Curriculum Leadership
By: Grace D. Suminguit
We all aim for quality education to our students. We want them to have the best learning so that soon they will be useful in our country. The quality of education that we give to our students lies upon the curriculum, the teacher, the community and most especially to the school head. These are the important elements to deliver quality education to our stakeholders. Teachers play a very important role in the lives of the students for they are the primary source of all the knowledge that the students should acquire during their basic education. That is why we have to have a teacher who has the qualities of an effective and efficient teacher. A teacher who is committed to teach and has a vast knowledge of the subject area that she will teach. However, we could not only depend on the teacher alone in achieving the quality of education that we want to have. The school head also plays a vital role in attaining this goal.
The school head’s function is to make sure that there is quality curriculum in the school and that she should monitor if these curriculum were effectively implemented by the teachers during the delivery of the lesson. Curriculum is the meat of the instruction. It is the guide of the teachers in teaching. Without the curriculum, fragmented lesson will take place. That is why it is the role of the school principal to really make sure that there is quality curriculum for the teachers to follow. The principal must also be updated on the new trends and issues in the field of education so that he could integrate these in enhancing the curriculum.
During the discussion of curriculum leadership, I realized that to be a principal is really hard. You have to be knowledgeable enough to create the best curriculum. Checking of the lesson plan should also be done weekly if not daily. As a school head, you must also conduct formal observation to the teachers to check if they are really implementing the designed curriculum. I have learned that there are two views in the implementation of the curriculum. One is the laissez-faire approach and the other one is the authoritarian approach. The two approaches have its advantages and disadvantages. For laissez-faire approach, the teacher is given the power to choose what the best lesson to teach. They have the freedom to select the lesson which is appropriate for them to deliver. This approach is good but only to those teachers, who are diligent in teaching, can be trusted and has the vast knowledge of the subject area that she is going to teach. A teacher who doesn’t have to be monitored. A teacher who conducts classes effectively even without the supervision of the school head. Authoritarian approach on the other hand is an approach where the teacher is being controlled by the principal. The teacher here has no freedom in choosing the lesson that she want to teach towards her students. She has to follow the sequence of the lesson in the curriculum. The school head monitors the teacher almost everyday. In laissez-faire the teacher has the power to choose what to teach, but in the authoritarian approach, it is the school head who has the power to choose what the teacher should teach. This approach is good but too much of this is already destructive. There must be a balance between the two approaches. Too much of any of the approaches is not good. For this to achieve, there must be an open communication between the teacher and the principal. The teacher can choose the lesson which she thinks is appropriate, but she should consult this to the principal.
We want the best of our children. We want them to acquire quality education. However, this could only be achieved if we all work for it. Students, parents, teachers and principal must work hand in hand for the fulfillment of this goal.
No comments:
Post a Comment