2 Curriculum Development and Supporting Systems

Prof B. Krishna Reddy

epgp books

 

Content Outline:

 

  1. Introduction
  2. Characteristics of adults
  3. Principles of Adult learning
  4. Steps in Curriculum Development for adult literacy
  5. Types of curriculum
  6. Supporting systems
  7. Role of Non-Government Organisations

 

Learning objectives

 

This module on Curriculum Development and Supporting Systems will enable the learner to do the following:

  •  List the characteristics of adult learners
  •  Explain the principles of Adult learning
  •  Clarify the steps in curriculum development for adult literacy
  •  Differentiate between types of curriculum
  •  Specify the roles of supporting systems
  1. Introduction

Curriculum plays a very important role in the spectrum of education that decides the destiny of a nation. In today’s knowledge economy, an appropriate curriculum can play a vital role in improving the economy of a country. It also provides answers or solutions to the world’s pressing issues and problems, such as environment, politics, socio-economic, and other issues of poverty, climate change, and sustainable development. Hence a curriculum is considered to be the “heart” of any institution that provides instruction to the learners. It is rightly said that curriculum refers to the “total learning experiences of individuals not only in school but society as well”. Curriculum development has a broad scope because it is not only about the institution, the learners, and the teachers; it is also about the development of society in general. Hence, curriculum development matters a lot in setting the direction of change in an institution, not only at the micro but also at macro levels. As long as the goals and objectives of curriculum development are clear in the planner’s mind, cutting-edge achievements in various concerns can be realized.

 

Educational programme devised for the adult learners is considered as adult education. It aims at enhancement of skills, knowledge and the right kind of attitude in adults. Adult education programme can promote the developmental programmes of Government and increase their reach in the community. Adult Education is also defined as human resources development programme considering the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be developed in the adult learners. Human resources development is necessary so that people’s affairs can be left in their own hands. If adult education is to be attempted in a serious sense in the above background, then it will entail radical changes in the existing educational programmes. An adult literacy curriculum has to be built on the expressed needs of a community. The needs as felt by the Community and as observed by adult education experts together constitute the expressed need. It is on the basis of these expressed needs that the curriculum should be developed for adult learners.

 

Adult education in India is used alternately with ’adult literacy’ which is a programme for 15 to 45 age group of adults who are non-literates. In several other countries it covers even the literates who wish to acquire new skills and knowledge. Adult education programmes in countries like Canada have produced very good results and have generated greater revenue to the nation. The curriculum developer takes into account the characteristics of the adult learners in order to develop suitable curriculum that impacts their lives.

 

  1. Characteristics of adults

There is a difference between adult learners and young students. Let us look at the characteristics of mature adults who take to learning after years of experience.

  • They are more self-directed, rather than relying on others for help
  • They are mature and therefore experienced and their experience can provide a rich source for learning
  • Their readiness to learn is linked to what one needs to know
  • Their orientation to learn is problem centred rather than subject centered
  • Their motivation to learn is internal.
  1. Principles of Adult learning

Should Curriculum also take into account the principles of adult learning. Considering the traits of the adult learners, in 1984, Knowles suggested four principles that are applied to adult learning.

  1. Adults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their learning.
  2. Experience (including mistakes made) provides the basis for the learning activities.
  3. Adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance and impact on their job or personal life.
  4. Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented

There are a number of other scholars who have discussed principles of adult learning. We will now look at the list of principles that was developed by synthesizing views of a number of authors (Brookfield 1986; Draper 1992; Draves 1997; Grissom 1992; Knowles 1992; Vella 1994).

 

i. Involve learners in planning and implementing learning activities.

 

Including learners in the planning and implementing of their learning activities is considered to be a hallmark of adult education. Their participation can begin with the needs assessment process where members of the target population help establish the program goals and objectives and continue throughout the learning activity to the evaluation phase.

 

ii. Draw upon learners’ experiences as a resource.

 

Another often-cited principle of adult education revolves around the idea of using the experiences of participants as a learning resource. Not only do adult learners have experiences that can be used as a foundation for learning new things but also, in adulthood, readiness to learn frequently stems from life tasks and problems. The particular life situations and perspectives that adults bring to the classroom can provide a rich reservoir for learning.

 

iii. Cultivate Self-direction in learners.

 

Self-direction is considered by some to be a characteristic of adulthood but not all adults possess this attribute in equal measure. In addition, if adults have been accustomed to teacher-directed learning environments, they may not display self-directedness in adult learning settings. Adult learning should be structured to nurture the development of self-directed, empowered adults. Let me quote Brookfield, who in 1986, says that when adults are encouraged to become self-directed, they begin “to see themselves as proactive, initiating individuals engaged in a continuous re-creation of their personal relationships, work worlds, and social circumstances rather than as reactive individuals, buffeted by uncontrollable forces of circumstance” (Brookfield, 1986).

 

iv. Create a climate that encourages and supports learning.

 

The classroom environment should be characterized by trust and mutual respect among teachers and learners. It should enhance learner self-esteem. Supporting and encouraging learning does not mean that the environment is free of conflict. It does mean that when conflict occurs, it is handled in a way that challenges learners to acquire new perspectives and supports them in their efforts to do so.

 

v. Foster a spirit of collaboration in the learning setting.

 

Collaboration in the adult classroom is frequently founded on the idea that the roles of teachers and learners can be interchangeable. Although teachers have the overall responsibility for leading a learning activity, in adult learning settings Draper rightly says that “each person has something to teach and to learn from the other” (Draper 1992, p. 75). Adult learning is a cooperative enterprise that respects and draws upon the knowledge that each person brings to the learning setting.

 

vi. Use small groups.

 

The use of groups has deep historical roots in adult education, and adults learning in groups has become embedded in adult education practice. Groups promote teamwork and encourage cooperation and collaboration among learners. Structured appropriately, they emphasize the importance of learning from peers, and they allow all participants to be involved in discussions and to assume a variety of roles.

 

vii. The curriculum is to be diversified, flexible, need based and environment based.

 

This will help to yield better results in the learning situation. Common curriculum may not be suitable to meet the requirements of the adults coming from different social, cultural, geographical, economic or even occupational backgrounds.

  1. Steps in curriculum development for adult literacy

While developing curriculum for adult learners, certain steps have to be followed that will make the curriculum relevant and useful.

  1. Recognize the clearly stated national goals for development and policies for adult education. These goals and policies must be kept in view as the adult learners are generally from the deprived sections of society.
  2. Identify target groups in accordance with the national goals. For instance, in the Saakshar Bharat programme which is the flagship programme of adult education, non-literate women of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Minority groups from low literacy states have been identified as the target group.
  3. Identify the communities where target groups are located. In the low literacy states, identify the pockets where these groups are located.
  4. Survey these communities to: a) study the physical, socio-cultural and economic aspects; b) study the developmental needs; c) identify the developmental input already effected; d) discover the felt and real needs of the community as a whole and the target group in particular; e) identify factors and problems inhibiting development; f) identify the agencies and structures responsible for development; g) identify material and human resources in the community.
  5. Analyse the survey data; This analysis will point towards the kind of curriculum that needs to be developed.
  6. Formulate a curriculum to: a) propose the strategies, both educational and developmental, to fulfil the needs of the community in general and the target group in particular; b) translate needs and strategies into learning objectives and methodologies; c) formulate content areas; d) delineate the literacy, awareness and functionality tasks to be performed by the various developmental and educational agencies; e) identify media to be utilized or commissioned for each content and learning unit;
  7. Write the appropriate materials for each content and learning unit;
  8. Devise evaluation tools to evaluate the curriculum through the teaching- learning process.

5. Different types of curriculum

 

Now- a -days the curriculum developers include a core content and locally relevant content for developing the curriculum for adults. The aspects included under core content are: National Integration, Women’s equality, Conservation of environment, population education and scientific temper and these aspects depend on the centrally determined objectives, ie, on the kind of values you wish to propagate in your citizens. The Locally relevant content includes, health issues, social issues, economic issues and entertainment. These are the contents considered in the Indian adult education programmes.

  1. Supporting systems

Curriculum development for adult education is not an easy job. Further it is not individuals’ task and it requires the expertise of many persons working in different fields so as to cater to the needs of the adults through the curriculum. Adult education is complex field and constructing the curriculum for the learners requires experience and coordination of different departments working for the benefit of the people. Let us now look at the important supporting systems which are involved in designing the curriculum in India.

  1. Directorate of Adult Education: It is the apex department for adult education in India for developing curriculum guidelines and it has brought out model basic literacy primers and neo-literate material. It has developed the curriculum and designed teaching and learning materials using Improved Pace and Content of Learning approach ( IPCL ) IPCL Curriculum: IPCL curriculum is based on the programme goal set by the National Literacy mission. It has two types of content,viz.,core content and locally relevant content. In India the curriculum is be developed following core and locally relevant content. Core content: under core content, the following national values are mentioned:
  • National Integration, secularism
  • Womens’s equality
  • Population education
  • Conservation of environment
  • Development of scientific temper
  • Panchayat Raj system (Local Self Government)

In adult education parlance, the term FANV, is much in use in the IPCL context This stands for; Functionality, Awareness and National Values. Functionality means, knowledge transferred would be utility oriented or of practical value. The learners would use in it their life or work places for their immediate future for personal or social development. The functional information would be in the areas of literacy skills, life skills, income generation skills etc., Awareness would mean critical understanding of social conditions in which the learners live and work. This would involve understanding of the factors contributing to their existing predicaments and problems and finding ways to solve them for the betterment of life.

 

Locally Relevant Curriculum (LRC): Besides the core content, the IPCL curriculum contains locally relevant content. It should be decided by the programme organisers, the academic subcommittees of the District, the material writers, etc. Health issues, social issues, economic issues and entertainment figure mostly and each area can be further subdivided for specific issues.

 

The curriculum has to be developed as per the objectives of the programme and in India functional literacy has been the focal point and it implies the following: Functional literacy implies not only acquiring self-reliance in reading, writing and numeracy but also awareness regarding reasons for the backwardness, acquiring skills for improving economic status and imbibing/ fostering national values.

 

2. Universities: Universities are known for their research. Their research can provide important inputs for curriculum development. There are universities such as the S.V University where the Department of Adult Continuing Education has developed basic literacy and post literacy primer and it was adopted in some of the districts such as Chittoor, kadapa, Nizamabad for literacy work. SNDT Women’s University’s

 

 Department of Continuing and Adult Education conducted over 300 adult literacy centres and also had continuing education centres. These university departments of adult education can take up research studies on learning needs of adults, reading interests of neo-literates etc. Universities have shared their views in the workshops meant for developing curriculum for adults. Therefore universities have helped the agencies which developed the curriculum for adults. It will be good to have educationists, psychologists, sociologists and linguists drawn from the universities and included in the workshops for developing the curriculum for adults.

 

3. State Departments of adult Education: State departments of adult education implements the adult education programmes as per the guidelines of India and shares a portion of the cost of the programme. In the states like Andhra Pradesh, the department has permanent employees for supervising and running the programme and these functionaries extend the support for development of curriculum and invariably are also involved in the curriculum development workshops.

 

4. State Resource Centres (SRCs): State Resource Centres are the academic support institutions established with the assistance of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India for providing academic support to the adult literacy programme in the State. The major roles of SRCs are: Developing teaching learning materials on the basis of the guidelines of the Directorate of Adult Education, developing supplementary material, organizing training programmes, conducting research and experimentation. The State Resource Centres have developed teaching learning material for basic literacy, post literacy and continuing education of the adult learners in a big way.

 

5. UNESCO Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL): It has described six types of continuing education programmes which cannot be implemented without giving a thought to the underlying curriculum.

  • Post literacy programmes (PLPs): These aim at maintaining and enhancing basic literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills, giving individuals sufficient general basic work skills enabling them to function effectively in their societies.
  • Equivalency programmes (EPs): These are designed as alternative education programmes equivalent to existing formal general or vocational education.
  • Income generation programmes (IGPs): These help participants acquire or upgrade vocational skills and enable them to conduct income generating activities. IGPs are vocational continuing education programmes delivered in a variety of contexts and are directed in particular towards those people who are currently not self-sufficient in a modern world. They are the people who are at or below the poverty line. Income generation programmes will help them to rise above their current situation.
  • Quality life improvement programmes (QLIPs): These aim to equip learners and the community with that essential knowledge, attitudes, values and skills to enable them to improve quality of life as individuals and as members of the community.
  • Individual interest promotion programmes (IIPs): These provide opportunity for individuals to participate in and learn about their chosen social, Cultural, spiritual, health, physical and artistic interests.
  • Future oriented (FOs) programmes: These give workers, professionals, regional and national community leaders, villagers, businessmen and planners new skills, knowledge and techniques to adapt themselves and their organisations to growing social and technological changes.

6. ACCU: The Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) is a non-profit organisation for Asia and the Pacific regional activities in line with the principles of UNESCO, working for the promotion of mutual understanding and cultural cooperation among peoples in the region. ACCU was established in 1971 in Tokyo and it has been implementing various regional cooperative programmes in the fields of culture, education and personnel exchange in close collaboration with UNESCO and its Member States in Asia and the Pacific.

  • It has brought out hand book for adult learning materials for community level programmes.
  • Also the most popular AJP (Asian/Pacific Joint Production) Programme of Materials for Neo-Literates in Rural Areas. Materials are packed into four categories: Health & Sanitation; Income Generation; Environment; Women’s Empowerment.
  • Literacy Kit: A collection of 942 illustrations covering eight subject areas commonly used for community development, such as Health & Sanitation, Income Generation, Education, and Civic consciousness. It is available both in CD-ROM (Windows) and book format. Users can directly find relevant illustrations for their own material. In the CD-ROM, 16 AJP materials are available in PDF. Some of the materials developed by the ACCU was translated into regional languages by the SRCs and supplied to the State Departments of Adult Education for the benefit of the neo-literates.
  1. Role of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)

Non-governmental organizations have implemented adult literacy centres in India in a big way and those agencies had contributed for the development of curriculum for basic literacy and continuing education. Invariably the curriculum developers included their representatives in the workshops meant for curriculum development. Literacy House, Andhra pradesh, a voluntary agency developed primers for non-literate women. BGVS (Bharat Gyana Vignan Samithi), an NGO in India had also developed basic literacy primer and it was used in the Total Literacy campaigns of Guntur and Nellore districts. Private publishers also developed neo-literate material on the suggested curriculum.

 

Summary

 

Holistic approach needs to be considered for developing curriculum for adults, in view of their diversified needs and interests. The principles of adult learning have to be kept in mind while framing curriculum for adult learners. Curriculum which should be aligned with national objectives on one hand and learner needs on the other, should follow certain steps. Further it has to be developed with the support of educational institutes involved in adult education, implementing agencies and non-governmental organisations. Stakeholders also contribute for the development of curriculum which requires an integrated approach with a mix of experts and institutions.

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