Name: ​Mehroosa Bari ​Roll Number: ​CA541687

Course: ​Secondary Education ​Semester: ​Autumn 2020

Level: ​MA/M.Ed ​Total Marks: ​100

Assignment 1

Q1.What is the importance of secondary level of education in Pakistan and what measures

can be used to improve education at secondary level?

Importance of Secondary Education:

The rise and fall of the nations depend on the quality of human resources, which can be

properly developed and deployed in the right direction only with right education. The overall

position of a nation in the world community at large is generally idealized by determining the

standards of its educational system. Education does not mean acquiring knowledge only but in

real sense, is a mean for the advancement of personality and character. In fact, education is such

a powerful weapon, if properly deployed, can bring every possible positive change in a society.

Its role in the development of society is very crucial as it provides right leadership to the society.

This is the core responsibility of the educational institutions to develop the people spiritually,

socially, psychologically, mentally and physically, which results in promotion of economic,

social, political and cultural life of a nation. But this goal can be achieved only with the help of

quality education. The vital and unavoidable means to inculcate civilization and development in

society is undoubtedly quality education. The quality of education is deteriorating day by day in
Pakistan especially the quality of secondary education has an alarming situation needing special

attention of the high ups.

The present education system of Pakistan has totally failed to let the young generation

know, why Pakistan came into being and what the motive behind the movement for Pakistan

was. The devastating result of slackness in improving the education system is evident in every

aspect of life. The people in power can easily be held liable for this deterioration. Besides

ideological confusion, the most dangerous aspect which is also morally degrading is the

deteriorating standard of education. Pakistan’s educational documents are not acceptable abroad

due to our poor educational standards. The claims of government of Pakistan regarding literacy

rate of 47% is totally wrong. The actual figures of literacy rate is at about 20% at secondary level

according to independent analysts and educational organizations.

The private schools are not at all serving the cause of education but only earning money

and are playing as tuition centers to prepare students for board exams, without providing any sort

of quality education and any kind of opportunities for intellectual growth. It is worth noting to

specify that government of Pakistan is paying very poor attention to education by allotting 2.9

percent of the GDP. Educational standards at secondary level are deteriorating due to this less

attention

Measures to Improve Secondary Education System

Education department in Pakistan has to face brutal criticism for saddening and

deteriorating condition of educational system. But the authorities of the department, so

confidently, sing songs of success. If government aims to develop the educational standard at

secondary level, necessary and sufficient steps must be initiated, because secondary education is
a connection between primary and high education and is considered of immense importance for

learning of an individual.

The reasons of poor quality of education are Poor Quality of Curriculum, Biased

Selection Procedure of Teachers, Poor Incentives to teachers, Inefficient School Administration,

Poor Assessment System, Political Influence in Schools, No health facilities in Schools,

Non-Availability of Modern Facilities of teaching, Lack of Co-Curricular Activities, Lack of Fair

Inspection, and Lack of Financial Support.

Some recommendations for improvement in situation are to develop curriculum of

secondary level keeping in view the societal needs and demands, to maintain a strict selection

criteria for teachers at secondary level with attractive incentives, to deploy effective and efficient

administration in schools with democratic and fair attitude, to use modern techniques for

evaluation at secondary level for student’s assessment, to eliminate politics from educational

institutions, to provide proper health facilities, to use modern teaching methods in schools, to

provide the students ample opportunities to participate in co-curricular activities, to develop a

transparent system of inspection and monitoring, to provide teachers quality professional

training, to increase budget of education, and to start media campaign for public awareness.

Q2. What is reflective abstraction? Write in the context of formational operational stage.

Reflective Abstraction:

Reflective abstraction is drawn from what Piaget called the general coordinations of

actions, and as such, its source is the subject and it is completely internal. This kind of

abstraction leads to a generalization which is constructive and results in “new syntheses in midst
of which particular laws acquire mew meaning”. From Piaget’s psychological viewpoint,

reflective abstraction is the method that “it alone supports and animates the immense edifice of

logico-mathematical construction”. Piaget distinguishes various kinds of construction in

reflective abstraction:

1) The interiorization, as a construction of internal processes, as a way of making sense out

of perceived phenomena; as “translating a succession of material actions into a system of

interiorized operations”. Dubinsky argues that “interiorization permits one to be

conscious of an action, to reflect on it and to combine it with other actions”.

2) The coordination or composition of two or more processes for the construction a new

one.

3) The encapsulation or the conversion of a (dynamic) process into a (static) object, in the

sense that, “… actions or operations become thematized objects of thought or

assimilation”. Piaget considered that “…mathematical entities move from one level to

another, an operation on such ‘entities’ becomes in its turn an object of the theory…”.

4) When a subject learns to apply an existing schema to a wider collection of phenomena,

then we say that the schema has been generalized. Generalisation can also happen when a

process is encapsulated to an object. The schema remains the same except that it now has

a wider applicability.

Piaget referred to all of this as a reproductive or generalizing assimilation and he called

the generalization extensional. Dubinsky argues that the interiorization of a process, it is possible

for the subject to think of it in reverse, as a means of constructing a new process which consists

of reversing the original process.

In the Context of Formal Operational Stage:

 The formal operational stage begins at approximately age twelve and lasts into adulthood.

As adolescents enter this stage, they gain the ability to think in an abstract manner by

manipulating ideas in their head, without any dependence on concrete manipulation. He/she can

do mathematical calculations, think creatively, use abstract reasoning, and imagine the outcome

of particular actions.

The formal operational stage is the fourth and final stage of Jean Piaget's theory of

cognitive development. It begins at approximately age 12 and lasts into adulthood.

At this point in development, thinking becomes much more sophisticated and advanced.

Kids can think about abstract and theoretical concepts and use logic to come up with creative

solutions to problems. Skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic

planning also emerge during this stage.

Piaget's Research

Piaget tested formal operational thought in a few different ways. Two of the better-known tests

explored physical conceptualization and the abstraction of thought.

Conceptualizing Balance

One task involved having children of different ages balance a scale by hooking weights on each

end. To balance the scale, the children needed to understand that both the heaviness of the

weights and distance from the center played a role

Younger children around the ages of 3 and 5 were unable to complete the task because they did

not understand the concept of balance. Seven-year-olds knew that they could adjust the scale by
placing weights on each end, but failed to understand that where they put the weights was also

important. By age 10, the kids considered location as well as weight but had to arrive at the

correct answer using trial-and-error. It wasn't until around age 13 that children could use logic to

form a hypothesis about where to place the weights to balance the scale and then complete the

task.

Abstraction of Ideas

In another experiment on formal operational thought, Piaget asked children to imagine

where they would want to place a third eye if they had one. Younger children said that they

would put the imagined third eye in the middle of their forehead. Older children, however, were

able to come up with a variety of creative ideas about where to place this hypothetical eye and

various ways the eye could be used. For example, an eye in the middle of one's hand would be

useful for looking around corners. An eye at the back of one's head could be helpful for seeing

what is happening in the background.

While children tend to think very concretely and specifically in earlier stages, the ability

to think about abstract concepts emerges during the formal operational stage. Instead of relying

solely on previous experiences, children begin to consider possible outcomes and consequences

of actions. This type of thinking is important in long-term planning.

Q.No.3 Discuss Annual and Semester System of Examination.

Ever since the inception of an educational system, it has never been consistent all over

the world. Through exposure and elevation in the knowledge for new ideas and concepts, the

educationalists keep looking for feasible manners to pass the knowledge. There have been
innumerable reforms in the educational system leading to greater results. The idea of these

reforms has always been to have a comprehensive approach to education. As a product of these

investigations, the semester system of education was introduced replacing the annual system.

Both semester and the annual system have its merit and demerits. Some of the students say that

annual system is far better than the semester system and vice-versa.

Semester System

A semester system is an academic tern that divides an academic year into two terms or

parts. The word semester literally means six-month period. In most of the Pakistani colleges, the

six-month semester system is followed. So, a four-year-long bachelors degree comprises 8

semesters and a two-year-long master’s degree consists of four semesters. The central

universities in Pakistan have been following this system for quite a long time now.

Advantages of Semester System

● It will provide an opportunity to the students for continuous learning, assessment and

feedback.

● It facilitates a better understanding of the subject.

● More emphasis is laid on class interaction because of constant engagement between

teachers and students.

● This system improves regular study habits among the students.

● It facilitates in evaluating the performance of students twice a year.

● The students will not have more burden of the syllabus as it is divided into two halves.
 ● A semester system allows greater freedom and scope for designing and delivering a

variety of courses that the students can pick to enhance the quality of learning.

● Through this system, students attend the college regularly without failing as there is a

regulation of compulsory 75% attendance.

● Students can develop skills and subject-related knowledge in a better way through this

system.

Disadvantages of Semester System

● Semester system faces inadequacy of time. Most of the times teachers fail to complete

the syllabus in time. Students who join late will face lot of difficulties to catch the

subject and complete the revision.

● Semester system increases the workload as the evaluation process is conducted twice a

year.

● Semester system does not give any scope for extra classes due to lack of time.

● Semester system restricts co-curricular activities as most of the time teachers are

engaged in completion of syllabus and students are involved in the revision of

completed syllabus

In the annual system of education, an academic year is not divided into different terms.

The final exam, also known as annual examination, is the only test of learning throughout the

year.
Advantages of Annual System

● The students will have much time to revise the syllabus.

● Students will have a chance to refer to various subject related books.

● They can prepare their notes by using library resources.

● Students can participate in all the co-curricular and extracurricular activities.

● Teachers will have a chance to give as much knowledge to the students related to the

subject.

● Teachers can take the students to various field trips and give them much exposure.

Disadvantages of Annual System

● In the annual system, most of the students show negligence towards studies as the

examinations are conducted once a year.

● Students have to study the entire syllabus for annual exams which is a burden.

● Most of the students do not attend the college regularly as there is no strict regulation

on attendance.

Q.No.4 Define trends in curriculum development in Pakistan

An educational system depends upon a curriculum to systematize and execute the process

of education. Curriculum is a channel that helps teachers and other agents to impart education to

approaching generations. There is a lot of difference between theory and practice that is why
only experts are not enough to develop a curriculum unless and until it involves practitioners

who have relevant and sufficient experience of teaching and learning to develop curriculum at a

grass root level. No doubt it is a very difficult and a hard nut to crack like task that the

developers of curriculum has to face while fitting a curriculum into a specific context under

certain conditions.

Process of Curriculum Development in Pakistan:

Curriculum revision/development is ideally an ongoing, assessment, planning and design,

teacher training materials, implementation monitoring, feedback and evaluation, the curricula

renewal is based on the following broad areas of concern.

Incorporating issues of global significance include environment change, degradation,

population control, gender issues and international understanding and cooperation. Fostering

respect for, prevention of cultural tradition, indigenous values and ways of life. Fostering is the

moral values through Islamic principle and ethics among pupils. Promoting democratic value,

respect for an appreciation of cultural diversity that characterize Pakistani society and the

broader global society. To introduce competency based curricula by defining mini involved in

learning competence at both primary and secondary level.

Following are the steps involved in curriculum development in Pakistan.

Curriculum wing request the provincial centers to prepare draft curriculum for each

subject taught in various classes up to the class XII. Provincial curriculum committees prepare

curriculum plane.

The draft is sent to the curriculum wing. The national committee of curriculum

scrutinized the drafts in the light of the comments. The committee submits its recommendation to
the ministry approval. The curriculum schemes duly approved are passed, on the provincial text

book.

Nine types of curriculum adaptation:

Quantity: ​Adapt the number of items that the learner’s expected to learn or number of activities

student will complete prior to assessment for mastery. For example, reduced the number of social

studies terms a learner must learn at any one time. Add more practice activities or worksheets.

Time: ​Adapt the time allotted and allowed for learning, task completion or testing, for example,

individuals a timeline for completing the task, pace learning difficulty for some learner.

Level of support: ​Increase the amount of personal assistance to keep the student on task or to

reinforce or prompt use of specific skills, enhance adult student’s relationship, use physical space

and environmental structure. For example, assign peer buddies, teaching assistant, peer tutors or

cross age tutors, specify how to interact with the student or how to structure the environment.

Input: Adapt the way instruction is delivered to the learner. For example, use different visual

aids, enlarge text, plan more concrete examples, provides hands on activities place students in

cooperative groups, pre teach key concepts or terms before the lesson.

Difficulty: ​Adapt the skill level, problem type or the learner may approach the work. For

example allow the use of a calculator to figure math problems, simplify tasks direction and

change rules to accommodate learner needs.

Output: ​Adapt who the student can respond to instruction. For example instead of answering

questions in writing allow a verbal response, use a communication book for some students, allow

students to show knowledge with hands on materials.

Participation: ​Adapt the extent to which the learner is actively involved in the task. For

example, in geography have students hold the globe, while other point out location, ask the

students to lead a group. Have the student turn the pages while sitting on your lap.

Alternate goals: ​Adapt the goals or outcome expectation while using the some materials, when

routinely utilized, this is only for student with moderate to severe disabilities. For example, in a

social studies lesson, expect a student to be able to locate the colors of the states on a map, while

other students learn to locate each state and name the capital.

Substitute curriculum: ​Provide different instruction and materials to meet learner individual’s

goals. When routinely utilized, this is only for students with moderate to serve disabilities. For

example, during a language lesson a student is learning toileting skills with an aide.

Factors affecting curriculum development in Pakistan:

As curriculum revision in Pakistan is attempted adhoc basis and is never based on

adequate research, experimentation and formative evaluation, the discussion about the failure or

success of curriculum implementation will be based on theoretical framework already discussed.

As for as desirable outcomes we have not been successful to achieve thus the implementation of

curriculum design in Pakistan seems to be a failure.

● Teacher are reluctant to accept the change

● Lack of in-service training

● Political interference

● Economic problems
● Inadequate evaluation

● Lack of commitment of national philosophy

● Disapproval of the society

● Lack of sequence

● Curriculum is more urbanized

● Lack of the teaching materials