Curriculum up-gradation practices among higher education institutions of Pakistan: does curriculum ideologies make difference?

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to find out the perception of prospective teachers and teacher educators regarding the curriculum ideologies. The student–teachers and teacher educators from a public university of Pakistan participated in the study.Design/methodology/approachThe current study has employed quantitative approach and used descriptive survey research design. The data was collected through the convenience sampling techniques. The data was collected through a questionnaire developed by Schiro in 2008. The questionnaire consisting of six parts and each part contains four statements on the curriculum ideologies of Scholar Academy, Social efficacy learner centered and social reconstruction ideology. The population of study comprised of 200 Prospective teachers of education department of a public sector University of Sindh, Pakistan. The data was collected by using 4-point Likert scale. The likert scale was ranging from the first priority to least priority. The reliability statistics was computed through Cronbach alpha α = 0.763. The data was analyzed through Statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 23.0 and mean and percentages were computed in this study.FindingsThe findings of the study revealed that most of the prospective teachers as well faculty members are following the scholar academy ideology to align with national goals of curriculum. The prospective teachers and faculty members believe that knowledge should be transferred from the institutions to the learners rather than the knowledge can be disseminated from the other sources as per the new dimensions for updated curriculum.Practical implicationsThe current study suggests curriculum ideology awareness programs should be given to prospective teachers and faculty members before their induction. The study also recommends that a survey study can be conducted from teachers and teacher educators before designing the national curriculum of Pakistan because majority of participants believed that knowledge can only be transferred from institutions.Originality/valueThis empirical study has given thoughtful insights to investigate the curriculum ideologies with new dimensions for those who are studying in teacher education courses and for their mentors. So, this study has contributed new knowledge in the context of Sindh, Pakistan specifically in the domain of curriculum ideologies and frameworks.

Understanding the Perceptions of Teachers of Sukkur IBA Community Colleges and the Teachers of Public Schools of City Shikarpur about the Curriculum Ideologies: A Comparative Study

“…Thus, teachers of both schools were following different ideologies concerning the learner, teacher, instructional process, knowledge, childhood, and evaluation. Hence, the findings from the public School Shikarpur correlates with the Asad et al (2020) as well as Marulcu and Akbiyik (2014) in which scholar ideologies were given first preference.…”

“…Schiro (2008) has given the four curriculum ideologies namely Scholar academy, social efficacy, the learnercentered, and social reconstruction ideologies. These four curriculum ideologies have been used to show the various features of the curriculum including the purpose of education, the concept of knowledge, instructional process, the concept of the learner, the concept of teaching, and assessment (Asad et al, 2020;Schiro, 2008).…”

“…The main objective of this ideology is to prepare the students for their specific roles which they will have to play in their adult life (Schiro, 2008). Social efficiency ideology is got inspiration from the view of Bobbit (Ellis, 2014) which says that the best education is one which by preparing students for the specific activities prepares them for the life and this is possible if the curriculum is a series of experiences which paves the way for the attainment of the objectives (Asad, 2020).In social efficacy ideology, the purpose of education is to meet the needs of society efficiently by training children in the required skills and efficiencies. Knowledge is applied in a real context to enhance the expertise of the learner.…”

“…The questionnaire used in the data collection process was adopted from the work of Schiro in 2008 and which he had used in the exploration of teachers' curriculum ideologies (Schiro, 2008;Asad, et al, 2020). It contained 24 statements and six parts.…”

Science Curriculum Implementation in Educational Settings: A Case of Public Secondary Schools of Sukkur, Sindh

“…Pakistan, being a progressing country, cannot survive without proper development in the field of science and technology. In this regard, emphasis is needed in the implementation Global Regional Review (GRR) process of the science curriculum in Pakistan (Asad et al, 2020).…”