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The different types of curriculum

By on January 6, 2016

Shopping for a good school that fits your objectives need not be daunting.  Some parents ask for recommendations from other parents which is not the right way to go about it. Why?  Because each child is unique.

Education is continuously evolving. In the real scheme of things, the ability to participate in a multi-lingual, multi-cultural and constantly changing global environment has never been as important as today. For parents to be able to chart the right path for their children, here are the different types of curriculum/programs offered at international schools in Tokyo.

Checking out a school’s curriculum that matches your child’s needs is no different from understanding the nutritional value of foods your body requires. As each child is unique, there is no one-size-fits-all education model.  A curriculum is defined as the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn, which includes the learning standards or learning objectives they are expected to meet via lessons that teachers teach. So if you are not familiar with a curriculum offered by the school, do your research carefully or make an appointment with the headmaster to have a deeper understanding of how it matches your needs and values.

Common Core Standards
The Common Core Standards is an American education initiative with a strong focus on critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills. Many parents mistake Common Core for curriculum which it is not. Standards is a set of guidelines that refer to what students are expected to know by when. Simply put, standard is the goal, curriculum is a road map.

IB or International Baccalaureate curriculum
The IB headquartered in Switzerland oers three programs for these age groups: 3-12 (Primary Years Program), 11-16 the Middle Years Program, and 16-19 (Diploma Program aka IBDP). The number of IB students is now over a million in more than 140 countries globally. Students in the IB program take courses from any of these subjects: language and literature, mathematics and computer science, individuals and society, language acquisition. Each program has its own curriculum with the IBDP as the most popular. With an IB program, students acquire a global skill set such as critical thinking, community awareness as well as a strong second language. IB teachers also actively participate in professional enhancement workshops. Parents need to know that the IB program also has a rather demanding curriculum with lots of course work in a given academic year but the learning bene␣ts is priceless.

Hybrid Curricula
Many international schools in Tokyo have a ‘hybrid’ type of curricula using best practices of 2 or more education models.

National Curriculum
A national curriculum follows the standards recognized by a particular country.

Montessori program
A montessori program is multi-age, child-centered with a strong focus on early childhood development based on scienti␣c observations of children from birth to adulthood.

Reggio Emilia program
The Reggio Emilia approach is essentially inquiry-based . Teachers work within inquiry approaches documenting children’s interactions with materials, people and ideas as basis for curriculum design. It also promotes multi-cultural, multi-lingual environment.

Vygotskian program
Named after a Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky known for his work on Social Development Theory, a Vygotskian program places special focus on society and culture in a child’s cognitive development. There are always more than 2 languages oered in a Vygotskian classroom.

About Marlow Hauser

Marlow Hauser is a full-time data scientist, part-time writer, trailing spouse and mother of two. She has a PhD in Psychology and writes about education and food.