What are some of the societal forces that influence
school curricula today?
Peter Olivia
has stated that one of the ten general axioms for curriculum development is
“Curriculum Development is an Ongoing Process.” He goes on to say, “Continuous
monitoring, examination, evaluation, and improvement of curricula are needed.
No curriculum meets the needs of everyone. As the needs of learners change, as
society changes, and as new knowledge and technology appear, the curriculum
must change.” One of these forces
includes the definition of “college and career ready,” as noted in Maryland’s
Common Core State Standards. What is
meant by “college and career ready?” In
order for students to be ready for the world of tomorrow, we need to help them
develop the skills they will need:
problem-solving and critical thinking, technological knowledge and
communication skills; the belief that we are all life-long learners and will
continue to learn, guided by our interests and the needs of society. These are the forces that influence school curricula
today.
How do curriculum definitions, curricular history,
and theoretical approaches and policy progress relate to major societal forces
such as technology and the world at large?
These
societal forces, such as technology and the world at large, highly influence
today’s definition of curriculum and guide the theoretical approaches and
policies to the types of curricula that is in place today. For example, when the Russians successfully
launched Sputnik in 1957, education, as we knew it, changed dramatically. The “space race” was on, and we needed to
beef up our knowledge of science and engineering and overall skills in our
education system. Millions of dollars
were funneled into educational reforms, which included changing the curriculum. Today, with new and emerging technologies and
the need for highly skilled workers in our very technically focused work force,
we need to think about preparing our students “for their future, not our past,”
(Daniel Pink). Students need to learn
how to think deeply and creatively and have the skills and imagination to solve
problems that don’t yet exist.
How might a school leader be proactive in the
advent of these types of influences in terms of curricular offerings?
A school
leader needs to be willing to “think outside the box” because today, there is
no box! If creativity and innovation
skills are essential to functioning in today’s society and work force, the
school leader needs to be revising curricula that develops these skills in students. Integrating technology appropriately into the
curriculum, making cross-curricular connections and seeing the links between
art and science, all help students develop their imaginations to create
solutions to problems that haven’t developed yet! One of the causes of the tragic fire inside
Apollo I that killed three astronauts was, as Frank Borman opined, was “a
failure of the imagination.” Everyone
involved with Apollo at the time did not even imagine that something this
catastrophic could happen on the ground, during a routine test. They knew it could happen in space, but didn’t
consider other possibilities. It is this
imagination for the impossible, that we need to develop in our children. Our curricula need to reflect that goal, to have
the imagination to respond to problems or situations that do not yet exist. A school leader needs to remove the barriers
to thinking beyond the impossible.
