What exactly does Curriculum mean

1. Meaning of Curriclum

Curriculum is a broad plan that is made by an Educational Institution and it includes educational experiences to achieve its aims, goals and objectives and students have this educational experiences under the guidance of the Institution.

According to Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary, it is the subjects that are included in a course of study or taught in school or colleges. There are many types of Curriculum. We will examine the major ones:

2. Forms of Curriculum

2.1. Core Curriculum

This is a set of common courses and general education for all students. It involves common learning which consists of knowledge, skills and values.  Common learning experiences are provided to students. This experiences are essential to the students in order to adapt effectively in the society. These includes Mathematics, Use of English, Arts, Sciences among others.

2.2. Written Curriculum

It is the formal instruction of educational experiences. It refers to curriculum documents, texts, films and supportive teaching materials that are chosen to support intentional instructional agenda of an Educational Institution. It is a document usually written by Educational Administrators, Curriculum Managers and Lecturers.

2.3. Subject-centred Curriculum

This is the commonest Curriculum in our Institutions. This Curriculum trains students in particular subjects. The objective of the study involves all the constituents of knowledge that constitutes the subject for the study. The Curriculum involves the impartation of specialized knowledge and skill to the students. An Expert or a Specialist Teacher is assigned to teach the subject and its analytical details. This Curriculum emphasizes higher study, research and experimentation of students on the subject. It is the Curriculum designed for creative thinking and academic interest.

2.4. Learner-Centred Curriculum

This Curriculum represents the philosophy of Open and Distance Education. It focuses on the learner’s acquisition of knowledge and skills in the area of study. The important element is the student. The Curriculum is based upon student experiences and diverse learning activities especially in the acquisition of skills and application of this knowledge in solving societal problems. This Curriculum emphasizes individual student learning and Lecturers role to facilitate growth by utilizing interest and unique needs of students as a guide for meaningful needs of instruction. Hands-on Learning and active participation of students in discovery learning process is encouraged in this Curriculum. This Curriculum promotes successful learning.

2.5. Holistic Curriculum

This Curriculum emphasizes relationship between subjects and integrate learning experiences. It is a modification of Subject-centred Curriculum. It is a framework for achieving educational outcomes that combine related subjects into one broad field of study.

3. Curriculum Standards

Curriculum standards are academic content standards. Academic content standards are the general knowledge, skills, and dispositions that students are expected to acquire as a result of teaching and learning (DuFour, 2016). Curriculum standards are learning goals of what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. The standards only define a learning goal and what a student should know at a certain level.

3.1. Role of ICT in implementing the Curriculum and Standards

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has provided the enabling environment for the delivery of education to students in all areas of knowledge and skill acquisition through e-Learning. Pedagogy delivery is essential for individual development and national development. In order to provide the appropriate education that will produce quality graduands that provide solutions to societal challenges and contribute to national development there is need to leverage ICT to support the Curriculum in our Institutions of Learning. Curriculum standards provides guidance on level of knowledge and skills that should be attained by students at a particular grade level. ICT can be used to provide the necessary support for Curriculum and curriculum Standards through the following:

1. Delivery of instructional materials via e-Learning Platforms and Social Media to our students in various locations.

2. Providing Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards to Lecturers via websites and emails to Lecturers and Educational Administrators in other to conform with current Curriculum standards and trends.

3. Providing links to other Universities to learn adaptation and implementation of Curriculum standards in their Tertiary Institutions

4. Acquisition of online videos on procedures and knowledge acquired; and technical capabilities of undergraduates in particular grade level in other Universities 

5. Online collaboration with other Universities on curriculum development and curriculum standards development and implementation.

6. Use of Online University ranking for Measurement and Evaluation of Curriculum standards.

7. Implementation of online monitoring of Pedagogy delivery vis-à-vis Curriculum Standards by University Administrators.

8. Development and use of Software that supports Curriculum Standards and review of Curriculum for future developments

9. ICT provided platform for delivery of assessments and examinations to students.

10. ICT provides efficient computation of grades and results of students within stipulated period.

11. Multimedia technology in ICT has enabled replay of video and audio of lectures/teachings for improvement in learning and comprehension among students.

12. E-Learning has taken learning beyond the walls of our Institutions. ICT has delivered knowledge and skill to remote areas.

13. Post Covid-19 Pandemic era has leveraged ICT to reduce congestion in classrooms, thereby leading to reduction in rate of transmission of the virus through contact.

14. ICT facilitate further research by students in several fields of endeavor such as Agriculture, Engineering, Software development etc.

15. ICT has provided the platform for collaboration among Scholars and Teachers in Institutions of Learning in Nigeria e.g. in the area of Curriculum development and provision of Curriculum standards.

16. ICT has enabled the reduction of plagiarism among students, thereby encouraging originality and creativity in student research work, thus assisting in achieving goals of the curriculum.

17. Without ICT it is difficult to achieve the concept of Open Educational Resource, as resources to be shared and reviewed would be limited.

18. ICT has enabled the critical review of Curriculum and Curriculum Standards in order to adapt to the demands of the 21^st Century in areas of Education and technology.

19. ICT has changed our learning process. A student can receive lecture at the comfort of his home and interact with the Lecturer/Teacher either asynchronously or synchronously.

20. There is efficient and effective dissemination of academic information and contents among all stakeholders in the Institution of Learning. Example is dissemination of Curriculum and Curriculum standards among Education Administrator in our Institution of Learning.

4. 21st Century Skills

In 2015, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released a paper on the 16 essential skills for 21st Century Education. The skills were grouped into three areas of learning processes as illustrated it table 1.0.

Table 1.0

4.1. Integration of 21st Century Skill into Teaching and Learning

Here we will consider the integration of 5 of these identified skills. The skills to be considered are:

1. Scientific Literacy: Ability to use scientific knowledge and principles to understand one’s environment and test hypothesis.

2. ICT Literacy: Ability to use and create technology based content, including finding and sharing information, answering questions, interacting with other people and computer programming.

3. Financial Literacy: Ability to understand conceptual and numerical aspects of finance in practice.

4. Critical Thinking/Problem Solving:   Ability to identify, analyse and evaluate situations, ideas and information to formulate responses and solutions.

5. Creativity: Ability to imagine and device new, innovative ways of addressing problems, answering questions or expressing meaning through the application, synthesis or repurposing of knowledge.

The above skilled mentioned are important to individual development and national development. A student goes to School e.g. University, he studied Electrical Engineering, he would have acquired Scientific (and engineering) literacy while in school. He needs to acquire ICT literacy through the use of AutoCAD software and other related software for electrical design. He may acquire programming skill for computation of complex electrical parameters. He needs Critical thinking to solve electrical problems for his clients and organization. There may be problem of poor distribution of current in a building; he needs to display his critical thinking/problem solving skill to address this issue. He needs his Creativity to design new tools or new concept or bring innovations to his jobs/businesses. For the business to expand and be a going-concern there is need for knowledge of Financial literacy otherwise he may not be able to withstand the vicissitudes of life. 

The above scenario is a typical example of integration of 21^st Century skill into teaching and learning. This would enable our students to be equipped, understand and confront the challenges of life after leaving the Academic community to pursue their individual careers. This would subsequently lead to economic development of the nation.