Research Topics: Education Higher

SUMMATIVE ASSIGNMENT

Background   You are the Financial Director of a biotechnology company, fully integrated from discovery to market, with global presence and products in four main therapeutic areas: neurology, reproductive health, growth and metabolism, and dermatology. In 2000 your company, with headquarters in Switzerland and listed in both the Swiss and New York stock exchanges, was valued at US billion, but recent events in both the stock market and product markets have severely depressed its value and there are no signs that the downward pressure on the share price is easing. The company is facing increasing competition on its main markets, with decreasing profit margins, a contentious political atmosphere, and a maze of new regulatory demands. These challenges are compounded by the fact that, in the next three years, the company will lose patent protection on several of its best-selling products.   Although it is currently experiencing some short-term liquidity problems, the company is considered by the Board of Directors to be financially sound with a good mix of debt/equity in its capital structure and certainly within its target ratio. However, the solid financial performance in the last financial year, with new highs in revenues, earnings and dividends, has done little to offset a drop in investor’s confidence. During the last Board’s meeting the CEO informed the Board that: “There is now considerable pressure from the main shareholders to take measures to improve the value of our company, otherwise the slide in our stock market value could make us a potential takeover target.” Therefore, the Board asked the CEO to find a suitable acquisition target company.   The CEO believes that it is strategically important for the company to diversify its activities and reach into important and growing therapeutic categories, such as oncology and immunology. It is also essential for the company to turn the corner on the R&D productivity issue that has affected the industry since the late 1990s. After considerable research, data gathering and analysis, the CEO has focussed her attention on UCB S.A., a Belgian pharmaceutical company with subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide and a global geographic reach. Although UCB’s share price has somewhat recovered from its downturn in 2002-03, the CEO believes that UCB is still good value for money and a good match for the company.   ========================================================== Corporate Finance Full Time 2005 MBA   The CEO asks you to produce a detailed report to be presented to the next meeting of the Board of Directors advising whether your company should formally consider bidding for UCB. She also indicates to you that, given the prevailing stock market sentiments, this year your company may consider not paying dividends, if necessary, and use the money saved in that way to finance the bid. This would be the first occasion in 10 years that your company alters its dividend policy. She reminds you that two of the non-executive directors are top professors of finance from Easy Study University and are always very critical of decisions not reflecting the latest academic thinking! None of the members of the Board has any experience with mergers and acquisitions and thus your report should be informative about alternatives.   Requirement   You are required to write a report for consideration at the next meeting of the Board of Directors. The aim of your report is the make a clear and well-argued recommendation supported by relevant academic literature. Your report should be structured into the following sections:   1. Motives – This section should include a detailed discussion of the main motives for the proposed acquisition supported by the latest academic thinking, with an emphasis on the arguments that the company should use to present such bid to its shareholders. [25 marks] 2. Valuation -You need to advise the company about UCB’s valuation and whether it offers the company value for money. As part of your answer, you need to draw the Board’s attention to any risks or problems associated with your chosen methods of valuation. [35 marks] 3. Financing – This section should include a critical evaluation of: (a) various alternatives of financing this bid; (b) the impact of these alternatives on the company’s capital structure and distribution policy; and (c) the implications of any changes in capital structure or distribution policy. [30 marks] 4. Recommendations – This should include a clear and concise list of recommendations based on the previous analysis in the report, and could also include any other relevant information that you deem to be useful for the Board to consider. [10 marks]   N.B.:   (i) All calculations must be fully explained. (ii) The use of literature must be fully referenced and a reference list must be provided at the end of the assignment. Please refer to your Programme Handbook for guidance on referencing. Your report should not exceed 4000 words in length, excluding diagrams, tables, bibliography and appendices.   MARKING GUIDELINES   Performance in the summative assessment for this module is judged against the following criteria:   · Relevance to question · Structure/presentation & clarity of writing · Scope & relevance of literature review · Rigour of argument · Evidence of understanding · Conclusions/Recommendations Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

SUMMATIVE ASSIGNMENT

Background You are the Financial Director of a biotechnology company, fully integrated from discovery to market, with global presence and...

Sample Essay Benefits of Having a Graduate Degree

The Benefits of having a Graduate Degree                   There are numerous graduates than there are academic and research jobs, and current graduates are deciding to undergo shift to further types of jobs tremendously complicated (Grifths:1995). While an established research record once opened doors beyond the university laboratory, today’s graduate finds that these doors are often shut. The environment in labs and universities is decidedly unlikable as young scientists find they often have little job security. Today’s outlook for young scientists is radically different from that in previous decades. Most graduates will inevitably face a transition into a career other than research in their Ph.D. field. This shift, which is usually financially and emotionally disturbing, eventually represents a waste of training and talent.             A graduate degree will let me be my own boss. I can have my own laboratory and operate my own research program (Tobias et. Al.:1995). This will also allow me to write funding based on my knowledge and present them to national funding agencies. I can join scientific meetings all over the globe to show my results. At the same time I can be also the main author on papers that will be published in prestigious journals such as Science Nature and American Journal of Physiology. A graduate degree will also give me an opportunity to teach and train students at the undergraduate and graduate level and postdoctoral fellows (Armstrong:1994). I can work with pharmaceutical firms on the manufacture of new life-saving drugs. I will be able to provide on review boards for granting agencies and journals. I can help shape the future of professional societies by serving on their committees and governing boards. Graduate degree will also provide me a chance to travel both nationally and internationally to attend meetings, present your research, and collaborate with other physiologists. In between a Bachelor’s and a doctoral degree is a Master’s degree. Some schools have a formal graduate degree program, whereas other schools award a graduate degree if I finish my coursework toward a doctoral degree but decide not to complete a research thesis. A graduate degree gives better career opportunities. Frequently, graduates of this degree will be the person coordinating the lab, as well as supervision technicians and graduate and undergraduate students, for the Professor or Principal Investigator. Should I choose teaching to research, I will have a chance to teach at community colleges and some undergraduate institutions. I might also consider teaching at the high school level, even though additional educational coursework and certification would be required in most cases.             Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Sample Essay Benefits of Having a Graduate Degree

The Benefits of having a Graduate Degree There are numerous graduates than there are academic and research jo...

HIGHER EDUCATION

Literature Review According to  (2001), educational inequality is the result of interactions between family decisions (demand) and opportunities (supply).  The supply is said to be a factor in which the national government can intervene.  It can be stimulated by passing laws like compulsory-subsidized schooling or emphasizing specialization areas in which its pump-priming strategies will be applied ( 1992).  With this, educational stratification can be obtained.    However, opportunities of higher education expansion are curtailed by limited resources and illegitimacy of the government.  In the Philippines, although expansion ensued, social origins (say, farmland) and educational transition (say, away from agriculture to industry) remained stagnant (1987).  Also, China’s educational recovery in the post-Mao era was halted when women started to draw back to rural areas due to inequality ( 1996).  Lastly, South African whites applied racial discrimination to black counterparts to decrease the latter chance to access stratified higher education ( 1999;  1996).   Global factors such as Western thoughts and educational modernity adversely influence the stratification processes of developing countries (cited in  2001).  Modernization theory ( 2006) suggests that developing countries require the aid of developed ones for internal growth.  However, when discrimination reigns abound and developed economies wanted more, the opportunity of developing countries to exploit high-paying employment or infuse international knowledge to their own condition is undermined.  In effect, this could be suspected about a procedural strategy from developed countries whereby dependency theory ( 2006) is the bottom-line theme wherein they continue to be capitalist and developing economies as natural resources and labor suppliers.    (1976) showed that school factors determine academic achievement than family factors (cited in  2001).  This is supported by subsequent research conducted by  (1983) that quoted “the poorer the country, the greater the impact of school and teacher quality on achievement.”  In the contrary, there are important aspects of family background to educational outcomes in developing countries.  Family status had found to affect student’s mathematics and language ability.  In supporting study,  (1999) found that the higher the “wealth gap” in a developing country, the difference in student achievement between rich and poor becomes eminent.    Liberal education is a holistic approach to learning that departs to conventional thinking that a person should learn in narrow perspective ( 2003).  Its emphasis is on whole development and crucial to higher learning.  Without it, vocational courses would replace bachelor’s degree or other graduate studies since liberal education provides the platform for a person to think critically, appreciate gaining of knowledge and understand cultures/ ethics including their problems.  Developing countries had undermined liberal education due to too much focus on industrialization as evidenced by Soviet Union.  This is aggravated by the fact that most persons in such countries who access liberal education are mostly elites — a very small fraction of the population.   Another hindrance to liberal education is the political ideologies of the holding governments ( 2003).  As said, “People are difficult to govern because they have too much knowledge”.  This dictum serves as one of the dictator’s rationale to invest heavily in vocational education.  However, when thinking is limited to only know what to do, what to think and what to learn, people are transformed into robots with value judgments which even engineers would be slipped into since their industrial acts undermines environmental impacts due to too much technicality of their cognition.  To acknowledge this, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee was formed and aimed to use liberal education to uplift the quality of graduates for the purpose of alleviating poverty in the country.  This will lead for employers to see the graduates more attractive and fit-to-work.   In Alaska, youths who are on-the-verge of deciding whether to pursue higher studies or indulge to serious jobs for long-term goals are mostly bound to migrate (2004).  This US-state faced continued slow growth during 1990s and shift from resource extraction to services and retail.  The brain drain that it experiences would not support the transition due to lack of manpower not only in quantity but also quality.  Its long-term development is also beleaguered due to the inability of its universities to lure student to study locally that would lead to permanent employment elsewhere.                             Bibliography Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

HIGHER EDUCATION

Literature Review According to (2001), educational inequality is the result of interactions between family decisions (demand) and oppor...

HIGHER EDUCATION

CUT IN THE MIDDLE: HIGHER EDUCATION & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Introduction Most of the developing countries are highly reliant to agricultural sector.  As a result, its provision of courses available in higher education is limited for this specific purpose and non-specialized studies.  In China’s educational history, it opted to send specialized higher education students in countries where their specialization could be enhanced with the purpose to save its future industrialized perspective ( 1991).  Problems however aroused in the government’s financial capability to support the growing number of aspiring students.  Did its dream to obtain competitive advantage in terms of industrially-learned human capital gone in thin air?  What are other higher education options that the country needs to develop in response to its economic development? Even though China belongs to developing country (2006), its government had the control of its resources and has plenty to speak about to influence the educational system because of its Communist type of rule.  It can sway the public demand for higher education that makes it easy for them to rationalize and balance the number of graduates relative to their future employment.  However, most of the developing countries in South-East Asia, Latin America and Africa do not have the same authoritarian government where freedom and democracy are commonly upheld ( 2006).  This is the reason why there is a need to conduct a situation analysis and develop a marketing plan for developing countries to encourage local patronage of its higher education and discourage the population leaving the country to study undergraduate or graduate studies abroad.  It will be coupled with marketing models and analytical tools to promote rational decisions on how to confront the recent trend.  The Reason behind Higher Education Migration Using  ( 2003), higher education offerings of developing countries possesses mostly agricultural and less specialization-based higher education offerings.  Existing market, however, is growing at a faster rate when it comes to the demand for non-traditional courses.  The desire was aggravated by the popularity of the internet, emphasizing more of trade liberalization like China and call for industrialization.  As a result, information-based foreign companies started to precipitate the local labor force putting pressure to higher education to adapt in the abrupt transformation and globalization.  However, developing countries have limited resources to fund higher education development leaving the population helpless in the growing demand for competitive labor markets these foreign companies, including local ones who are also affected by the former, required. The local market then turns their heads to other countries, particularly the affluent ones.  Such move was motivated by the cognition that higher education in such countries is relatively more compatible to the international trend of industrialization, from agriculture-based to technology-based habit.  Back in the local produce of higher education, people are displeased by the results of years from universities to the labor sector that exhibits low wage, unemployment and demanding qualifications.  Agriculture graduates are driven out of the picture replaced by information and service-intensive diploma holders.  Since governments are caught unprepared, the country’s competitive advantage from agriculture-based higher education is shaky until it is balanced.   Through generic strategies ( 2003), the current limitation of developing countries and increased motivation of migrating local markets can be observed.  China and Cuba (, 2006) are two of the excellent countries when it comes to education partly because the government provides the service.  However, most of developing countries have less control to the institutions, especially private ones.  State-owned or subsidized universities are minimal relative to the number of private ones.  Besides, being a cost leader, public schools lack the ability to generate its own fund through tuition fees unlike the private ones.  Once they do, expect freedom of speech and freedom of education shouted to school premises.  This lack of revenue generation capability and “public service” nature of public schools accommodated sub-optimal number of college students.  Sub-optimal because the public’s motivation to study in such school is largely stemmed in low tuition fees making the choice: “enroll or not to enroll” ignoring what the student really wants, or more importantly in macroeconomic view, what labor market can absorve.   The market-competitive direction ( 1996) of education in the private universities resulted to a more differentiated course offerings to create added value and lure students in the curricula by compensating for soaring tuition fees.  Because of this fact, only the elite social class affords to study and celebrates the “additional value” of these private institutions like specialized and trained professors, dynamic and diverse curricula, sufficient science and computer laboratories, including ample security, clean comfort rooms and conducive-to-learning classrooms (oftentimes with air conditioners).  However, some of these elite families are aware that studying locally, even in private ones, would lead only to their graduates’ inclusion to low-waged labor sector.  This is aggravated by the unstable government, security problems and other discouraging local facts that can disrupt learning and cause disincentive to employment-seeking.  In the end, the prominent goal to migrate to other countries seemed to be the overlapping motivation for the elite studying abroad.  However, internal doubts in their home countries would be lessened only after graduation and the time they hold college diploma from, say Harvard, that can dictate superiority over the labor market.  Either they return or never come back, hopes for the future are relatively parallel— high income levels, prestige, relatively easy access to employment and an eye to management level positions.  The Effects of Educational Migration              Brain drain is an economic condition in which the competent human capital of a country is at low levels as a result of exercising profession abroad.  Without this competence and expertise, the economy and government will be stagnant, if not decline, because of sub-optimal ability to make rational and suited decisions.  Development drives will tend to be in low levels or even opposite, there is minimal labor force to actively participate in the endeavor.  In business, human capital is considered one of the most important resources of a firm, however, for a country; they are considered nation-builders.  Their lost in the economic circulation is not as easy as a private firm in which recruitment and hiring could be sought from a pool of aspirants.  In a macroeconomic view, such lost would need another stagnant years to invest for another young people with the hope that enrolling their higher education would be made locally.              For the elite and sponsored migrating students, although monetary considerations is not an issue, cultural differences due to different environment abroad demands cultural adaptation on their part.  Since they are mostly on adolescent stage, such shift would rather difficult.  Discrimination in color and language could ignite untoward psychological impact that can adversely affect academic performance.  This is true especially in group works.  Foreign students could face exclusion from the local group that could result that could affect self-esteem and increase stress levels.  Although international schools like those in United Kingdom had installed anti-discrimination practices in its educational systems, straightforward and isolated intimidation from the dominating majority can leave long-lasting effects to classroom performance of foreign students.   Analysis of Public and Private Higher Education Institutions             Strengths of public-based higher education are eminent in low tuition fee, security of stable school tuition fee and promotion of student empowerment.  On the other hand, private institutions confirm strengths in areas of training its faculties, dynamism of course offerings, provision of computer facility and laboratory and relatively wider employment opportunities due to student exposure to the cities where firms are prevalent.  Weaknesses for the public and private institutions sourced from the exclusivity of their strengths in most cases.  For example, private universities require financial liquidity to continue fostering environment conducive to learning as public counterparts would often rely to students’ acceptance of sub-optimal atmosphere as compensation to low tuition and enrolment fees.             For state-owned universities, an opportunity is cited by focusing in agricultural courses as it can become an export potential sector in the long-run, at least when the trend of industrialization is reached by most countries.  The government must have decision-making capability to situate public universities strategic areas, both rural and urban.  Since the international trend tends to drive the countries out of the agricultural sector, an opportunity awaits a developing country to monopolize the sector.  The local market, on the other hand, is threatened the assurance of agricultural industries to employ their services after graduation.  This will motivate them to relive the occupation of their parents and grandparents, possibly, using their own farms to inspire entrepreneurship.  With this opportunity, technology should be available in industry- and household-level to maximize application of agriculture graduates of their learning.             For the part of private institutions, opportunities can be derived from its differentiated, technological and specialized course offerings.  They can absorb the migrating local market.  However, homogenous curricula should be avoided between private and public ones to avoid redundancy in educational efforts.  If the location of state universities is likely on the rural municipalities and highlands, it is appropriate for private schools to penetrate the urban dwellers.  The prevalence of Internet and information-based resources in cities will provide conducive environment for non-agriculture students.               The obvious threat on the effectiveness of these opportunities is the competition outside the country.  Aggravating factors to this is the fact that international schools had created partnerships with developing countries to conduct recruitment of potential enrollee, mostly in the graduate level, endangering the objective implied in such opportunities.  Finally, political stability, economic development and social conditions in the country should provide incentive to those elite families that the country has prospects to flourish and obtain stability especially in the field of higher education.           Marketing Plan             Marketing objectives are as follows: <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Promote dynamism in educational sector through the state-subsidized specialized courses in private institutions;  </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Modernize the pubic institution’s agricultural courses and install income generating projects with these modernization;</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Public schools’ gradual set up of specialized and technology-based courses.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Stimulating and encouraging foreign investment in proportion to local graduate educational background.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Advertising, in a national scope, improvements done in higher education system.</li>   The market will be segmented to the following categories: 1.      Rural- and urban-based; 2.      Aspiring agricultural/service graduate or technological/ specialized graduate; 3.      High-income, middle-income, low-income families 4.      Private and public scholars     Market Positioning             Public institutions will be transformed income generating machineries where managers of the unit projects will be students themselves.  This will not only promote student empowerment but also a way for state-owned universities to gradually depart from too much reliance to state coffers for funding.  Private institutions will be closely monitored by the government to avoid over-increase of tuition fees.  Specialized courses from these universities will also be made open to scholars and rural-based secondary level graduates.  The level of education in public and private will be directed in two, although not strictly on package, goals— quality and affordability.  Key areas or those accredited courses will serve as the competitive advantage of one from the other that makes such goals often separate but public institutions would tend to impart package especially in the field of agriculture which is the government long-term prospect of competitive advantage.               Fees for public and private universities will be maintained to avoid untoward rebellion from the private sector and students alike.  The improvement will be done in terms of encouraging investments to provide more jobs for the parents of these students in order to cope with the financial requirements of higher learning.  Additional public universities will be situated in rural and urban areas where poverty is prevalent.  The same will be made to private institutions although the former will be higher.  Funding will be sourced internally and externally through donations and loans.  Because the return of the marketing endeavor would take at least ten years, when graduates of the program are competent enough and acquire higher market labor value, terms of loans should be parallel to the period.         Implementation Controls             Marketing plan will need at least ten years to gain viable results.  Every end and start of school year, evaluators will get data on the level of student turn-over, aspiring occupation when graduated and level of mental ability and motivation from them.  Data gathered will be forwarded to the department that selects the investment opportunity entering the country and situate them in such a manner to establish some balance between the student’s responses to the prospective investor.  From the time of graduation, it is projected that these students will enter the newly opened establishments.  Two years will be dedicated to building new schools, improving present facilities and training of professors from the public universities including bargaining to private institutions about the strategy.  At the seventh year, graduating students’ preference of employment and actual employment pursued will be gathered to study deviations from the past years’ records and to call for another strategy if the need arises.  The independence of state from private university improvement will result to limited funding, thus, concentration will be diverted to public ones.         Conclusion             The problems of higher education migration can slow down, even loose, the economic development strategies of a developing country.  However, when public and private universities’ plans will be coordinated to each other, an educational system can be formed.  It will create synergy that can supply the shortcoming of the government in financial matters.  It is the play of demand and supply that counts especially when the problem is an internal one.  Also, discrimination of location of a university should be discouraged instead served as an opportunity for student to explore knowledge of their choosing— from rural –based agriculture to technology- and specialized-based industry.  The government, on its part, should not simply overlook the importance of funds in the higher education upheaval.  More importantly, promoting participation and advocacy to the citizenry of all levels should be of high concern.  This could be done through extensive marketing and communication of the advantages and problems in higher education.  Besides, higher education involves people, why let money dictate success of strategy? Bibliography Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

HIGHER EDUCATION

CUT IN THE MIDDLE: HIGHER EDUCATION & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Introduction Most of the developing countries are highly reliant to agric...

Unit 1 IP: Evolution of Higher Education Curriculum in the United States and Malaysia

Running Head: THE DOMAINS OF CURRICULUM STUDIES   Evolution of Higher Education Curriculum in the United States and Malaysia   Abstract             Curriculum development is being affected by different factors that are related in local and international environment. Thus, it can be said that the educational system and curriculum of one country is purely associated to their country, because it had been affected by foreign cultures and beliefs, which reflects the current curriculum. This paper focuses on analyzing the development of curriculum in the United States and Malaysia. It had found out that religion and government are the two most powerful figures which affected the development or changes in the curriculum, primarily due to colonialism and the crusade towards Christianity. Introduction             Different researchers and practitioners have different definition of curriculum. On one hand, it can be defined as the set of knowledge, skills as well as activities that will be delivered towards the students (National Curriculum United Kingdom, 1988). On the other, it can be defined as a set of designed activities in order to promote the teaching process of teacher, and the learning process of students (Saylor, Alexander and Lewis (1981), Beauchamp (1981) and Posner (1998)) (Marsh, 2004 and Ying Cheong, 1994).             The said definition varied because of the different factors which can affect the curriculum including the changing needs of the students, high expectations , together with the different policies of local and national government, together with the different entities that are involved in the education field (Yio Cheong, 1994). Higher Education Curriculum             Educational systems around the globe have the universal function that is to select and allocate function such as preparing individuals to accomplish key roles in the society. The only difference focuses on who receives the education and how they are trained. Therefore, the major reason of higher education affects the idea of teaching. Some societies focus on the rationale of universities in training the next age group of leaders who will serve the economic needs and development of the state as well as the process of conveying some technologically usable knowledge (Habermas, 1984, pp. 1 – 2 cited in Lynch, Modgil, & Modgil, 1992). Higher Education Curriculum of America             The evolution of curriculum development in American higher education is a long and telling story. Long because, even though the American history of curriculum started with the beginning of Harvard in 1636, its foundations were directly connected to the medieval university of the European High Middle Ages and extend even furthermore, back to traditional through oratorical and philosophical traditions of the liberal education (Hofstadter & Hardy, 1952).             The early American college was established in a close connection with the church, while the modern higher education is largely secular. Particularly, most of colleges were established due to spiritual purposes including Harvard, the charter of William and Mary and Yale (Haarlow, 2003; Hofstadter & Hardy, 1952). The early curriculum of colonial colleges was methodically and systematically conventional focusing on the three Aristotelian philosophies, including, natural, moral and mental (physics, ethics and metaphysics), ancient language (Greek, Latin and Hebrew), and especially divinity. These subject, were largely taught via the seven liberal arts as codified in the early Middle Ages: the trivium (logic, grammar and rhetoric) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music) (Haarlow, 2003).             In 1970, Barnard, the president of Columbia, declared the disturbing fact that American colleges had been progressively losing their appeal towards the young men. The evidence was showed on the decreasing enrollment rate in all colleges. During the transition, from college to university, the years 1868 and 1869 stand out the first, for establishing the Cornell University under the leadership of Andrew D. White, the second for election of Charles William Elliot to the presidency of Harvard. The essential shift led “step by step over time towards the practice of instituting academic majors and minor study concentrations, the expansion of academic departments dedicated completely to one or another precise discipline, and a marked specialization of scholarship within the academe” (Haarlow, 2003).             In the end, general and liberal education was pushed. General education is a general body of knowledge that all people should have, which lead to uniform prerequisite curriculum by accepting the minimum knowledge that every college student should know (Hofstadter & Hardy, 1952). Higher Education of Malaysia Educational progress and reform in Malaysia have always been differentiated by the efforts of the government to settle in education to the development needs of the nation (Haji Ahmad, 1998). The National Education System of Malaysia was based from the colonial government of Britain. At the end of 1970s, after experiencing changes in the curriculum and the entire educational system, all school used Bahasa Malaysia as the primary medium of instruction (Haji Ahmad, 1998). Moral and values education has always been acknowledged and approved in the Malaysian school curriculum. It can be rooted from the British colonial government, when the missionaries’ works were one of the general reasons for offering education for the people. Aside from the curriculum also include the Scripture as one of the primary subjects in the secondary level, while for non-Christian students, ethics is a must.. Mukherjee (1986, p. 151) affirms that there were “weekly slots on ‘ethics’ (given) to their non-Christian pupils…with liberal extracts from the Bible accompanied by frequent exhortations to ‘be good’”. Following the English school tradition then, the National School System included Islamic Religious Education, then known as Agama (Religion) in the curriculum for the Muslim pupils. For the non-Muslim students, some form of moral education was given in place of Agama. More fervor is given to values education in the present curriculum. The Kurikulum Baru Sekolah Rendah (KBSR), that is the New Primary School Curriculum, and the Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM), or the Integrated Secondary School Curriculum, which have completed their first cycle recently, emphasize the teaching of values in order to enhance quality individual development, as well as creating Malaysian citizens of the future, through education (Haji Ahmad, 1998).             Value education in one form or another has been part of the Malaysian educational curriculum at least some schools since the British colonial schools. In the government Malay schools, there were also doses of values education in the teaching of hygiene and “ethics” similar to those of the English schools. In Arabic or Koranic schools, Islamic ethics were the core, taught in the context of teaching Islam as a way of life. It can be assumed that some form of values education, no matter how informal, was given in the other schools, since all education is in fact moral education, as “…all the experiences that pupils have in schools have a morally educative effect” (Downey and Kelly, 1986, p. 168). Conclusion             It can be observed that colonialism and religion has a great impact on the development and evolution of curriculum. Both of the country showed that the church and powerful countries during colonial period contribute to the development of the different subjects or topics which will be included in the curriculum, at the same time, affect their educational system. As a result, most of schools focus on studies which focus on subjects and issues that are related to moral values, which are very important, primarily in the lower and higher education.    Bibliography Downey, M., & Kelly, A. V. (1986). Personal, Social and Moral Education, 3rd edn. London: Harper Education Series. Haarlow, W. N. (2003). Great Books, Honors Programs, and Hidden Origins: The Virgina Plan and the University of Virginia in the Liberal Arts Movement. Routledge. Haji Ahmad, R. (1998). Educatinal Development and Reformation in Malaysia: Past, Present and Future. Journal of Educational Administration , 36(5), 452 – 475. Hofstadter, R., & Hardy, D. (1952). The Development and Scope of Higher Educatioin in the United States. New York: Columbia University Press. Lynch, J., Modgil, C., & Modgil, S. (1992). Cultural Diversityand the Schools. Taylor & Francis. Marsh, C. (2004). Key Concepts for Understanding Curriculum. Routledge. Mukherjee, H. (1986). Moral Education in a Developing Society: The Malaysia Case. Comparative and Education Series , 7, 147 – 162. Ying Cheong, C. (1994). Effectiveness of Curriculum Change in School. Internatioal Journal of Educational Management , 8(3), 26 – 34.     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Unit 1 IP: Evolution of Higher Education Curriculum in the United States and Malaysia

Running Head: THE DOMAINS OF CURRICULUM STUDIES Evolution of Higher Education Curriculum in the United States and Malaysia Abstr...

Unit 2IP: Approaches to Curriculum Theory

Running Head: APPROACHES TO CURRICULUM THEORY     Approaches to Curriculum   Abstract             This paper focuses on analyzing the four important approaches to curriculum theory, concerning the definition of curriculum, which had changed over the years. Content model which considered as the classic and traditional approach was somewhat similar with my own approach to curriculum theory, primarily because syllabus is used to serve as a guide in knowing if my entire lesson is on the right track, at the right time. However, in order to maintain smooth learning process application of open communication and feedback, together with the help of evaluation tools in measuring the outcome, enables me to overcome the flaws of content model, which focus on the fact that it only focus on the content of the learning, and does not focus on the relationship between the learners and instructors which is considered as one of the most important factors in the process of learning. Introduction             Curriculum is connected to learning. Learning is planned and guided, therefore there is a great need to identify in advance what we are seeking in order to accomplish and know how to go about it. Aside from that, the definitions refers to schooling, therefore it is vital to distinguish that the recent approval of curriculum theory and practice materialized and happened in school and in connection with other schooling ideas, including subject and lesson  (Smith, 2000)             In connection, there are four ways of approaching curriculum theory and practice, curriculum is considered as: a body of knowledge to be transmitted; or an attempt to achieve certain ends in students – product; or a process; and praxis (practice) (Mullen, 2007). These four approaches or point-of-view towards curriculum is important because it help the process of designing and implementing curriculum in order to meet the specific needs in a specific situation. Approaches to Curriculum Theory             As mentioned, there are four ways of looking at curriculum, which can be described as the: content model, product model, process model and praxis model. The content model focus on the thinking that knowledge is frequently determined by history, or seen as a more traditional or uniform series of topics which are believed to be valuable knowledge, not considering the context in which they are being taught. In the product approach, priorities are being determined with accordance to the product or outcome of learning (McCaffrey, Merrifield, & Millican, 2007). The process model focus on the thinking that curriculum is not a physical thing, but the contact between teachers, students and knowledge (Smith, 2000). The last approach sees curriculum as praxis or as a process of reflection which lead to action. It has similarities with the process, but it brings together the experience of the facilitator and the learner in the process of negotiating and deciding on what the groups will learn (McCaffrey, Merrifield, & Millican, 2007). Content Model in Designing, Developing, Implementing and Evaluating Curriculum             Based on the definition given above, I can say that I considered curriculum as a syllabus to be transmitted or the content model. Syllabus, originates from the Greek which means a brief or short statement or table of the heads of a discourse, the content of treatise, the subjects of a series of lectures (Smith, 2000). Knowledge is considered as something that is similar to a product that is manufactured, where in, at first, one starts knowing nothing, is taught and then transmit that knowledge into action (Mednick, 2006). Thus, I focus on a curricula design which serves as a guideline on what to deliver and to be taught on the students, at the same time, enables the learning process on the right order or track (McCaffrey, Merrifield, & Millican, 2007). The main difference is that, I make sure that communication between me and my student is two-way, which enables feedback. In addition, I also focus on the outcome of my teaching by focusing on the different evaluation tools which enables me to know if my lesson is being absorbed by my students. By doing this, it enables me to surpass one of the flaws of content model, which is, students are generally left out of the picture, because of a pre-specified plan or program, thus instructors tend to direct their attention towards the process of teaching (Mednick, 2006).             The content model can help me in focusing on the curriculum and learning process of higher education because, it is applicable in introducing new knowledge and skills towards the students. This is important because it can help me during the initial phases of the knowledge and information transfer, at the same time, enables me to be on the right track, with accordance to the designated or planned time. Thus, the said factors can also be applied by the educators or trainers in the process of designing, implementing and evaluating curriculum. Primarily, it can help to focus on a given area of knowledge or skill that is needed to be known or developed, at the same time, help to maintain consistency of the different tools and teaching approaches to be used, by the use of syllabus. This is very important in secondary education, because subjects and areas of knowledge are wider and in great needs of managing time, in order to make sure that all of the subtopics and areas of knowledge have been tackled. However, in order to ensure success, it will be necessary to also apply other approaches. Conclusion Because curriculum is directly connected to learning, it is very important to focus on the different factors that are connected on its design, development and implementation. Curriculum can be seen in four different ways: content, product, model and praxis. The first two focus on the physical factor of learning, while the remaining two focus on the relationship between the learners and the instructors, together with the different factors which are connected to the society. The content model is considered as the most traditional approach of all, because it uses a standard of one size fits all, meaning, unlike other approaches, it can be applied and implemented inside the classroom without any in-depth planning. However, because of that, the focus of teaching will be on the content, and not on the student. Bibliography   McCaffrey, J., Merrifield, J., & Millican, J. (2007). Developing Adult Education Literacy: Approaches to Planning, Implementing and Delivering Literacy Initiatives. Oxfam. Mednick, F. (2006, March 13). Curriculum Theories. Retrieved April 13, 2009, from Connexions: http://cnx.org/content/m13293/latest/ Mullen, C. (2007). Curriculum Leadership Development: A Guide for Aspiring School Leaders. Routledge. Smith, M. K. (2000). Curriculum Theory and Practice. Retrieved April 30, 2009, from The Encyclopedia of Informal Education: www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Unit 2IP: Approaches to Curriculum Theory

Running Head: APPROACHES TO CURRICULUM THEORY Approaches to Curriculum Abstract This paper focuses on analyz...

Unit 5 IP: Defining the Curriculum for Enhancing Education Through Technology (ETT) Grant

Running Head:        THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT OF CURRICULA   Defining the Curriculum for Enhancing Education Through Technology (ETT) Grant   Abstract             This paper shows a proposed curriculum for the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grant. Thus, it focuses on the area of virtual high school, where in e-learning is very important. The said grant is important because it can help the community to have funds that can help to push technology in the learning environment. As proposed, the curriculum will handle high school or secondary education including the primary subjects such as math, English and science. In addition it will also include important subject for changing world such as economics, world language, social sciences and information technology (IT).               Introduction             Enhancing Education through Technology (EETT) focuses on helping to advance the achievement of elementary and secondary schools with the help of technology (Education, 2006). One of the most important programs under EETT is implementing E-Learning by Virtual School. Online learning via virtual schools is considered is one of the most vital developments in attempting to rethink the efficiency of education in the world (Skills, 2006). Therefore, it is important to focus on the development of curriculum which will pertain on virtual schools. However, it is important to consider that there are different factors that must be considered in order to obtain a grant from EETT. Furthermore, there are different benefits which can be obtained including a fund which can help a program in technologies that will be using to the learning environment.   The Planning Effort             There are many stakeholders and potential influences that can affect the process of developing and implementing the curriculum. Therefore, it is important to focus on the concerns of all the entities who are directly and indirectly involved in the process of planning the curriculum. Primarily it is important to involved individuals and groups, especially the teachers, because they are considered as the primary owners of curriculum in the traditional settings. Thus, it is important to include the federation of teachers, the coordinator of school programs and the head of instructional technology association. On the other hand, in order to ensure that this effort is community-wide, it is important to include the local government in the planning process, thus with the partnership effort, together with the entities involved in planning, they would be able to inform the public or the entire community regarding the program. The grant will give funds to assist eligible districts in order to make use of technology, which can help to improve teaching, at the same time, encourage learning. Therefore, it can help teachers and students to use high technology which can help their learning relationship. Particularly, it can help those students in rural areas to have a high quality education.   The Proposed Curriculum             The curriculum will focus on high school level; therefore it will focus on the most important areas of knowledge including mathematics, science and language. Because of the current pressure of the Internet and globalization world language will also be included, in order for the students to be more aware of the ongoing culture mix. The curriculum will also focus on the social studies because social sciences and humanities can help to promote civic competence (Studies, 2009).  In addition, due to the growing issues of the economy, business and economics will also be included, which will serve as an eye opener for the students regarding what is going on in the global economy. Furthermore arts will also be included because it helps to expand the boundaries of learning from the students, at the same time support creative thinking and a deeper understanding of the core subjects, including language arts, math, science and social studies (Cluff). The curriculum will also focus on exam review and preparation in order to help high school students for their college career, while help them to decide about their career through the help of career planning subject. Above all, as a support to the growing importance of technology, Computer Science and Information Technology will also be included in the curriculum.             To allow the students and the instructors to communicate different collaborative tools will be applied including gradebook, email, chat, search tool, doc sharing, journal and webliography. Thus the content will include text including readings, notes, thoughts; assessments like exams and quizzes; multimedia such as images, audio and video; and threaded discussion (Education I. S.).  Furthermore, faculties are in charge of evaluating the success of the curriculum. Assessment can be characterized as a process where in information is acquired to some known objective, and it include the process of testing. Like what have mentioned, assessment will be done after the end of a given lesson or unit of the study. Thus, evaluation will be done by essay, multiple choice and practicum examination, together with the different projects which include research journal, portfolio, paper proposal as well as rubrics (Akkoyunlu).     Conclusion             In order to obtain grant from EETT, there are different factors that must be considered, including the aspect of curriculum. Therefore, it is vital to inform all of the important entities that are directly and indirectly involved in the learning process. In addition, it is also important to consider the roles of the community in the process of implementing educational program. Therefore, in the process of planning, it is important to consider the side and opinions of the faculty as well as other organizations in designing the curriculum.             In the process of designing the curriculum, it is important to include subjects and units which are considered as primary knowledge, including math, science and English or language. However, due to the different factors that are affecting education or learning such as technology or the Internet and globalization, it is also vital to include additional subjects such as social sciences, career development, world language and IT. Then, it is important to focus on the different activities that will complement the virtual world, in terms of communication between the students and the instructors including e-mail, multimedia, chat as well as forums. Bibliography   Akkoyunlu, B. (n.d.). Curriculum Assessment. Retrieved May 8, 2009, from Hacettepe University: http://www.tttworkshop.net/sunumlar/buket_akkoyunlu/curriculum_assesment.ppt Cluff, D. (n.d.). The Importance of Fine Arts in the Classroom. Retrieved May 8, 2009, from Ezine @rticles: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Importance-of-Fine-Arts-in-the-Classroom&id=80061 Education, I. S. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8, 2009, from Illinois State Board of Education: http://www.isbe.net/curriculum/elearning/html/nclb_titleIID_tech.htm#ppsi Education, U. D. (2006, September 16). Enhancing Education Through Technology (ED-TECH) State Program. Retrieved May 8, 2009, from ED.gov: http://www.ed.gov/programs/edtech/index.html Skills, T. N. (2006). Virtual Schools and 21st Century. Retrieved May 8, 2009, from 21stCenturySkills: http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/VSand21stCenturySkillsFINALPaper.pdf Studies, N. C. (2009). Retrieved May 8, 2009, from National Council for the Social Studies: http://www.socialstudies.org/     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Unit 5 IP: Defining the Curriculum for Enhancing Education Through Technology (ETT) Grant

Running Head: THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT OF CURRICULA Defining the Curriculum for Enhancing Education Through Technology (E...