The Integration of Different Curriculum Ideologies in a School Science Subject

Education Sciences

卷:11

Lindelani Mnguni¹ 

[1] Department of Science & Technology Education, College of Education, University of South Africa, Pretoria 0181, South Africa;

关键词: curriculum ideologies;    content analysis;    natural sciences;    school science;   

DOI  :  10.3390/educsci11090551

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

School science subjects may be informed by curriculum ideologies such as discipline-centered, service-centered, student-centered, or citizen-centered ideologies. The distinct characteristics of each ideology complicate the extent to which science subjects could integrate different curriculum ideologies. Consequently, the present research explored how different curriculum ideologies are reflected in a school science subject. Natural Sciences was used as a case study that followed a mixed-methods approach. Inductive content analysis was performed on the curriculum document to determine its foregrounding curriculum ideologies using a validated open-ended instrument. Findings indicate that Natural Sciences integrates four curriculum ideologies concurrently. These are the student-centered ideology, service-centered ideology, discipline-centered ideology, and citizenship-centered ideology. However, while attempting to adopt multi-curriculum ideologies, the subject could not ensure equal representation of these ideologies. For example, citizenship-centered ideology received the least representation even though it is the ideology most related to the imperatives of social empowerment. It is concluded that the integration of different ideologies may lead to teaching difficulties where teachers find it challenging to adapt teaching methods that satisfy all four curriculum ideologies. Additionally, students in different schools may be taught according to different curriculum ideology principles, leading to inconsistencies in attained learning outcomes.

【 授权许可】

Unknown