Curriculum Design of Higher Education in Peace and Security Studies: Student’s Perceptions of Quality

Abstract

Curriculum design remains the super-structure of an educational programme that determines its true identity and worth. But as quality issues continue to affect the delivery of higher education (HE) in the developing world due to high demand, new programmes such as peace and security studies in Africa get more affected by design constraints. In such circumstances, curriculum evaluation measures are imperative in realigning the designs to the needs of the students. In this study, data was collected from 152 students undertaking various courses in peace and security studies in Kenyan universities. The objective was to determine their perceptions of certain aspects of curriculum design of the peace and security courses they were undertaking. The results indicate design constrains with regard to practical training, content integration, credits transfer, flexibility, course duration, and timetabling. Using the service quality theory and the humanistic and social reconstructionists perspectives of curriculum design, the study recommends elimination of the design constraints in order to deliver quality peace and security studies programmes.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p2896