Assessment for the Curriculum of 8th Grade Art Course Based on Total Quality Standards

The present study aimed to assess the curriculum of 8 th grade art course based on total quality standards. The sample consists from 37 female and male 8th grade teachers. The latter teachers are art teachers. They were selected during the academic year (2017/2018). To meet the study’s goals, the researcher developed a questionnaire that consists from 60 items. It sheds a light on 4 areas; (the standards related to the curriculum design, goals, content, and assessment methods). The researcher checked the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. He adopted a descriptive analytical approach. It was found that the extent of meeting the total quality standards by the curriculum of the 8 th grade art course is high. The mean of the book design-related standards is ranked first and the mean of the content-related standards is ranked second. The mean of the assessment methods-related standards is ranked third and the mean of goals-related standards is ranked fourth. The researcher recommends making changes to the educational goals of the curriculum. Such goals must be related to contemporary issues and the latest scientific developments

of the knowledge economy from the teachers' perspective. He targeted five areas. It was found that the means of four areas are high. That is because such means are greater than 3.7. As for the mean of the content area, it is moderate and ranked last. Al-E'baidat (2010) aimed to assess the curricula of 8th grade national and social education courses from the teachers' perspective. It was found that teachers have moderate attitudes towards the latter curricula. The means of three areas are moderate. Noor (2013) aimed to explore the extent of meeting global standards through the curriculum of the fifth grade science course in Palestine from the teachers' perspective. The latter standards include standards related to physics, biology, geology and astronomy. It was found that the targeted curriculum meets 4.1% of the content-related standards in terms of physics, biology, and geology. It was found the curriculum meets 29.4% of the overall content-related standards. It was found that teachers have positive attitudes. The mean of the standards related to images, figures and drawings is ranked first. The mean of the way of organizing the content is ranked second. The mean of the content is ranked third.
E'sailan (2011) aimed to explore the extent of compliance with total quality standards through the curriculum of the first intermediate grade science course in various areas. To meet the intended goals, he developed a checklist that includes several total quality standards that the curriculum must comply with. Then, he analysed the goals, content, design, and assessment methods of the targeted curriculum based on total quality standards. It was found that the mean of the curriculum design area is ranked first. It was found that the mean of the assessment methods area is ranked second. The mean of the goals area is ranked third and the mean of the content area is ranked fourth. The latter researcher recommends making changes to the content of the targeted curriculum. He recommends providing more attention to the affective aspects through the goals of the targeted curriculum.
Yaseen (2008) aimed to explore the extent of compliance with total quality standards through the curriculum of the first intermediate grade science course. He aimed to explore the latter compliance from the female teachers' perspective. The targeted areas include: the goals behind teaching science, modern trends in teaching science, contemporary technology in teaching science, and the local environment. It was found that the mean of (modern trends in teaching science) is ranked first. The mean of (the goals behind teaching science) is ranked second. The mean of (the local environment) is ranked third. The (contemporary technology in teaching science) is ranked fourth. Khalifah and Shublaq (2007) aimed to explore the extent of compliance with several quality standards through the curricula of the first, second, third and fourth grades in Palestine from the supervisors' perspective. They developed a checklist for assessing the compliance with quality standards. They adopted a descriptive analytical approach. The sample consists from 53 female and male supervisors. Those supervisors were selected from public schools and UNRWA schools located in Gaza. They were selected during the academic year 2007/2008. The checklist includes 68 standards. It sheds a light on several areas; drafting the curriculum, the educational & psychological foundations of the curriculum, the scientific content of the curriculum, activities & methods, assessment methods, language and design of the curriculum. It was found that the mean of (drafting the curriculum) is ranked first. The mean of (the educational & psychological foundations of the curriculum) is ranked sixth.
The present study is considered significant. That is because it provides researchers and decision makers with a checklist of standards which the curriculum of 8 th grade art course must meet. The latter checklist aims at identifying the quality level of the targeted curriculum. It contributes to identifying the things that must be improved in the targeted curriculum based on the total quality standards. It enables the developers of art curricula to keep up with the contemporary global trends. Based on such trends, curricula developers must keep up with total quality standards. Based on such trends, much attention should be provided to curricula because curricula are essential elements of the teaching-learning process. Based on such trends, curricula can't meet their intended goals, unless they meet specific standards.
The present study aimed to identify the total quality standards that the curriculum of 8 th grade art course must meet from the teachers' perspective. It aimed to assess the curriculum of 8th grade art course based on total quality standards. Such standards include standards related to the (curriculum design, goals, content, and assessment methods). The researcher of the present study provided several suggestions that contribute to the development of the curriculum of 8 th grade art course. Such suggestions contributed to meeting national interests. Hence, the researcher of the present study aimed to explore the extent of meeting total quality standards through the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in Jordan.
There is a need to conduct the present study, because the Jordanian Ministry of Education made several changes to the curricula of the art course of several grades. Such changes include: changes related to goals, teaching strategies, educational means, and assessment methods & tools. The latter ministry provided training to the art teachers and supervisors about teaching methods in art courses. Such training provided art teachers and supervisors with the information about the latest updates. The latter ministry encouraged art teachers and supervisors to provide suggestions and comments that contribute to the development of the curricula of art courses. They contribute to meeting national interests (The Ministry of Education, 2015).
Curricula must be reviewed regularly in order to correct the mistakes committed by their developers. In this regard, it should be noted that it is necessary to make educational reforms to curricula in a regular manner. That is because societies experience changes in an ongoing manner. It is necessary to make such educational reform because the volume of knowledge and information is increasing in an ongoing manner (Al-Hashmi, and Ateya, 2011). As far as the researcher of the present study knows, the curriculum of 8 th grade art course wasn't assessed by any researcher based on total quality standards. Hence, the present study aimed to explore the extent of complying with total quality standards through the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in Jordan.

The Study's Questions:
The present study aimed to answer the following questions: Q.1: What is the extent of complying with total quality standards through the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (design, goals, content, and assessment methods) jointly from the teachers' perspective? Q.2. What is the extent of complying with total quality standards through the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (the design) from the teachers' perspective? Q.3: What is the extent of complying with total quality standards through the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (the goals) from the teachers' perspective? Q.4: What is the extent of complying with total quality standards through the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (the content) from the teachers' perspective? Q.5: What is the extent of complying with total quality standards through the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (the assessment methods) from the teachers' perspective?

The Study's Limits
The study's limits are listed below: Temporal limits: This study was conducted during the second semester of the academic year (2018/2017). Spatial limits: This study was conducted in several primary schools located in Balqa, Jordan. Human limits: The researcher selected a random stratified sampling method that consists from several female and male art teachers who teach 8 th grade.

The Study's Limitations:
The present study can't be generalized. That is because the study's results are limited to the study's sample and instrument and its validity and reliability.

Methodology:
To meet the study's goals, the researcher adopted a descriptive analytical approach. He also adopted a quantitative approach.

Population:
The population consists from all the female and male art teachers who teach 8 th grade students in public schools in Balqa, Jordan. To be specific, it consists from 52 teachers.

Sample:
The sample was selected through the random stratified sampling method. It consists from 37 female and male art teachers who teach 8 th grade students in public schools in Balqa, Jordan. The sampled teachers represent 71% of the study's population.

Instrument:
The researcher developed a questionnaire that aims to measure the attitudes of teachers towards the curriculum of 8 th grade art course. He developed the questionnaire based on the relevant literature and previous studies. He also developed it based on the scales that were developed by Noor (2013), E'sailan (2011) and Al-E'baidat (2010). The initial version of the study's questionnaire consists from 67 items. The five point Likert scale was adopted. The latter scale consists from several rating categories; strongly agree, agree, moderate, disagree and strongly disagree. They stand for the following scores respectively: 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. The study's questionnaire aims to assess the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (design, goals, content, and assessment methods).
To measure the validity of the questionnaire, the initial version of the questionnaire was passed to 11 experts in order to assess it. Those experts include: (faculty members specialized in curricula and teaching, art teachers and academic supervisors). They were asked to assess the initial version of the questionnaire in terms of language, and relevancy. They were asked to make the necessary changes, additions and deletions to the questionnaire. In the light of the experts' comments, changes were made to the questionnaire to develop the final version of the questionnaire. The final version of the questionnaire consists from 60 items.
The researcher measured the reliability of the questionnaire. That was done through employing the test-re-test method. For instance, the researcher passed the questionnaire forms to an exploratory sample that consists from 15 female and male teachers. He calculated the overall Cronbach alpha coefficient. It's 0.89. The Cronbach alpha coefficient values of the curriculum design, goals, content, assessment methods are: 0.84, 0.82, 0.79, and 0.83 respectively. Those values are accepted and indicate that the questionnaire is reliable.

The criteria used for classifying means:
The five point Likert questionnaire was used. In this scale, the minimum score is 1 and the maximum score is 5.
To classify means, the criteria listed in table (1) were adopted:  (2), the extent of meeting the total quality standards through the curriculum of the 8 th grade art course is high from the teachers' perspective. That is because the overall mean is 3.622 which is high. The overall standard deviation is 0.149. The means in the latter table are within the range of (3.261-3.800). The mean of the design area is 3.80 which is ranked first and high. The standard deviation of the latter area is 0.237. The mean of the content area is 3.653 which is ranked second and high. The standard deviation of the latter area is 0.215. The mean of the assessment methods area is 3.536 which is high and ranked third. The standard deviation of the latter area is 0.260. The mean of the goals area is 3.261 which is moderate and ranked fourth. The standard deviation of the latter area is 0.313.
The mean of the design area is high and ranked first. That indicates that the curriculum of the 8th grade art course highly meets the total quality standards related to design. The results of most studies are consistent with the latter result. The latter result indicates that the Jordanian Ministry of Education provides much attention to the design of school curricula. It indicates that the latter ministry provides much attention to technical aspects of the curricula through using modern technology. It indicates that the latter ministry provides much attention to curricula covers and the way of printing curricula in order to preserve them well. It may be attributed to the fact that the latter ministry created a special department for designing curricula. The latter department is provided with the latest technologies that enable its staff to design books well. In the latter department, there is a qualified staff who are specialized in technical and scientific areas.
The mean of the content area is high. That indicates that the curriculum of the 8th grade art course highly meets the total quality standards related to content. The latter result may be attributed to the fact that the developers of the targeted curriculum provided much attention to the learning needs of the targeted students. It may be attributed to the fact that developers of the targeted curriculum seek keeping up with the latest developments and knowledge in the relevant fields. Those developers of the targeted curriculum seek learning from the art curricula published in advanced countries. They seek taking the individual differences between the targeted students into consideration. They seek promoting good values and positive attitudes among the targeted students. The latter result may be attributed to the fact that the committee of the developers of the targeted curriculum includes experts in psychology. It indicates that the latter experts realize that the characteristics associated with the students' age category and the way of presenting the content must be taken into consideration when designing any curriculum. It indicates that the latter experts realize the significance of presenting the curriculum content in an organized manner.
The mean of the (assessment methods) area is high. That indicates that the curriculum of the 8th grade art course highly meets the total quality standards related to assessment methods. The latter result may be attributed to the fact that the Jordanian Ministry of Education provides much attention to assessment. For instance, the latter ministry provides teachers with training courses about the way of developing school tests. It provides teachers with training courses about the modern assessment strategies and methods. Such modern strategies and methods include the ones that are based on performance, observation, and using paper and pen. The latter ministry provides such training courses in the aim of promoting awareness among teachers about the significance of assessment in the teaching-learning process.
The mean of the goals area is moderate. That indicates that the developers of the targeted curriculum moderately complied with the total quality standards related to goals. The latter result indicates that the developers of the targeted curriculum overlooked the quality standards related to goals while developing the curriculum. It indicates that those developers don't have much experience in developing school curricula. It may be attributed to the inadequacy of the time dedicated for developing the targeted curriculum. It may be attributed to the inadequacy of the training courses provided to the latter developers in this regard. It may be attributed to the little experiences that the latter developers have in the field of curricula development. It is consistent with the result concluded by E'sailan (2011), and Noor (2013). It is inconsistent with the result concluded by Al-E'baidat (2010). Results and Discussion Related to the Second Question Q.2. What is the extent of complying with total quality standards through the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (the design) from the teachers' perspective? To answer this question, means and standard deviations were calculated. They are presented in table (3) (3), the extent of meeting total quality standards by the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (design) is high from the teachers' perspective. That is because the overall mean is 3.80 which is high. The overall standard deviation is 0.237. The means in the latter table are within the range of (2.297-4.514). The latter result indicates that the employees who printed and designed the targeted curriculum exerted much effort to comply fully with the total quality standards related to design. It indicates that the employees who work at the printing and design department at the Jordanian Ministry of Education have much experience in this field.
The mean of statement (6) is very high and ranked first. It is 4.514. The standard deviation of the latter statement is 0.731. The latter statement states the following: (The curriculum includes a content list, glossary and references list). The latter result indicates that the Jordanian Ministry of Education is keen on employing the latest technologies and provides much attention to the design of the book. Having a content list, glossary and references list shall make the curriculum comprehensible for any parent, teacher, student or researcher. It shall identify the information included in it in specific.
The mean of statement (4) is moderate and ranked last. It is 2.297. The standard deviation of the latter statement is 1.309. The latter statement states the following: (The quality of the paper used in the curriculum is high). The latter result may be attributed to the fact that the budget of the Jordanian Ministry of Education is limited. It may be attributed to dedicating much funds for printing images at the expense of the quality of the paper. It may be attributed to dedicating much attention to the cover of the curriculum at the expense of the quality of the paper. That is because the cover shall preserve the book. The latter result is consistent with the result concluded by Al-E'baidat (2010) in terms of teachers' assessment for the history curriculum and the social education curriculum. It is consistent with the result concluded by Khalifah and Shublaq (2007), Al-Nimrawi (2011) and E'sailan (2011). It is inconsistent with the result concluded by Al-E'baidat (2010) in terms of teachers' assessment for the geography curriculum.

Results and Discussion Related to the Third Question:
Q.3: What is the extent of complying with total quality standards through the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (the goals) from the teachers' perspective? To answer this question, means and standard deviations were calculated. They are presented in table (4) below:  (4), the extent of meeting total quality standards by the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (goals) is moderate from the teachers' perspective. That is because the overall mean is 3.263 which is moderate. The overall standard deviation is 0.313. The means in the latter table are within the range of (3.784-2.135). The latter result indicates that the effort exerted for choosing and drafting the curriculum goals are moderate. Hence, efforts must be exerted to improve the educational goals of the curriculum of the 8th grade art course. Such goals must include a diversity of goals. They must include taking the individual differences between students into consideration. They must include the development of students' life skills. They must fit with the latest scientific developments and modern art theories.
The mean of statement (9) is very high and ranked first. It is 3.263. The standard deviation of the latter statement is 0.313. The latter statement states the following: (The goals of the curriculum fit with the outcomes of the other curricula of the same grade). The latter result may be attributed to the fact that the Jordanian Ministry of Education is keen on having consistency between the goals of the curricula of the same grade. It may be attributed to the fact that the latter ministry is keen on promoting knowledge among students about concepts and real life. The mean of statement (5) is low and ranked last. It is 2.135. The standard deviation of the latter statement is 0.887. The latter statement states the following: (The goals of the curriculum include promoting awareness among students about contemporary issues). The latter result may be attributed to the poor knowledge of curricula developers about the modern theories on art education. It may be attributed to the curricula developers' poor practical and theoretical knowledge on art education. Hence, developers of art curricula must be provided with programs that enrich their knowledge about the latest developments in the field of art education. The latter result may be attributed to the inadequate attention provided by the developers of art curricula to contemporary issues. It is consistent with the result concluded by Yaseen (2008) and Al-Nimrawi (2011). It is inconsistent with the result concluded by Al-E'baidat (2010).

Results and Discussion Related to the Fourth Question:
Q.4: What is the extent of complying with total quality standards through the curriculum of 8th grade art course in terms of (the content) from the teachers' perspective? To answer this question, means and standard deviations were calculated. They are presented in table (5) below:  (5), the extent of meeting total quality standards by the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (the content) is high from the teachers' perspective. That is because the overall mean is 3.653. The overall standard deviation is 0.215. The means in the latter table are within the range of (2. 162-4.855). The latter result indicates that the developers of the curriculum provide much attention to the curriculum content in terms of clarity, information validity, and easiness to teach. It indicates that the developers of the curriculum are accurate and possess much expertise in academic and technical aspects. It indicates that the developers of the curriculum ISSN 2222-1735(Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.11, No.24, 2020 20 reviewed the relevant scientific references in the field of education.
The mean of statement (20) is very high and ranked first. It is 4.855. The standard deviation of the latter statement is 0.027. The latter statement states the following: (The curriculum is free from repetition and boring content). The latter result may be attributed to the provision of much attention by the developers of the targeted curriculum to the content. For instance, the latter developers complied much with the content-related standards. Such standards include standards related to information validity, and significance. They include standards related to how teachable, global and beneficial the information is.
The latter result may be attributed to the awareness of the curriculum developers about the significance of meeting knowledge economy-related standards. It may be attributed to the development of a comprehensive guide by the Jordanian Ministry of Education for identifying the knowledge economy-related standards that the curricula must meet. The latter guide identifies the general framework of the curricula. The latter result may be attributed to the compliance of the developers of the targeted curriculum with the knowledge economy-related standards that are identified in the latter guide. It may be attributed to the fact that the developers of the targeted curriculum took into consideration that there are few art classes during the week. Hence, they avoided repeating information and adding boring content. In addition, the latter developers made sure that the volume of the data in the curriculum fits with the number of the art classes during the week.
The mean of statement (12) is low and ranked last. It is 2.162. The standard deviation of the latter statement is 0.958. The latter statement states the following: (The activities in the curriculum aim to develop the higher order thinking skills of students). The latter result may be attributed to the poor collaboration between the ones responsible for developing school curricula. Hence, those developers shall overlook the role of the teacher as a guide for students. They shall overlook the students' role as searchers for knowledge rather than recipients of knowledge. The latter result may be attributed to the fact that there are few activities in the targeted curriculum that aim at developing students' creativity and higher order thinking skills. The latter result may be attributed to the fact that the developing the students' higher order thinking skills requires having a well-equipped environment and specialised human resources. However, creating such an environment is difficult due to the poor economic conditions. The latter result is consistent with the result concluded by Khalifah and Shublaq (2007). It is inconsistent with the result concluded by Al-Nimrawi (2011), Al-E'baidat (2010), Noor (2013) andE'sailan (2011) Results and Discussion Related to the Fifth Question: Q.5: What is the extent of complying with total quality standards through the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (the assessment methods) from the teachers' perspective? To answer this question, means and standard deviations were calculated. They are presented in table (6) (6), the extent of meeting total quality standards by the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in terms of (the assessment methods) is high from the teachers' perspective. That is because the overall mean is 3.536. The overall standard deviation is 0.260. The means in the latter table are within the range of (2.135-4.297). The latter result indicates that most teachers believe that the developers of the targeted curriculum have much expertise in educational and scientific aspects. Having much expertise positively affected the quality of the targeted curriculum. It enabled those developers to include a rich content in the curriculum based on specific standards and criteria.
The mean of statement (2) is very high and ranked first. It is 4.297. The standard deviation of the latter statement is 0.740. The latter statement states the following: (Each unit has an introduction which includes the unit goal and brief information about the unit). The latter result is attributed to the fact that the developers of the targeted curriculum are keen on adding an introduction to the beginning of each unit. That is because such introduction shall provide students and teachers with the main ideas to be presented in the unit. Such introduction shall improve students' understanding for the knowledge embedded in the unit. It shall enable students to identify the learning outcomes that must be achieved after finishing the unit. It shall enable students to identify the subjects addressed in the unit. Hence, students shall be more motivated to learn. Adding an introduction to the beginning of each unit contributes to retraining information for a longer period of time within students' minds. It increases the students' engagement in the teaching-learning process. The mean of statement (3) is very low and ranked last. It is 1.783. The standard deviation of the latter statement is 0.821. The latter statement states the following: (Each unit in the curriculum ends with a conclusion. This conclusion includes the main implication. It includes information related to the subsequent units). The latter result may be attributed to the fact that the developers of the targeted curriculum believe that having an introduction at the beginning of each unit is enough. The introduction at the beginning of each unit identifies the content of the unit. The latter result may be attributed to the poor awareness of the developers of the targeted curriculum about the significance of having a conclusion at the end of each unit. When drafting such a conclusion, the developers of the targeted curriculum must take the individual differences between students into consideration. They must also take the difference between students in terms of learning capabilities and approach into consideration when drafting such a conclusion. The latter result may be attributed to the poor awareness of the developers of the targeted curriculum about the significance of providing a feedback at the end of unit. Such feedback should be related to the unit content. The latter result is consistent with the result concluded by Al-Nimrawi (2011), and inconsistent with the result concluded by Al-E'baidat (2010).

Recommendations:
The researcher recommends the following: 1) Making changes to the educational goals of the curriculum. Such goals must be related to contemporary issues and the latest scientific developments 2) Ensuring that the educational goals of the curriculum are connected with the latest theories on art education. That should be done in order to keep up with the latest global developments in the field of art. 3) Ensuring that the curriculum content fits with the available resources and easy to teach 4) Ensuring that there are various questions and activities in the curriculum in order to improve students' higher order thinking and critical thinking skills 5) Using paper of higher quality for school curricula.

Suggestions:
The researcher suggests the following: 1)-Conducting more studies for assessing the activities that are in the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in Jordan. Such assessment should include theoretical and practical aspects 2)-Conducting more studies about the obstacles faced by teachers when teaching the content of the curriculum of 8 th grade art course in Jordan from the perspective of teachers and educational supervisors