Curriculum development

Curriculum development

Curriculum development is a weighty matter, it has an impact of the biggest investment on a people, that of education. A curriculum acts as a guide to set the path for the transition of students from one level to another; it has to be set in such a way that it makes the learning progressive, continuous and developmental. A curriculum encompasses a broad range of factors that translate into the national goals through the classroom instruction offered. This paper

A curriculum sets the stage for students to move from one stage to another in a seamless and coherent way by creating meaningful and productive experiences. Students through the learning set out should be able to pursue personal aims set out and link them to the level of learning achieved. As learning progresses, the level of complexity should increase, becoming more sophisticated so as to enhance the student’s abilities and reveal their true potential[1].

A one fits all curriculum cannot be achieved though, because students are individuals who have different needs at the end of the day, but there is a certain level of standardization that can be achieved through proper principles used as the foundation. A curriculum should only be adopted if it can lead to the actualization of potential development in the students; it should be one that maximizes opportunities for students to not only learn but also find their purpose and abilities[2].

The principles which inform curriculum development have evolved since the early decades of the 20^th century. Ralph Tyler was the man who first introduced the disciplined approach towards curriculum development; the approach changed the way development had been conducted for the longest time[3]. During the 1950s and 60s, educational psychologists and other major players gained popularity and became credible as behavioral factors were given first priority when it came to designing instructional guidelines.

What followed this period was a narrow and abstract method of designing instruction guidelines, the guidelines touched on issues like: teaching methods, objectives and measurement among others that were highlighted. The factors succeeded in creating an abstract design that did not enhance contemporary teaching and learning. Goodlad was the exception to the approach and called for a wide-ranging and logical framework to guide designing of curriculums[4].

Schwabb was a great supporter of Goodlad and also encouraged a conceptual approach that would guide the development of curriculum. He faulted the over reliance on theory as a basis for a poor curriculum. To create effective instruction design, he felt that a great understanding of the existing practices and the effects of such was essential. The two men influenced a new way to look at the way curriculums were developed.

Towards the end of the 1970s, curriculum design had begun to emerge as a subject of study. A lot of debate has gone on over the years regarding the role and place of design and theory of curriculums, this is because a curriculum plays a fundamental role in how education is gained and imparted. Education is a sector that has become a basic human right in today’s world and it is a serious undertaking that keeps changing to suit the needs and times, and all that depends on the curriculum.

Over time, curriculum development has been largely theory driven, whereby the interaction of students and teachers has become defined through scientific words like: cognitive ability and behaviorism. The theories have informed the design of curriculums through certain stages that begin with the learning goals in relation to behavior, followed by the decisions on content and finally the instruction methodologies that are implemented afterwards.

The behavioral theory specifically draws its credibility from knowledge attained scientifically about the way human behave, it however does not comprehensively define what happens after people learn things that are meaningful to them. The alternative to the behavioral approach is the adoption of a phenomenological approach that is based on the learners’ needs and draws from the experience of all the participants of the education sector.

A good curriculum therefore needs a conceptual framework that guides the crafting of a great curriculum. It must have certain distinct factors that can be singled out like :a guideline for  learning activities,  results of consultation with teachers, community groups and students among others , a provision of resources that enable the learning process, a provision of parameters regarding allocation of budgets , hierarchy of decision making, roles of the concerned players and administration roles.

Three major premises have been singled out in the literature surrounding curricular development, these are: the cultural outlook of the society dictates the obligations, requirements and the responsibilities of educational instruction. The second aspect is that society is greatly responsible for educational programming. The third aspect is that the process of curriculum development and change is usually marked by difficulties in the best cases and controversy in the worst scenarios.

Three disciplines that were first highlighted by Aristotle can be used to categories the key areas that curriculum theories in relation to education impartment touch on: the productive, theoretical and practical knowledge acquisition. Education that prepares learners for life is the goal that curriculums should set out to achieve; this draws its basis in the simple structure of human life and the fact that despite some variations, our lives consist of performance of certain activities.

Education can therefore be said to play the role of solving contemporary problems, and as such the curriculum for schools should be composed of a combination of a skill set that equips learners to solve such problems. To solve the problems of a generation, they must be identified and tackled, therefore the learning must be directed at the provision of attitudes, knowledge and equip with skills that deal with them in an intelligent manner. Although the roles of education are different among different sets of scholars, they all agree that a good curriculum sets the stage.

The curriculum should be designed in such a way that it is deep. For students to actualize their full potential there must be opportunities presented within the curriculum that enable that to happen. Differences in the way students think and learn should be captured in the learning process and encouraged so as to increase their intellectual capacity and develop ways to approach issues that is diverse and effective[5].

Breadth should be evident in a good curriculum.  All the learners should have opportunities created for them that allow the experience of a wide range of suitable and weighty dynamics. The organization of what is to be learned should be done so in a variety of contexts, methods and execution within both the classroom and without, for the students to have a wholesome and relatively all encompassing learning experience.

A good curriculum should enhance progression in the learners. Learning is a process that never ends, as such, learners should be able to experience growth and make steps towards being better equipped. Each and every stage that a learner passes through, should build on the already acquired knowledge that far, as well as the achievements that a person has garnered. The rate of progress should meet the various needs and abilities of students and widen their scope on their perception of the same.

The learning scope set out in the curriculum should be challenging. As one progresses in learning, the various stages should involve some level of challenge where the students are concerned, this should be done in a variety of ways to cater for all types of learners. To maximize on the students’ potential, the stages must be accompanied by some sort of challenges that they must learn how to overcome as this is important for both cognitive and behavioral development. The goals of the curriculum should include encouraging the students to have high goals, ambitions and dreams.

The learning outlined in the curriculum should be engaging and enjoyable. The learning process should be an experience for the learners, it must be able to engage and motivate. Students must be active participants in the learning process; this should be captured in the curriculum through provision of opportunities for learners to demonstrate their abilities, thoughts and creativity. This participation should be encouraged and supported for learners to personalize their learning.

The curriculum should address individual needs and a variety of learners’ abilities. Different people have unique needs, abilities and interests; this is an aspect that should be addressed in curriculum. The learners should have the chance to exercise responsible choices that are personal to them as they progress in their learning. As one attains more knowledge, choices should increase to increase the individual input and responsibility over their learning. Safeguards should be in place though to guide choices that will lead to successful outcomes[6].

Coherence should be evident in the learning process.  All the learning that occurs should logically combine to form a rewarding experience. There should be a link between everything that is learned even though there are different things learned; the outcomes should bring a sense of flow and sense to the learner. The various aspects of learning that people go through should combine to create opportunities for the learners to apply their accumulated knowledge acquisition.

There is need for the content in the curriculum to be relevant. Learners should be able to envision and understand the goal of their learning by relating what they see, learn and do to daily life. They should be able to see the ultimate value of the learning process in their present state as well as the future. People learn better if they can see realistic benefits and application of what is learnt to their lives. The tools, social structures and resources should lead to construction of knowledge that matches the interests and needs of the learners[7].

The content of the curriculum should be flexible as well as responsive to the needs of individuals and society.  A curriculum set in the 1900s cannot be relevant in 2013, it is therefore imperative that the change that is experienced in our constantly changing world is exhibited in the curriculum. Learning that does not prepare for current challenges is not very useful. The curriculum should therefore have the flexibility to incorporate dealing with the challenges of current times and equip learners with the same skills[8].

Students should develop a yearning for lifelong learning. The curriculum should ignite the spark in learners to constantly seek knowledge and betterment of their lives and the world around them through constant learning. A good curriculum does not only teach but has resources that orient learning to problem solving; the search for knowledge should go beyond the learning in classrooms and within formal setups to be integrated to daily life by learning various ways of doing things and approaching situations[9].

The curriculum should support, prize and utilize all the learning dimensions that support students’ overall development.  Learning is inclusive of a wide range of subjects, aspects and issues, the way people learn is very different, a good curriculum will therefore be inclusive of a broad set of acceptable learning techniques that will lead to wholesome growth and development of the individual and enhance their understanding and learning abilities[10].

Learners should be encouraged to bring about individual and social transformation. The world we live on is faced by a great deal of challenges every day, as we move along, these challenges take on different dynamics and shape. A good grounded learning should ideally equip learners to set about transforming the world we live in and applying a curious mind to facing the changing world. Transformation that ideally makes the world a better place thanks to proper education should be instilled with the help of the framework of the curriculum[11].

Curriculum development it seems should at the end of the day be a transformational process for the students; it must incorporate tools, activities, resources and social structures that create a progressive experience that ideally realizes the goal of an individual on a personal level and on a wider scale of humanity. Education must be a tool for preparing learners for roles that ideally create a better society while at the same time bringing a sense of fulfillment[12].

Today’s curriculums are more structured to address the needs of students and are broader in a sense to encompass various facets of a changing society and technological advancements. The student is the core focus of the curriculum, and all the players from the teachers to educationists should be involved in establishing what a good curriculum outline should be composed of.  A good national curriculum for example should be designed to match the societal needs and expectations[13].

The curriculum designed should be logical, practical and flexible. Relevance is especially important because needs keep changing. A learner must experience growth and actualization of certain goals and preparations skills that ensure they can handle their future lives with relative ease or rather are able to cope with the demands of everyday lives. Integrating the changes within the curriculum can be a taxing experience and one that not all the players can agree on[14].

In conclusion, the curriculum should specify what the learners are set out to achieve at the end of the day, and the process of going about that. Students are individuals at the end of the day and therefore a wide scope of means of achieving the end goal is the way to go as far as achieving the ultimate goals of the education process. The perfect curriculum may never be attained but the principles addressed in the paper should at least provide a fairly standard mechanism for the learning to be productive and meaningful at the end of the day.

 

 

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Bibliography

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technological teacher education: Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 2005. Vol. 32 No. 2.

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2008, Routledge, New York.  p. 20-30.

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http://www.moe.gov.tt/pri_curriculum.html

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[1] Tyler, Ralph. Basic principles of curriculum and instruction, 1949, The University of Chicago

Press Ltd, London, 2013. p. 4-10.

[2] Rao, V. K. Principles of curriculum, New York: SAGE: (2013). p. 208-211.

[3] McKerman, James. Curriculum and imagination: process theory. Pedagogy and action research, 2008, Routledge,

New York.  p. 20-30.

[4] William, F. Pinar. International Handbook of Curriculum Research. (2013). Routledge. P. 151-180.

 

[5] Ministry of education. The primary school curriculum. 2013. Retrieved from

http://www.moe.gov.tt/pri_curriculum.html

 

[6] Barbara, K. Stripling, Sandra Hughes-Hassell. Curriculum connections through the library.

Libraries Unlimited, Oct 30, 2003. P.25-30.

[7] Allan, Luke, Annette Woods, Katie Weir. Curriculum, Syllabus Design and Equity: A Primer

and Model. Routledge. (2013). P. 155-160.

[8] Tyler, Ralph. Basic principles of curriculum and instruction, 1949, The University of Chicago

Press Ltd, London, 2013. p. 4-10.

[9] Barbara, K. Stripling, Sandra Hughes-Hassell. Curriculum connections through the library.

Libraries Unlimited, Oct 30, 2003. P.15-21.

[10] McKerman, James. Curriculum and imagination: process theory. Pedagogy and action

research, 2008, Routledge, New York.  p. 20-30.

[11] Howell, Robert. Five principles for guiding curriculum development practice: the case of

technological teacher education: Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 2005. Vol. 32 No. 2.

[12] Allan, Luke, Annette Woods, Katie Weir. Curriculum, Syllabus Design and Equity: A Primer

and Model. Routledge. (2013). P. 125-140.

[13] Pinar, William. International handbook of curriculum research, New York: Routledge. P. 54-68.

 

[14] Education Scotland. Principles for curriculum design. 2013. Retrieved from

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/thecurriculum/howisthecurriculumorganised/principles/

 

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