Download our FREE Academic Calendar now! 📚 Start your child’s journey to success.
As a parent, you want to provide the best education you can to your little one. You are responsible for providing the right start to your child as they move forward in life. Given the central role a curriculum plays in facilitating quality learning and supporting proper education, finding the best fit for your child is crucial. It plays a big part in whether your child gets a top-notch education. However, given the multiple curricula options you have, picking the right one can be a daunting task. Here’s a simple guide on how to select the best curriculum for your child.
What is a Curriculum?
In the simplest terms, a curriculum is a description of what, why, how, and when learners should learn. It stipulates what subjects a course comprises and refers to the lessons and academic content your child learns while in school. It also determines what they should learn in every class or age group. So what makes a good curriculum? A good curriculum values every learner and is geared towards catering to all their educational needs. It comprises quality content that contributes to the development of competence in students.
It’s also well-structured and organised, making it easy for both faculty and learners to adopt it. Lastly, a good curriculum is underpinned by a set of principles that define how pupils will learn. It’s the curriculum that determines, to a large extent, whether the education provided is inclusive and equitable. It provides the structure for providing quality learning even when the faculty is understaffed, under-resourced, or inexperienced. Even where learners lack proper frameworks to establish their learning, a good curriculum can help get them back on track. It assets the competencies necessary for lifelong learning and those needed for holistic development.
Types of Curricula
The best schools in Pune offer different curricula, including international curricula such as the International Baccalaureate (IB), which takes a student-centred approach to learning. It gives learners some freedom in fostering creativity and helping them learn more effectively. The British curriculum (IGCSE), on the other hand, emphasises creativity, critical thinking, and flexibility. Other international curricula include the American and French curricula.
There are two distinct versions under the Indian curriculum banner – CBSE and ICSE. They are quite popular in the country, offering highly supportive and focused frameworks designed to help each learner reach their full potential. Even though they originated in India, they have gained traction worldwide.
How to choose a good curriculum
A good curriculum is inclusive and equitable. It provides quality learning, promotes lifelong learning, and supports holistic development. In other words, it provides a bridge between education and your child’s development. Listed below are a few pointers to help you find the best curriculum for your child.
1. Your child’s needs
The most important thing to consider when picking the best school in Pune is the curriculum and how well it fulfils your child’s learning style and needs. A good way to judge this is by using these three factors: your child’s interest level, the curriculum’s adaptability, and its developmental appropriateness. How interested is your little one in the curriculum? Are they excited or enthusiastic about it? Does it accommodate your child’s learning style? You want to avoid a curriculum that is too rigorous as your child might find it hard and quickly lose interest in it. Also, find out how the curriculum will meet your child’s needs as they continue schooling and whether it is at the child’s level.
2. Pedagogy
This refers to the methods used by teachers to teach, both theoretically and practically. It includes the content, teaching methodologies, and interaction techniques. A teacher’s beliefs form their pedagogy, and it is integral in enabling pupils to learn effectively. Most curricula involve the active participation of parents to ensure everyone is on the same page. CBSE and ICSE focus on pedagogy and academics, with both curricula now adapting to the requirements of the modern world. You can also choose an international curriculum that offers an interactive, two-way approach to teaching.
3. Teaching quality
Given how readily available information is today, learning requires a teacher who can facilitate, guide, and support a learner through their school life. Learning is more than a transfer of knowledge; you want a teacher that helps your child build new understandings of the information they get on top of what they already know. Students don’t need information that they can get that quite easily from the internet. What they need is an educator who’s dedicated, energetic, who believes in every learner, and someone who goes out of their way to offer quality education. All curricula assure the quality of their teachers. CBSE and ICSE have strict guidelines and handbooks to measure, maintain, and improve the teaching quality in their schools. International schools offer modern teaching methodologies and provide the best to your child.
4. Relevant skills
Unlike the old days, children today are living in an ever-changing digital era with new technologies emerging every day. As a result, they need to get the requisite skills to survive and thrive in this world. As such, a good curriculum should impart 21stcentury skills to help learners develop real-world readiness. For instance, skills like innovation, collaboration, technology literacy, communication, and critical thinking are increasingly becoming important as they have many real-world applications.
5. Cost of education
How much are you willing to spend on your child’s education? Most parents mistakenly think that schools that charge high school fees offer better education. However, this is not necessarily true. For example, government-run schools offer quality education at much lower fees than some private schools. That said, several factors such as additional facilities and amenities in the school could increase the fees charged. These amenities, such as multiple curriculum options, computer classrooms, and other facilities can significantly add to the learning experience. Schools that offer international curricula are costlier than those offering the national curricula.
6. Success rate
All curricula gain popularity and acceptance through their success rates. It’s the best way to gauge whether the methodologies and techniques used truly impact knowledge in students. Each curriculum has the skills and values that it promotes. For instance, CBSE is a good option for children interested in pursuing STEM-related courses along with commerce and humanities. International curricula prepare students to be global citizens. ICSE, on the other hand, helps learners develop a strong foundation in the Arts and humanities. The success rate of any curriculum is judged by how well its alumni are doing.
7. Scores versus skills
Lastly, you need to decide what’s more important – scores or skills. Most jobs, colleges, and even scholarship opportunities focus on your child’s academic grades. They determine students’ merit through their academic achievements. However, other institutions look at skill-based profiles when determining a learner’s merit. International curricula take a more rounded approach to teaching with a focus on skills and a learner’s overall development. On the flip side, CBSE and ICSE provide high-quality education through a more score-driven format.
Everything a school offers is based on the curriculum they follow. This is because the curriculum influences the subjects taught, the faculty, exams taken, values imparted, and more. Selecting the right curriculum for your child will also help you pick the right school for them. With this simple guide, you can easily pick the right curriculum for your child.
