Life-oriented curriculum is the one in which learning experiences are selected and integrated so as to promote the development of whole personality of pupils viz. attempting to improve students intellectual, social, physical, emotional and psycho motor development. MEANING AND DEFINITION
Life Orientation is the study of the self in relation to
others and to society. Life orientation has been defined in the National Curriculum as a holistic study of the self, the self in society, an opportunity to develop the emotional side of young people, the citizenship aspects of life. LIFE CENTERED CURRICULUM GIVE IMPORTANCE ON Child Centered Education Society Centered Education
Preservation, promotion and transmission of culture
Teaching of science FIELDS OF LIFE-ORIENTED CURRICULUM According to Hilda Taba , 1. Taking care of health and personal life 2. Nurturing a happy family
3. Leading a good life
4. Adopting spiritual values
5. Developing aesthetic skills
6. Getting educated
7. Living amicably with family members and society
8. Spending leisure time productively
9. Developing skills to improve one’s economic status
Psychologist Stratemeyer says three types of life situations are indispensable for life centred curriculum. They are 1. Those meant for the development of individual capacities 2. Those meant for growth in social participation
3. Those meant for growth in ability to face the challenges
posed by the environment. IMPORTANT FEATURES OF LIFE ORIENTED CURRICULUM 1. Social transformation 2. Outcomes – based education 3. High level of knowledge and skills 4. Integration of subjects and applied competencies 5. Progression of knowledge and skills 6. Articulation and portability 7. Nurturing human rights, inclusivity, environmental care and social justice 8. Valuing indigenous knowledge systems 9. Credibility, quality and efficiency 1.SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION Remove the social disparities in education and ensuring that equal opportunities are provided to all sections of the society. The object of life oriented education is to help students to develop their inherent potentials. 2. OUTCOMES-BASED EDUCATION Outcomes based education is the foundation for life oriented curriculum. By promoting outcomes based education which is an aspect of life oriented curriculum, students are expected to have the following educational achievements. 1. Identifying problems and finding out suitable solution making appropriate decisions using critical and creative thinking. 2. Working efficiently with others as members of a team, group, organization and community. 3. Planning properly the activities that are to be undertaken, implementing them efficiently and responsibly managing them. 4.Collecting appropriate information, analyze, organize and critically evaluate them. 5. Communicating with others effectively using gestures and language skills. 6. Using science and technology to a great extent in one’s own activities understanding and behaving responsibly in matters of health and environmental care. 7. Reflecting upon and using various strategies to learn effectively. 3. HIGH LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS Life oriented curriculum tries to develop high level of knowledge and practical skills in learners. It indicates the higher goals to be achieved by each student. By nurturing social justice, it shows more care and concern to develop knowledge and skills in the people of the marginalized sections of the society. 4.INTEGRATION OF SUBJECTS AND APPLIED COMPETENCE Life oriented curriculum gives importance for the integration within and across subjects and disciplines. Only by integrating subjects and disciplines applied competence could be achieved. 5. PROGRESSION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS By explicitly stating the expected learning outcomes at each level of education, curriculum for the successive levels of education to achieve advanced levels of knowledge and skills could be formulated. Life oriented curriculum follows such an approach. 6.ARTICULATION AND PORTABILITY Articulation refers to the relationship that exists among the different parts of the curriculum for a particular standard or grade. Arranging the subject content sequentially in such a way that there exists significant correlation between those of a lower class or grade and of the next higher class or grade is called as Vertical Articulation or Continuity. 7. NURTURING HUMAN RIGHTS, INCLUSIVITY, ENVIRONMENTAL CARE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE Life oriented curriculum attempts to promote human rights, inclusion of all sections of the people, care for the environment and upholding social justice. Life oriented curriculum, the intellectual, social, spiritual and physical needs of all learners will be addressed through the design and development of learning programmes and through the use of appropriate assessment tools and techniques. 8.VALUING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS Nowadays people have started recognizing different systems of knowledge and using them in different aspects of life and this trend is noticed all over the world. Though allopathic system of medicine ( English medicine) is quite popular in India at present, and gained widespread acceptance, still the ancient Indian systems of medicine like Ayurvedha, Siddha and Unani are also hailed and relied upon by a significant number of people in our society. Indigenous Knowledge system is the body of knowledge evolved over thousands of years from the philosophical thinking and social practices of people of a particular culture. 9.CREDIBILITY, QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY Life oriented curriculum tries to incorporate necessary changes from time to time thereby renewing itself and making it comparable to those of other countries in quality, breadth and depth. Besides developing the skills needed for day to day life such as 1. Information and communication skills
2. Inter personal skills
3. Self awareness skills
4. Skill of understanding the feeling of others
5. Creative thinking skills
6. Skill of critical thinking
7. Skill of making decisions
8. Problem solving skill
9. Skill of coping up with stress
10. Controlling emotions.
CONCLUSION Developing the special skills and knowledge in a particular subject discipline and developing occupational skills to become self reliant are the important aspects of life oriented curriculum.
An Introduction to Concepts of Nutrition: Facilitator’s Handbook: A Facilitated Coursebook Designed for Further Education and Entry Level Higher Education / Adult and Community Learning