Teachers’ Involvement in Curriculum Design in Higher Education

Abstract

Complexities and incessant changes in all spheres of life in the global world ranging from climatic to socio-economic conditions such as increasing school enrolment, dwindling economic resources, high rate of unemployment, cultural and environmental challenges, place demand for emerging curriculum in higher education that will meet the evolving educational needs, so as to prepare learners for their future roles in the changing world. This calls for high level of proficiency in curriculum design on the part of faculty, either at the program or course level. This paper reveals that some of the key factors that affect the faculty from being proficient in curriculum design are, (1) beliefs and values of faculty, (2) gap in use of Information Technology (3) lack of design expertise (4) lack of collaboration among faculty and (5) inadequate support of faculty leadership. The paper suggests that these mitigating factors need to be addressed so that faculty can become more proficient in review and design of appropriate curricula that will meet the plethora of educational demands of the twenty first Century.