SOME NOTES ON CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT FOR PRIMARY
With regard to the selection of learning content as the object of learning process, the writer would like to refer to the theory developed by Philip Phenix that differentiate learning objects into six. Realms of meaning that underlying the stage of world civilization that the learners with eventually live. The six realms of meaning as a source of selected learning contents are:
The first realm, Symbolic, comprises ordinary language, mathematics, and various type of nondiscursive form;
The second realm, Empirics, includes the science of physical world, of living thing, and of man;
The third realm, Esthetics, contains the various arts, such as music, the visual arts, the art of movement, and literature;
The fourth realm, Synoetics, embraces what Michel Polanyi calls “Personal Knowledge”, and Martin Buber the “I-Thou” relation. The novel term “synoethics”, which was devised because no existing concept appeared adequate to be the type of understanding intended, derives from the Greek synoesis, meaning
“Immediate Thought”, and this in turn is compoded of sym, meaning “with” or
“together” and no esis, meaning “Cognition.
Thus synoetics signifies “relational insight” or
“direct awareness”;
The fifth realm, Ethics, includes moral meaning that express obligation rather than fact, perceptual form, or awareness of relation. In contrast to the sciences, which are concerned with abstract cognitive understanding, to the arts, which express idealized esthetic perception, and to personal knowledge, which reflect inter subjective understanding, morality has to do with personal conduct that is based on free, responsible, deliberate decision;
The six realm, Synoptic, refer to meaning that are comprehensively integrative. It include history, religion, and philosophy. These disciplines combine empirical, esthetics, and synnoetic meanings into coherent whole.
Understanding that there are six realms of meaning is importance to be able to differentiate the function of a subject matter that is rooted from certain scientific discipline from the other and its implication on the type learning process.
Based on the understanding of six realms of meaning in selecting learning content from various scientific discipline and other such as: language and mathematics, natural science and social science, music and visual arts as well sports, religion, civic, and history, suggested to select topics that are:
a. Based on the discipline of inquiry;
b. Represent the concept of a certain discipline;
c. Stress on the mode of inquiry;
d. Encourage imaginative thinking process.
Why we need to select learning content, Alfred North Whitehead in his lecture stated:
“Let the main ideas which are introduce to child education be few and important, and let them be thrown into every combination possible. The child should make them his own, should understand.
The application here and know in the circumstances of his actual life, from the very beginning by his education, the child should experience the joy of discovery”.
To do the process of selection, the role of subject matter specialist, experienced professional teacher, and school psychologist are very important.
After the objectives of education have been selected and formulated, and the learning content has been selected and organized, the following stage is to develop the relevant learning model.
2. The Development of Learning Model
This stage of curriculum development theoretically is to be carried out by teachers. For this reason, historically the curriculum that had been developed to the level of identifying objective and selecting learning content eventually did not has any impact on the improvement of the quality of learning process that will influence the quality of educational output because this stage, development of learning model is not to be carried out by teacher adequality; and oftenly the blame is given to the curriculum and eventually the curriculum is to be changed.
It is the writer’s view, based on experience and observation this stage is oftenly neglected, especially in the condition where the professional level and professional commitment of the teachers mostly, especially for primary school teachers, are still low. For this very reason developing learning model is very important and critical. The question is “what are the characteristics of learning model relevant to achieve the educational objectives of the primary education to prepare primary school children capable for continuing their education to achieve national education objectives”. Certainly not learning model that concentrate on mastering codified knowledge to memorize to pass national examination in the form of objective test, but learning model that relevant to the achievement of educational goals that is a man that in national educational law having the characteristics “belief in God the almighty, having moral nobility, healthy, creative, bright, mastering scientific knowledge, responsible and democratic citizen. This type of educational objective is impossible to be achieved through learning model that stress on memorizing codified knowledge through listening, copying, and remembering. In this regard, it is the writer’s view that adopting “four pillars of learning”, learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and
learning to be, introduced by UNESCO International Commision on Education for 21st century. Through the adoption of this model of learning, the function of the school as the center of culturalization as demanded by article 4 point 3 of National Education Law can be implemented, for the national education objectives cited before, in the writer’s view, can only be achieved through learning process as socialization and culturalization processes that at once developing competence, inculcating values and building character, as well as mastering skills.
To understand why we need to adopt the four pillars of learning, this paper will described the meaning of each pillar as follows:
First, about learning to know. This pillar of learning introduced by UNESCO in essence is related with the learning to culturalized or internalized scientific attitudes as well as scientific competence. The UNESCO committee stated that:
“This type of learning less a mastery of acquiring itemized, codified information, then of mastering the instrument of knowledge then selves”.
When this idea be related to Philip Phenix concept about meaningfull learning that stated:
“It is more important for the student to become skillful in the ways of knowing then to learn about any particular product of investigation. Knowledge of methods make it possible for a person to continue learning and undertake inquiries on this own”.
From two previous quotations it is clear what does it mean by learning to know. From this standing the writer has a view that unless “the pillar of learning to know” to be implemented it is difficult to function school as center of culturization.
Second, about learning to do. This second pillar introduced by UNESCO related with learning to know, but this pillar according to UNESCO commission is more closely linked to question of
“how can children be taught to put what they have learned into practice”. This really equal with Whitehead idea on education, that education is the acquisition of the art of utilization on knowledge.
From the concept of the pillar of learning to do this clear how importance is the type of learning that can make the learners capable applying the knowledge they have mastered.
Third, about learning to live together. This type of learning is aiming at development on understanding of other people and an appreciation interdependency, carrying out joint project, and learning to manage conflicts in spirit of respect for the values of pluralism mutual understanding and peace. This type of learning very important since this era of globalization the world is picturized by UNESCO in the following statement.
“It is difficult task, since people very generally tend to over value their own qualities and those of their group and to harbor prejudice against others.
Furthermore, the general climate of completion that is at present characteristic of economic activity, within and above all between nations, tend to give priority to the competitive spirit and individual success”.
In the condition such as described by UNESCO quoted above, it is very important to create learning environment as well as learning programmer that enforce learners learning to live together and to live with others. The phenomena of lately going on various parts of Indonesia, make the importance of implementing the pillar of learning to live together and live with others is crucial.
The fourth, learning to be. After adopting the first three pillars, eventually we need to make sure that learning process must contribute to the all around development of each individual mind and body, intelligence, sensitivity, aesthetic sense, personal responsibility, and spiritual values. In this UNSECO stated:
“All human being must be enabled to develop independent critical thinking and form their own judgement, in order to determine for themselves what they believe they should do in different circumstances of life”.
It is clear that through the implementation of the first three pillars learning process experienced will eventually achieve the goal of education, that is the learning to be.
It is the writer’s view that the adoption of four education pillars of learning to develop learning model for the curriculum of primary education will make children of primary education the educational objectives of the primary education.
As stated before the quality of education will be determined by quality of the learning process.
The question is how will be the model of learning adopted effectively influence the quality of learning output will dependence on how it be implemented properly, especially with regard to the evaluation model. For this the following section will discuss the issue.
3. Evaluation System and Educational Resources as Integral Part of Curriculum System in the Implementation of Curriculum
The motivation and seriousness of the learners in learning activities that will impact the achievement of learning objective will dependent upon the evaluation system adopted. B. Bloom in his study found that the activities of the learners in learning programme is influenced by their prediction on what to be evaluated. For this reason, curriculum theorists, names evaluation as hidden
curriculum and an integral part of curriculum system. For this very reason the adoption of national examination system as an instrument to decide whether the learner pass or fail the examination has a very negative impact on the effort to encourage the learners to actively participate the learning process that adopt four pillars of learning.
Evaluation that will act as a hidden curriculum should have a role as a tool of reinforcement strategy. In this regard, the evaluation programme should be planned: (1) comprehensively, meaning evaluation cover all dimension of learning programme. Not only the learning outcomes, but also the learning behavior, the learning discipline, and other learning behavior in conducting learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, as well as learning to be; (2) continuously, meaning in all stages of learning process, not only at the end of a unit of learning programme; and (3) objectively, means a clear criterion for measuring the object to be evaluated should be clear and sharp. With this type of evaluation sytem, in the writer’s view, the educational objectives of primary education, that is in essence “the development task” of primary school age children will be achieved. This paper used the term “development task”, because if children fail completing the development task, it is difficult to face further educational programme successfully.
Before closing this paper it is important to be remembered that the success of implementing a curriculum that has been soundly planned and developed will dependent upon the availability of learning resources, such as laboratory, library, botanical garden, sport field, and qualified and dedicated profesional teacher. Without the availability of the educational resources it is
impossible to implement qualified learning process.
In this regard, an expert in economic of education Henry M Levin had come to a conclusion that the quality of educational output will depend on the quality of education process, that quality education process will depend on the availability of education resources; and the availability of educational resources will depend on the budget, and the budget is depend on the government policy. In essence all the requirement has been stated in the educational law no. 20 year 2003.
These are some notes on curriculum development for primary education for further discussion.
REFERENCE
Tyler, Ralph W., Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction (1949), Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.
National Education Law No. 20 Year 2003.
Philip H Phenix, Realms of Meaning: A Philosophy of the Curriculum for General Education, (1964) New York, McGraw-Hill Book & Co.
Whitehead, A.N., The Aims of Education and Other Essays, 9th Ed. (1957), New York, The New American Library.
Delors, Jacques et al., “LEARNING: The Treasure Within”, report to Unesco of the International Commision on Education to the 21st Century, (1998), Unesco.
Carnoy, M., and Levin, Henry M., The Limits of Educational Reform, David McKay Company Inc., New York, (1976).