EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY : A PRELIMINARY REVIEW AND SOME INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES

This paper reviews the history of the educational activity which was entered through John Dewey’s Experimental School, founded in 1896, the first school to use the activity curriculum. It sheds the light on the stages that activity has gone through till today. The Islamic view and a number of quotes from a number of Islamic thinkers and educators also were reviewed. The importance of the activity, its basics, functions, types and classifications were also discussed. The research concluded with a number of international experiences which gave great importance to the activity in their curricula and educational plans. The most important recommendations are: 1) Offering advanced training programs for teachers on educational activity; 2) Adding educational activity as an independent material in educational colleges; 3) Expanding the scope of study for international experiences in educational activity; and 4) Making use of technology and employing it in the educational activity.

Salem Ali Al Qahtani: Educational Activity… TA'ALLUM, Vol.05, No. 02, November 2017ж225 Self-expression motivation which motivates the pupil to express their activity in front of others.
In 1910, a movement called "The Movement of Projects" arose, which tried to help pupils to understand the knowledge and information they got from different subjects, and apply them in reality.The spread of these projects in the curriculum helped in expanding the range of learning experiences in schools more than what they used to be.Since 1925, curriculum theorists began using the term "Educational Activity" to refer to the basic elements of the educational situation.
Fretwell was the first to bring in the activity in America.He brought in the first specialized school curriculum to organize the educational school activities.He was also the first to publish a research systematically tackles school activitiesin 1925.His theory called for that the school function is to organize the whole situation, where a perfect opportunity is provided for everyone to be a good citizen, and to provide students with live experiences that enable them to develop their abilities, energies and strengths, so that they can take responsibility, as the primary goal of the school3 .
Since 1935, the curriculum specialists have made minor references to the concept of the educational activity, which varies from a pupil to another.Afterwards, in 1936, John Dewey wrote his book "Experience and Education", which clarified the concept of experience as the interaction between the learner and the educational situation.This interaction includes some maturity influences; as the learner adjusts his reactions in the light of the demands of the educational situation.
The great leap in educational activities happened along with the worldwide technological development, especially in communications.The animated pictures also affected motion analysis.On the other hand, audio materials added a second dimension of analysis through sound motion picture that represented the reality of social, political and economic incidents.
The next step was to focus on choosing educational activities suitable for pupils" individual differences, which was one of the changes, happened in the field of educational activities in the first half of the 20th century.Two factors confirmed those individual differences: 1) Psychological studies defined the differences" scope among schools, grades and even among students of the same grade; and 2) School registration process of students from different races, social and economic classes that affected them4 .Because of that, teacher"s hard work in planning the educational situation provides students with the necessary experience.
The researcher sees that activity today is an integral part of the curriculum and essential element in the educational process.The conclusion is that activity passed through four stages, which are: (1) Schools and curriculum ignored and protested against activities in favor of the traditional perspective, (2) Being accepted out of the curriculum and considered as a luxury, should not overcome the scientific materials, and because of that it became a secondary separated subject not a primary one, (3) Activity became an independent curriculum and considered as a kind of proposed curricula called activity"s curriculum.(4) Activity became an integral part of curriculum, as it is one of its four pillars.According to its modern concept, curriculum consists of objectives, content, educational activities, and evaluation, as shown in Figure 1 5 .Although in both stages, the activity is part of the curriculum but the way and the place of applying it is different, the target is the same, which considers activity as a complement and part of teaching process 6 .

Islamic View on Educational Activity
Muslim has no doubt that the divine approach of the Holy Qur"an, which is completed by the Sunnah of the Prophet, is the best educational curriculum at all.This approach has covered all aspects: mental, psychological, spiritual, social and other.It is a comprehensive education that prepares a good human, who worships God, and maintains the earth according to God"s teachings as this comprehensive education makes human grow with integrated aspects, taking into consideration the limits of their movement and their permissible acts.
Principles, Components, Systematizations (2nd Ed.)In fact, the activity has been known among the Muslims since ancient times at the time of the descent of the Holy Qur"an which is the primary and basic source of Islamic education.Qur"an includes verses that indicate the importance of direct experience and practical application.In the case of Ibrahim, Allah shows how to prepare His prophets and urges them to experiment themselves.(al-Baqarah: 260) Also, there are a lot of Hadiths in this regard.If we pursuit the Prophet"sway of teaching his companions, we find that he used the practical application method and urged them to experiment and apply.It is narrated on the authority of Ibn Mas"ud who said: "If a man of us learns ten verses (of the Holy Qur"an) by heart, he did not learn more until he learns their meanings and apply them."(al-Maliki, 1416 AH)   Muslims in the era of Prophet Muhammad practiced various types of activity; confirming the role of activity and its importance in building the personality of the individual comprehensively in all respects.We see Ibn Miskawayh (died in 421 AH), for example, wrote a book about "Refinement of Morals and Cleansing of Genus".Also, we see Ibn Sahnoun (died in 403 AH), wrote a book on "A Detailed Study of the Conditions of Learners and the Provisions of Teachers and Learners".Among Muslim scholars who were interested in the activity and explained it in many of his books, there was Ibn Sina (Avicenna) who died in 438 AH.In addition, we see the Muslim thinker Ibn Khaldun (died in 808 AH) living examples to ease students" understanding, because the student -at first-is weak minded with poor perception, and living examples will be a sincere help to them to understand well.One of the important practices in this regard is the talk of these educators on the need to divide the curriculum into two sections;compulsory and elective.This and all of the above emphasize the interest of scholars of Islam in educating and upbringing the learner, by taking into account their inclinations and abilities.
Through the previous examples, it is clear that the call for activity, dealing with it and advocating its use was found first in the literature of the early educators of the nation"s scholars before the modern pragmatists appear, and this requires us to return to the original Islamic heritage to explore it and get every original and renewed thought.We conclude that Islamic education and its view of the learner through the activities or the building of experiences were not narrow or limited.
The legitimate view can be summarized in observing matters under the concept of set governance.The legitimate view consists of aspects that it is either obligatory (duty), prohibited, disapproved, permissible or favored.So it is fine to judge activities by the scale of Shariah.It is also important to realize the importance of activities as they help the student acquire good morals, develop a sense of belonging to the right faith and encourage them to cherish and advocate for it.Also, they help students to understand Islam correctly and adhere to the values and teachings of Islam and to command them and prohibit contradictory ones 7 .

Definition and Importance of Educational Activity
Activity that accompanying to the educational subject is an effort made by the learner guided directly by his teacher, depending on the material they study.It is to acquaintance with various aspects of this subject so that the students have the chance to gain experience or the 7 Al-Bedewi and T.I.Mahmoud, Sharia Science Teachers' Attitudes  Towards Extracurricular Activities in Secondary and Middle Schools in Jeddah  and Riyadh (King Saud University, 2004).concept naturally and positively based on planned work and focused on character and behavior.Activities have a considerable role in educational process, and integrate with each other to achieve the educational objectives.Saadah and Ibrahim (2004) emphasized that the traditional curriculum promote the negligence of purposeful educational activities which if applied would contribute to shaping theunimpaired integrated personality of learner with self-reliance and going out to the environment and vitally and actively dealing and searching it 8 .

Advantage of Educational Activity
These advantages of educational activities are: ( 1

Basic of Educational Activity
The basics of educational activity are integrated,the activity has the great role and impact of the student learning and benefit in balance and integration stimulating creativity, growth and excellence.Among these basics are: (1) Starting from the principle of respect for the student as a living organism grows, flows, and able to be creative and participate, and respect for his personality, potentials, tendencies and desires 10 , (2) The activities are characterized by abundance and diversity, (3) The activities are characterized by flexibility, the achievement of joint work and subject to continuous evaluation, (4) It is useful for the activity to be appropriate for the student in terms of age characteristics, and cognitive readiness, to promote integrated growth, (5) Activities should be closely related to the objectives set for the educational process and complement the curriculum, (6) Considering school activities as a link between all subjects, and their fields and their diversification are only for the distribution of creativity, but they are originally one unit that achieves one goal even if the ways are varied 11 , (7) The various activities reflect the beliefs of the community, and connect the student with their community,away from any difference or tolerance or deviation from morality and community systems (Mahmoud, 1988) 12 , (8) Clarity of the goals of the school activity for everyoneengaged or participatein it, whether a director,teacher, student or 9 Al-Shammari and al-Mu"aili, The Extent of … 10 Dahir and Hassan, School Activity Management and its Problems (Beirut, 2004).
The activity has a range of functions that help to affect, educate, motivate and train student"s personality, as well as its functionofmeeting to the needs of community.The most important functions of the activity are six main functions which are social function, educational function, psychological function, vocational function, recreational and entertainment function, and health function 14 .Asal and al-Bahnasawi (2007), and al-Rifai (2008)divided the educational activity into two considerations: class activity, and extracurricular activity 15 .Each of which is divided into two parts: activity within education field, and activity outside education field.In terms of considering the curriculum or not, it is divided into two parts, as stated by al-Muneef (1416 AH) and Selim (2006): the methodological activity (educational), and the extracurricularactivity (free) 16 .

Type and Classification of Educational Activity
It is important to state that the term school activity, if so generalized, it meansthe extracurricular activity, which is considered a separate subject and has its own objectives, within the general activity 13 Ibid. 14 Although the use of this differentiation is still prevailing in the textbooks adopted in education, such as the Education Research Encyclopedia until 1992, and with all these sudden changes in expressing the curriculum term, we find that the distinction between them in fact conflicts with the concept of the modern curriculum, given it is a set of experiences presented to the student, and the separation of the two types may affect each other, as though implementing one of them may be weakened, and implementing the other can be unbearable, or marginalized, or determining what is meant by each becomes difficult.
It is important to emphasize that the classifications of activity and their names may vary, but the type of activity is unchanging.It is either related to a goal and becomes a means to achieve this goal or not; differentiation between the activity and its means to carry out is very important.So it is possible that the activity may be related to the curriculum and its objectives, and is implemented outside the school.The activity may be free and implemented inside the classroom.The classification in the implementation will be pointed out when tackling the educational or methodological activities.
The researcher tends to divide the activity into the following: (1) Educational activity, which is related to the study plan, (2) Free activity, which means any activity not related to the study plan) such as: recreational trips, parties, competitions.
In conclusion, the researcher differentiates between two things: (1) Activity as one of the elements of the curriculum, in the modern sense, on which it is based; goals, content, activities, and evaluation, (2) The curriculum of activity as one of the curriculum systematizations (separated-subject matter curriculum, activity curriculum, the corecurriculum and so on).

Educational Activity in Japan
School activities in Japanese are important as they are the third component of the school curriculum.They include three aspects: student activities, school activities, and counseling in the classroom 18 .In addition,

Japanese Ministry of Education is providing additional activities called
Kurabwa, which is held during school hours, and Bu which is held after school, and participation in Kurabwa is required from all students from grade four to six, and middle and high schools.
The Kurabwa system serves several purposes.Its main objectives are to promote creativity among students and to be self-directed.Its special objectives are derived from various parts of Japanese Constitution, a decree from the Ministry of Education, the desires of parents and teachers and contemporary educational associations.The Bu system may be held once or twice a week with one hour for primary stage and a maximum of two hours for the middle and secondary stage.This activity may be in summer, for two to three weeks.Other systems may be introduced under these two systems, and various services provided by private schools, in addition to the aforementioned.

Educational Activity in Singapore
School activities are an effective way to establish work teams and intimate friendships among many ethnic groups in Singapore.Activity is optional at the primary stage, but the student is forced after the fourth journalism, and publications, which seek to satisfy the intellectual and social aspects of the students; the relationship between the school and the community.

Educational Activity in Britain
The activity in Britain is called the Study Boosts; a new term that has been used for only ten years.Although it is the tradition of English schools to provide their students with extracurricular activities, these activities noticeably reduced recently.In order to support and boost these activities to return as they used to be, there has been a so-called activities grant which is generally given to the school to develop its activities and In 1996, the Malaysian Comprehensive Development Committee set up a comprehensive technical planthat would make the country a member of the developed countries.This plan was referred to as (Vision 2020), while education was (The Education Act 1996).One of the most important targets of this strategy is to provide computer and internet connection in every school semester.
The basic principle of the national curriculum emphasizes the integrated approach to the process of planning and building the curriculum.It therefore focuses on the development of basic skills, the acquisition and building of attitudes, the great care of the individual needs of the child through enriching therapy activities, the integration of skills and knowledge in lessons and combining theory and application 23 .
In the field of activities, the programs accompanying the curriculum are an integral part of school curriculum.

Conclusion
It is clear that the educational activity was the beginning of many of the evolution and development, which included curricula.Itsmethods began to vary and clearly employedin the curriculum.Actually, theories, such as theories of active learning and others, which made the student the main focus in the educational process, were built upon these activities.
The most important recommendations from this review are: 1) Offering advanced training programs for teachers on educational activity; 2) Adding educational activity as an independent material in educational colleges; 3) Expanding the scope of study for international experiences in educational activity; and 4) Making use of technology and employing it in the field of educational activity.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Curriculum system in its four elements During the Muslim inaction, European civilization flourished in the middleages.Al-Ghazzali (died in 1111) called for learning through travels, in which learners acquire direct experience, which is one of the most important experiences (as quoted in Hassan al-Hassan).Salem Ali Al Qahtani: Educational Activity… TA'ALLUM, Vol.05, No. 02, November 2017ж229 ) Applicable; by selecting an activity based on the fact that this activity has direct relation with the ability of the individual, (2) Behavioral, that activity determined by what the individual does, not with what they say unless the verbal activity is the target activity, (3) Analytical, which means it provides an explanation of the variables and factors responsible for the change in activity approach, (4) Generic; which is characterized by the transmission of learning or practice to other appropriate situations, (5) Dealing with activities as learnable; that activities are subject to the same factors and laws that behavior is subject adaptation.Al-Shammari (2007) quoted from Bataye" (1420 AH) that give a great advantage to students, course, school administration and environment, including practicing old interests, strengthening mental and physical health, strengthening relations and deepening communications, promoting moral and spiritual, and providing opportunities to satisfy students" tendencies.Also its advantages for courses which are strengthening the experiences acquired by students in class, disclosing Salem Ali Al Qahtani: Educational Activity… TA'ALLUM, Vol.05, No. 02, November 2017ж231 new learning experiences that the course may contain, and stimulating education within classrooms 9 .
ideas through a specialized civil network.In1994, 700 schools joined them, resulting in making these activities part of the interests, research and development initiatives in all stages of schooling, as well as taking care of children to becomesenior students in the future.In1996, the first job of managing home activity was given in return for granting financial fees under the supervision of the government, and these are all the result of multiple studies and research.Education inBritain in 1997 was linked to three basic departments: Community Education Development Centre, Additional Education and the kids" Clubs Network, which contributed to advocating an educational development strategy with the development of creative practice.The reasons for the interest in the activity is its wide variety and wide areas that meet the wishes of all and develop their talents; it includes more than 48 different and varied players and clubs.Educational Activity in France The Modern School Movement, was founded by Célestin Freinet, and known as the Freinet Techniques.Themain element on which this movement is based is the development of child"s expression in a climate Salem Ali Al Qahtani: Educational Activity… TA'ALLUM, Vol.05, No. 02, November 2017ж237 of freedom and vitality and the desire of child to satisfy their desires and needs for knowledge and activity.The school activity in France is based on the principle of cooperation.It supports simulative and creative faculties of the child through work that is the main engine of the philosophy on which education is based.Educational Activity in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The origin and history of educational activity in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can be summarized as follows: (1) First Stage: Thinking about the activity of students from 1356-1373 AH, and the beginnings were limited to exercise outside the school schedule, giving some parties and cultural discussions between students and teachers, trips, and scout camps, on the scale of the school without any guidance or planning, (2) Second Stage: Establishing the Department of Physical Education and Social Activity in the period from 1373 to 1936 AH.It was provided with specialists and a general plan of activity was prepared along with issuing the organization of work pamphlets in schools including parties, trips and scout camps and 50-days sport courses for primary, (3) Third Stage: Establishing the Department of Activity and Social Guidance in the period from 1376 to 1380 AH.A large educational student activity conference was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education in Riyadh, attended by all education directors and senior officials of the Ministry, (4) Fourth Stage: Establishing the General Directorate of Youth Welfare 1381-1400 AH.The Department of Activity and Social Guidance developed in to the Department of Youth Welfare and established four sections: Social Education -Physical Education -Scout Education -Art Education.In 1384 AH, this organization was divided into two departments, one for training and research and the other for inspection.In 1387 AH,a ministerial decree was issued to entrust the Youth Welfare Department to the General Directorate for Youth Welfare, (5) Fifth Stage: Establishing the general administration of school activity in 1401 AH.The name changed in 1404 AH to the General Administration of Student Activity in line with the comprehensive concept of student practices inside and outside school.State-level planners were concerned with school activity in general and extracurricular activity in particular.In the fifth five-year plan (1410-1415 AH), education sector spending programs consist of seven programs composed of activities necessary for operatingthe educational institutions.The seven programs include providing all students" activities and services, extracurricular activities and the providing cultural services (Ministry of Planning in Saudi Arabia, 1410 AH).As stated in the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1415-1420 AH) in public education policies, improving internal efficiency is achieved through continuing to focus on extracurricular activity and expanding its programs as an important and effective.It is also stated in the Eighth Development Plan (1415-1430 AH) in the Education Policies section that the achievement of the main objectives of the public education sector depends on policies such as "Taking care of extracurricular activities and making them part of the curriculum and evaluating them" 20 .Later, in 2006, the educational activities were introduced into the study courses as part and complementary of the curriculum through the development of the curricula in all their variations or stages of study through working groups and curriculum development.This is evident through the new curricula, the curriculum document, and the remaining of the so-called or now known as extracurricular activity which is a weekly quota included in the weekly program for all schools 21 .Salem Ali Al Qahtani: Educational Activity… TA'ALLUM, Vol.05, No. 02, November 2017ж239 Educational Activity in Malaysia The Malaysian education aims at preparing more productive, dynamic and humane citizens to face time challenges in order to achieve industrial progress.It also aims at preparing individuals mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically depending on believing in Allah and obeying Him,in addition to preparing the society to beunited in terms of family, community and homeland 22 .

For
example, the General Bank funds the Youth Adventure Project, and the Malaysian American Electronics Factory finances the youth handicraft program.The National Unity Department takes responsibility for the Golden Bridge Program 24 .The nice thing in the Malaysian curriculum is the examiner of the Malaysian experience in learning can observean important remark that, with the complexity of technology and the global trading environment and in line with the Vision of 2020, the Ministry of Education in Malaysia has presented the topics of vocational and technical education in the following educational stages: Primary School Level:students are offered pre-vocational topics, called Living Skills to develop the students" manual, productive and selfmanagement abilities at this stage.Intermediate Secondary School Level:so-called integrated living skills are introduced to be in harmony with the philosophy of national education, which focuses on the development of the individual culturally, spiritually, emotionally and physically.In this stage, pre-vocational topics include industrial arts, business studies, home economics, and agricultural science.Upper Secondary School Level:vocational subjects are presented in all classifications or tracks, whether academic, technical or vocational.Salem Ali Al Qahtani: Educational Activity… TA'ALLUM, Vol.05, No. 02, November 2017ж241 Among the most recent topics offered at this stage are engineering Technology and Drawing Engineering.
Mahmoud and H. Shaker, School Activity …; Hassan Shehata, al-Najjar and Zainab, Glossary of Educational and Psychological Terms (Cairo: Egyptian Lebanese House, 2003); Dahir and Hassan, School Activity …; Zayed andA.plan of the ministry"s social activity committee.It is divided by Shehata and al-Najjar (2003) into school activity which is either inside or outside the classroom, and non-school activity 17 .
16Selim and S. Foad, The School … The student activity in Malaysia is a vital part of school"s mission.It is indispensable.Undersecretary of the Malaysian Ministry of Education, 1423 AH Martial Arts Teams;and Sports Clubs.All or most of the programs of activity are done on Saturday (the weekend) and participating in the Some of the programs associated with the curriculum are financially supported by some government agencies and the private sector.