THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
Introduction
"Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn in your schools are the work of many generations, produced by enthusiastic effort and infinite labor in every country of the world. All this is put into your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honor it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it to your children. Thus do we mortals achieve immortality in the permanent things which we create in common." - Albert Einstein
Every successful concept and project in life requires a proper framework and planning. This relates to all processes, including education. Whenever we embark on any new plan or procedure, we need to make sure that we have all the plans drawn up. What is on offer, what are the resources that we have, what are the steps, which we need to take and what are the goals that we need to achieve are some elements that need to be looked upon. A similar set of constraints when applied to education in schools and colleges gives birth to curriculum. A curriculum is a set of courses, including their content, offered at a school or university. The curriculum often contains a detailed list of subjects and the elements of teaching them.
John Franklin Bobbitt’s “The Curriculum” published in 1918 mentions curriculum as an idea that has its roots in the Latin word ‘race-course’. He also explained “The Curriculum” as the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow up into adults and get going for success in the society. A curriculum is more than putting together a set of academically required subjects. It must consider all aspects of the student life, the learning needs of students, the time available for the sessions and the teachers’ idea, capability and workload.
At high school levels, teenagers can take their own liberty in choosing their path. Though complete autonomy does not rest with a student, a level of choice is very evident. This helps in the