The Need for Curriculum Development to be Decentralized in the Light of new Constitution Dispensation (Term Paper Sample)

The need for curriculum development to be decentralized in the light of new constitution dispensation
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1.0 Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc398723668 \h
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2.0 Curriculum development in Kenya should be decentralized  PAGEREF _Toc398723669 \h
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3.0 Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc398723670 \h
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References  PAGEREF _Toc398723671 \h
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1.0 Introduction
The term decentralization means the situation where the central government yields powers to sub national units such as regional or local governments which have some geographical authority. More so, decentralization is one way in which people’s right to participate in governance is achieved (Mwenda, A 2010). Also decentralization can take the form of transferring powers to lower levels of an organization, which is called de-concentration or administrative decentralization. However, a popular form of de-concentration in education is to give additional responsibilities to school. Ideally, this is often called school autonomy or school-based management and may take the form of creating elected or appointed school councils and giving them budgets and the authority to make important educational matters. Further, in both developed and developing worlds, government efforts to improve have been mainly concerning provision of more classroom, more text books to school as well as more teacher.
With regard to this, there is clear evidence that there are no ample inputs to make school function appropriately. The reason behind poor quality of education in school is mainly weak accountability relationships among policy makers, education providers, and the citizens as well as students who are being catered for (Fiszbein, 2001). In conclusion the transfer of some decision making power to school has become well-liked reform over period of year. This paper seeks to examine the need for curriculum development to be decentralized in the light of new constitution dispensation. This paper will be organized as follows the need for curriculum of Kenya to be decentralized and conclusion
2.0 Curriculum development in Kenya should be decentralized
According to an article by Knight (2001), provides a convincing argument for the dominance of a process approach to curriculum development in higher education by outlining the problems with an “outcomes-led rational approach” to curriculum scheduling. With regard to this, Knight’s major point, however, is no to advocate one approach over another, but to stress the necessity of coherence in a set of courses.
Conversely, he returns to Jerome Bruner’s concept of the spiral curriculum, saying “Bruner depicted good curriculum as a spiral of repeated engagements to improve and deepen skills, concepts, attitude and values, and extend their reach. Challenging that it is possible to provide coherence and progression in process curriculum as well as in a product curriculum, he writes, “a good curriculum would plan for learning to take place through communities of practice in which group work and peer evaluation are normal, interpersonal contact is common and networks of engagement are widespread.
On the other hand, during the period of 2011, a new constitution was promulgated in Kenya following a referendum held on the 4th of the same year. However, this was a major achievement for the nation considering that many nations transit constitutions during times of conflict and unsteadiness. Mutually, the promulgation of the new constitution brought to an end a clamor that had persisted for more than twenty years that marked a period of agitation for better governance and greater democratic room.
In regard to this, it is very clear that Kenyans have high hopes that their nation will be transformed by the coming of the new constitution indulgence. Therefore, the enormous democratic room that Kenyans were yearning for was one that definitely would enable them participate effectively and efficiently in the local, institutional, and national level and administration. Simply Kenyans wanted a greater say in regard to decision making stages.
Conversely, the new constitution is the one which embraces decentralization/ devolution as the main structure of management. Thus, this is fundamental departure from the centralized structure of government that Kenya had been having for decades (Winkler and Gershberg, 2000). The objective for decentralization or devolution captured in the constitution was to give the individuals at grass root more control over decision and governance actions that affects them straight.
More so, this contributes to the improvement of their standards of living as well as eradicating the three evils that bedevil the nation: Corruption, Impunity and Tribalism. This constitution has greatly brought transformation within the society since there one can make his or her decision according to subject matter.
Conversely, the teacher education program is a critical component of education in a country. However, in many societies it has been regarded as the beacon of development and adjusts. The reason is that the teacher education programme deals with the preparation and production of school teachers who are instrumental in transforming the country. In regard with this role, there is always constant need to initiate and conduct reforms and innovations in the teacher education programme so as to ensure that it remains relevant to the needs and aspirations of the society at large. At present, the aspiration of the Kenyan society is to have an education system that focuses on access, quality and equity in education as its worth (Winkler and Gershberg, 2000). Correspondingly, the teacher education programme is well placed to promote and sustain these aspirations of the Kenyans. Though, since the colonial period the teacher education programme in Kenya has undergone only some reforms and/or experienced little improvements. As a result, reforms and innovations in Teacher education programme should enhance access, quality and equity in education in the society.
Further, the education system in Kenya from the 8:4:4 to the 2:6:6:3 that has been fuelled by the desire to have an education system that is more accessible, relevant, and equitable and of high value. However, this contends that these dignified educational goals can only be realized through effective curriculum leadership at all tiers of the education structure. With regard to this, such curriculum leadership should be propelled by good governance principles geared Georgiou (2002) towards positively influencing overall institutional and student achievement in a diverse and intertwined fashion, both through their influence on key education stakeholders and institutional procedures.
This paper argues that transformative curriculum leadership should be perceived as the solution to curriculum innovation for equitable and quality education in terms of how transformative leaders develop and utilizes both physical and human resource; set directions for their institutions by developing shared goals, monitoring institutional performance, and promoting effective communication; and finally redesigning their institutions‟ mission and visions. In regard to this perspective, recommendation is that the curriculum leaders should be given financial and logistical support in terms of appropriate professional training for them to develop the ability to transform institutional management to foster powerful teaching and learning for all learners.
The study conducted to establish the major determinants of output in secondary education and the extent to which each educational contribution. The study targeted 69 public schools showed or demonstrated that the key determinant input on education output is student prior achievement. Also, the second key determinant of education output is teacher knowledge (Georgiou, 2002). However, the results further showed that teacher experience accounts for 75.7% of variability in the student performance, and that most endogenous and exogenous inputs are key determinants of female than of male student achievement.
In addition, over the years, educators who are struggling with the need to democratize education have recognized that the classroom based ways of providing education need to be reinforced by innovative methods for the fundamental right of education for all to be acknowledged. As a result, many classroom system institutions have undergone major transformations to accommodate distance teaching and learning modes, creating new roles for the faculty who have who have to support distance learners to make the most of their distance learning understanding. This transformation has generally enabled many learners to learn without any problem or without going to class.
Regular professional development for teachers forms a platform upon which new skills, concepts and processes related to teaching are continually instilled. The argument is that while most other professions have continuous training programs, education, for the most part, has failed to recognize that “continuous training depends”. With regard to this, in the Kenya education context, majority of professional development programs have, on the whole, been found to be insufficient as they do not provide the teachers with opportunities to reflect on their own experiences as well as give them support in modifying their classroom carry out (NCCK, 2009). There fore there should be a program that focuses on improving the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in secondary schools in the society.
On the other hand, the provision of basic education has recognized as universal human righ...