Curriculum design in vocational education

CurriculumdesigninvocationaleducationHelenBowers*InternationalCollegeofManagement,SydneyinassociationwithMacquarieUniversity*[e-mail]heAustralianAssociationforResearchinEducation–2006Conference26to30November2006,Adelaide.Keywords:specificcurriculum,taughtcurriculum,learnedcurriculum,assessedcurriculum,vocationaleducation,competencies.2AbstractThefutureofcompetency-basedtrainingmaywellcontainsurprisesandtheresultsofstrategicplanningcanonlybefaintlyseenthroughfuturemistyproposals.Knowledgeofthelearningapproachesbystudents,thebenefitsofcommunitiesofpracticeintheclassroomandthequalityofcompetency-basedcurriculuminVocationalEducationandTrainingistheepistemologicalkeytoappliedlearning.Thishastobecombinedwithanontologicalfocustoensurethatcurriculumencouragesteaching,knowingandlearningandbecomespartofwhoweareratherthanjustsomethingateachermustfollow.Curriculumdesignersareurgedtolimitthecontentsostudentscanbeledtoinvestigate,exploreanddrawinferencesfromtheirownresearch.However,italsoseemsimportantthatcurricularetainlinkswiththerealworldwhileatthesametimeretainingflexibilitythatallowsideastobeexpandedandexploredinascholarlyway.Thecurriculumdesignalsoneedstoaccommodatevariedlearningstyleswhilestimulatingthelearnertoevokeinterestinthecontent.Thispaperexaminescurriculumasanessentialandimportantelementintheeducationalenvironmentandanalyseswhythesupportingassessmentsactasadrivingforceincapturingtheobjectivesoftheeducator.Ifwelldesignedanddeveloped,thenvocationalcurriculumwillprovidethebasisforgoodlearningandteaching.AustralianAssociationforResearchinEducation–2006Conference26to30November2006,Adelaide.3IntroductionThispaperfocusesonaparticularunitofcurriculaandhowitisperceivedbyteachersandstudents.ItispartofamajorstudythatexaminedtheexperiencesandperceptionsofstudentsandtheirteachersoftheTAFEsubjectInternalControlPrinciples(seeAppendix1).Knowledgeofthelearningapproachesbystudents,thebenefitsofcommunitiesofpracticeintheclassroomandthequalityofthecompetency-basedcurriculumintertiaryeducationistheepistemologicalkeytovocationallearning.Thisiscombinedwithanontologicalfocustoensurethatcurriculumencouragesteaching,knowingandlearningandis‘notsimplysomethingwepossessbutwhoweare’(Dall’Alba2005,p363).Withsomanydifferentaspectsofcurriculumthataffectteachingandlearning,thereisanincreasingneedforamendmentstocurriculaasdesignersfranticallytrytokeeppacewithinnovativedigitaladvancesthatoftenbecomecrammedintoanalreadyoverloadedunitsyllabus.However,itisimportantthatcurricularetainlinkswiththerealworldwhileatthesametimeretainingflexibilitythatallowsideastobeexpandedandexploredinascholarlyway.Overthelasttwodecadestheeducationalliteraturehasdemonstratedaquantumleapintherecognitionoftheimportanceofperceptionsandexperiencesinteachingandlearningoutcomes.Itclearlyadvocatesthatcurriculumandteachingtakecentralrolesintheeducationalexperiencesofstudents.Itappearsthatdespitethevolumesofresearchfocusingonthestudents’needsandtheirperceptionsofteachingandlearning,manyteachersremaininadequatelyinformedofthestudents’experiencesandhowthesemayimpactonthequalityoftheirlearningoutcomes.Attheheartofteachingandlearningisthecurriculumwithallitsaccompanyingresourcesthatareusedinthelearningsituation.Itisfittingthentobeginthisreviewwiththecurriculumtodiscoverwhattheliteraturesaysaboutitsdesign,developmentandimplementation.AustralianAssociationforResearchinEducation–2006Conference26to30November2006,Adelaide.4AglimpseintotheliteratureCurriculumpersecanbebroadlydefinedasthespecificknowledgeandskillsthatstudentslearn(ASCD2005).ThisiswhatDall’Alba(2005)characterisesastheplantoaddressepistemology,describedasthetheoryofknowing.Curriculumhelpsteachersdevelopstrategies,activitiesandtechniquesthatkindle‘adesiretolearn,promotionoflearninginface-to-faceand/ortechnology-mediatedformats,assessmentofstudentachievementandevaluationforimprovementofeducationalpractice’(p363).However,curriculumisalsomorethanthat.EncyclopaediaBritannica(2006)setsoutthehistoryofcurriculumdevelopmentandclaimsthatithasundergonevastchangesinthelastcentury.Theydescribethisasfollows:…curriculumhasrespondedtosocialissuesbyincludingsuchsubjectsasconsumereducation(orotherapplicationsoftheeconomicsofafree-enterprisesociety),ethnicormulticulturaleducation,environmentaleducation,sexandfamily-lifeeducation,andsubstance-abuseeducation.Recentinterestinvocational-technicaleducationhasbeendirectedtowardestablishingspecializedvocationalschools,improvingcareerinformationresources,integratingschoolandworkexperience,utilizingcommunityresources,andmeetingtheneedsofthelabourmarket.…Curriculumreformshaveaccentuatedtheacademicbasics,particularlymathematics,science,andlanguage,aswellasthe“newbasics,”includingcomputers.Computershavebecomeincreasinglyimportantineducationnotonlyasafieldofstudybutalsoasreferenceandteachingaids.(p202)Accordingtothisviewofcurriculum,ithaschangedastheworldproblemsandotherissueshavechanged.ReidandLoxton(2004)agreethatinternationalisationisa