing needed for learning occupation? Keeping occupation in the foreground is important to facilitate new research, teaching methods, and curricular relevance to practice.

PERSPECTIVES OF OLDER ADOLESCENTS ON INTELLECTUAL ENGAGEMENT AND RE-CONNECTING WITH SECONDARY SCHOOL

This qualitative combined methodology study was undertaken to identify key factors in re-engagement by students aged 18 – 21 years returning to Secondary School. It was conducted in classrooms providing educational programming for students in treatment, care, custody or correctional facilities. An interview approach was adopted since continuous intake and provision of programming year round did not permit an intervention-based design. Six recurrent themes emerged from analysis of student responses: the importance of classroom climate; the need for intellectual engagement; the centrality of the student-teacher relationship; the value of alternative educational programming; the role of psychosocial factors; and the influence of school-level elements such as class size. These recurrent themes indicate system-based contributors to disengagement and academic failure that can be modified. Curriculum relevance, teacher role, teacher-student relationship and institutional flexibility around programming were identified as key contributors to student engagement.

Imaginary Indians: Representations of Native Americans in Scholastic Reading Club

Scholastic Reading Clubs are a popular and inexpensive way for teachers to build classroom libraries and for parents to purchase books for their children. The books made accessible to children through the order forms are assumed to be suitable for young readers in terms of their content, popularity, currency, and curricular relevance. Multicultural books occupy a small fraction of the selections, and books about Native Americans are essentially absent. This study examines Scholastic Reading Club order forms available over the course of a year. The quantitative and qualitative findings show that stereotypical misrepresentations of Native Americans persist and literature by Native authors and illustrators is completely lacking.

A Dean for All Seasons

The average tenure of a law school dean in the United States is three years, in large part because the task is both eclectic and difficult. Michelle Simon, the longest tenured Dean at our law school, was able to surpass that average because she was a dean for all seasons: Leadership and care of faculty; attention to student concerns; financial acumen; curricular relevance; keeping the day-to-day operation of a multi-faceted institution on track; maintaining a close but arms-length relationship with the university; and managing external relations on all fronts.