NCF and KCF and its approaches to social science curriculum.

Introduction
    
           A curriculum framework is an organized plan or set of standards or learning outcomes. That defines the content to be learned in terms of class, definable standards of what the student should know and be able to do.
                       A curriculum framework is a part of outcome based education or standards based education reform design. The framework is the first step, defining clear, high standards which Will be achieved by all students. The curriculum is then aligned to the standards, and students are assessed against the standards. As  compared with traditional education which is concerned only about delivering content,a standards based education reform system promises that all Will succeed if all are held to high expectations. When the standards are reached there will be no achievement gap where some gaps are allowed to score lower than others, or the disabled are offered different opportunities than others. All will meet world class standards and be qualified for good colleges and trained for good jobs which play good wayes. In  a traditional education system, the curriculum was defined by those who created text books rather than government bodies which assembled groups of stakeholders to create standards based on  consensus of what students should know and be able to do.

         In some states, curriculum frameworks have been adopted based on traditional academic standards rather than outcome based constructivist standards, but many frameworks were originally or still based on student centered learning and constructivism such as reform mathematics whole language and inquiry based science which have been controversial in some states and communities. High school graduation examinations tie awarding of diplomas to demonstration of meeting the    Standards set out in the frameworks.

  NCF__ National curriculum framework.

                   The national curriculum framework (2005) is one of the four national curriculum frameworks published in 1975, 1988, 2000, and 2005 by the national council of educational research and training NCERT in India.
                        The framework provides the framework for making syllabi, text books and teaching practices with in the school education programmes in India. The NCF 2005  document draws its policy basis from earlier government report on education as learning without burden and national policy of education 1986_1992 and focus group discussion. After wide ranging deliberations 21 national focus group position papers have been developed under the aegis of NCF 2005. The state of art position papers provided inputs for formulation of NCF 2005.
The document and its off school textbooks have come under different forms of reviews in the press.
                      It's draft document come under the criticism from the central advisory board of education. In February 2008 the director Krishna Kumar in an interview also discussed the challenges that are faced by the document. The approach and recommendations of NCF 2005 are for the entire educational system. A number of its recommendations, for example focus on rural school. The syllabus textbooks based on it are being used by all the CBSE school, but NCF based material is also being used in many state schools.
                     NCF 2005 has been translated into 22 languages and has influenced the syllabi in 17 states. The NCERT gave a grant of RS. 10 lakh to each state to promote NCF in the language of the state and to compare its current syllabus with the syllabus proposed. So that a plan for future reforms could be made. Several states have taken up this challenge. This exercise is being carried out with the involvement of state councils for educational research and training and district institutes of education and training.

Main features of the NCF 2005.
The document is divided into 5 Ares:
1.perspective
2.Learning and knowledge
3. Curriculum areas, school stages and assessment
4.school and classroom environment
5.systemic reforms
6.Mother tongue as a medium of instructions.
7.free development
8.Availability of resources.

KCF_ Kerala curriculum framework.

                 The study of social science need to help the learner understand social reality and equip him or her to react to social situations. The learner of social science can not go forward ignoring the growing influence of caste, race, superstitions and Kerala curriculum framework _2007.57 unscientific practices in society. The learner needs to understand social realities like unemployment, alcoholism, drugs and increasing rate of suicide in our society and the course and effect of such issues for finding solutions to them. The employment opportunities in the field related to science attract most of the learner towards science.
                            The concept of activity based process oriented learning could not be actualized in the learning of social science. The curriculum revision of 1997 made efforts to make the study of social science activity based and process oriented. At the stage the values and attitude that have to be inculcated by learning social science were stressed upon. The possibility of integrating science and social science was discussed. Utilization of local resources in order to facilitate the learning of social science was also put forward. Social science was integrated with language and mathematics in 1'st and 2'nd standards. In 3'rd and 4'th standards, science and social science were presented at environmental studies. From 5'th to 10'th standards, physical sciences were separated from social science.
                         In the higher secondary classes a completely subject oriented approach was put forward. Social science curriculum that stresses on social justice faced a lot of  Limitations. Lack of proper infrastructure and inability to utilize local resources caused problems in learning social science as in the case of other subjects. The above observations are based on the suggestions made by NCF 2005. But yet the kerala experience has helped us in analyzing things beyond the ideas put forward by NCF 2005.

   Conclusion

                A curriculum framework is part of an outcome based education or standards based education reform design. The NCF work is one of the four national curriculum frameworks published in 2005 by the national council of educational research and training NCERT in India. The learner of social science can not go forward ignoring the growing influence of caste, race, superstitions and KCF _2007 unscientific practices in society.

         References
             1.National curriculum framework(2005)_Wikipedia.http://end.m.Wikipedia.org>wiki>NCF.