The parents' conception of the ideal curriculum

• Main Author: Lane, Watson Wilfred
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1980
• Subjects: Newfoundland; Dark Cove
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/7691/; https://research.library.mun.ca/7691/1/Lane_WatsonWilfred.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/7691/3/Lane_WatsonWilfred.pdf

A study of the survey, “The Eleventh Annual Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools”, conducted by the Gallup Poll in the United States prompted the author’s interest in conducting a similar study of high schools in Newfoundland. After reading “Public Attitudes Towards Education in Newfoundland and Labrador” by P.J. Warren, the writer was convinced that a need for an investigation existed. Whereas both of these studies cover virtually the entire education system, the present study focuses specifically on the program of studies in the high schools of Newfoundland. -- The study was based on the assumption that the curriculum in use in the province’s high schools was the outcome of the labours of professional educators whose own conception of curriculum might often be vastly different from the parents’ conceptions of instructional programming. The intent of the research, then, was to arrange a method of investigation that would provide parents with an opportunity to make known their feelings regarding the high school curriculum in use in Newfoundland schools -- Two methods for collecting data were considered the questionnaire and/or the interview. A combination of both methods was eventually employed. A questionnaire consisting of thirty-five questions was compiled and used as a basis for discussion throughout the interviews. Most questions required a simple “Yes” or “No” answer; however, some questions were open-ended and the responses from parents, in the case of these questions, were duly recorded, categorized and analyzed. -- Time and finances prohibited extending the survey to cover the whole of the province. It was decided, therefore, to choose three areas for survey purposes. One high school, Prince of Wales Collegiate, was chosen to represent the largest city in the province, St. John’s. This area was designated Area I. Because Gander Academy was considered a middle-sized high school, Gander was designated as Area II. Glovertown, Eastport, Dark Cove and Hare Bay areas, where smaller ...