Essay Sample on Curriculum Relevance in Multicultural Societies: Standardizing Knowledge

Introduction

The article addresses key issues in curriculum relevance, which is a basic tenet in knowledge standardization in a multicultural society. America being a multicultural society, the importance of knowledge standardization cannot be over emphasized; in any society, the value of education is to address the society's needs and aspirations (Sleeter, & Stillman 2005). This article discusses major concerns related to the values, knowledge, and attitudes that should be imparted to the learners, which are essential in knowledge standardization in a multicultural society. According to the article, it also discusses the importance of effective curriculum formulation, which is essential in addressing the needs of people of different cultures.

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The author argues that among the things that the school should be involved in is to engage the young people in the society in basic values and believes. The school should also meet the expectation of the adults. He also argues that the school should assist young people in transit to adulthood (Sleeter, & Stillman 2005). These sentiments by the author are in tandem with the roles of any education in any given society. The author further argues that education is a tool for dominance. This, indeed is a fact because education enhances the control of resources. The author brings out two distinctive curriculum codes; there are the collection code and an integrated code. He says that the collection code reflects stable classification; he further argues that the stronger the classification, the more hierarchical the structure of knowledge, the more status academic knowledge has over everyday experience. And the greater degree to which teaching moves sequentially from basic facts toward the deep structure of a given discipline.it is observed that the pedagogy requires systematic presentation of content. Therefore, a code that specifies and clearly stipulates elements in knowledge construction is of invariable importance. This argument in favor of collection codes is of significant importance in knowledge standardization. However, the emphasis of knowledge construction rather than the accumulation of disciplinary facts and concepts, which is a key concern of the integrated code are equally important in the standardization of knowledge (Sleeter & Stillman 2005). The argument that in an integrated code curriculum is weakly classified, boundaries are blurred, and knowledge is viewed much less hierarchically is however not accurate. Because when content is selected according to themes, the boundaries are clearer and the content more specific.

Major assumptions that are used in the article is that standardizing knowledge will enhance the educational achievements of people of different cultures in society. Another hidden assumption is that the curriculum constructed by the European American scholars is superior to that done by immigrants of which it is not the case (Sleeter & Stillman 2005). Also, another assumption, according to the author, is that raising standards is equivalent to standardizing curriculum. The last assumption used by the author is that teachers and students are the bottom of the hierarchy in curriculum construction, that their activities are confined to classrooms. According to Bernstein, he stated that the codes of power in any country are determined by how the curriculum used in schools are framed and classified. Improving the school's curriculum influence's the political movement of a country in that it will help in reconfiguring power relationships among the social class groupings, language, racial, and ethnic groups. Standardizing knowledge in a multicultural society helps in improving students learning, and also it prepares the generations to come to know about the social order.

According to the article, the author uses an example of California to show how standardization of knowledge is important. California is known to have a highly diverse population of students, and in the early 1980s, the country drafted curriculum frameworks which became the standard- based reform program in the country (Sleeter, & Stillman 2005). Having a curriculum that can be used by students of different races is very important in that it will help to create equality amongst the students. This is because having a curriculum that favors only one community will create boundaries and racial discrimination to international students who will be seeking education in other countries. To make a curriculum that is beneficial to students and a country at large, the State Board of Education have to make curriculum decisions. They have to appoint members of the Curriculum commission who then goes through the new curriculum to make sure that it's the best which can be helpful to the students after it is proven by the colleges, counties the districts that are when it will be released to the schools to be used.

When introducing a new curriculum in schools, the board should ensure that it is the best that can help to standardize knowledge among students. For example, introducing Language Art as a subject to be taught in school is essential. This is because students have to get the skills first so that through the skills adopted they can build meaning on it. This program ensures that every student should master the foundation skills so that when they are out there in society, they can be able to demonstrate they learned in schools. Also in colleges especially the education students the curriculum should favor them because what they are being taught is what they will be passing to the next generation so the skills and the training they adopt should be of high quality.

Conclusion

In conclusion, knowledge standardization is essential in that it will help nature students so that they can be useful shortly. Any curriculum that is introduced in schools should be the one that teaches students ideas and important issues so that when they are out there in the communities, they will be able to help and establish the community through the knowledge gained in school.

Reference

Sleeter, Christine, and Jamy Stillman. "Standardizing knowledge in a multicultural society." Curriculum Inquiry 35.1 (2005): 27-46.