Management of Curriculum Change: A Mechanism for Ensuring Continuous Academic Improvement in Ghanaian Universities

Abstract

Effective collaboration in the curriculum change effort remains a challenge in higher education, in particular, with comprehensive curriculum reform or change. Curriculum modification to existing courses or content will not always lead to the desired reform even though a collaborative approach has been the foundation of the process. Comprehensive and collaborative curriculum change requires a full examination of how academics conceive their role and how the curriculum itself is defined, analyzed, and changed.Through a systematic review of literature, the researchers were able to create a contextualized emergent model for curriculum change management for Ghanaian universities derived from experience and educational policies.It emerged from the review of literature that a collectively shared guiding vision for an effective curriculum change provided a strong foundation for the comprehensive curriculum review process; Embracing curriculum as a shared responsibility among faculty and administration led to widespread participation; The collaboration of various groups within the institution in the process promoted organizational change; Cultural issues regarding people and organizational structure served as barriers to the collaboration process, simultaneously the curriculum team’s sense of community strengthened the curriculum review process. This position paper therefore recommends that the Ministry of Education in conjunction with the Ghana Education Service should ensure that the practice of curriculum change is highly decentralized to reflect local concerns. Thus, the decentralization of the process would be tailored towards the local needs of the area. This would make education more meaningful and relevant to students.

The Effect of Total Quality Management on Customer Satisfaction in the Downstream Petroleum Sector in Ghana

“…It must be emphasized that there is little or no evidence of studies on total quality management within the Ghanaian context that links it to customer service. Most of the studies conducted in the Ghana context have focused on implementation and its challenges for total quality management in various sectors in Ghana [2,12,14]. To the best of my knowledge the current study is among the few if not the first to examine the effect total quality management practices has on the petroleum sector performance in Ghana.…”

“…One of the most relied tools in the 21 st century that organizations have implemented to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations is Total Quality Management [12,13]. The implementation of total quality management has been recognised to give companies competitive advantage since the 1980s [14].…”

Obstacles to successful curriculum management in higher education and opportunities for improvement

“…Such change occurs due to economic, social, and political innovations that render the previous curriculum less effective and outdated after some time (Law, 2022). The curriculum is updated to increase the value of student learning and university outcomes, ensuring the highest quality of learning is achieved (Yidana & Aboagye, 2018). Accordingly, curriculum management is how curriculum change proposals are initiated and reviewed.…”

“…Literature highlights that effective curriculum management must consider the stakeholders' needs to ensure collective success (Curee, 2010;Jones & Anderson, 2001;. As Yidana and Aboagye (2018) found, "embracing curriculum as a shared responsibility among faculty and administration led to widespread participation" (p. 41). Additionally, with adequate implementation strategies, change in the university curriculum "plays a crucial role in fostering healthy learning and facilitating global competitiveness" (Law, 2022, p.16).…”

Decolonising curriculum change and implementation: Voices from Social Studies Zimbabwean Teachers

“…The paper was motivated by the need to contribute to the current debate surrounding the impact of decolonisation of the curriculum, utilising insights from the voices of some Social Studies teachers who had been reported silent in reforming curriculum ( (Apple & Jungck, 1993;Carl, 2005;Yidana & Aboagye, 2018). This study is the first of its kind to draw from the teachers' voices, to investigate the ways in which the past can be used in the ongoing decolonisation debate.…”