Subject centred curriculum

Subject centred curriculum

1. Subject Centred Curriculum Dr.M.Deivam Assistant Professor Department of Education The Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed to be University) Gandhigram , Dindigul District 624 302

2. Subject Centered Curriculum It is a traditional model proposed by Ralph Tyler in 1949. As it surrounds knowledge, it is also called as knowledge centred curriculum . It is an academic curriculum , where students are expected to acquire knowledge of their world as a function of their adult life. It revolves around a particular subject matter or discipline. For example, a subject-centered curriculum may focus on math or biology. This type of curriculum design tends to focus on the subject rather than the individual .

3. Contd., Tyler did not concern himself with how people view curriculum, but argued that any curriculum and plan of instruction can be developed in a systematic way that accounts for differences in perspective by answering four fundamental questions: • What educational purposes should the schools seek to attain? • What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes? • How can these educational experiences be effectively organized? • How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?

4. Contd., The content of the curriculum is organised into smaller units and the sequence of what is taught follows the logic of the subject matter. This organisation is 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.

5. Contd., The teacher plays the role of a scholar using a variety of teaching strategies to share the knowledge. The environment in which teaching-learning takes place is the traditional classroom where discipline is maintained and students are seated in their seats. Focus is mainly on academic aspects and stress is on intellectual development.

6. Contd., Practice in skills is emphasized . The main aspect of subject based curriculum is that there is continuous practice or drill in a specific skill. 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.

7. Contd., There is a uniform standard for all the students to pass the subject, else they will have to repeat the subject. Therefore the experts of the subject centered approach strongly support the minimum standards for examination so that everyone achieves 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.

8. Contd., Subject-centered curriculum design describes what needs to be studied and how it should be studied. Core curriculum is an example of a subject-centered design that can be standardized across schools, states, and the country as a whole . In standardized core curricula, teachers are provided a pre-determined list of things that they need to teach their students, along with specific examples of how these things should be taught.

9. Characteristics Learning subject matter is an end in itself - Listening to lectures, studying the textbooks and studying for examination are all practices that show the influence of the subject centered curriculum approach. The subject teacher considers it of great importance to cover the prescribed textbook. Since a specific amount of subject matter is to be learnt in a set time. If subject matter has been learnt, the teacher and students feel satisfaction. . 9

10. Contd., There is a predetermined uniform standard of knowledge – Those who follow the subject centered approach strongly advocate minimum standards. They advocate set standard for a class to be achieved by all students in order to qualify the examination. In other words a time limit is placed on achievements and if the pupil fails, the course must be repeated. The teacher attempts to bring the pupil up to the set standard. Thus failures are required to repeat a grade or they are dropped out from their institutions

11. Contd., Practice in skills is emphasized: Drill in specific skills is one of the typical characteristics of the subject curriculum. Drill session, remedial work, review work, coaching classes are often devoted to such type of drill. This drill is given in equal amounts to all pupils in the group. Emphasis is placed upon acquiring information for future use: The subject matter selected for a course, is considered to be of value in adult living rather than child’s immediate needs. Thus adult problems are given more weight than problems of children in youth. 11

12. Progress is measured by how much of the subject a pupil has learnt- As the subject matter is an important thing to be learnt, learning is measured by how well the subject matter has been mastered. Frequent tests are given to check the extent of achievement by the students. Each subject is distinct entity (unit) with a logical organization of its own Emphasis is placed on the acquisition of skills, facts and information in different logically organized subjects. The members of the staff, teaching different subjects do not plan courses together and they do not discuss common problems. 12

13. Contd., Subject matter is selected by adults previous to the teaching, learning situations As the subject matter is taught in logically organized discipline , therefore, the content of the course is selected before it is taught. For this purpose they receive help from subject matter, specialists, supervisors, administrators and textbook writers.

14. Advantages It is easier for the teacher to perform • It is widely accepted by parents as they have gone through it. • The simple-complex concept makes it easier to administer. • Intellectual development is achieved in a child’s thinking. • It is useful for specialisation in any branch of knowledge

15. Disadvantages The primary drawback of subject-centered curriculum design is that it is not student- centred . In particular, this form of curriculum design is constructed without taking into account the specific learning styles of the students . This can cause problems with student engagement and motivation and may even cause students to fall behind in class.

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