NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Joey R. Miñano

CATEGORIES OF NEEDS

• Some examples of both student and society needs are: to develop the attitude and practice of a

sound mind in a sound body To promote concern for protecting the

environment to develop a well-rounded individual to develop skills sufficient for competing in a

global economy to develop a linguistically, technologically, and

culturally literate person

A CLASSIFICATION SCHEME• It is important to note that the needs of

the student cannot be completely divorced from those of society, or vice versa.

• To further understand the needs of the student and society let’s look at the following classification scheme:• needs of students by level• needs of students by type• needs of society by level• needs of society by type

NEEDS OF STUDENTS: LEVELS• The six levels of student needs of concern

to the curriculum planner may be identified as:1. human2. national3. state or regional4. community5. school6. individual

NEEDS OF STUDENTS: TYPES

• Another dimension is added when the curriculum planner analyzes the needs of students by types.• Physical/Biological• Socio-Psychological• Educational

NEEDS OF SOCIETY: LEVELS

We can classify the levels of needs of society from the broadest to the narrowest:

humaninternationalnationalcitycommunity, andneighborhood.

NEEDS OF SOCIETY: TYPES

The curriculum planner must additionally look at the needs of society from the standpoint of types. Some examples of societal needs that have implications for on the curriculum are:

politicalsocialeconomicenvironmentaldefense

Needs Derived from the Subject Matter• Each subject contains certain essential areas or topics

(the bases for determining the scope of a course) that, if the learner is to achieve mastery of the field, must be taught at certain times and in a certain prescribed order (sequence).

• The sequence could be determined by:• increasing complexity (as in mathematics, foreign

languages, English grammar, science) • logic (as in social studies programs that begin with the

child’s immediate environment—the home and school—and expand to the community, state, nation, and world)

• psychological means (as in career education programs that start with immediate interests of learners and proceed to more remote ones)

CONDUCTING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT

• The objectives of a needs assessment are twofold: 1. to identify needs of the learners not being

met by the existing curriculum.2. to form a basis for revising the curriculum in

such a way as to fulfill as many unmet needs as possible.

• Conducting a needs assessment is not a single, one-time operation but a continuing and periodic activity.

Steps in the Needs Assessment Process• The needs assessment process is designed to

inform those affected by the process as to which curriculum features should be kept as is, kept with revision, removed, and/or added.

• Those conducting a needs assessment must gather extensive data about the school and community and must make use of multiple means of assessment, including opinions, empirical observation, inventories, predictive instruments, and tests.

Steps in the Needs Assessment Process• They should follow constructive techniques

for involving and managing individuals and groups throughout the process, and must apply effective methods for sharing information to keep participants and the community abreast of the process. They must seek out the help of persons trained and experienced in curriculum development, instruction, staff development, budgeting, data gathering, data processing, measurement, and evaluation.

Needs Assessment

Curriculum Revision

Needs of Learners,

Society and Subject Matter

Data Collection

and Analysis

Input Process OUTPUT

“Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self-assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle.”

Eric Zorn

Herbert Spencer’s Description of Life

Activities

According to Spencer, the essential activities of men which should serve as the foci of educational effort and concern are:1. Self-Preservation – the continuous living

of a healthy biological life – is the first activity of living man.

2. Man must earn his daily bread. All activities concerned with the production and acquisition of material goods and of all things necessary for life fall into this second category.

3. Men are family-livers of purpose of procreation, sexual gratification, etc. thus the third essential activity is family living, especially the nourishing and training of children.

4. Next to the responsibilities of the family come those of the citizen. The duties of the citizen are subordinate to those of the family, since in a good liberal society, family prosperity and happiness are foundational to all social prosperity and happiness.

5. Finally, and as a sort of residual category, is the use of leisure hours, the “aesthetic” sphere of life, the satisfaction of feeling and taste principally in the disinterested enjoyment of literature and art.

• If educators were to grant that these are the five focal areas of human activity, how would they help people to improve their functioning in these areas?

Spencer’s answer to this question was unequivocal, if oversimplified.

– Teach people the sciences which alone can tell them truly how to perform these natural functions. Teach them the appropriate facts, of course by appropriate natural methods as suggested above, concerning these life activities.

– Spencer thus defended his claim that, for intellectual, moral, and religious discipline the best and ultimately only valid knowledge to acquire is scientific knowledge. Science is as much the educator’s answer to disciplinary demands as to specific guidance of life activities.

Thank You!