Design for Integration of Population Education
As we have seen from the foregoing discussion that almost all the countries having national population education programme are using integration approach. The following design can be used for developing curriculum in population education for integration with the existing curricula and textbooks.
Formulation of Objectives of Population Education
First of all, the curriculum developers have to decide the long range as well as immediate objectives of population education for each grade in the light of the goals of education, the goals of population at the national level, feasibility constraints and socio-cultural values of the people.
Identification of Concepts
After deciding the objectives the next step is to develop the conceptual structure of population education required for the achievement of its objectives. The concepts are organized in order of their complexity at each grade/level.
Identification of plug-points in relevant subjects by grade/level
The existing curricula and textbooks for different subjects at each grade/ level are analysed in order to find out the points where population education concepts can be plugged in. The population-related concepts which are already in the curriculum and textbooks are also identified.
Development of Teaching-Learning Materials
The instructional materials for teachers and learning materials for students are developed using different methodologies. The process of developing curricular materials for teachers and students is a challenging one particularly when dealing with value sensitive topics.
A purely expository approach will not be effective. Population data and information become useful only as a means for concept attainment, clarifying one’s values and in arriving at well-thought out generalizations that later become bases for decision-making about population issues.
Problem-solving, values clarification, role-playing, games, simulation, etc., then become more appropriate strategies in dealing*with population problems and issues.
While elaborating on the conceptual framework in population education, it is advisable to think of the learning experiences and/or teaching strategies, the teaching aids and/or instructional materials, and the evaluation strategies that would be used. This will help to determine the kind of curricular materials that ought to be developed.
Integration of Population Education
In some cases curriculum and materials of population education can be integrated in the existing curricula and textbooks as a part of the ongoing curriculum improvement programme. Very often, one has to wait until the syllabi and textbooks of the mother subjects (subject in which to integrate) are revised.
In many countries, a textbook has five to six years life span during which no revision or change is possible. In such cases supplementary materials have to provide to the students and teachers for integration in relevant subjects.
Evaluation of Curriculum and Materials
The population education materials integrated in different subject areas should be evaluated to find out whether the desired outcomes in term of cognitive and attitudinal behaviours have been achieved. In the light of evaluation necessary improvements are made in the curriculum and materials of population education.
Inclusion of Population Education in Formal System in Pakistan
At first, Population Education was taken by the Family Planning Association of Pakistan -and now it has been taken up by the Population Welfare Division.
Recently, the Population Education unit has been created within the Bureau of Curriculum and Text Books of Federal Ministry of Education, but the Welfare Division is still providing funds for this purpose.
Population Education was accepted as an academic valid area of study when it was included in the curriculum of Teacher Training in 1974 under the heading School Community and Population Education.
Teachers guide for primary teachers was developed to help them to teach population concepts included in the text-books of classes I-V and to devise simple audio-visual aids and class room activities that help to impart this knowledge in an effective manner.
Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with UNESCO, Bangkok and Education Cell (Population Division) has developed a sourcebook in Population Education for educational administrators, policymakers, curriculum planners, teachers, and text book writers etc.
A case study on Population Education and education policies was made in 1975. It was the first ever to coordinate the national education and population policies in Pakistan.