This research would also consider some other factors that to an extent seem to affect the cultural trends in the society. It will also be sought to establish the effect of other factors affecting the curriculum, which in the long run would affect the culture trends within the society. Some of these factors that are co-related to curriculum affecting the development of cultural trends within the society include the family, religious institutions and the government. These factors which seem to very much relate to the curriculum would also be researched on; so that precise information can be acquired on how curriculum affects the development of cultural trends in the society.
In absolute terms this research would also extent to determine if the above factors that seem to be very much related to curriculum affect cultural development in the society. The importance of this research is that, these factors seem to be the pillars of curriculum development; thus their critical study would lead to the acquirement of more reliable results which would help in determining the relationship between the curriculum, and cultural development trend in the society.
Scientific method as a natural, physical science
Scientific methods as its is understood under natural science; refers to the process of carrying out empirical and rigorous research on a problem through involving the researcher within the area, or the object of study directly in which scientific methods have to be employed. In scientific methods, the researcher involves himself or herself with the research object directly; and employs various scientific techniques in acquiring the information required.
More specifically in scientific method the information required from the research object is obtained directly through an interaction between the researcher and the object of research. In this respect, therefore, a scientific method is described as natural or physical science because of the intrinsic and direct interaction between the researcher; and the objects to be researched on. In physical sciences the research conducted involves the physical or direct interaction between the researcher, and the objects to be researched on in their natural settings or environments.
As it is in scientific methods; researchers are involved in direct contact with their research objects in which they carry out rigorous investigation on the particular research areas intended; from which the results are thereafter compiled, results recorded and various measures taken thereafter depending on the results acquired. It can therefore be argued that scientific study can be categorized as natural or physical sciences; as the enquiry methods are the identical.
Comparison between the research methods identified and scientific method
The problem at hand as stated above would be researched using various methods like the administering of questionnaires; conducting of interviews; carrying out of case studies and conducting opinion polls. These methods can be linked to the scientific study in the sense that; they all involve a direct interaction of the researcher and the objects of study to be involved.
Firstly, conducting interviews would involve a direct interaction between the researcher and the intended objects of study. In our case the objects of research involved include the various teachers, parents and the students among others. As it can be clearly seen there would be a direct interaction between the researchers and the teachers, the parents and the students involved in the research. More so, research through interviews would be conducted in the objects natural environments; which would entail a sequence of questions verbally in which this method can be generally described as natural science.
Secondly, the research using questionnaires can still be described as using a scientific study; as it would entail a direct involvement of the researcher with the respondents through the use of a set of questions that the researcher would use to acquire the expected responses as the questionnaires would depict. In this perspective also the use of questionnaires in the research, can still be described as a scientific method basing on the method of enquiry involved. In this case, a well structured set of questions would be distributed to the parents, the teachers and the students; where the responses in the answered questionnaires will be used to draw conclusion on the relationship between the curriculums adopted, and the resultant culture.
More so in this research, the use of case studies would be of importance as it would involve a detailed enquiry of the effects that the current curriculum has on culture in a selected area. More specifically this method would involve a very close interaction of the researcher and the objects of study; in which the case information obtained for a certain area is generalized for the neighboring areas so as to analyze the data and make conclusions. Basing on this also case studies can still be categorized as natural science methodologies.
Lastly, the conducting of opinion polls can still be categorized as a scientific method because the respondents and the researcher are usually at a constant contact; during the process of carrying out the research. This is because as the researcher carries out the study, he has to be in direct interaction with the respondents so as to conduct the opinion polls. In this perspective therefore, this method can also be considered as a natural science.
The social science perspective versus natural science as scientific methods
Social science is an elaborated scientific method in which the researcher usually uses simple methods of data enquiry from the respondents, whether in their natural setting or in the researchers choice of place. Natural sciences on the other hand make use of scientific methods in the data enquiry by the researcher on the respondents in their natural settings as applied. Natural sciences in a way can be argued to rely on scientific methods the way social sciences do. This argument is based on the fact that the two involve the same methods of enquiry and investigate the information in the respondents; within their natural settings or environments.
On the other hand natural sciences can be said to vary from social studies in the sense that; natural sciences usually involve the research being conducted only in the respondent’s natural or physical environments while in social sciences; the research can take place outside the respondents’ natural environment. However, natural sciences are very much related to social sciences as both involve the use of scientific methods in their method of enquiry.