CATERING TO THE MINORITY: THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE CURRICULUM BY UNDERGRADUATE MALES

Back to Page Authors: Shanique Michelle Walker

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Keywords: undergraduate, males, access, curriculum, reform

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Abstract: Not much research is done about how males feel about the curriculum in higher education. Gone are the days when males dominated higher education. In lieu of this paradigm shift, it is important that the issue is looked at through a qualitative lens in order to better understand how males feel about the curriculum used in the Jamaican higher education classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand the expectations and experiences of a sample of undergraduate males from two tertiary institutions in Jamaica as it relates to the content taught and the teaching methodologies employed by faculty. The study was undertaken using non-participant observations, face to face interviews and focus group interviews with males who were enrolled in two major higher education institutions in Jamaica. The main findings revealed that undergraduate males expected the curriculum to challenge their intellectual abilities but, they are dissatisfied with the overall curriculum. In addition, undergraduate males ascribed little relevance to the content and find the teaching methodologies monotonous and ineffective. It is imperative that the pedagogy and the didactic employed in higher education be revised to fit the changing culture of males in higher education as they are slowly being pushed out of higher education. This can be achieved through curriculum reform, widening access to higher education and the practice of differentiation and inclusion in the classroom.

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