OBSERVARE

Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier – Internationalization of Higher Education:

Experiences and Challenges

June 2025

100

NURTURING AND UPBRINGING; THE FORGOTTEN ASPECT IN CURRICULUM

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION AT HIGHER EDUCATION

INSTITUTIONS(HEIS)

MIIRO FAROOQ

miirofarooq@gamil.com

Acting Coordinator and Founder, Centre for Teaching Thinking Skills and Wisdom Pedagogy,

Institute of Teacher Education Research, College of Education and External Studies, Makerere

University (Uganda). Dr. Miiro Farooq is an accomplished educational researcher, curriculum

specialist, and advocate for transformative pedagogy in higher education. He holds a PhD in

Educational Management and Leadership from the International Islamic University Malaysia

(IIUM), where his research focused on strategic innovation in educational institutions. He also

earned a Master of Education and a Bachelor of Arts with Education from the Islamic University in

Uganda.Dr. Farooq is the founder and Acting Coordinator of the Centre for Teaching Thinking

Skills and Wisdom Pedagogy at Makerere University, a pioneering initiative that integrates ethical

reasoning, critical thinking, and Islamic pedagogy into mainstream curriculum development and

instructional practices. From 2018 to date, he has collaborated with national and international

institutions—including the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) of Uganda—on

projects aimed at contextualizing wisdom pedagogy as a framework for both human and socio-

economic transformation.His work has led to the institutionalization of thinking skills pedagogy at

Makerere University and informed national teacher education strategies. He serves as a

consultant on curriculum reforms, focusing on integrating the Tawḥedic worldview with

competency-based education. He has authored and co-authored more than 28 peer-reviewed

journal articles and book chapters and regularly presents at academic conferences, workshops,

and policy colloquia.Dr. Farooq’s current research examines the institutionalization of wisdom

pedagogy within higher education institutions to foster innovative behavior, moral consciousness,

and community-responsive education. His work directly engages with internationalization

discourses by proposing culturally grounded and spiritually anchored models of curriculum reform

relevant to both African and global education systems.

GRACE K. BAGUMA

bagumag@gmail.com

Director, National Curriculum Development Centre, NCDC (Uganda). Dr. Grace K. Baguma is a

seasoned curriculum expert and educational leader with extensive experience in national and

regional curriculum development. She holds a Doctorate in Organisational Leadership and

Management from the Commonwealth University in collaboration with the London Graduate

School, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Curriculum Studies at the Open University of Tanzania.

Her academic background also includes a Master of Arts in Public Administration and

Management and a Bachelor of Education from Makerere University, a Diploma in Advanced

Study in Technical Education (D.A.S.T.E) from the University of Manchester, and a Diploma in

Education from the National Teachers College, Kyambogo.Dr. Baguma currently serves as the

Director of the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) in Uganda, where she leads

national education reforms and the implementation of Uganda’s Competency-Based Curriculum

(CBC). She has held several key positions within NCDC, including Deputy Director, Head of

Business and Technical Education, and National Coordinator for Entrepreneurship Skills Education

for secondary schools.Beyond Uganda, she has contributed significantly to international education

development through her work as a curriculum expert supporting the Government of South

Sudan in the design and implementation of basic and secondary education frameworks, including

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), under the auspices of the

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).Dr. Baguma’s expertise intersects

curriculum innovation, leadership in education systems, and regional capacity building, making

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

101

her a strong voice in advancing educational transformation and the internationalization of

curriculum across Africa. Her work reflects a commitment to building responsive, skill-oriented,

and contextually relevant education systems capable of addressing the evolving demands of

21st-century societies.

Abstract

In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, humanity is experiencing

complexities with new trends in lifestyles, orientation and thinking. These complexities that

keep on revolving are the result of education without a soul, values and clear dimension of

nurturing and preparing the youths with positive attitude, skills, morally acceptable behavior

for self-identification and management. Today the character and behaviours manifested in

our society like; violence, land grabbing, merciless killings and climate change among others

are a clear indication that nurturing and upbringing has been forgotten in both curriculum

development and implementation. Therefore, there is a great need to refocus on what we

prepare for learning and how it is learnt at all levels of education. Another aspect of humanity

without spirituality, respect for culture and protection of the next generation has been

encountered. This kind of experience that humanity is going through has led to unacceptable

behaviours like homosexuality, corruption, lack of respect and distrust. This paradigm shift in

lifestyle has also led to distortion of religion, societal norms and beliefs, culture of given

societies and historical heritages. The damages caused cannot predict a better future for the

next generation. To avert this situation and regain human civilization with the components of

humanity, spirituality and respect for nature and dignity, there is a need to capture the

component of attitude formation, nurturing with a focus on values and life skills and

upbringing so as to prepare a better generation for the new world order. The purpose of this

paper is to expose the reader to the forgotten aspects in curriculum development and its

implementation, especially the nurturing of attitude, life skills and values.

Keywords

Nurturing, Upbringing, Curriculum development, Curriculum Implementation.

Resumo

No atual contexto global caracterizado por volatilidade, incerteza, complexidade e

ambiguidade (VUCA), a Humanidade confronta-se com desafios crescentes resultantes de

novas tendências nos estilos de vida, orientação e pensamento. Estas complexidades

emergentes revelam-se, em grande medida, como consequência de uma educação desprovida

de dimensão ética, espiritual e axiológica, bem como da ausência de uma formação sólida que

prepare os jovens com atitudes positivas, competências essenciais e comportamentos

moralmente responsáveis, capazes de sustentar a autoidentificação e a gestão pessoal. A

proliferação de fenómenos sociais como a violência, a apropriação ilícita de terras, os

homicídios brutais e as alterações climáticas, entre outros, constituem evidências claras de

que os sistemas educativos contemporâneos têm descurado, tanto no desenho como na

implementação curricular, a integração de uma educação orientada por valores e por uma

formação humanista. Torna-se, por isso, premente reconsiderar não apenas os conteúdos que

integram os programas de ensino, mas também os métodos e as finalidades da aprendizagem

em todos os níveis de educação. Acresce ainda que se tem assistido a um declínio progressivo

da espiritualidade, do respeito pelas culturas e da preocupação com a preservação das

gerações futuras. Esta realidade tem contribuído para o surgimento de condutas consideradas

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

102

por diversos sectores da sociedade como eticamente problemáticas, tais como a corrupção

generalizada, o enfraquecimento do respeito interpessoal e a quebra da confiança social.

Paralelamente, tem-se verificado uma distorção de referenciais fundamentais, nomeadamente

a religião, as normas sociais, os valores culturais e o património histórico, comprometendo

gravemente a possibilidade de construir um futuro mais promissor para as próximas gerações.

Neste cenário de transição civilizacional, torna-se imperativo reorientar os sistemas

educativos para que integrem, de forma estruturada e intencional, componentes formativos

centrados na promoção de atitudes construtivas, valores éticos, competências para a vida e

um profundo respeito pela dignidade humana e pela sustentabilidade ambiental. O presente

artigo tem como propósito evidenciar as dimensões negligenciadas no processo de conceção

e implementação curricular, com especial enfoque na educação para os valores, nas

competências pessoais e sociais e na formação integral dos indivíduos, de modo a contribuir

para a preparação de uma geração apta a enfrentar os desafios da nova ordem mundial.

Palavras-chave

Educação, Formação, Desenvolvimento Curricular, Implementação Curricular.

How to cite this article

Farooq, Miiro & Baguma, Grace K. (2025). Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in

Curriculum Development and Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis). Janus.net, e-

journal of international relations. Thematic Dossier - Internationalization of Higher Education:

Experiences and Challenges. VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1. June 2025, pp. 100-116. DOI

https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.DT0325.7.

Article submitted on 8 April 2025 and accepted for publication on 6 May 2025.

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

103

NURTURING AND UPBRINGING; THE FORGOTTEN ASPECT IN

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION AT HIGHER

EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS(HEIS)

MIIRO FAROOQ

GRACE K. BAGUMA

Introduction

As humanity is embracing cultural diversity, inclusion, and gender equity, the world is

becoming more complex in nature to the extent that the emergence of new world order

plagued with issues of technological advancement, globalization, massification,

commodification, institutional ranking, competition for natural resources, sustainability,

capitalism and extremism(Waller, Lemoine, Mense, Garretson, & Richardson, 2019).

These forces have left man today at the crossroad without a clear solution of how to

nurture and mold a responsible knowledgeable citizen imbued with skills, values and

spirituality for self-development and community transformation. These phenomena

which have never been experienced in human life, have called for diversion of human

efforts and endeavors towards infusing these aspects into education and in every aspect

of human transformation and development. For instance; communicating through social

media is with humanity in all aspects of the human spectrum. While redefining how life

should look like and at the same time continue to exist, the issue of moral decadence

and inhuman behavior is lingering among the different societies of the world Uganda

inclusive. In addition, today Uganda is facing serious complex challenges due to lack of

values and unacceptable attitudes from different kinds of humanity at all levels of human

development. For instance; the society today is facing issues of corruption, trafficking

both drug and human, homosexuality, and abuse of democracy, injustice, land grabbing,

civil wars and extremism (Embry & Sandler, 2012; Miiro, 2017). These tendencies and

many others are a clear indicator of moral erosion and decadence among the people of

different societies, hence posing serious challenges for the existence of the next

generation. Meanwhile, many schools of thought attach this unpleasant situation to the

knowledge without soul and values that has been used in nurturing and upbringing of

different generations in order to propel human civilization. Today many HEIs’ curricula

frameworks have been developed to prepare required human capital that can outcompete

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

104

others on the world map in terms of knowledge creation, skills enhancement,

technological advancement and so on(Embry & Sandler, 2012; Goodwin, & Angeles,

2017). But the component of nurturing and upbringing seems to be missing especially

among the youths. For this reason and many others some parts of the world have devoted

their efforts on imbuing nurturing and upbringing into the curriculum so as to prepare a

better generation for the 21

Century. For instance; in Asian countries Malaysia, Japan,

Indonesia among others are using knowledge integration to produce the required holistic

personality even though the issue of values and attitudes formation are still very big

challenges in curriculum development and implementation (Brough, 2007).

These countries have developed several frameworks to support the nurturing and

upbringing of children for example, Malaysia’s Education blueprint emphasizes values,

spirituality and individual well-being, achieved through several pedagogies such

as wisdom and Sejahtera(Aroff, 2014). Similarly, Japan and Indonesia are implementing

Takatssu to improve face to face interaction between students and

teachers(Eskasasnanda, 2020). These strategies highlight key elements that education

stakeholders consider while designing and implementing the curricula.

However, to avert this situation and recall the integration of knowledge with soul, values

and attitude among graduates and the society in general, there is a need to redefine

education as a source of nurturing values and attitudes through curriculum development

and implementation. Thus, what is nurturing and upbringing? What is nurturing values

and attitudes? What is the meaning of curriculum development and implementation?

What is the missing gap in curriculum and its impact on society?. The purpose of this

paper is to expose the reader to Nurturing and Upbringing as the Forgotten Aspect in

Curriculum Development and Implementation.

What is nurturing and upbringing?

The concept Nurturing and upbringing are used interchangeably. Research has shown

that they have an influence on the entire spectrum of human growth, development and

transformation. Recently the concept of nurturing and upbringing has attracted scholarly

attention due to its essence in molding human psychology and behavior. For that reason

and many other researchers have developed different parameters to define its meaning

and relevance to humanity. Nurturing is a concept that requires collective efforts of

different resources from the community with a common goal using diverse ways of

intergenerational mentoring and upbringing of the young (Kuttner, 1997). This statement

implies that to raise a child up to the level of maturity, requires different stakeholders

like parents, teachers and the community at large; to be concerned on how the next

generation should look like so as to push human development, transformation and growth

for both self and the society to another level.

There are several frameworks that have been developed for instance; Embry & Sandler,

(2012) states that nurturing should be integral in nature with an enabling environment

that includes epidemiological evidence. This factor affects pathological development,

Psychological and psychological pathways. This factor strengthens confidence in

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

105

instances of risks and protective factors. Lastly is experimental evidence. This factor acts

as an intervention for prevention of psychological, health problems or behavioral issues

and this results in positive development. Goodwin et al., (2017) state that nurturing in

Los Angeles catered for caring, supportiveness, playfulness, and pleasure helps

individuals to thrive and this was more centered in families. Early & Development,

(2019) states that enable communities and caregivers to ensure children’s good health

and nutrition, protect them from threats, and give them opportunities for early learning

through interactions that are emotionally supportive and responsive.

Habimana, (2024) states that curriculum development and implementation should cater

for physical, emotional, social, moral, and intellectual development of students. Yusoff,

et al.., (2018) in their study done on both primary and secondary school children in

Malaysia state that curriculum should involve caring, collaboration skills, critical, creative

and communication skills through all the subjects taught at these levels. (Gehlbach &

Hough, (2018) state that curriculum should capture elements of self-awareness, self-

management, responsible decision making, social responsibility and relationship

management.

A study by Ab Razak, (2020) highlights the foundational principles of humanistic theories,

emphasizing that human growth and development revolve around aspects: love,

creativity, loneliness and personal growth. These traits form the cornerstone of a well-

balanced personality, and evolve through a well-motivated process of self-discovery and

development. integrating these humanistic concepts into the educational curriculum is

crucial for nurturing individuals who can make to make informed choices based on

values, spirituality, curiosity and conscious awareness (Littlejohn et al.., 2019). This

approach fosters not only academic success but also the holistic development of learners.

However this ideal remains largely unachieved in many educational systems, including

Uganda. Ugandan graduates often exhibit significant gaps in theory and practical

applications necessary for well-rounded personality development. Addressing this

challenge requires a paradigm shift in educational practices, focusing more on a human

centred approach that prioritized personal growth alongside academic achievement.

Even though many scholars suggest different frameworks that curriculum development

and implementation should encapsulate, Uganda’ s education system over the years has

not produced the required humanity with elements of knowledge interwoven with both

hard and soft skills, values, attitudes and spirituality especially among the youths

(Kifuuse, 2024). This is because the government of Uganda has recently embarked on

retooling, nurturing and reshaping youths aspirations and mitigation of violent behavior

amongst them (Tukundane, Minnaert, Zeelen, & Kanyandago, 2015). To avert Uganda’s

education system, there is a need to re-conceptualize curriculum development and

implementation at all levels to nurture learners with a new mindset towards self and

community development.

Similarly, Miiro & Otham, (2018) in their paper talent management practices a trajectory

and ingenuity in higher education institutions; a meta-analysis review of literature

alluded that preparation of a holistic graduate requires a curriculum designed and tailored

with critical thinking, communication, innovation, problem solving, entrepreneurship and

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

106

team work in order to fit in diverse, mobile and non-boundaries, culture and place. When

this kind of curriculum is designed with pre-requisite skills for the survival in the 21

century and after, there is need to ensure that the implementation stage is done by staff

who are talented with skills of being agile, privy and astute in nature with an aim of

addressing today and future generation demands with real life practical solutions.

Unfortunately, Uganda’s education system at different levels of education does not

translate into the frameworks given above. This is because so far the several attempts

done to address curriculum development with required skills for empowering graduates

with necessary skills for survival and community transformation are at lower secondary

school level. But still at the level of curriculum implementation a lot of effort is required

in order to train teachers in empowering learners with competencies and required skills

for socio-economic transformation. This is because most of the teachers who are

implementing the curriculum at lower secondary school level are graduates without

competencies and skills for innovation and holistic personality development. These

teachers are a product of Eurocentric curriculum which emphasized more of the content

and examination grade without competencies and skills. This challenge has been

exacerbated by the current situation especially at HEIs which have not until today

conceptualized their curricula and cause structures to address skills and competencies’

gaps among graduates (Miiro, $ Baguma, 2023).The purpose of this paper is to examine

the forgotten aspect of nurturing and upbringing in curriculum development and

implementation.

Nurturing and Upbringing, goes hand in hand with a saying ”If we change the beginning

of the story, we change the whole story.” It means that all stakeholders in the education

sector should put into consideration that nurturing children with healthy values of life,

skills, attitude and spirituality is a catalyst for their well-being in both physical and mental

health in order to secure sustainable transformation of societies (Early Childhood &

Development, 2018). Thus, nurturing and upbringing is the state of the art designed by

a given society to give a road map based on evidence from policies and intervention

about how children should be prepared to fully participate in community development

and transformation.

To attain human growth and development through the use of curriculum, many countries

have designed different curriculum frameworks for instance; Kenya’s curriculum focuses

on values, theoretical approaches, education goals and principles (BCEF, 2017). Likewise,

in Singapore, the education framework for nurturing and upbringing emphasizes the

importance of character/value formation, social emotional learning skills, and fostering

good behavior towards learning. This has not only helped to prepare learners for lifelong

learning, but it has also influenced learners to have a positive self-identity and

responsible decision-making towards their community, family and country (Ministry of

Education, 2012). However, nurturing discipline has remained one of the most

challenging key issues in the development and implementation of the curriculum. This is

because most of the stakeholders in this aspect seem to leave? the responsibility of

curriculum implementation in the hands of teachers and schools (Ankerson & Pable,

2020; Miiro, 2017, 2022a).

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

107

Nurturing values, spirituality and attitudes is a huge task that involves different

stakeholders. This is because it evolves from parents, to the community both (school

environment and various community settings) with an aim of producing a responsible

and holistic human being. This implies that preparing a responsible citizen is a combined

effort that calls for different stakeholders without which citizens imbued with required

knowledge integrated with spirituality, values and skills may not be achieved. In Uganda

this kind of strategy has been lacking at different levels of education thus causing a

generation without values and skills towards self and community development. Therefore

to avert this situation, there is a need for various education planners at different levels

for example, curriculum developers and implementers to rethink what teaching and

learning should encapsulate in order to produce holistic individuals for socio-economic

transformation of communities. This duty requires collective efforts so as to redefine

what a child/ youth/person must be and tamed in terms of education values, skills and

how education should inculcate him/her to be acceptable to his or her community. This

person should be with human characters, skills and spirituality required for self,

organizational and community transformation.

Today many parts of the world have achieved this milestone of developing learners’

experiences, interests, passion and wonderments through a whole system approach; the

home/parents, the community/community leaders or clan elders, the religious

institutions, civil society organizations, the politicians among others are all in place to

support the growth and development of humanity. This effort is coupled with the support

of talented and skilled educators across all levels of education systems. However, to

regain a child with values and humanistic attitudes and not materialistic in nature,

concerned with society norms and advances is still a challenge especially in Africa. The

spirit of child nurturing and upbringing cannot be attained without involving the

community in its entirety where both parents and teachers and the community play a

role of inculcating attitudes and values at all levels of education.

Discussion

The concept of nurturing requires stakeholders’ involvement into children’s lives to help

them understand the essence of creation and the role of man in the society so as to

develop within them sound reasoning based on moral protection in order to face ethical

realities and provide solutions to the demands of the 21

century. The role of man has

been to protect life, religion, prevention of harm, protection of intellect and protection of

the environment. However, when humanity diverted from the soul cause of existence,

life has become more complicated and full of injustice, murder and abuse of the basic

principles for human survival and existence. This can be explained by the laws that

humanity normally enacts and do not provide any solution to the recurring challenges.

Moreover, the natural laws through which human behavior and moral uprightness are

manifested have been undermined in the protection of human rights hence causing life

without humanism and sincerity (Chowdhury, 2020; Miiro and Siraje, 2018).

The unprecedented time that the world is going through today is because of the forgotten

key issues in curriculum development and implementation whereas nurturing plays a

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

108

significant role in shaping the kind of personality that the world needs. This calls for

creating a challenge towards nurturing and production of responsible youths and people

with morals, skills, self-definition, management, and respect for culture and community

transformation. It is therefore important that curriculum developers and implementers in

countries like Uganda and other African countries focus on nurturing people in order to

retain their culture, norms, systems and structures of developing a person with good

character.

Unfortunately Many African countries, Uganda inclusive have embarked on pursuance of

globalisation, information technology, artificial intelligence, privatization,

commodification, school ranking, increased enrollment without practical strategies of

empowering teachers with necessary skills and improvement of their welfare. Whereas

it is clearly known that teachers are the actual implementers of the curriculum in which

the forgotten aspect of nurturing and upbringing is espoused. To improve nurturing and

upbringing at implementation level, there is a need to address teachers’ challenges in

teaching and learning so as to smoothen the environment and culture of nurturing and

upbringing strategies.

That notwithstanding, There is also need to contextualize how the unprecedented world

forces that affect nurturing and upbringing should be addressed, these forces as

mentioned above have a great impact on the way curriculum is developed and

implemented as shown below.

Globalisation

The concept of globalisation has opened doors for human integration without borders.

This force with ambiguous effects has infiltrated all aspects of human endeavors for

instance; cultural, spirituality, political, economic and education spheres (Anaghara-uzor

& Farooq, 2019). It has made the world one pillage at the expense of collapsing state

boundaries and human natural setup. it has eased business, access to knowledge,

communication, and skills acquisition among others. Through its demands, education has

been shifted from traditional norms to re-align with knowledge economy demands like

internationalization, innovation, invention, focus on competencies and skills

(Machingambi, 2014). Even though globalisation has led to many positive impactful

effects, it has led to production of knowledge without soul, knowledge without a clear

direction of what humanity should be thus causing alteration of cultures, religion and

change of human behavior and abuse of climate etc. It is therefore important that

education system should be shaped to address this knowledge gap that is driving

especially the youth into unruly citizens with skills for self and community socioeconomic

transformation in many parts of the world

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is another challenge facing nurturing and upbringing, it is a

computer science program that is designed to predict human behavior and intelligence

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

109

(Maurya, Puranik, Senthil Kumar, & Subramanian, 2023). This concept kills self-

independence in terms of creativity and formulation of strategies for human development

and transformation(Pedro, F., Subosa, M., Rivas, A., & Valverde, 2019). When

implementers are given a chance to ignore the functionalities of their minds, social

interaction and depend on machines, their intelligence, problem solving skills, critical,

care and proper communication will all be dumped so as to find easy ways of dealing with

challenges temporally with proper diagnosis of the cause, process and the effect of the

decision take to self and entire humanity (Akinwalere & Ivanov, 2022). It is true that

machines are good in facilitating work but humanity especially in the teaching and

learning process should not be replaced by machines because learning calls for caring,

team work, practice and so on. These programs which include Chat GTP and so on should

not be advocated for especially in developing countries because the concept of nurturing

and upbringing will disappear completely in curriculum development and implementation.

Information and communication Technology

Information technology are resources, tools and devices used to create, communicate,

store and dominate information. These tools are used to manage and facilitate access to

knowledge through broadcasting technologies, internet, smart phones, computers. In

education ICT has been adopted to facilitate teaching and learning. It exposes learners

to new information through curriculum design and integration (Salehi & Salehi, 2012). It

is because of ICT that several pedagogies have been improved to ease the work of both

learners and teachers. However, the negative part of ICT is the exposure to wrong

information and knowledge among learners at different levels of education. Therefore the

work of an instructor should be to monitor so that learners are not exposed to information

that does not fit their cognitive abilities and stages of development (Adeyinka Tella, 2009;

Ciroma, 2014). To nurture learners into proper use of ICT requires teachers who are

skilled and well-motivated to understand that teaching is about mentoring and molding

learners to achieve self and community aspirations.

Commodification and Privatization

Offering education to the citizens is a public service that must be fulfilled by the

government. It is a right that every government of a given nation must fund and ensure

that every child in every generation accesses it using taxpayers money(Silbaugh, 2011).

This process requires government officials to mobilize masses to support its agenda by

providing land and payment of taxes. In return, the government constructs schools,

procures facilities and resources required to ensure that the teaching and learning takes

place at all levels of education. The cost benefit analysis is achieved through production

of talented human capital for socio-economic development and transformation of their

communities. With the emergency of privatization, public services were privatized and

has led to exaggeration of costs for the services and neglect of government duties thus

causing inequality among regions, poor service delivery, and poor curriculum

implementation (Ball, 2004; Brancaleone & O’Brien, 2011). The effect of commodification

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

110

and privatization is that humanity has been forgotten especially on social responsibility

at the expense of commoditizing each and every aspect of human endeavors. Without

money nothing can be offered towards human transformation and development. It is

therefore important that stakeholders especially in the field of education pay extra

attention to this aspect if there is still a belief that education is an important aspect

towards human development and civilization.

To address the forces mentioned above and their impact on the curriculum development,

there is a need to capture the issues raised below as an emphasis in curriculum

development and implementation in order to prepare a better future generation.

Attitude and values

These are components that help learners or children to understand the well-being and

strategies of thriving in the present and future aspects of their lives and the generations

to come. These concepts refer to beliefs and principles normally integrated with culture,

spirituality and knowledge that one acquires to influence his or her behaviours, choices,

actions and judgment towards societal, individual and environmental well-being (Miiro,

2017; OECD, 2019). Through these principles and cardinal pillars of human survival, the

African civilization and its niche areas of human development, nurturing and upbringing

were preserved to date even though a lot is planned against it.

As the world is turning valueless due to the emphasis of contradictory cultures and

inhuman behaviours like extremism, homosexuality, civil wars, drug and human

trafficking and the like, there is need to understand that the role of parents and other

stakeholders in instilling behaviours and change of attitude was neglected unknowingly.

This has led to production of citizenry who cannot manage themselves and at the same

time respect others, and the cultural heritages that have been preserved for years. Many

parents have been emphasizing achievement of work related issues, and leaving the

children at the hands of teachers which are also frustrated and fail to pay attention to

learners hence creating a very big gap towards child nurturing and upbringing (Miiro,

2022b). Also, the more challenging situation that many African countries have found

themselves in is the over emphasis on marks and grades neglecting the aspect of

character formation and morals. Many teachers in schools have been overtaken by this

aspect hence not fulfilling the needed aspect on society preservation, protection and

growth.

It is therefore important to note that no community and its leaders, however magnificent

they may be, can survive the waves of the time without strengthening and renewing trust

of its people, developing and protecting core shared values that lead to mutual respect,

fairness, personal, social responsibility, integrity and self-awareness. Through harnessing

values and change of attitude, an inclusive society; with strong moral fiber, sustainable

economics, peaceful in nature with men and women of respect to themselves and the

society will be achieved.

As schools, workplace and other communities become diverse in terms of culture,

ethnicity, and spirituality and linguistic, it is important that emphasis is put on protection

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

111

of values and attitude through nurturing and upbringing so as to attain a society with

interrelatedness in knowledge, culture, attitude and values and indeed character

formation in an individual.

Skills are another variable that nurturing should capture so as to attain a society with an

art of self-development, innovation and invention. Today many parts of the world have

defined the objectives of their education system for instance; Japan is emphasizing moral

education, for Ireland it is personal, social and health education, Singapore character and

citizenship education, Mexico civics and ethics education et cetera. These objectives that

steer the intentions of these countries have both intended and unintended conquests

based on the actions of the curriculum developers and implementers (Andreas, 2021;

Cheong, Hill, & Leong, 2016). It is therefore important that African countries go back to

the drawing board and redefine their education with aims and objectives that do not only

lead to Ubuntu, but also lead to skilling the youths in order to become more relevant to

the society. Today, many African youths cannot challenge the current status of their

community due to the lack of skills, both soft and hard because of the education system

that has been emphasizing more of marks and grades than capacity building in terms of

skills, values and attitudes.

At a time when the most productive persons in society (youths) are of no value today in

terms of transformation and development, we therefore need to get back to the drawing

board and emphasize the aspects being discussed in this paper. It is also important that

education for real life is designed to curtail the surging challenges of human development

so that the youths are helped to compete in the mad race. Through this strategy, social,

emotional, physical, psychological issues and hope will be recovered, behavior will be

protected and intellectualism will exist to achieve a personality geared towards

development of a balanced society. All this cannot be achieved if parents and other

stakeholders do not show high levels of maturity coupled with supervision, sensitivity to

and support for youth needs, and disciplinary efforts so that a required competent child

is not left to the teacher alone to nurture and to the required direction (Brough, 2007;

Kuttner, 1997; Gutman, Brown, & Akerman 2020).

Life skills/Social emotional learning skills

In the event where the graduated youth today has failed to compete favourably towards

self and community transformation, designing an education system that unpacks their

potentials through competence discovery and self-realization is an essential issue that

parents, teachers and other education actors must pay greater attention to. Today, the

biggest number of unemployed youths though educated poses a big challenge and a time

bomb to any part of the world. This is due to the fact that the youth look at leaders and

other key role players in any country’s development as poor planners for their lives and

as people who do not mind about their future and their next generation. This kind of

attitude has brought about clashes among leaders, elders and other people with the

youth. To avert this situation, there is a need to recapture the early methodologies and

intentions that both formal and informal education captured before and reached a

memorable level of community transformation. Through these strategies, issues of

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

112

entrepreneurship and self-development will be achieved and thus cause a positive impact

to the society. However, this cannot be achieved when parents and government

stakeholders especially in the field of education do not do research and understand

community needs and the practical solutions needed to fill up the gaps. In many

countries, especially around Asia, nurturing the youth for self-employment, job creation

and community transformation is the concentration of all education activities. Though

this aspect is still wanting especially in the African societies due to lack of a well-defined

education philosophy (Miiro, 2022b; Raj, 2016)

Integration of spirituality

One of the major challenges that the world is facing is the neglect and misinterpretation

of religion in human life. For that matter, the purpose of creation and provision of service

to humanity has been forgotten and all this is as a result of education without soul and

education based on human laws other than the natural set up of life. Today education

has lost its soul due to lack of touch with realities in the communities and hence produced

graduates without any impact to the society. Many education/curriculum developers and

implementers need to do a continuous inquiry in their work with an aim of understanding

whether they are providing societies with solutions other than creating more anarchy and

selfish behavior. If this is done, philosophy will be resurrected in teaching and learning

thus remembering the purpose of creation. The many challenges that humanity faces

today are due to curriculum/education that does not make sense to the human soul hence

training people who do not mind about the impact of their actions and behaviours towards

the community.

For curriculum developers and implementers, there is a need to cater for the three types

of human soul in order to prepare a sane community. Human bodies are composed of

three souls and these include; a soul prone to evil, the reflective soul and the peaceful

soul. These three types of souls require different approaches so as to nurture a youth

that is more concerned about peace and harmony for others.

The abuse and denial of basic human rights, environmental destruction, the lack of

meaningful future to thousands of generation, drug and human trafficking, civil wars,

land grabbing, merciless killings; all these explain it clearly that the philosophy of

education is not in place hence causing severe threats to the next generation (Randall,

Koetting, & Combs, 2005). For nurturing and upbringing, there is a need to deal with

internal and external facets of human behaviours so that a holistic person is produced to

the world (Tirri, 2009). Through these efforts and strategies, the curriculum will regain

meaning and help to curtail the growing society without values, skills, attitudes and

morals that lead to a sane and civilized society.

Conclusions

With the emerging era where life is losing meaning, there is a need for all education

stakeholders to understand that education should address both the external and internal

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

113

human aspect so as to have value for life and at the same time provide security and

protection for the next generation. This should be done through the use of

intergeneration of values, spirituality skills, with an intention of recalling the lost culture,

norms and beliefs of the youth especially in the African continent Uganda inclusive. It is

also important to note that nurturing and upbringing should not be left in the hands of

teachers when other key stakeholders are not involved.

Recommendation

Accepting cultural diversity and challenges that have mushroomed in our society, is one

of the ways through which curriculum can be revitalized using methodologies that bring

back soul into the education and regain its essence as mentioned above.

The philosophy of education should be manifested in the curriculum, especially in African

countries like Uganda. They should come out explicitly informing the society the essence

of education and its impact to the society. When this aspect is intertwined with

spirituality, values, attitude, and social emotional learning skills, each and every actor in

education will be aware of where the African society is heading to. Thus, nurturing a

society with humanity imbued with skills for self and community transformation.

Implications

When nurturing and upbringing is put as a key ingredient in the development and

implementation of the curriculum, a society with values and well-skilled human capital

will be realized with strong attachment to its cultural heritage, language, self-identity,

community concerns, protection of family, humanity, and civilization. This will be

enhanced in the young generation imbued with key elements like self-identity,

appreciation of diversity, skills, decency, decorum, attitude formation of human

development and transformation. Thus, a generation for self and community

development will be observed at all levels of education and in all aspects of human

growth, and transformation.

References

Ab Razak, R. R. (2020). The major concepts of humanistic theories. Asian Journal of

Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, 10(8), 1. https://doi.org/10.5958/2249-

7315.2020.00012.x

Adeyinka Tella, & E. O. A. (2009). Information communication technology (ICT) and

curriculum development: the challenges for education for sustainable development.

Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 35(35), 101–104.

Akinwalere, S. N., & Ivanov, V. (2022). Artificial intelligence in higher education:

challenges and opportunities. Border Crossing, 12(1), 1–15.

https://doi.org/10.33182/bc.v12i1.2015

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

114

Anaghara-uzor, O. P., & Farooq, M. (2019). Globalization and its influence on the future

of the universities. Islamic University Multidisciplinary Journal (IUMJ), 6(2), 129–135.

Andreas, S. (2021). Embedding Values and Attitudes in Curriculum. Embedding Values

and Attitudes in Curriculum. https://doi.org/10.1787/aee2adcd-en

Ankerson, K. S., & Pable, J. (2020). Improving teaching and learning. interior design,

(July), 213–222. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781501371523.ch-008

Aroff, A. R. bin M. (2014). Values Education and the Malaysia Education Blueprint. Journal

for Interdisciplinary Research in Education (JIRE), 4(1), 59–73.

https://doi.org/10.7603/s40933-014-0005-1

Ball, S. J. (2004). Education for sale! the commodification of everything. king´s annual

education lecture 2004. Retrieved from http://sys.glotta.ntua.gr/Dialogos/Politics/CERU-

0410-253-OWI.pdf

BCEF. (2017). Basic education curriculum framework. encyclopedia of curriculum studies.

Brancaleone, D., & O’Brien, S. (2011). Educational commodification and the (economic)

sign value of learning outcomes. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 32(4), 501–

519. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2011.578435

Brough, C. (2007). Nurturing talent through curriculum integration. Kairaranga, 8(1), 8–

12. https://doi.org/10.54322/kairaranga.v8i1.80

Cheong, K.-C., Hill, C., & Leong , Y.-C. (2016). Malaysia’s education policies and the law

of unintended consequences . Journal of International and Comparative Education, 5(2),

73–86. https://doi.org/10.14425/jice.2016.5.2.73

Chowdhury, M. (2020). Emphasizing morals, values, ethics, and character education in

today’s digital age. SMCC Higher Education Research Journal, 2(1), 1–16.

https://doi.org/10.18868/sherjba.02.060120.03

Ciroma, Z. I. (2014). Ict and education: issues and challenges. Mediterranean Journal of

Social Sciences, 5(26), 98–100. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n26p98

Early, F. O. R., & Development, C. (2018). Guideline for Early Childhood Development.

Early, F. O. R., & Development, C. (2019). Nurturing care. Retrieved from

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/272604/WHO-FWC-MCA-18.02-

eng.pdf

Embry, D. D., & Sandler, I. N. (2012). The critical role of nurturing environments for

promoting human well- being. American Psychologist, 67(4), 257–271.

https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026796

Eskasasnanda, I. D. P. (2020). Implementation of tokkatsu to improve face-to-face

interaction between students (Vol. 404, pp. 119–124).

https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200214.020

F. Miiro and Siraje, A. S. (2018). The role of education in the development of spirituality

and community empowerment: lessons from the approach of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 1(1), 1–8. Retrieved from

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

115

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2016.06.001%0Ahttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2

016.12.055%0Ahttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2019.02.006%0Ahttps://doi.org/10.

1016/j.matlet.2019.04.024%0Ahttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2019.127252%0Ahttp

://dx.doi.o

Gehlbach, H., & Hough, H. J. (2018). Measuring social emotional learning through student

surveys in the core districts : a pragmatic approach to validity and reliability, (May).

Goodwin, M., Angeles, L., Goodwin, C., & Angeles, L. (2017). Chapter · March 2013.

https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520955097-012

Habimana, I. R. (2024). Holistic education approaches : nurturing the whole child holistic

education approaches : nurturing the whole child. Research Output Journal of Educaton,

3(3), 11–15.

Kifuuse, F. (2024). Causes of moral decay among youth in St James Parish in Busoga

diocese.

Kuttner, J. F. (1997). Nurturing ethical values in the 21 st century adolescent. in united

states conference of catholic bishops. renewing the vision: a framework for catholic youth

ministry. (Washington, DC (pp. 1–18).

L M Gutman, J Brown, R. A. (2020). Nurturing parenting capability:the early years. how

to become an entrepreneurship educator.

https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789900033.00012

Littlejohn, S., & Foss, K. (2019). Humanistic Perspective. In Encyclopedia of Personality

and Individual Differences (pp. 1–19). Springer Nature Switzerland.

https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412959384.n177

Machingambi, S. (2014). The impact of globalisation on higher education: a marxist

critique. Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology, 05(02).

https://doi.org/10.31901/24566764.2014/05.02.11

Maurya, M., Puranik, V. G., Senthil Kumar, A., & Subramanian, B. (2023). Introduction

to artificial intelligence. toward artificial general intelligence: deep learning, neural

networks, generative AI, (March), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111323749-001

Miiro, Farooq $ Baguma, K. . (2023). Rethinking & reconceptualising the curriculum for

21st century: the unfulfilled role of university. National Curriculum Development Centre,

@ 50 A Golden Jubilee Souvenir Magazine, pp. 200–207.

Miiro, F. (2017). Holistic personality development of youth through higher education

using the prophetic practices. Australian Journal of Humanities and Islamic Studies

Research (AJHISR), 3(1), 1–5.

Miiro, F. (2022a). The teaching profession in africa: challenges and prospects.

Interdisciplinary Journal of Education, 5(8.5.2017), 2003–2005.

Miiro, F. (2022b). The Teaching Profession in Africa: Challenges and Prospects.

Interdisciplinary Journal of Education, 2(2), 2003–2005.

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL. 16, Nº. 1, TD1

Thematic Dossier

Internationalization of Higher Education: Experiences and Challenges

June 2025, pp. 100-116

Nurturing and Upbringing; the Forgotten Aspect in Curriculum Development and

Implementation at Higher Education Institutions(Heis)

Miiro Farooq, Grace K. Baguma

116

Miiro, F. &, & Otham, A. (2018). Talent management practices a trajectory and ingenuity

in higher education institutions: A meta-analysis review of literature. In Springer

Proceedings in Complexity (pp. 111–123). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64554-

4_9

Ministry of Education, S. (2012). Nurturing early learners. Nurturing early learners: A

curriculum framework for kindergartens in Singapore a guide for parents (Vol. 6).

Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.sg/docs/default-

source/document/education/preschool/files/kindergarten-curriculum-framework-guide-

for-parents.pdf%0Ahttp://www.moe.gov.sg/education/preschool/files/nel-edu-guide-

numeracy.pdf

OECD. (2019). Attitudes and values for 2030. OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030.

Retrieved from www.oecd.org/education/2030-project

Pedro, F., Subosa, M., Rivas, A., & Valverde, P. (2019). Artificial intelligence in education:

Challenges and opportunities for sustainable development. Unesco. Retrieved from

http://repositorio.minedu.gob.pe/handle/20.500.12799/6533%0Ahttp://repositorio.min

edu.gob.pe/bitstream/handle/20.500.12799/6533/Artificial intelligence in education

challenges and opportunities for sustainable development.pdf

Raj, A. (2016). Skilling youth in entrepreneurship -a way forward for sustained livelihood

creation. Sacred Heart Journal of Science and Humanities, Vellore, India, 80(October).

Randall, J., Koetting, J. R., & Combs, M. (2005). 2005 Spirituality and curriculum reform :

the need to engage the world.

Salehi, H., & Salehi, Z. (2012). Challenges for using ict in education: teachers’ insights.

International Journal of E-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning, 2(1),

40–43.

Silbaugh, K. B. (2011). (2011). Testing as commodification. Washington University

Journal of Law & Policy, 35, 309.

Tirri, K. (2009). Spirituality in education. scripta instituti donneriani aboensis, 21, 245–

258. https://doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67354

Tukundane, C., Minnaert, A., Zeelen, J., & Kanyandago, P. (2015). Building vocational

skills for marginalised youth in Uganda: A SWOT analysis of four training programmes.

International Journal of Educational Development, 40, 134–144.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.10.007

Waller, R. E., Lemoine, P. A., Mense, E. G., Garretson, C. J., & Richardson, M. D. (2019).

Global higher education in a vuca world: concerns and projections. Journal of Education

and Development, 3(2), 73. https://doi.org/10.20849/jed.v3i2.613

Yusoff, W. M. W., Hashim, R., Khalid, M., Hussien, S., & Kamalludeen, R. (2018). The

impact of hikmah (wisdom) pedagogy on 21st century skills of selected primary and

secondary school students in gombak district selangor malaysia. journal of education and

learning, 7(6), 100. https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v7n6p100