Universal Curriculum Design in Science Are we meeting the 21st Century Requirements?

Abstract

 Curriculum design is a term used to describe the purposeful, deliberate and systematic organisation of curriculum (instructional blocks) within a class or course. The purpose of curriculum design is to meet the educational needs of the learners, thereby improving their learning. The present study focuses on the learning requirements of the twenty-first century and whether the present science curriculum is meeting that requirement. Science is a subject which is mandatory in all schools, whether special or mainstream. The study aims to collect the opinion from the service providers (teachers, teacher trainers, etc.) as well as the service receivers (i.e., students) who are part of framing curriculum, as well as receiving the curriculum respectively. A five point likert scale questionnaire was developed for assessing the opinion of the service providers regarding the present science curriculum whereas the service receivers were also assessed for their opinion about the current science curriculum and its implication on their future life. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed that the present curriculum needs to be attuned with new age information and should be process oriented. Moreover, the student data also was in accordance with the service providers which revealed that the curriculum has to be reviewed frequently for meeting the learning requirements of the twenty-first century learners.