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TAMIL NADU STATE COUNCIL FOR HIGHER EDUCATION CHENNAI 600 005 Report of the Workshop on st 'History Education in the 21 Century' August 2006 Introduction Education is the process by which the human being develops the true form of his being as man. It determines the level of prosperity, welfare and security of the people. It improves the quality of culture. It stands for humanism, for tolerance, for reason. The principal objective of education is the total development of personality – the mind, the body and the intellect. History is an important academic discipline, which helps the intellectual development of students. According to the 1964-66 Education Commission report, the teaching of history should aim at training the students to think historically, to apply the historical method of enquiry, reinterpret the past so that they may be more conscious of national needs and committed to social, moral and spiritual values. History offers to a greater degree than any other subject an opportunity for the study of human personality in relation to circumstances and fosters a sense of human responsibility. It develops the powers of accuracy and of the proper assessment of evidence. History is a continuous dialogue between the present and the past. It teaches wisdom by example and trains the mind for scientific enquiry into the origin, course and nature of human activities. With the study of history one can have a better perspective of the world around him. With the knowledge of man’s experience with similar situations in the past, he can have a better understanding of the present system. While the courses of history differ from University to University and from State to State, Historians generally agree with the objectives of the teaching of history. History is a popular non-science subject as it helps in the civil service and other examinations. The frontiers of knowledge are expanding and the study of history during the recent decades has acquired new dimensions. In the light of new developments a model syllabus becomes imperative. It has to anticipate the coming developments in the domain of history. Rigid uniformity for all the universities cannot be prescribed, but the hard core of historical discipline should be maintained. There is a need for readjustment in the curriculum in order to make education a forceful tool for the cultivation of social and moral value. A good curriculum should evaluate the entry and exit behaviour of the students. The framing of the syllabus is a continuing process. The framers have to keep in mind the equipment of the students, their age as well as the depth and breath of a particular subject like history. Entry requirements therefore may be considered an important part of the curriculum. There are two types of curriculum objectives, which must be made by teachers and curriculum makers. What is possible and what is desirable? What is possible is a problem of what has already been accomplished elsewhere. What is desirable depends on the particular student and groups of students, which in turn depends on their present characteristics and their goals and aspirations for the future. What is desirable for the individual student may coincide with the greatest range of possibilities available in the light of his ability, previous achievements and personality. If education is really to be development oriented, objectives must be selected which maximize the range of possible developments. To achieve the above, the Council organized a workshop on "History Education in the 21 st Century". The curriculum and syllabus prepared by the participants is being circulated to all concerned for further use. This can be used as a model in framing curriculum and syllabus in all universities and colleges as it is the outcome of efforts taken by many professors of History in Tamilnadu. TAMIL NADU STATE COUNCIL FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, CHENNAI 600 005 Workshop on “History Education in the 21 st Century” 30 th and 31 st March 2006 PROGRAMME 30-3-2006 10.00 a.m. - Registration 10.30 a.m. - Inauguration Inaugural Address : Dr. S. Padmavathy, Research Officer, TANSCHE Special Address : Prof. S. Swaminatha Pillai 11.30 a.m. - Tea 11.45 a.m. - Framing the Structure of the Curriculum 1.00 p.m. - Lunch 2.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m. - Generation of Model Syllabi in groups 31-3-2006 10.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m. - Generation of Model Syllabi in groups 11.15 a.m. – 11.30 a.m. - Tea 11.30 a.m. - Generation of Model Syllabi in groups 1.00 p.m. - Lunch 2.00 – 4.00 p.m. - Finalizing the Syllabi and Valediction Vote of Thanks - Dr. S. Padmavathy, Research Officer, TANSCHE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS S. SWAMINATHA PILLAI COMPETENCIES TO BE DEVELOPED: Knowing the form and function of a curriculum. Understanding the need for a curriculum. Following several steps in developing a curriculum. Evaluating a curriculum. Appreciating the role of curriculum in the social process of education. ABSTRACT: Curriculum is a contact document between the stakeholders of the educational process. It fulfils the need for directing, implementing and satisfying their role performance in the society. Being scientific in its approach a curriculum specifies all the required conditions for effective learning and teaching including testing, besides leading to continuous individual and social development. The philosophical foundations of an society is the basis for a curriculum; the practical and successful living is the result of well-developed curriculum. Economy of efforts, materials, manpower, time and money is achieved in the otherwise long, unwieldy and indirect process of education. INTRODUCTION The long and continuous social process of education is often offered in terms of specified periods. These periods are identified as stages of education viz., early childhood to university education. In each stage there may be several parallel forms or structures like general, special or professional education depending on the needs of the pursuers of education at that stage. To make them ready and interested in their direction of learning and teaching, it is required that both the teachers and the learners should have a clear idea about their plans and activities. This can be set by them if they are mature enough to draw the plan. Very often there arises a situation that quantitative expansion like population increase and transfer of persons like social mobility requiring some sort of uniformity or equality paving way for easy movement and comfort and confidence. Hence there is a need for a common source and plan to enable the younger generation to get the required education assuring a sort of commonly recognized competencies at each stage of human development. This requirement is fulfilled by what is called curriculum. WHAT IS A CURRICULUM? A curriculum seeks to answer questions like ‘What shall I teach or learn?’, “Why should I teach or learn?’, ‘How will I teach or learn?’, ‘What resources do I have at my disposal?’, and ‘ How do I know if I have succeeded in my learning or teaching?’ Thus a curriculum is a conceptual scheme for joint implementation by teachers and learners in core, observed and appreciated by parents and users of the product/ learners in effect and valued and admired by other stakeholders as a result. It is in fact a changing and living entity in view of its need for continuous modification as demanded by the members of the society in view of the fast and dynamic changes around. It is obtained from three sources such as replacing the familiar environment of family and friends to school and college , moving from the present scenario to a predicted or even unpredicted future situation and making the implementers or beneficiaries dependent or independent , or balancing between individuality and conformity . A curriculum is in fact a programme of studies or activities (curricular, co- curricular and extra curricular) and guidance. It can function as a scale of values providing a set of criteria. Arising from the basic needs and moving on to social, cultural, individual and traditional needs , the curriculum very often attempts to fulfil the ideal needs also , such as intellectual, moral, aesthetic and religious needs. Curriculum is frequently viewed as a school/college/university function for preserving and transmitting traditional cultures, for the transformation of culture, and primarily for individual development of the participants. PRESSURES AND PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT Curriculum is developed under economic and social pressures , caused by knowledge explosion and utilizing research findings . The principles of governing the development of a curriculum can be stated as follows: Curriculum should be dynamic enough to accommodate the changes in social environment; it should be specifically goal-oriented to move towards the accepted direction causing success; scientific method needs to be adopted in developing a curriculum to make it reliable and successful; and curriculum has to be evaluative with a built-in mechanism of evaluation; and however it should be comprehensive enough to bring in clarity, brevity and surety in its success. Specifying the objectives in observable terms, describing a variety of alternative learning experiences , selecting the most appropriate content from the vast store of human knowledge, organizing and integrating the items into a homogeneous whole and providing for adequate and accurate measures of evaluation of the achievement of the state objectives so as to minimize, if not avoid, any loss or distortion of human development. STAGES OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT: There are several stages in the development of a curriculum. The following are the most identifiable and adoptable stages as practiced by the curriculum developers: PLANNING: Observing the gaps, if any, between the educational achievements and the social development there should be a systematic attempt to identify the new needs of the society by adopting the techniques of need analysis.

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