Kuwait

Kuwait's Science curriculum reform

By roseleena
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    The old science curriculum

    The old science curriculum faced many criticisms, and studies condemned it for being too weak to adequately develop students’ skills, because it focused on memorisation. Most of the studies recommended that it should be reformed and developed

  • In the science curriculum the strategy

    some general problems, namely:
     Lack of development of self-learning,
     Weakness in formulating the curriculum objectives,
     Failure to develop students’ critical thinking skills,
     Failure to develop students’ creative abilities,
     Failure to develop a link between curriculum content and the students’ lives.

  • the reform of the science curriculum was necessary and provided a set of general recommendations to consider

    1. Students’ scientific thinking skills should be developed.
    2. A love of innovation should be fostered among students.
    3. Schools and teachers should be given the opportunity to participate about curriculum reform.
    4. Schools should be allowed flexibility in implementing curricula.
    5. The correlation between the key objectives of the science curriculum and secondary objectives should be increased.
    6. The private sector should be encouraged to participate in curriculum development.
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    The phases of the science curriculum reform

    The fifteen themes were: educational structure, types of education, student learning, measurement and evaluation, curriculum, learning methods, the school environment, teachers’ pre-service education, applied education and training, higher education, scientific research, literacy programmes, special needs education, educational administration, and spending on education

  • Phase one: Selecting the new science curriculum

    The reform committee spent some time deliberating and in 2002 finally chose a series of curricula which had been published in the USA by the firm of Pearson-Scott Foreman.The curriculum had already been tested and taught in the USA and Lebanon, so it would require no further testing and would thus save time.It needed only to be reviewed and adapted before it could help to achieve the objectives of teaching science in Kuwait

  • Phase two: Adaptation of the new science curriculum

    The task of the adaptation committee was to adapt the new science curricula to ensure that they were relevant and suitable for the Kuwait student, raise comments and indicate amendments, if any. The curriculum adaptation extended to its content, objectives, methods of assessment and textbooks. The committee also reviewed such details as the examples in the textbook, its pictures, the clarity of the font and quality of the paper

  • Phase three: Implementation of the new science curriculum

    The new science curriculum was implemented gradually in the first and second grades in 2008.

  • Phase three: Implementation of the new science curriculum

    the third, fourth and fifth grades added the following year.

  • Phase three: Implementation of the new science curriculum

    The (intermediate) sixth and seventh grades were added in the 2010 school year.

  • the TIMSS test

    The results were once more disappointing; Kuwaiti students earned 347 points and were ranked 47th out of 60 participating countries.Comparing the results of Kuwait in 2011, with the results attained in 1995 and 2007 when the previous science curriculum was in operation, it is clear that the scores went down even below the totals for 1995 and 2007, while the ranking of Kuwait sank lower. This indicates certain defects, denoting that science education in Kuwait faces problems.

  • Phase three: Implementation of the new science curriculum

    the eighth grade in 2012.

  • Phase three: Implementation of the new science curriculum

    The ninth grade in 2013. The new science curriculum was implemented directly in all schools without any form of piloting; and no plans were made to train any teachers in teaching it.

  • the important criticisms of this curriculum

    the important criticisms of this curriculum
    This sit-in by hundreds of students lasted a whole day and called for a change in the new curriculum and the new assessment system. The students felt that the new curriculum was very difficult to understand and too wide in content, complex and boring.The students wanted to be assessed in a different way and to have some marks allocated to classroom activities. The MoE did not respond to them and the new science curriculum and assessment system have not so far changed in any way.

  • Curriculum and Standards (2)

    • Developing knowledge and understanding of the diverse and dynamic nature of society and interactions occurring among cultures, societies and environments.
    • Comprehending Islamic ethical rules and values and applying them in daily behavior;
    • Developing responsibility with regard to active participation in society and to the preservation of the environment.

  • Curriculum and Standards

    • Development of abstract knowledge and more complex thinking, i.e., higher-order intellectual skills themselves and problem-solving capacities.
    • Nurturing their interests for more in-depth understanding of themselves, others and the natural and technological environment in which they live.
    • Developing skills for teamwork and self-evaluation.
    • Developing effective communicative skills, including mathematical and scientific specialized codes.