By Dr. Sultan Muhammad Khan
Keywords: Subject Based Curriculum, what are the Characteristics of Subject Based
Curriculum? Criticism
on Subject Curriculum, Requirements
for the Optimum Operation of Subject Curriculum
TYPES OF CURRICULUM
There are many types of curriculum design, but here we will discuss only the
few. Types or patterns are being followed in educational institutions.
1
Subject curriculum
2
Teacher Centered
curriculum
3
Learner centered
curriculum
4 Activity/Experience curriculum
5
Integrated
curriculum
Core curriculum
Board field curriculum
Hidden curriculum
Subject Based Curriculum
Subject matter is the most used and
accepted curriculum Design, it is also the oldest curriculum Design. We see the
earliest example in the medieval era in the Middle Ages the monastery and
Cathedrals and the organizations of the seven liberal arts in the schools of
ancient Greece and Rome. The seven liberal arts were consisted of two
divisions:
1. Trivium
2. Quadrivium
These subjects were broad. In the
modern period the Trivium was further divided to include literature and history
and the quadrivium to include algebra, trigonometry, geography, botany,
zoology, physics and chemistry. In this manner subjects added one after the
other so much so that in 1930 there were over 300 different subjects.
After centuries the curriculum
design of the seven liberal arts are still the nucleus of the subject
curriculum. In a subject base curriculum every subject is separate unit. In
this kind of curriculum four or five subject are placed in curriculum and each
subject has a separate teacher. Every teacher try to teach his own subject, no
one intervene in the subject of other teacher
Characteristics of Subject Curriculum
Information for future use
Importance is given to acquire
knowledge and information for future use, only those subjects are considered
important which have a value and the individual have benefit from it in future
(vocational importance). Adult problems are given importance and the problems
of children in youth are ignored
Progress is measured to the extent
the students learned the subject
In this type of curriculum subject
matter is the most important thing to learn therefore the learning is measured
by how much and well the subject matter has been mastered by the pupil.
Frequent tests are given to students to check the degree of the achievement in
the subject.
Predetermined uniform standard of
knowledge:
There is a uniform standard for all
the students to pass the subject else they well have to repeat the subject
therefore the experts of the subject centered approach strongly support the
minimum standards for examination so all
achieved the set standard and qualify the examination. The teacher tries
to help the weak students and to bring him to the set standard and pass the
exam or repeat a grade.
Each subject is a separate entity
(unit) with a logical organization of its own:
Importance is given to the
acquisition of skills, facts and information for vocational purpose in different
logically organized subjects. The teaching staff teaches different subjects and
they do not discuss or plan subject together.
Practice in skills is emphasized:
The main aspect of subject base
curriculum is the continues practice or drill in a specific skill, it is one of
the typical characteristics of the subject base curriculum. For this purpose
multiple methods are used; evaluations, Exercise session, tutoring classes are
often dedicated to such type of practices and all the students are given equal
opportunities to participate.
Subject matter is selected by
adults/experts for teaching learning situation:
The content of the subject is
selected in advance before the teaching learning process; the subject matter is
logically organized from simple to complex with the help of the experts,
specialists, teacher’s supervisors, planners, writers and administrators.
Learning subject matter is an end in
itself:
The main
focus of the teachers, administrators and students are to complete the subject
matter, to cover all the topics which are provided in the course out line by
Listening to lectures, studying the recommended textbook. It is all preparation
for examination on the part of students and teachers and it shows the influence
of the subject centered approach. For the teacher to finish the textbook on
time is a great accomplishment,
Requirements for the Optimum Operation of Subject Curriculum
Ü Trained Teachers with mastery in a
subjects and expert in methodology are required to teach.
Ü A separate classroom for each subject and each level.
Ü A fixed time table is required for different subjects
according to importance of the subjects and age in curriculum.
Ü Special arrangements for guidance
physical education, Indoor and outdoor activities, tours and examinations etc.
Need of Text books and guide books for subject
base curriculum.
Criticism on Subject Curriculum:
Teacher has the control over pupil
experiences, Learning activities and conduct. The teacher follows the decision
of others in the planning and evaluation process. The teacher and headmaster
formulate the rules for the classrooms management. They demand a very stern
discipline and they want a quite classroom atmosphere, teacher thinks it is the
best situation for teaching learning process.
It is compartmentalized and fragmentary
The critics believed that there is
no unity and continuity in the subject base matter. The subject is learned in
parts. Every teacher is specialist in one subject and he feel pride to have the
knowledge of his own subject and teaching and denying any responsibility for
any other subject. Here they say that the learner acquire scraps of information
not actual knowledge.
2. Subject
base curriculum ignores the interest and activities of the learner. The critics
think that the arrangement of the course content is useless and inefficient and
not suitable for teaching learning process. The subjects are logically
organized.
3. The
critics also have a viewpoint that the fact is the students know about the
history what a few men had done in the past but they do not know about the
current situation in their own country and what are the hopes and desires of
Pakistani people and what are the social problems they have today here .
- The critics also said that
subject base curriculum fails to develop habits of effective and critical
thinking. This curriculum gives importance to mastery of conclusions of
thought (the end result) rather than the process through which that
conclusion were derived. Which support this conclusion that it lead to
uncritical thinking? The traditional assumption is that anybody who has
learned the facts and information can think effectively, but the evidence
does not support this assumption.
Defense of Subject Curriculum:
Defense of Subject Curriculum
- The supporter of the subject
base curriculum rejects the claim that it did not develop child’s
thinking. They argue that it is the most suitable method for the
development of critical thinking in an individual but if one can’t then
the problem lies in the instruction not in the curriculum itself. A vast
majority of countries select this method and they are producing botanist,
doctors and geologist and so on.
2. The other claim that it is
fragmentary and compartmentalized is also not true about subject base
curriculum alone because no one can study one subject in one session at once in
any kind of curriculum. They use the principle of selection in the selection of
course contents. In a sense anything
that is learnt is a fragment and is a part of some larger unit.
3. It gives the teacher the
idea what to teach and the student what he supposed to learn and how much time
they have to cover the course of the subject. This provides them with a
constant source of security and a self-evaluation process through which they
know how much course they have cover and how to complete.
4. Subject base curriculum use a
logically sound framework for the organization of subject matter, it used the
cause and effect principle in science and the chronological order of the
historical events but they assumed an order and are reliable for learning
experiences
5. The evaluation of subject base
curriculum is easy. It use the achievement based testing in the evaluation to
find the mastery of the subject matter in the individual.
6. It has a bright future. Subject
approach is useful for specialization in any branch of knowledge. It is more
effective.
Read more about types of different
curriculum
