Strategic Report Final

For a long period, students have suffered from lack of a general curriculum applicable in both public and private learning institutions within the United States. The curricula intensely vary from one state to the other and also from one district to the other. It is a challenge to note that in the United States the “No Child Left Behind Act” is still active but has never been fully implemented in the education sector. For instance, there are private learning institutions where religious studies is a mandatory subject that all students must take part in while as in public institutions, it is optional and even in some it is not part of the curricula (Aydin, Ozfidan, & Carothers, 2017). For long, heated debates have been carried out in regards to standardization of the curricula and to what extent; but the challenge is that the issue has never been resolved. As a result, many students have continued to suffer. The more reason is that it is hard for a student to shift from public to a private learning institution and vice versa due to the difference.

According to Lei, (2019) research shows that some students who have wanted to join private schools could not since in private schools there are mandatory subjects that must be taken and the children in the public sector have never even been introduced to the the subjects. The issue has hence been perceived as being a source of disparity in the US education system. Some schools have better and high quality curricula that adequately prepare the students for the future while the other part only offers standard level curricula (Olsen, 2019). The greater challenge has been found after leaving school. Some students are able to seek opportunities in life with being adequately prepared while others remain at different level in feeling sufficiently prepared.

Section II: Issue Description

Education curricula in the United States has several concerns that remain unsolved. Educational institutions are undergoing significant changes, calling for an adjustment in the curriculum used in schools. It is also a challenge that each state determines the general curriculum used in their respective learning institutions, and the school districts decide on implementation. The lack of a standardized and responsive curriculum has resulted in a dysfunctional education system that produces learners who do not meet society’s needs. The purpose of such a curriculum should be to extensively improve learning and teaching. The curriculum framework should be coordinated with assessment systems, instructional materials, teacher training, and policies that support learning to be effective (Lei, 2019).

Students usually select one or more electives per year during middle or high school in many states. The categories of electives taught differ widely, with some being specialized offerings linked to core subjects. Other electives emphasize student’s abilities and interests like drama, music, and visual art. The study of a foreign language does not typically start until high school, with Spanish being the most common foreign language. Furthermore, there is a rising interest in students learning Chinese (Lei, 2019).

A standard curriculum should be content-specific and when certain content and skills should be taught. The time specification is usually a range where the framework outlines the period within which content is covered. Furthermore, learning institutions should stress more on students’ depth of understanding than broad and superficial content coverage. That said, a standard curriculum would give rise to universal national exams across the country. The contents of the exams should be tied to the curriculum taught in schools, making it easy for administrators to evaluate the system’s effectiveness and find the best ways to improve the national curriculum (Lei, 2019).

Sections III & IV: Impact and Legal Analyses

In a rapidly changing world, the curriculum needs to be designed to meet the diverse student base’s needs. Educational institutions are undergoing changes alongside other factors such as policy and technology that influence curriculum, hence the requirement for restructuring the curriculum and instructions provided in schools to reflect best practices and teaching techniques.

The learning framework asserts that African Americans and students of color are of a subordinate class and fail because their families experience deficiencies that obstruct their learning process. There was a need for a critical race curriculum that challenged the traditional one, which operated with an unacknowledged agenda to promote white privilege. Furthermore, having culturally responsive teachers empowers their students emotionally and intellectually. These teachers can use their knowledge and skills of culture to support developing a curriculum that will enable student success while remaining connected to their culture’s key areas.

The article focuses on a curriculum where topics relating to the experiences of minority groups are taught in small discussion groups where students narrate their encounters to teach their classmates on issues of ethnicity or race. During training, little attention was given to students from minority groups, but they were expected to be spokespersons of their cultural groups. The obligation to contribute their perspectives led to a feeling of exhaustion and frustration, hence the call for a more equitable training curriculum.

Section V

Curriculum imbalance in the public and private learning institutions are one of the reasons of irregular academic achievements in the United States. Assessments and deductions from various studies indicate that this imbalance is affecting both the student population and the overall achievements in term of academic homogeneity as others become more empowered that their mates. As such, this requires the consideration and implementation of a strategic recommendation plan to solve this issue and ensure that there is uniformity. It is a challenge to note that in the United States the “No Child Left Behind Act” is still active but has never been fully implemented in the education sector. For instance, there are private learning institutions where religious studies is a mandatory subject that all students must take part in while as in public institutions, it is optional and even in some it is not part of the curricula (Aydin, Ozfidan, & Carothers, 2017).

This forms the necessity to create a policy that changes and engages all aspects of the academic staff and ensures that they are contributions and agreements to these changes. This means the best interests of the students need to be considered before implementation of such a strategy. The outcome and learning plan are key items to be considered as they are of crucial significance. In a rapidly changing world, the curriculum needs to be designed to meet the diverse student base’s needs (Aydin, Ozfidan, & Carothers, 2017). Furthermore, learning institutions should stress more on students’ depth of understanding than broad and superficial content coverage by engaging learners in more proactive and practical form of instruction. A standard curriculum would give rise to universal national exams across the country. The contents of the exams should be tied to the curriculum taught in schools, making it easy for administrators to evaluate the system’s effectiveness and find the best ways to improve the national curriculum (Lei, 2019).

The education system in question has a lot of challenges and issues that make it impractical to continue using. To begin with, there is still a gap on how to include technological aspects of learning such as computer literacy to be part of the wholesome education system. It is also paramount to note the social issues such as race and discrimination are not a part of the curricula in order for it to be more inclusive (Harrison & Clark, 2016). There is the opportunity to change curriculum due to the shifting landscape of learning objectives to be more practical and useful in the age where a lot of information can be easily access. This provides the threat of making schools and learning institutions obsolete due to their high fees and how qualified students and learners perform in actual situations. The increasing number of homeschooled students shows the deficiency and gaps brought about by the curriculum issues (Lei, 2019).

Educational institutions are undergoing changes alongside other factors such as policy and technology that influence curriculum, hence the requirement for restructuring the curriculum and instructions provided in schools to reflect best practices and teaching techniques (Aydin, Ozfidan, & Carothers, 2017).

Furthermore, the academic structure has been outdated considering the huge social and economic changes in the environment. It should be more considerate of social issues such as racial and cultural diversity for a more uniform aspect of learning. Cultural responsive and intellectual instructors are a key point for the restructuring and redevelopment of the entire curricula. There was a need for a critical race curriculum that challenged the traditional one, which operated with an unacknowledged agenda to promote white privilege (Harrison & Clark, 2016). Teachers can use their knowledge and skills of culture to support developing a curriculum that will enable student success while remaining connected to their culture’s key areas. This includes the introduction of more training programs for teachers and the restructuring of the academia study material (Harrison & Clark, 2016).

References

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Aydin, H., Ozfidan, B., & Carothers, D. (2017). Meeting the challenges of curriculum and instruction in school settings in the United States. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 8(3), 76-92.

Harrison Jr, L., & Clark, L. (2016). Contemporary issues of social justice: A focus on race and physical education in the United States. Research Quarterly for Exercise and sport, 87(3), 230-241.

Lei, S. A., & Lei, S. Y. (2019). General education curricula affecting satisfaction and retention of undergraduate students: A review of literature. Education, 139(4), 197-202.

Olsen, L. D. (2019). The conscripted curriculum and the reproduction of racial inequalities in contemporary US medical education. Journal of health and social behavior, 60(1), 55-68.