Meanings behind curriculum development in higher education (Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, University of Tampere)

education

The societal approach has long traditions in curricular work.

This perception is consistent with Naidoo‘s
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(2005) notion that academics are portrayed as resisting such efforts and protecting their own interests against those of the stakeholders.

The reactive curriculum reflected the extreme perspectives on ‗knowing‘ and the knowledge-intensive HE services for society, whereas the entrepreneurial curriculum emerged from the extreme ‗acting‘ point of view.

In this article, the interpretations are discussed in the light of the framework based on the schema by Barnett and Coate (2005) and on the concepts of projection and introjection by Bernstein (1996).

By projection Bernstein (1996) describes the curriculum development on the basis of external demands, for example, on the competence demands of working life.

The given meanings varied within nine complementary domains, composed of polarities and interconnected views.

This kind of unilateral identity forming curriculum is problematic from the perspective of the students‘ disciplinary and generic skills as well as their workplace experiences and future careers.

The views and themes emerging from the data were reduced to ten categories which were named in such a way that they encapsulated as concisely as possible the features of the themes situated along the coding scheme.

The results bring to the fore curriculum in a comprehensive framework.

The intentions concerning the domain of ‗being‘ found expression in unilateral identity forming curriculum.

Likewise in the US there have been extensive curricular reforms in HE occasioned by the dissatisfaction of economic life with the civic skills of university graduates, i.e. problem-solving, ethical-moral decision-making, interaction and communication (AAC 1985).

The data consists of 45 theme interviews in two multidisciplinary universities, and the analysis was conducted by qualitative content analysis.

The data consists of 45 theme interviews in two multidisciplinary universities, and the analysis was conducted by qualitative content analysis.

Still the research-teaching linkages are crucial for understanding what kind of learning is to be enhanced in HE curriculum.

The data consists of 45 theme interviews in two multidisciplinary universities, and the analysis was conducted by qualitative content analysis.

education (Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, University of Tampere niversity of Tampereniversity of Tampere niversity of Tamper...

The given meanings varied within nine complementary domains, composed of polarities and interconnected views.

In all, this approach gave room to the traditions of disciplines – without the personified feature – but took into account the changes in the society and the world, and was aware of the external demands when developing curriculum – not in reactive, but in a proactive and reflective way.

On the other hand, the idea of ‗emancipatory‘ curriculum by Fraser and Bosanquet (2006) represents a comprehensive perspective where the interactive and dynamic set of students‘ experiences is seen as central to curriculum design.

Focus of the study
The aim of this study is to describe and analyse the various meanings of curriculum development in HE. Our previous findings (Mäkinen & Annala in print) suggest that the development of curriculum is driven primarily by norms coming from outside the HEI. The purposes of curriculum design from the external point of view were to implement knowledge-intensive education, to produce competent professionals for the employment market and society, and to enable individuals‘ ...

Following Jaspers (1960/2009), this kind of fragmentation curricular thinking may turn HEIs and their curricula into intellectual department stores.

These statements reflect what Barnett and Coate (2005) call the reproductive function of HE. According to this, the mission of education and the role of curriculum are the maintenance and consolidation of the prevailing settings within the HEI and in the society as a whole.

In this article, the interpretations are discussed in the light of the framework based on the schema by Barnett and Coate (2005) and on the concepts of projection and introjection by Bernstein (1996).

education (Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, University of Tampere niversity of Tampereniversity of Tampere niversity of Tamper...

And I think that‟s what sustains us, in the best possible manner, if we get good feedback from working life, that‟s another.

With this notion an academic teacher defined HE curriculum as a product whose viability is contingent upon the competence objectives inscribed in curriculum.

It has been justified through the autonomy of HE and by the possession of the highest knowledge.

Still confusion was caused by the contradictory nature of the expectations:
Are we to produce all-round engineers who do alright in some jobs but then they don‟t cope so well in those professional tasks or are we to produce specialists, when the danger exists that that we‟ll make the wrong prognoses and the job placements won‟t work out (UAS11M).

The data informed in this article is interview transcripts of the academic teachers from RU (N=27) and UAS (N= 18) representing various departments.

At this step of the analysis ATLAS.ti software was used.

Tyler 1949) and, as we call it, fragmentary curricular thinking: as a separate course module.

Nevertheless, the qualitative analysis aims for universities concerning the creation of the ‗knowledge triangle‘, i.e. the linkages between education, research and innovation (EU 2009a; 2010b), were often ignored or faced with criticism, especially in RU. Several academics refused to conceptualise the curriculum development through the ‗knowledge triangle‘ agenda, as follows: ―in our department we take the view that is quartal economy talk and we don‘t like the term, competence objective tha...

Focus of the study
The aim of this study is to describe and analyse the various meanings of curriculum development in HE. Our previous findings (Mäkinen & Annala in print) suggest that the development of curriculum is driven primarily by norms coming from outside the HEI. The purposes of curriculum design from the external point of view were to implement knowledge-intensive education, to produce competent professionals for the employment market and society, and to enable individuals‘ ...

The attitude towards curriculum emerged in a somewhat compulsive adaptation with minimum effort, where curriculum development was placed marginally, as follows: ―All we really do is holding the mandatory meetings which the faculty requires‖ (RU14F).

PDP could be a way for students meaning making, but the most viable when integrated into the curriculum (e.g.

It is challenging to interconnect them, but in our data we had some examples of integration of the specific and the generic, in curriculum design and its implementation, like the following:
In the group exam the students made it clearer to themselves how their knowledge is constructed, not in relation to me, the person in charge of the studies, but in relation to other students. (--) they had to defend their own stances and views, which is one kind of core skill.

The coding consistency was assessed by rechecking the basic units and transcribed excerpts in their original contexts in the data.

The purpose of HE is then to ensure that students assimilate knowledge structures pertaining to a certain academic tradition and to conserve, added to that, the prevailing social hierarchies.

The views and themes emerging from the data were reduced to ten categories which were named in such a way that they encapsulated as concisely as possible the features of the themes situated along the coding scheme.

This may lead, firstly, to a deep but narrow focus into certain themes which may not be relevant when thinking about curriculum as an entity, and secondly, to a situation in which knowledge is held to be of intrinsic value and infallible when it is actually haphazard.
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This kind of approach projects Vallance‘s (1986) concept of academic rationalism.

The purpose of HE is then to ensure that students assimilate knowledge structures pertaining to a certain academic tradition and to conserve, added to that, the prevailing social hierarchies.

The external forces were seen as a threat to the university‘s autonomous position of the research-led knowledge generator.

The purpose of HE is then to ensure that students assimilate knowledge structures pertaining to a certain academic tradition and to conserve, added to that, the prevailing social hierarchies.

To have a comprehensive view, we understand that curriculum development is an intentional and dynamic process, which reveals the values and principles in relation to learning, knowledge and disciplines, and the cultural and political purposes of developing HE (cf.

Therefore, curriculum design could be understood as a process of change and development which consists of a series of social interaction, reflective examination of discipline and personal life histories within complex institutional contexts.

The emerging interpretations evolved towards a comprehensive framework of curriculum which took the form of nine blocks (Figure 1).

The attitude towards curriculum emerged in a somewhat compulsive adaptation with minimum effort, where curriculum development was placed marginally, as follows: ―All we really do is holding the mandatory meetings which the faculty requires‖ (RU14F).

Employment of graduates is usually reflected as one of the most important factors for the quality of HE, but it can only be a weak indicator of programme quality (cf.

The external forces were seen as a threat to the university‘s autonomous position of the research-led knowledge generator.

This emerged especially when the discussion turned to merging of subjects taught or interdisciplinary collaboration, exemplified in the following quotation:
We had to consider how two separate subjects can be merged into one discipline, and what that discipline ultimately is.

The EU and ministerial guidelines were taken as an opportunity to develop as HEIs and as curriculum redesigners.

Rationales for the entrepreneurial approach on curriculum development have been linked to the pressure on universities to become responsive to external demands, to the international mobility of employees, and to the significance of the economically productive innovations (cf.

education (Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, Marita Mäkinen & Johanna Annala, University of Tampere niversity of Tampereniversity of Tampere niversity of Tamperenivers...

The interview quotes substantiating the findings are numbered and coded in such a way that the quotes disclose the speaker‘s organization (UAS or RU) and gender (male M or female F).
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Figure 1.

The results suggest placing particular emphasis on developing partnership with university staff, students and practitioners in discipline-specific contexts as proposed by other researchers (e.g.

This may lead, firstly, to a deep but narrow focus into certain themes which may not be relevant when thinking about curriculum as an entity, and secondly, to a situation in which knowledge is held to be of intrinsic value and infallible when it is actually haphazard.
15
This kind of approach projects Vallance‘s (1986) concept of academic rationalism.

Such a perspective is paradoxical in the HE environment where knowledge is otherwise subject to constant reform and assessment.

At this step of the analysis ATLAS.ti software was used.

The attitude towards curriculum emerged in a somewhat compulsive adaptation with minimum effort, where curriculum development was placed marginally, as follows: ―All we really do is holding the mandatory meetings which the faculty requires‖ (RU14F).

European Commission attempts to modernise universities for the competitiveness of Europe in global knowledge economy (COM 2008; EU 2009a; 2009b; 2010a).

Lave & Wenger 1993) designed in curriculum, enabling a student to gain membership of an academic community with the status of junior colleague - not just a customer or consumer.

Competition for students and between HEIs emerged in both universities:
This unit is quite small enough even after the merger, when we think within the EU, this fight for survival (laughter).

Likewise in the US there have been extensive curricular reforms in HE occasioned by the dissatisfaction of economic life with the civic skills of university graduates, i.e. problem-solving, ethical-moral decision-making, interaction and communication (AAC 1985).

During the last decade curriculum has become one of the most significant means of regulating HE from outside the university.

Likewise in the US there have been extensive curricular reforms in HE occasioned by the dissatisfaction of economic life with the civic skills of university graduates, i.e. problem-solving, ethical-moral decision-making, interaction and communication (AAC 1985).

Likewise in the US there have been extensive curricular reforms in HE occasioned by the dissatisfaction of economic life with the civic skills of university graduates, i.e. problem-solving, ethical-moral decision-making, interaction and communication (AAC 1985).

This kind of high attention to the market mechanisms may lead to a situation in which HEI becomes a production plant sensitive to market forces.

Yet in RU the cooperation with the stakeholders was rare in the curriculum development.

In the second stage, we used the open coding procedure to categorise the data.

The interviewees were quite aware of the European Commission‘s economist focus on HE policy (COM 2008; EU 2009a; 2009b).

This refers to how Barnett and Coate (2005) view acting: as invisible, like the personal mastery of discipline and visible, like the engineer‘s or journalist‘s knowing how and knowing why.

That is why the prevailing meanings of curriculum and their relation to curriculum theories should be reflected.

The service function regarding society and the world of work is stipulated in the legislation governing Finnish HE. According to the Act on University of Applied Sciences (UAS) (564/2009), the emphasis is on teaching based on the needs of labour market and regional development, whereas research university (RU) education is outlined to promote free research and to give the uppermost, research-based teaching, but also to educate students to serve their country and humanity (Universities...

The curriculum design was secondarily driven from the internal intentions of the discipline where the purposes of curriculum were seen as representations of the disciplinary knowledge, as supporting the growth of academic expertise, and as giving contribution to identity formation processes.

Many interviewees pointed out that many students perceive HE as an investment for the future and regard the degree as a key to the job market (cf.