Developing Macau’s junior secondary schools music curriculum

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 574-587
Author(s):  
Marina WY Wong

For centuries, Macau’s schooling has embraced laissez-faire market principles, a stasis that from AY2016/17 is being changed by the government offering schools tuition coupons conditional on their adoption of a common school curriculum. A study of part of this new common curriculum, the development of a music curriculum for junior secondary schools in Macau, addresses three research questions: (a) What are music teachers’ perceptions and how do these frame the implementation of Macau’s common music curriculum? (b) Do music teachers’ expectations align with those of the central government? (c) Do music teachers perceive that they impact on or are impacted by this innovation? Discussion of the findings highlights a controversy about the role of teachers within curriculum development – should teachers be center staged (Lawton (2012 [1980]) or is this view an oversimplification based on false assumptions of a social democratic tradition (Whitty (1985, 2012 [1981])?

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-78
Author(s):  
Ogunode Niyi Jacob

This study aimed to investigate the challenges facing the administration of STEM Education in Gwgwalada junior secondary schools of FCT, Nigeria. The study employed a descriptive survey design. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaires titled:' Challenges facing Administration of STEM Education Questionnaire” (CFASEQ).The sample for the study comprised of 200 teachers. A simple random sampling method was used to select the sample. One hypothesis and three research instruments were used for the study. Test and retest were employed to determine the reliability of the instrument. Simple percentages were employed to analyze the data collected and a chi-square test was used to test the hypothesis. The study revealed that challenges are facing the administrations of STEM Education in Gwagwalada junior secondary schools and these challenges include; inadequate infrastructural facilities, shortage of science teachers, lack of instructional materials, lack of motivation, inadequate fund, poor supervision, high population, poor capacity development program for science teachers and negative attitude of students towards STEM education. The result also revealed that100% of the respondents agreed that the implications of the challenge facing the administration of STEM Education are responsible for poor implementation of STEM education in Gwagwalada junior secondary schools of FCT, Nigeria. From the finding, it was recommended that the government increase the funding of education and give more priority to STEM Education.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 183-215
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Yahaya Fofana ◽  
Stella Baindu Fortune

Since the inception of Western Education in Sierra Leone, frantic efforts    have been made to formulate policies in order to improve the quality of education. It has been acknowledged by various educationists that curriculum implementation is instrumental in improving the quality of education in any society. Therefore, it is seen as an approach which improves students’ academic achievements, equipping graduates with sufficient knowledge and skills for them to survive academically and socially in this modern world. On that note, the development of school curriculum is very significant in the life of a nation. The National School Curriculum as a program of learning is supposed to be a highly sensitive document as it contains the aspiration of the nation, preparing its citizens to face future challenges. It is supposed to be a document of hope. Notwithstanding the wide recognition and acceptance accorded the roles of curriculum as a career of national philosophy in Sierra Leonean Educational system, there seems to be challenges in the implementation of this important blue print. This could not be disassociated with inadequate trained and qualified teachers in the field/classroom; community/volunteer teachers unpaid; ill-trained and sometimes confused graduates and inadequate Teaching Learning Materials; lack of guidelines for the implementation of curriculum and the complexity of managing the curriculum coupled with inadequate training regarding curriculum implementation. Capacitation of teachers is essential in the successful implementation of any curriculum as they are the main role-players in promoting quality education. This and other related problems should be a cause for concern. By and large, the researcher is optimistic that although people are different and despite the negativity and inadequacies surrounding the curriculum, there is hope that with time and effort and given the total commitment of all stakeholders to implement the curriculum, success can be attained. Especially with the President’s (Retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio’s) New Direction Agenda on education in Sierra Leone. Therefore, it can be concluded that the aim of the study and primary research questions which were explored, namely the Challenges towards Curriculum Implementation in Four Selected Junior Secondary Schools in Kpanga Chiefdom, Pujehun District, were adequately addressed and answered.               


Author(s):  
Abdul M. Muin

However, religious education teachers' requirement is an important and strategic factor to be fulfilled. Based on the data, its requirement either on State Junior Secondary School or Private Junior High School in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan can be said that it already fulfilled the requirement based on the calculation ratio between the religious educa­tion teachers and the students. It means that every Junior Secondary School, state and private, already available the religious education teach­ers', so the students have been taught religious teaching as their beliefs and taught by the teacher who has the same religion with them. The problem is how the schools able to fulfill that requirement. In the State Junior Secondary Schools, it is not a big problem because the govern­ment supports it. But, the Private Junior High Schools face this as a serious problem. The problem of religious education teachers' require­ment comes from internal and external of Junior Secondary School. Internally, it is about fund. Meanwhile, externally it is more founded on the government policy which has not yet sided on the Private Junior Secondary Schools.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ojo Yetunde Abiola ◽  
Ogunmilugba Bamidele Joke

The crux of this study is to examine the role of counselling services in fostering adjustment of school-aged children-in-transition in junior secondary schools in Ogun state, Nigeria. Using simple random and purposive sampling technique, three hundred samples (males= 133 and females=167) of school-aged children with mean age 10.96 participated in the study. Respondents filled two standardized instruments which are School Counselling Services Scale (SCSS) and Student Adjustment Scale (SAS). Data were analysed using Pearson product moment correlation and t-test at 0.05 level of significance. Result revealed that counselling services was perceived to be an effective tool in fostering adjustment of school-aged children–in-transition in junior secondary schools. Consequent upon this, government, policy makers as well as school counsellors should ensure the efficient and effective delivery of counselling services in secondary schools for new students transitioning from primary schools to junior secondary schools.


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