A VIEW ON SCHOOL SUBJECTS AND ACDEMIC DISCIPLINE IN INDIA
MEANING
OF SCHOOL SUBJECTS
A subject or a field of study is a branch of
knowledge that is taught and researched at the school, college or university
level.
A school subject refers to an area
of knowledge that is studied in school . It can be called a learning tool or
the criteria by which we learn. More precisely, subjects are the parts into
which learning can be divided. It is a field or sphere of knowledge in which
the learner has chosen to specialise.
It can sometimes be used
synonymously with the term ‘discipline’ and can be referred to as a systematic
instruction given to the students in a particular area of learning that follows
a specific code of conduct.
Humanist
educators argue that school subjects are created to provide students with
“intrinsically rewarding experiences” that contribute to the pursuit of self
actualization, personal growth, and individual freedom . School subjects,
therefore, need to be formulated according to the interest, attitudes, and
developmental stages of individual students. They need to derive content from a
wide range of sources – such as personal experiences, human activities, and
community cultures and wisdoms. Disciplinary knowledge might (or might not) be useful
for the formation of school subjects.
From the perspective of social efficiency, school subjects are constructed for the
primary purpose of maintaining and enhancing economic and social productivity
by equipping future citizens with the requisite knowledge, skills, and capital.
The formation of school subjects, therefore, is justified with close reference
to the needs of occupation, profession, and vocation. Specialized and applied
fields (e.g., engineering, accounting, and marketing, among others), therefore,
are the primary sources from which the contents of school subjects are derived.
For social
reconstructionist, school subjects are created to provide students with
meaningful learning experiences that might lead to emancipation and engender
social agency. To this end, the formation of school subjects is based upon an
examination of social contexts, social issues, and futures, with the intention
of helping individuals reconstruct their own analyses, standpoints, and
actions. Like humanistic educators, social reconstructionist believe that
school subjects derive contents from a wide range of sources.
Definition for School Subject
A school
subject can be defined as a branch of knowledge or a body of knowledge that is
being provided to its learner.
According to Zongyi
Deng “a school subject refers to an area of learning within the school
curriculum that constitutes an institutionally defined field of knowledge and
practice for teaching and learning.”
Meaning of Discipline
The term ‘discipline’ originates
from the Latin words discipulus, which means pupil, and disciplina, which means
teaching. A discipline is focused study in one academic field or
profession. A discipline incorporates expertise, people, projects, communities,
challenges, studies, inquiry, and research areas that are strongly associated
with a given discipline. A discipline may have branches, and these are often
called sub-disciplines.
Meaning of Academic Discipline
An academic
discipline or field of study is a branch of knowledge that
is taught and researched as part of higher education.
Definition
for Academic Discipline
According to Zongyi
Deng “an academic discipline is a field or branch of learning affiliated
with an academic department within a university, formulated for the advancement
of research and scholarship and the professional training of researchers, academics,
and specialists.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCHOOL SUBJECTS AND
ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE
|
BASIS OF DIFFERENCE
|
SCHOOL SUBJECTS
|
ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES
|
|
Aims of education
|
Development of basic skills and awareness.
Development of a social citizen.
|
Development of specialised knowledge and skills.
Development of scholars, researchers, academics, specialists, etc.,
|
|
Nature of content
|
Simple ideas and informations.
|
Complex theories of educators.
|
|
Curriculum construction
|
Considering needs, wants of learners. Includes
learner centred teaching methods.
|
Contents are arranged for the development of
different specialised skills at complex and wider
levels.
|
|
Development of skills
|
Gives importance for the development of basic
skills , such as reading , writing and arithmetic.
|
Gives importance for the development of
specialised skills, mainly professional and vocational skills.
|
|
Area of operation
|
Limited to Schools.
|
For university and other higher education.
|
|
Developmental phases
|
School subjects comes first in the development of
a person.
|
Academic disciplines comes later in one’s learning journey from school
to university
|
Content of a School Subject
The argument
proposed here is that teachers do need basic knowledge of related academic
disciplines, but knowing the content of a school subject lies at the heart of
their professional understanding. School subjects, not academic disciplines,
constitute the “locus” of classroom teaching; they frame classroom teachers’
practice and per- spectives on curriculum and instruction . Knowing the content
of a school subject involves knowing more than the content per se; it entails
knowing the theory of content – i.e., knowing how the content is selected,
formulated, framed, and transformed in ways that render meaningful and
educative experiences for students. This knowing is crucial for disclosing the
educational potential inherent in the content.
Teachers need
to have three kinds of subject matter knowledge: content knowledge, pedagogical
content knowledge, and curricular knowledge.
Content knowledge includes knowledge of the substance and structure of
the academic discipline. Pedagogical content knowledge involves an
understanding of pedagogical representations and instructional strategies, and
of students’ pre-conceptions with respect to particular curriculum topics at
particular grade levels. By means of this knowledge, the teacher transforms his
or her disciplinary content into “forms that are pedagogically powerful and yet
adaptive to the variations in ability and background presented by students”.
Curricular knowledge involves an understanding of the curriculum and the
instructional materials available for teaching a subject at various grade
levels, which can be an aid to the transformation process.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOOL SUBJECTS AND
ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE
School
subjects can have different and variable
relationships to academic disciplines, depending on their aims, contents, and
developmental phases. School subjects are derived from and organized according
to the “structure” of academic disciplines. They constitute a faithful and
valid introduction to the academic disciplines. While students are dealing with
relatively simple ideas and methods in school subjects, they study the same
ideas and methods known by experts in the academic disciplines. So school
subjects are the connecting links to academic disciplines. Academic disciplines
are of complex nature, and they are the continuation of school subjects.
School subjects are basis for the development
of basic informations that will turns the learners into specialists in academic
disciplines. A school subject results from the transformation of an
Academic Discipline. School subjects come first and academic disciplines later
in one’s learning journey from school to university. An academic discipline
provides the endpoint for the formation of a school subject and the school
subject furnishes the avenue for getting to know the academic discipline.
WHY STUDYING SCHOOL SUBJECTS ?
F To develop
basic skills like reading ,writing and arithmetic [ 3R’s]
F To enhance
students’ understanding of themselves, their society, their nation, the human
world and the physical environment.
F To enable
students to develop multiple perspectives on contemporary issues in different contexts (e.g., cultural, social, economic,
political, and technological contexts).
F To help
students become independent thinkers so that they can construct knowledge
appropriate to changing personal and social circumstances.
F To develop in
students a range of skills for life-long learning, including critical thinking
skills, creativity, problem-solving skills, communication skills, and
information technology skills.
F To help
students appreciate and respect diversity in cultures and views in a
pluralistic society and handle conflicting values.
F To help
students develop positive values and attitude towards life, so that they can
become informed and responsible citizens of society, the country and the world.
F They
contribute to the pursuit of self actualization, personal growth, and
individual freedom.
PRASANTH.S.R
ASST. PROF.IN
GENERAL AND
COMMERCE
EDUCATION
