Systems approach as a handcuff to curb the democratization of curriculums: Systems approach for what and for whom?

Abstract

This study reinvestigates the systems approach, which is, among educators, a well-recognized approach reflecting the fundamental discourses of the industrial order. The pervasive discourses of the industrial order that failed to invite a holistic view for students have led to a conceptual division. This systemic thinking has thus starred viewing schools as factories, teachers as workers, and students as mere products processed to promote production in the workplace. This manipulative discourse was scrutinized with its relation to such historically interrelated concepts as positivism, behaviorism, scientific management, and bureaucracy. The changing roles of schools and teachers were also discussed in light of those concepts. It has further been argued that, in the information age, individuals shaped by this mindset arc more likely to fall prey to the bombardment of advertising and propaganda, and thus, to contribute to the wealth of the affluent by excessive consumerism. While discussing the previous and current logics of this mindset rooted in Frederick Taylor's "scientific management" approach, this study emphasizes the need to strip educators of their prescribed roles as passive information deliverers and to position them as active subjects who, in solidarity with their students, can actively produce knowledge.