In 2008 the Ministry of Education in Kuwait began to reform the science curriculum in schools at all academic stages: primary (grades 1-5), intermediate (6-9) and secondary (10-12). The new science curriculum was adapted from an original curriculum which had been designed and published by the Amercan company Pearson-Scott Foreman. This study explores the perspectives of science teachers and students concerning the new science curriculum for the sixth and seventh grades (students aged 11 to 15) in the State of Kuwait. The study also investigated the process of the reform and the roles that science teachers and students performed in this reform process. The study used Sociocultural Theory as a framework to examine the science curriculum reform process and to discuss findings. A multi-method design was used with both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect the data: science teachers’ and students’ questionnaires; interviews with science teachers, students and science curriculum reformers; and classroom observations. The study sample was selected randomly. The questionnaire was conducted with 310 science teachers and 647 students. 11 science teachers, nine reformers and 30 students (five in each of six focus groups) were chosen to conduct in-depth interviews. Ten classroom observations were conducted with four science teachers. The study indicated that the science curriculum reform process was controlled centrally by the Ministry of Education and teachers and students did not participate in any stage of the reform process. The findings also found that many of the science teachers and students held negative views about the new science curriculum. They felt that the content of the new curriculum does not relate very well to Kuwaiti culture, to the Islamic religion and that the curriculum objectives needed to be more clear and achievable. The findings showed that many of the students indicated that they have difficulty understanding much of the content and did not enjoy studying science. Most of the teachers indicated that they faced challenges in teaching the new science curriculum. These included a lack of instructional tools, lack of teacher autonomy, the amount of material that needed covering and large class sizes. This study recommends reviewing the new science curriculum (now currently in use) taking into account the perspectives of teachers and students. It recommends that in carrying out curriculum reform the Ministry of Education be encouraged to provide guidance in the form of instructional tools and professional development programmes for teachers. These should be designed to help teachers develop the pedagogic skills needed to address the complex relationships between science and culture and between science and religion.

A study on school-based curriculum management in elementary schools of Kaohsiung County. Abstract The first purpose of this study is to investigate the viewpoints and needs of school-based curriculum management ¡]SBCM¡^. The second is to investigate the educators as a practitioner of SBCM in elementary schools of Kaohsiung County. Finally, based on research findings, some proposals for improving the management of school-based curriculum are presented. To accomplish these purposes, through the result of literary review, the investigator has concluded with 7 viewpoints and 5 needs of SBCM, and then according to its contents to compile ¡§A questionnaire to survey the viewpoints and needs of school-based curriculum management in the elementary schools¡¨ to study the current situation for practicing SBCM. The objects of this study are the school staffs of public elementary schools in Kaohsiung County. The total of 120 schools and 519 effective samples were acquired. And these data were analyzed by using the method of statistics, including mean and standard deviation, percentage analysis, AVOVA, Scheffe method- post hoc comparison and product- moment correlation . From the data of literary reviews and the questionnaire, the conclusions are as follows: 1. SBCM is one of the main purposes on ¡§Grade 1-9 curriculum Guidelines¡¨ to put the curriculum reform into practice. The curriculum focuses not only on the core of the educational rationale but also on the students¡¦ learning activities. The curriculum rationale is close to the postmodern period which paid close attention to the interaction between teachers and students with positive dialogues to develop their curriculum. The curriculum encourages students to understand knowledge better, that allows the whole curriculum more flexible and adjustable. The supports of the communities and positive criticisms will help the whole curriculum well-developed. 2. According to the questionnaire, the viewpoints of the educators about SBCM reveal that during the seven factors, those ¡§male¡¨, ¡§age above 51¡¨ , ¡§higher seniority¡¨, ¡§status as a principal¡¨, ¡§forty-credit program¡¨ are closer to ¡§fit in with¡¨ or ¡§much fit in with¡¨ the viewpoints. As to the school districts and scales, the schools with less than 12 classes are closer to the viewpoints on the factors of ¡§curriculum goal ¡§, ¡§curriculum plan¡¨, ¡§curriculum implementation¡¨, ¡§curriculum evaluation¡¨ and ¡§curriculum leadership¡¨. 3. As to the needs of SBCM, the data analysis reveals that those ¡§female¡¨, or ¡§status as a teacher¡¨ were less-needed on ¡§Expense¡¨; those ¡§male¡¨, ¡§age above 51¡¨, ¡§higher seniority¡¨, ¡§status as a principal¡¨, ¡§Master Degree¡¨ are closer to ¡§fit in with¡¨ or ¡§much fit in with¡¨ the needs. 4. Educators from different educational backgrounds will cause the differences on the viewpoints and needs of CBCM. With the factors of ¡§professional development ¡§and ¡§related arrangements¡¨, reveals that those who are qualified with either ¡§Master Degree¡¨ or ¡§higher seniority¡¨ are more eligible than the others. 5.Within the viewpoints and needs of CBCM, there are middle-low proof of positive correlation on them, and also reach .01 significant level. Among the factors, there are one pair ¡]£q1¡B£b1¡^reach middle correlation, especially the coefficient between ¡§£q1¡¨ and ¡§organizational operation¡¨ is the highest, but the coefficient between ¡§£b1¡¨ and ¡§Expense¡¨ is the lowest. According to the data of literary review and the questionnaire, the conclusions are as follows: 1. The experiences on SBM in other countries can be referred by our domestic schools. Then, we can establish a better and competent curriculum for Taiwan education. 2. SBCM should emphasize (on) working on the theories and practice of personnel administration, expense and curriculum management. 3. Use various resources to improve the educators on their professional development. 4.To encourage the educators ,who are ¡§young¡¨¡]less than 30 years old¡^, ¡§female¡¨, ¡§less-seniority¡¨ and ¡§Bachelor Degree¡¨, enthusiastically participate in the SBCM affairs. 5. To study relevant laws and Acts to promote practical SBCM affairs. 6. To emphasize the importance of school-based curriculum leadership. 7. To establish the workable management measure of SBCM. 8. To establish a wholesome evaluation measure of SBCM.

Southwest University, a pseudonym for a Tier One 4-year public institution in the Southwest United States, introduced major curricular reforms in 2005. The most prominent of these reforms was a course required of all first-year students with the goal of transforming them from high-school students to college students. Research for this dissertation asked a group of first-year students about their experience in all of their courses but focused on the perceptions of this new first-year course. Currently, universities are devoting a great deal of resources and energy to curricular reform, but students are not often asked how they experience those curricular changes. First-year students discussed the role this course played in their first-year college experience. In order to assess student perceptions and reactions to the course, first-year students were interviewed twice. Additional qualitative data in the form of surveys and journals were also analyzed with an inductive analytic approach to provide supportive evidence for the themes that emerged in the interviews. The findings suggest that student perceptions of the course were positive and that the course had helped them achieve their first-year goals. However, the findings also suggest that additional research or a cost-benefit analysis of the program needs to be conducted to determine if the high cost of the program is worth the outcomes it is achieving. / text

The goal of general education is to provide students with an education that is broad and holistic, teaching transferable intellectual skills such as critical thinking, written and oral communication, problem solving and teamwork. General education courses are typically offered through the academic subjects of mathematics, science, English, and social science. Recent studies document concern that college graduates are not capable of demonstrating the intellectual skills expected. Through the use of content analysis, this study examined institutional practice to determine if the goals of general education are being met. A nationally representative sample of general education course syllabi and work products were analyzed for evidence of the intellectual skills expected of students and if those expectations were communicated. Findings indicate that learning expectations were not consistently provided and the goals of general education to deliver complex cognitive skills were not met. Implications provide insight for those responsible for general education reform.

The purpose of the research documented in this report was to consider the tensions that exist between a change in curriculum policy and the resultant methodological and assessment practices. An input-process-output model (Shavelson and Taylor, 1999) was used to identify the elements of the educational system pertinent to the study. These were identified as: policy as an input and teaching methodology and learning and assessment as the process of the educational system. Thereafter a single-respondent case study was selected to focus the purpose of the research by considering how the perceptions, understanding and experience of the changed curriculum policy of teaching towards outcomes has affected the nature and purpose of assessment, as viewed by an educator teaching at Grade 9 level in the General Education and Training (GET) band. An educator teaching at Grade 9 level in an Independent secondary school in South Africa was selected as the single-respondent case study. The study was defined as an instrumental case study operating within the Interpretive paradigm. An educator teaching at the Grade 9 level was selected as a result of Grade 9 becoming a possible exit point in education as well as being the final year of the senior phase of the GET band. For this reason, the impact of a changed curriculum is felt most acutely at this point due to the implementation of the Common Tasks for Assessment (CTAs). In addition, an Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) teaching methodology as well as an Outcomes-Based Assessment (OBA) methodology is required at this level because of the portfolio of evidence that is required to be gathered for each learner in Grade 9. The study is referred to as policy-orientated as it seeks to understand educational change by examining an educational model of provision and operation without the intention to generalise the results. The results indicate that the change in curriculum policy does not necessarily alter teaching methodology. However, in the instance of this research, teaching methodology and assessment, relating to the respondent’s teaching process, are linked and can be seen as aspects of the learning process. Lastly, the research does not clarify to what extent assessment methodology influences the outcome of learning; however, it does seem that assessment impacts on the learning process. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

Published Article / Higher education curriculum reform is a worldwide phenomenon induced by both the internal and external environments of higher education functioning. While a variety of factors are attributed to these changing environments, this paper focuses mainly on the epistemological domain characterising these changes. As the fundamental "business" of higher education, "knowledge" is perceived in this discussion as the essential terrain in which the competing global-local (glocal) interests and concerns unfold. Based on a case study model of two higher educational institutions with traditionally disparate academic cultures, the paper concludes with a trilogy of models posited as facilitating space for epistemological diversity.

In order to enhance students' understanding of the interrelationships between business administration, business mathematics and accounting, the recently developed curriculum of Austrian commercial schools comprises one global subject in which the contents of these three subjects have been combined. A second subject called "business practice" has been introduced to provide sufficient time to apply the acquired business knowledge to practice-oriented tasks. The results of a formative evaluation study show that several teachers have considerable difficulties to put the main ideas of these two subjects into practice and that many students find it hard to understand the identity of these two subjects. (authors' abstract)

Thesis advisor: Andrew Hargreaves / Music teachers occupy a conflicted and contested position in many secondary schools, and music teacher education programs have been given the task of preparing students to enter this challenging environment. This qualitative dissertation study examined the explicit, implicit, and null curricula of music teacher preparation programs in Massachusetts, the processes involved in determining those curricula and the consequences of selecting certain music education content over others. Degree requirements and course descriptions were analyzed across all undergraduate music teacher preparation programs. In addition, a survey was administered to music and education faculty in all programs and members of five institutions participated in interviews. The explicit curriculum in most music teacher preparation programs emphasized the knowledge and skills of performance, specifically the performance of Western art music, as well as the isolation of music content knowledge from pedagogical knowledge. The implicit message delivered by the explicit curriculum was that advanced musical study was intended for the few, and that popular music, world music, and other genres that deviated from the western art music tradition (i.e. - the null curriculum) were of less value. Using Bernstein's and Young's theories from the sociology of knowledge, Goodson's theory of the status and evolution of school subjects, and Siskin's and Ball and Lacey's work in the culture of secondary school subjects as the theoretical framework, the position of music education was explained as a conflicted content area that demonstrated traits of both high- and low-status subjects. Music education's geographic isolation from general education faculty was magnified by the conflicting views that music educators held when compared with their music performance counterparts. The knowledge boundaries of music content had been defended for centuries, and music education's attempt to redefine what counts as valid music and music education knowledge was met with resistance from those who benefited from the familiarity offered by the conservatory-style model of postsecondary musical study. One outlier was identified, a program whose performance emphasis was not based on western art music. Tradition and reform proved to be challenging dual goals for music educators. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

A Educação em Engenharia pode ser definida como o ambiente de inserção da educação superior em engenharia com abordagem sistêmica, visando aprimorar a atividade docente, pois se discute tanto a formação do engenheiro, quanto o saber-fazer dos professores. O objetivo desse trabalho foi verificar que mudanças um processo de reforma curricular pode exercer no modelo de ensino do curso. O método de pesquisa foi um estudo de caso único em um curso de engenharia. Na coleta de dados foram realizados o levantamento dos fatores desencadeadores do processo de mudança, a descrição do processo de reforma curricular e a realização de entrevistas com o corpo docente. Na análise dos dados, utilizou-se o software NVivo® para a organização das falas dos professores e a técnica da análise de conteúdo. Os resultados mostraram que o objetivo geral dessa dissertação foi cumprido: a utilização do instrumento de mapeamento (blueprint) para fazer a síntese do processo mostrou-se eficiente; houve sensibilização dos professores, embora não a ponto de fazerem mudanças significativas nas suas práticas; e foram citados novas práticas de avaliação dos alunos e jogos em sala de aula como exemplos de alterações. Outro resultado relevante foi a proposição de diretrizes para futuras reformas curriculares na engenharia e a necessidade de se fazer novos ciclos de ação dentro do processo de mudança já iniciado no curso. Estas diretrizes devem ser validadas junto aos envolvidos, no futuro. / Engineering Education can be defined as the insertion of higher education environment in engineering with systemic approach, aiming to enhance the teaching activity, since there is a discussion not only about the formation of the engineer, but also about the know-how of teachers. The objective of this work was to verify what changes a process of curriculum reform can exert on the teaching model of the course. The research method was a unique case study in an engineering course. In data collection was carried out the survey of the factors that triggered the process of change, the description of the process of curriculum reform and the realization of interviews with faculty. In data analysis, a software was used for the organization of teachers’lines and, after, also the technique of content analysis. The results showed that the overall objective of this dissertation has been fulfilled: the use of a mapping instrument (blueprint) to make the summary of the process proved to be efficient; teachers were sensitised with the proposal, although not enough to make significant changes in their practices; and new practices for the evaluation of students and classroom games were cited as examples of changes. Another important result was the proposal of guidelines for future engineering curriculum reforms and the need to make new cycles of action within the process of change already started in the course. These guidelines must be validated by the involved in the future.

A Educação em Engenharia pode ser definida como o ambiente de inserção da educação superior em engenharia com abordagem sistêmica, visando aprimorar a atividade docente, pois se discute tanto a formação do engenheiro, quanto o saber-fazer dos professores. O objetivo desse trabalho foi verificar que mudanças um processo de reforma curricular pode exercer no modelo de ensino do curso. O método de pesquisa foi um estudo de caso único em um curso de engenharia. Na coleta de dados foram realizados o levantamento dos fatores desencadeadores do processo de mudança, a descrição do processo de reforma curricular e a realização de entrevistas com o corpo docente. Na análise dos dados, utilizou-se o software NVivo® para a organização das falas dos professores e a técnica da análise de conteúdo. Os resultados mostraram que o objetivo geral dessa dissertação foi cumprido: a utilização do instrumento de mapeamento (blueprint) para fazer a síntese do processo mostrou-se eficiente; houve sensibilização dos professores, embora não a ponto de fazerem mudanças significativas nas suas práticas; e foram citados novas práticas de avaliação dos alunos e jogos em sala de aula como exemplos de alterações. Outro resultado relevante foi a proposição de diretrizes para futuras reformas curriculares na engenharia e a necessidade de se fazer novos ciclos de ação dentro do processo de mudança já iniciado no curso. Estas diretrizes devem ser validadas junto aos envolvidos, no futuro. / Engineering Education can be defined as the insertion of higher education environment in engineering with systemic approach, aiming to enhance the teaching activity, since there is a discussion not only about the formation of the engineer, but also about the know-how of teachers. The objective of this work was to verify what changes a process of curriculum reform can exert on the teaching model of the course. The research method was a unique case study in an engineering course. In data collection was carried out the survey of the factors that triggered the process of change, the description of the process of curriculum reform and the realization of interviews with faculty. In data analysis, a software was used for the organization of teachers’lines and, after, also the technique of content analysis. The results showed that the overall objective of this dissertation has been fulfilled: the use of a mapping instrument (blueprint) to make the summary of the process proved to be efficient; teachers were sensitised with the proposal, although not enough to make significant changes in their practices; and new practices for the evaluation of students and classroom games were cited as examples of changes. Another important result was the proposal of guidelines for future engineering curriculum reforms and the need to make new cycles of action within the process of change already started in the course. These guidelines must be validated by the involved in the future.