Curriculum

Etymology

The word "curriculum" began as a Latin word which means "a race" or "the course of a race" (which in turn derives from the verb currere meaning "to run/to proceed"). The first known use in an educational context is in the Professio Regia, a work by University of Paris professor Petrus Ramus published posthumously in 1576. The term subsequently appears in University of Leiden records in 1582. The word's origins appear closely linked to the Calvinist desire to bring greater order to education.

By the seventeenth century, the University of Glasgow also referred to its "course" of study as a "curriculum", producing the first known use of the term in English in 1633. By the nineteenth century, European universities routinely referred to their curriculum to describe both the complete course of study (as for a degree in surgery) and particular courses and their content.

Definitions and interpretations

There is no generally agreed upon definition of curriculum. Some influential definitions combine various elements to describe curriculum as follows:

8-4-4 Curriculum in Kenya

In 1985, former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, introduced the 8-4-4 System of education, which adopted 8 years of primary education, 4 years of secondary education and 4 years of university education. With the introduction of the 8-4-4 system CPE became KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) while KCE became the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

Since 1985, public education in Kenya has been based on an 8-4-4 system, with eight years of primary education followed by four years of secondary school and four years of college or university.

References

Curriculum 2000

Curriculum 2000 was a reform of the A Level (age 16-18) examination in the United Kingdom. It was introduced in September 2000 (with the first AS-Level examinations held in Summer 2001 and A2 examinations the following year). An A Level now consists of four or six units studied over two years. Normally, two or three units are assessed at the end of the first year, and make up a stand-alone Advanced Subsidiary (AS Level) qualification. Another two or three modules are assessed at the end of the second year, which make up the A2 Level. A2 units do not form a qualification in their own right; the satisfactory completion of the AS and A2 units in the same subject is required to constitute a complete A Level.

Due to the modular structure, units can be taken in January and June of the year. To begin with each unit could only be retaken once, but there is now no limit on the number of times a unit may be retaken (although, in many schools, students must pay for any subsequent re-sits themselves), and no restrictions on when this is done (i.e. it is possible to take or retake AS units during the A2 year, and vice versa). Some schools choose to conduct all AS and A2 examinations at the end of the first or second years. In the former case, this means students complete the A-level in one year, which is possible for more academically able students. In the latter case, students do not have the opportunity to resit any units and have a more stressful workload at the end of their second year, although by reducing the amount of time taken for exam leave and conducting examinations, more time is available to study the subject in more depth.