AIOU Solved Assignments Code 8625 Autumn & Spring 2024
AIOU Solved Assignments 1 & 2 Code 8625 Autumn & Spring 2024. Solved Assignments code 8625 Secondary Education 2024. Allama iqbal open university old papers.
Course: Secondary Education (8625) dorado manana
Level: B.Ed (1.5 Years)
Semester: Autumn & Spring 2024
Assignment No: 01
Q.1 Highlight the nature and scope of the secondary edcuation in Pakistan. Write a brief criticism on the stated objectives and scheme of studies approved for secondary leval in Pakistan?
Answer: Secondary education in Pakistan begins from grade 9 and lasts for four years. After end of each of the school years, students are required to pass a national examination administered by a regional Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (or BISE). Upon completion of grade 9, students are expected to take a standardised test in each of the first parts of their academic subjects. They again give these tests of the second parts of the same courses at the end of grade 10. Upon successful completion of these examinations, they are awarded a Secondary School Certificate (or SSC). This is locally termed a ‘matriculation certificate’ or ‘matric’ for short. The curriculum usually includes a combination of eight courses including electives (such as Biology, Chemistry, Computer and Physics) as well as compulsory subjects (such as Mathematics, English, Urdu, Islamic studies and Pakistan Studies). Students then enter an intermediate college and complete grades 11 and 12. Upon completion of each of the two grades, they again take standardised tests in their academic subjects. Upon successful completion of these examinations, students are awarded the Higher Secondary School Certificate (or HSSC). This level of education is also called the FSc/FA/ICS or ‘intermediate’. There are many streams students can choose for their 11 and 12 grades, such as pre-medical, pre-engineering, humanities (or social sciences), computer science and commerce. Each stream consists of three electives and as well as three compulsory subjects of English, Urdu, Islamiat (grade 11 only) and Pakistan Studies (grade 12 only). Alternative qualifications in Pakistan are available but are maintained by other examination boards instead of BISE. Most common alternative is the General Certificate of Education (or GCE), where SSC and HSSC are replaced by Ordinary Level (or O Level) and Advanced Level (or A Level) respectively. Other qualifications include IGCSE which replaces SSC. GCE and GCSE O Level, IGCSE and GCE AS/A Level are managed by British examination boards of CIE of the Cambridge Assessment and/or Edexcel International of the Pearson PLC. Generally, 8- 10 courses are selected by students at GCE O Levels and 3-5 at GCE A Levels. Advanced Placement (or AP) is an alternative option but much less common than GCE or IGCSE. This replaces the secondary school education as ‘High School Education’ instead. AP exams are monitored by a North American examination board, College Board, and can only be given under supervision of centers which are registered with the College Board, unlike GCE O/AS/A Level and IGCSE which can be given privately. Another type of education in Pakistan is called “Technical Education” and combines technical and vocational education. The vocational curriculum starts at grade 5 and ends with grade 10.[17] Three boards, the Punjab Board of Technical Education (PBTE), KPK Board of Technical Education (KPKBTE) and Sindh Board of Technical Education (SBTE) offering Matric Tech. course called Technical School Certificate (TSC) (equivalent to 10th grade) and Diploma of Associate Engineering (DAE) in engineering disciplines like Civil, Chemical, Architecture, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Computer etc. DAE is a three years program of instructions which is equivalent to 12th grade. Diploma holders are called associate engineers. They can either join their respective field or take admission in B.Tech. and BE in their related discipline after DAE. There is a major qualitative difference between government-run schools and “public” schools (public in the British usage, which means real exclusive, elite schools). These charge very high fees affordable only by the economically topmost level of the society, probably no more
than five percent of the families, some of whom prefer to send their children to even more exclusive schools in the Western world, notably, Great Britain. Such “public” schools are mostly located in major cities and in the “hill stations” and attract children from the wealthy and the powerful including the higher levels of bureaucracy and the military. They generally prepare students for the Cambridge Examination, maintain excellent facilities including laboratories and computers and highly-trained teachers. Thanks to economic growth of the country including foreign trade, employment in multinationals and according to some, higher levels of corruption, the number of families which can afford the high fees of the “public” schools has been increasing since the 1960s. It is also considered a mark of high status to have one’s children admitted to such schools because of the possibility that it may result in developing contacts which may be useful in their future careers. There are, therefore, tremendous pressures on such schools for admission. There were also “socialistic” pressures. In 1972, following the rise of Zulfikar Bhutto to power, some of these “public” schools were compelled to reserve one-fifth of their places for students on academic merit basis, thus helping the less affluent to get into such schools. The bulk of the secondary schools come under the aegis of the Ministry of Education. They follow a common curriculum, imparting a general education in languages (English and Urdu ), Pakistan Studies, Islamiyat and one of the following groups: Science, “General” or Vocational. The Science group includes Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology; the “General” group includes Mathematics or Household Accounts or Home Economics, General Science and two general education courses out of some 40 options. The Vocational group provides choices from a list of commercial, agricultural, industrial or home economics courses. There are also “non-examination” courses such as Physical Exercise of 15-20 minutes daily and Training in Civil Defense, First Aid and Nursing for a minimum of 72 hours during grades 9 and 10. The Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) taken at the end of the tenth grade is administered by the government’s Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education. Admission to the “intermediate” colleges and Vocational schools is based on score obtained at the SSCE. The grading system is by “divisions” one to three. In order to be placed in the First Division, a student must score a minimum of 60 percent of the total of 1000 “marks;” those obtaining 45 to 59 percent are placed in the Second Division ; and those getting between 264 and 499 out of 1000 are placed in the Third Division, while below 264 are declared failed. For those accustomed to U.S. grading, these norms would appear low. Those in the First Division would compare favorably with A students in American schools.
AIOU Solved Assignments 1 & 2 Code 8625 Autumn 2024
{===============}
Q.2 Explain the existing organization stracture of boards of intermidiate and secondary edcuation in Pakistan and highlight the role of education secretariats in provinces.
Answer: Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education are responsible to administer school and colleges offering primary and secondary education in Pakistan. Every BISE also administer the exames for such classes. Every province has boards in major districts. Responsibilities of BISEs Public education is universally available. School curricula, funding, teaching, employment, and other policies are set through locally by school boards in compliance with over all provincial and federal policies. Every provincial government takes care of standards at Intermediate and secondary education level in the region by help of BISE at district level. Hence; every board is responsible to offer a transparent examination system and evaluation methodology. Each BISE in any province is controlled by a single provincial Board of Education. BISE came into being as a result of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Act 1990. Due to increase in work load on matric section, the conduct section has been divided into two separate sections. Conduct 1 to deal with matric and conduct 2 to deal with intermediate. A printing section has also been created for printing of question papers. The Board is governed by a Calendar based on NWFP BISE Act 1990. The act along with regulations and rules provide a complete compendium of instructions for running the Board. Within the parameters laid down by this act, the Board makes rules and regulations for its
running. In addition the Controlling Authority also has the powers to provide directions to the Board to regulate any activity. Five districts, namely Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Battagram and Kohistan. This encompasses an area of 17,194 square kilometres and a population of 3.47 millions.
1. Government schools, including Higher Secondary Schools and colleges, Tehsil-wise,
both male and female. 2. Private Schools, male and female, Tehsil-wise. 3. Private Colleges, male and female, Tehsil-wise. Summary of institutions affiliated with the Board. All students of 9 th and 11 th class are required to be registered with the Board. The student population here is that of registered students. In our Board area, however, a very large private student population is also there, whose examination requirements are also met by the Board. Objectives of the Board Hold and conduct all Examinations pertaining to Intermediate Education, Secondary Education, Classical and Pakistani Languages and such other Examinations as may be determined by Government. Lay down the conditions for admission to its Examinations to determine the eligibility of candidates and to admit them to such Examinations. Prescribe courses of study for its Examinations Lay down conditions for recognition of institutions. Accord, refuse or withdraw recognition, wholly or partly. Inspection of institutions and arrange for inspection of recognized institutions and call for inspection reports in respect of such institutions. Institute and award scholarships, medals and prizes in the prescribed manner. Grant certificates and diplomas to persons who have passed its Examinations and to withdraw such certificates and diplomas Functions of the Board The functions of the Board are:- Hold and conduct all Examinations pertaining to Intermediate Education, Secondary Education, Classical and Pakistani Languages and such other Examinations as may be determined by Government. Lay down the conditions for admission to its Examinations to determine the eligibility of candidates and to admit them to such Examinations. Prescribe courses of study for its Examinations. Lay down conditions for recognition of institutions. Accord, refuse or withdraw recognition, wholly or partly. Inspection of institutions and arrange for inspection of recognized institutions and call for inspection reports in respect of such institutions. Institute and award scholarships, medals and prizes in the prescribed manner. Grant certificates and diplomas to persons who have passed its Examinations and to withdraw such certificates and diplomas. In order to enable the Board to perform these multifarious functions efficiently and effectively, these Boards were established as independent autonomous bodies with the Governor of the province as the Controlling Authority. Professionally Board is the most competent body, as it comprises the highest functionaries of the provincial Education setup as members etc.
AIOU Solved Assignments Autumn & Spring 2024 Code 8625
{===============}
Q.3 Compare the function and role of public and private sector schools in
pakistan? Highlight the importance of faculty development programe for teachers at secondary level.
Answer: ducation plays a pivotal role in the rise and fall of the nations especially in the 23st century importance of education influence much to meet the fast growing challenges. It is mainly due to the emergence of global competition in education and technology. This competitive environment is the core need for progress of any country. All countries including Pakistan have different school systems but when we divide them we find two major categories of school systems: private and public schools. In Pakistan, private schools are getting mass acceptance today to ensure sustained progress of the country.
During 1990s and 2000s, private sector emerged as a key provider of education services in Pakistan both in absolute terms and relative to the public sector. Private educational institutions are playing key role not only in eradicating illiteracy but also enhancing the level of students as well as teachers by providing better academic environment. Private sector contributed significantly in eradicating illiteracy in the emerging economies. If private schools are properly managed they can uplift educational standard in Pakistan as well. The educational landscape of Pakistan has gone through numerous transformations in the past two decades. Enrollment levels and gender parity index have been on the rise. The changes in the education sector that have been taking place in Pakistan have created an environment with numerous opportunities as well as challenges in terms of policy development. Even though the enrollment in government schools is much bigger than any other sector, the declining trend in favor of non –state providers is significant. Education, especially primary education is mostly considered a public service which should be provided to the citizens without discrimination, irrespective of affordability and mainly as the government’s responsibility. This ideology was behind the nationalization of all education institutions in 1972, which severely interrupted the role of the robust private sector particularly at the post elementary level. However, like other services provided by the government, education provision has been severely constrained by governance, quality and effectiveness. After the end of nationalization in 1979, Pakistan has witnessed an exponential increase in the role of private sector service providers. The negative experiences of government schools have instigated parents to shift children from government to private schools. Private schools no longer remain an urban or elite phenomenon, but rather poor households also use these facilities to a large extent, due to their better locations, reasonable fees, teachers’ presence and better-quality learning, especially in the fields of mathematics and language. Even though private schools started off as an urban phenomenon, more recently they have mushroomed in rural areas as well. Several characteristics are responsible for making private schooling more attractive to parents compared to government schools; these include better test scores, better physical infrastructure, and lower rates of teacher absenteeism. Some of the other factors are: 1- Income of parents 2- Teacher quality factors influencing school choice: (i) Parents’ knowledge of the teacher’s educational qualifications (ii) Parents’ opinion of the teacher’s regularity (iii) Parents’ rating of the teacher’s teaching skills 3- Facilities in School 4- Child safety 5- Quality of education 6- School Fee 7- Medium of Instruction 8- Better results Even if we disregard the debate of whether the learning levels are better in private or government schools, the fact remains that the learning levels for both types of institutes remain poor in an absolute sense. The private schools advantage over the public schools is marginal up if we look at the problems of education in the country holistically speaking. Therefore, the policy developers should cater to supporting and improving both the sectors and not either of the two. The outcomes of private versus public schools’ debate may be a popular discourse, however, at a policy level it is essential to understand that the current education emergency in Pakistan cannot be confronted with just a single player in the education sector. Multiple players, other than the government alone are required in the process to combat the problems. The government needs private sector’s help to contest the challenges. Various other challenges including the flood, security issues and dislocations of citizens due to the regional conflicts in the country also pose major concerns that the households and state need to plan around in the future. The need of the hour is a collective action by all the stakeholders, including the households, government, private sector and the civil society.
It can be a better option if the government uses its resources not on increasing the number of schools but rather on the quality of existing schools. Increasing access to education for children by increasing the number of schools should be a policy left for the private sector and the government itself should concentrate on improving the quality of physical facilities and teachers in the existing schools. By doing this, the benchmark for the private schools will also increase, thus increasing both access to, and quality of education.
AIOU Solved Assignments 1 & 2 Autumn & Spring 2024 Code 8625
{===============}
Q.4 Criticize the current approaches to curriculum development in pakistan. Also
develop criteria to evaluate curriculum at secondary level in pakistan.
Answer: The process of curriculum development is facing serious issues in Pakistan. These issues are interference of bureaucrats, the absence of involvement of school teachers etc. Experts sitting in curriculum development boards do not use academic resources properly for revising outdated sections of school textbooks. EAST offers innovative solutions for meeting the needs of curriculum development in Pakistan. What is Curriculum? While thinking about education, the most important idea that comes to mind is curriculum. Curriculum is a channel that school administration needs for giving educational and life skills to students. However, unluckily, in Pakistani context, this idea is highly misunderstood due to which students do not get enriched educational experience in schools. Curriculum does not change in Pakistan Ghulam Haider in his article, “Process of Curriculum Development in Pakistan,” says that curriculum is not a static process, but it is a dynamic exercise that must undergo changes according to society’s new demands. In Pakistan, curriculum development is a static process. There are many reasons for the failure in developing proper curriculum. Some of them are discussed below. Issues in curriculum development
1. Curriculum is outdated Firstly, the curriculum is outdated, which does not meet the local needs of Pakistani society. Raja Omer Shabbir in his article, “The curriculum problems,” notes that our present generation is learning the same knowledge that previous two generations have learnt. As students from different parts of the world get difficult mathematical and scientific knowledge by activity-based learning, our students are forced to know scientific concepts through cramming. For example, in school textbooks of Mathematics at primary level, the concepts of shapes in geometry lessons are not written correctly. One example is of sphere and circle. Most of the teachers do not know that a sphere is a solid shape and a circle is a flat shape. Many teachers teach students that the shape of sun is a circle and not a sphere. It is sad situation that experts designing school textbooks of mathematics at primary level do not pay attention to include the concept of solid and flat shapes together.
2. Involvement of government officials Secondly, both Haider and Shabbir note that involvement of government officers in the development of Pakistani curriculum is proving harmful to our education system. Haider suggests that the current process of curriculum development is based on a uniform policy for the whole country that has its particular aims and goals, but he thinks that it is not possible to apply national educational policy to different regions of the country with equality. For example, there are many underdeveloped areas of Pakistan, where parents do not have adequate resources to send their children to schools. The drop-out rate from schools is high, because parents cannot afford the expense of education easily. Hence, a new educational policy has to be made by government officers for poor students, so that their problems of education can be solved. One way of doing this is to build schools, where students are allowed to study in evening time, and where books having basic knowledge about core subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science, Urdu and Islam are taught by trained teachers.
3. Lack of academic research
Thirdly, the problem that the process of curriculum development faces in Pakistan is improper academic research for writing school textbooks. Haider points out those experts sitting in the curriculum development boards use materials of their own choice for instruction in schools. He says that most of the times the chosen content is not up to the mark. While going through textbooks approved by several board systems in the country, it becomes clear that no suitable research/evaluation system is created to revise curriculum. For example, in computer books of Class 9th, students still learn serial and parallel ports. However, it is noted that all electronic devices created in present day are connected with computers by USB port.
4. Absence of school teachers’ involvement Fourthly, it is seen that the academic experience of teachers from different schools is also not considered in designing and revising school curriculum. Daniel Tanner and Laurel N. Tanner in their book, “Curriculum Development: Theory into Practice,” suggest that without intelligent participation of school teachers, meaningful curriculum development will not be achieved. Tanner and Tanner say that teachers, who are involved in bringing out educational change, accept and adopt the new ideas more quickly than those teachers who are not involved in carrying out change. Useful evidence suggests that in countries where well-educated teachers were not involved in the curriculum development process, they did not accept new changes in school textbooks. Result of weak academic skills of researchers With lack of academic skills in researchers responsible for designing curriculum for schools, the most important feature of curriculum, i.e. content suffers a lot. Students follow rote- learning process, because the content of their books does not match to their educational skills. In order to make students problem-solvers, Shabbir argues that our books must contain questions that relate to problems we face in our daily life. By answering those questions, students will learn to solve issues in difficult situations. For example, while studying the concept of speed in science, students must be given questions related to real-life examples of speed such as speed of a car etc., so that they know the application of the concept. EAST’s contribution to solving curriculum problems EAST has developed a curriculum that provides activity-based learning to students and gives problem-solving skills to them.
AIOU Solved Assignments Code 8625 Autumn & Spring 2024
{===============}
Q.5 Elaborate the main goals and objectives of curriculum development (science subject) at secondary level in pakistan.
Answer: Curriculum is an essential instrument used by the educational institutions for the social development of the individual which is one of the essential objectives of education and school is a societal organization, endowed with the mission of civilizing value transmission to the future generation. Continuous attempt is desirable to ensure that the instrument is useful and effective. For making stipulation to cope with the challenges and changing demand of society, review and improvement in curriculum is required. The aim of study was to analyze the curriculum process and development of a model for secondary level in Pakistan. The main objectives of the study included investigation of the existing process, exploring the merits and weaknesses, obtaining the teachers‘ opinions and developing a curriculum development model for secondary level in Pakistan. Sample of the study was stratified randomly selected from all over the Pakistan and 2300 teachers were included in the sample. For data collection Questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. Data were analyzed by percentage and chi-square. On the basis of the data analysis major conclusions were that curriculum objectives did not endorse the practice of decisive and innovative thinking, policy objectives were sound devised and interpreted into curriculum objectives. Major recommendations are the process of curriculum development may be coordinated with the culture and the society, the objectives of curriculum may be related to the national philosophy and existent life applications through detailed subject matter. Proposed curriculum model was developed in the light of the findings of the study and was validated by the curriculum experts/specialists)
Curriculum improvement is also a political process. It involves dealing with the different people with their different authority bases and their different views about ?good? education. Curriculum development is not an action that once takes place and move towards an end within a school. Relatively, it is a never ending process, with understanding and imminent taken from various feedback from assessments and then starting freshly for future progress. One of the key roles of teacher is to take decisions about the entire aspects of curriculum as curriculum itself is not static but dynamic in nature. Every teacher should uncover himself in a position, which comprise of number of features and aspects. Situation analysis is most important, deep and beginning step to curriculum preparation, but less deeply, throughout progress effort as a check, again at the position of execution of the new curriculum (on the whole if few of the features have distorted by that time, which might fit be the case if curriculum development has taken a extended time), and at last throughout deliberation of the steps to be taken as a result of evaluation (Nicholls & Nicholls, 1974). Specialist works in close association with textbooks boards, the curriculum centers, the education departments, the Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISEs) and other research institutes such as Institutes of Education and Research (IERs) in the provinces. According to Morehead (1966), a model is a minute description of something that will be constructed later. A model is small-scale image or reproduction of something (Hills, 1985). Only one curriculum development model is not suitable in all contexts and for every curriculum developers. Rather, one has been advocated but others explained as well, so that prospective curriculum designers may choose the most suitable one for their own context. There are two broader classifications of models of curriculum development (Oliva & Gordon, 2013) Curriculum is a whole range of formal setup and learning experience, offered by a school. Curriculum includes self-determining study and investigation; lecturers by visitors; participation in school cocurricular activities like sports, plays, dramas, educational television program, outdoor trips, and services and developmental projects or work in community. To maximize the benefits of school career at each level curriculum organize all learning experiences to the student. School‘s curriculum consists of all those activities planned or motivated under the umbrella of its organizational framework to encourage the overall development of individual including the logical or mental, individual, societal and physical development (Mathews, 1989). Curriculum is the sort of building comprehension and practice, analytically developed with support of the school or institution to make the student able to enhance his or her power of comprehension and practice (Aggarwal, 1990). Farooq, (1994) was of the view that at the time of selection of school experiences when planning the curriculum there should have a compromise between two approaches. Schools should incorporate those learning activities that ensure the knowledge acquirement and develop an understanding of cultural tradition exclusive of intense force on immediate functional use. Alternatively schools should also struggle to facilitate the individual with all possible aspects including the problems of daily life. It means that both the experiences, that assist the learners in the mastery of basic skills and also serve the important life needs of pupils themselves, are to be included in the curriculum. Hunkins (1987) states that curriculum improvement should be a complete development relating a wide variety vision of the educational system and its position within society. However, if curriculum development exists at all, it is an incompetent procedure. Curriculum improvement is also a political process. It involves dealing with the different people with their different authority bases and their different views about ?good? education. Curriculum development is not an action that once takes place and move towards an end within a school. Relatively, it is a never ending process, with understanding and imminent taken from various feedback from assessments and then starting freshly for future progress. One of the key roles of teacher is to take decisions about the entire aspects of curriculum as curriculum itself is not static but dynamic in nature. Every teacher should uncover himself in a position, which comprise of number of features and aspects. Situation analysis is most important, deep and beginning step to curriculum preparation, but less deeply, throughout progress effort as a check, again at the position of execution of the new curriculum (on the whole if few of the features have distorted by that time, which might fit be the case if curriculum development has taken a extended time), and at last throughout deliberation of the steps to be taken as a result of evaluation (Nicholls & Nicholls, 1974). Specialist works in close association with textbooks boards, the curriculum centers, the education departments, the Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISEs) and other research institutes such as Institutes of Education and Research (IERs) in the provinces.
AIOU Solved Assignments 1 & 2 Code 8625 Autumn & Spring 2024
{===============}
