Saturday, 2 November 2013

Curriculum And Education For The 21St Century

By Allyson Burke


Providing all students with a solid foundation and Education for the 21st Century, will give them the best opportunity to flourish in a world that is constantly changing. The children of today have to have a deeper understanding and knowledge about a variety of key learning areas than ever before. Teachers have to teach differently in order to cater for student needs and allow students the opportunity for critical thinking. Knowledge, skills, behaviors and general capabilities is the key and development will ensure that these students can function in a world where knowledge is easily accessible and constantly changing.

Literacy and Numeracy will always be integral to any school curriculum. Issues that will also need take priority will include building and understanding relations with Asian countries, sustainability, and heritage and culture. Being exposed to issues such as these will help develop an ability to discuss them critically because they will be understood. These are contemporary issues that will have an impact in the future.

Continuing to implement current policies, curriculum and systems that do not reflect individual needs will be detrimental to the quality of education delivered. General capabilities will be an important inclusion in order to better meet these needs. Developing personal and social capabilities will help learners to develop relationships, improve work habits, and understand and manage themselves. Knowing how to express an appropriate opinion or belief in a social context is an important part of this.

Processing, receiving and accessing information is an area of constant change. The way that children learn and achieve in regards to Information and Communication Technologies will vary as well. The curriculum needs to encompass individual differences in both learning styles and ability to improve achievement and regular process.

Incorporating the capability of difference and diversity will allow learners to deal with these issues in a positive and informed manner. It will help them to express their own sense of self and will help to make positive connections with others. Texts and information that shows different perspectives, times and countries to achieve an understanding of difference and diversity will help.

The teacher role is undergoing a change and this change brings higher expectations and more responsibility. For children to thrive and succeed, it is pivotal to understand their needs. Starting the planning process with what a child can already do and knowing their true capabilities will help teachers meet the expectations in relation to reporting and achievement.

School culture has to embrace change to cater for staff as well. Staff needs to undergo training and development in order to understand and implement any changes in the curriculum. They will need to be provided with opportunities to discuss curriculum aspects with colleagues and to trial best classroom practice.

Being able to cope with future demands from society through the development of well-rounded citizens is one of the main aims in education for the 21st Century. It will be about more than just Literacy and Numeracy. Building a certain level of knowledge and understanding, introducing essential capabilities, and expanding skills will be a key component of any change.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment