College of Education

Pedagogy (Curriculum and Instruction) Unit

Lecture Notes on Curriculum Development

Course Title: Curriculum Development (TECS 4084)

Course Load: 3 CHR
Target Groups: 4th year EdPM regular students
Course Instructor: Tesfaye Sewagegn

2015 E.C
Gondar, Ethiopia
 1. Introduction to Curriculum Studies
1.1. Definitions of curriculum
Like many of the academic subjects, the word curriculum has come from a Latin term “currier”.
It means a “running course” or a “race-course”. It is a sequence of courses or learning
experiences children learn from KG to University. The word curriculum has taken on an elusive,
almost mysterious connotation among different professionals.
The quest for nature and concept of curriculum has taxed many educators because curriculum lacks
clear boundaries to be studied as a field of study. They view it differently based on their own
experiences and perspectives. Some believe that curriculum lacks clear boundaries and
precisions. Curriculum is defined in different ways depending on the role of schools as perceived
by society and prescribed by educators. The definition of curriculum can be placed on a continuum
from the narrowly focused to broadly focused one.
Specific/ narrow focused / Definitions
The specific definitions imply activities, which are measurable and observable. Examples:

 Curriculum is an outline of a course of study (Murray Print, 1987).

 Curriculum is a set of subjects (Colin J. Marsh, 2001).
 Curriculum is a school timetable

Broad Definitions
The board definitions are open to many interpretations. In other words, one broad definition of the
word curriculum contains different specific concepts.
Ralph Tyler (1949): All of the learning of students which are planned and directed by the school
to attain its educational goals.
D. K. Wheeler (1967): By curriculum we mean the planned experiences offered to the learner
under the guidance of the school.
J. Lewis (1981): Define curriculum as a plan for providing sets of learning opportunities for
persons to be educated. Learning opportunity implies a planned and controlled relationship
between pupils, teacher, materials, equipment and the environment, in which it is hoped that
desired learning will take place.
M. Shilbeck (1984): The learning experiences of students, in so far as they are expressed or
anticipated in goals and objectives, plans and designs for learning and the implementation of
these plans and designs in school environments.
Glatthorn (1987): the curriculum is the plan made for guiding learning in schools, usually
represented in retrievable documents of several levels of generally, and the actualization of
those plans in the classroom, as experienced by the learners and as recorded by an observer;
those experiences take place in a learning environment which also influences what is learned.

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 Definition Based on the Role Placed on Schools
Curriculum could also be defined based on the roles of schools as prescribed by society or
educators. Here below are two of the many definitions:
Subject Center: Consider the role of schools as “Promoting students’ intellectual capacity”. Thus,
curriculum is defined as “the collection of subjects offered to students to train the intellectual
capacity”.
Experience Center: consider curriculum as a means to make students shape a new social order
and lead life in it, which involves everything that cover the planning process and the instructional
objectives
Although there are variations in the definitions of curriculum, the following are considered as
common ones:
Curriculum is a document that elaborates the general educational aims, contents, the
learning experiences, educational materials and the evaluation mechanisms to be
employed.
Curriculum is a discipline that studies about educational development process (planning,
implementing, evaluating) including mechanisms of change and improvements.
From the definition above, it is possible to state that a curriculum has the following
characteristics:
 It comprises the experiences of children which the school is responsible
 It has content
 It is planned
 It is a series of courses to be taken by students

1.2. Layers of Curriculum

Some literatures categorize curriculum as different layers and still some others categorize it as
types of curriculum. According to Ornstein, Behar-Horenstein, and Pagak (2003), curriculum has
following four layers
1. The Intended (Formal) Curriculum:
It is the written curriculum document in the form of syllabus, curriculum guide or teacher's
guide, textbook or even teacher's plan. It is a planned curriculum which includes what to
be taught, how it is intended and under what intended circumstances to be done. The
intended curriculum is rarely followed exactly by the teacher without any adjustment.
However, the teacher can add personal styles, best experiences, tried methods and personal
creativity.
2. The Expressed (Informal) Curriculum:
It has been also called the enacted (manifested) curriculum. It is said to be expressed
curriculum, because teachers express themselves through the enactment of the curriculum

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 in their teaching. In other words, it indicates the actual or implemented curriculum in which
teachers interact with students and contents. Teachers personal quality and philosophy has
a greater role to express themselves through the enactment of the curriculum in their
teaching. For instance, the teacher who has a good sense of humor will make jocks, while
the teacher who chronically barks orders will express the intended curriculum in just that
manner.
3. Hidden (Collateral/Covert) Curriculum:
It is the layer of curriculum, which might not be included in the planned curriculum, but
cannot be ignored during curriculum implementation and evaluation. It indicates the social
requirements of learning at school, which may have more long-lasting and pervasive
effects. The hidden curriculum involves the learning of attitudes, norms, beliefs, values
and assumptions often expressed as rules, rituals and regulations. For instance, to be
tolerant, share experiences and support to each other, to be patient, etc... are aspects of
instruction to be considered in the curriculum. As already implied, the hidden or collateral
curriculum is often responsible for the values students may exhibit later in life.
4. The Experienced (Actual/Enacted) Curriculum:
It is the sum total of the intended, expressed and hidden curriculum. It is the students' actual
experience in and outside of the classroom. Students would be given the opportunities to
release their own experiences developed from different background.

1.3. The Scope of Curriculum

Curriculum Scope denotes to the question what learning content, learning experience, methods,
etc., should be included to and excluded from the curriculum. Curriculum is delimited to the
knowledge of curriculum development, curriculum planning and curriculum design. Here below
is brief definition of the three domains of curriculum as a subject:
 Curriculum development is the process of making programmatic decisions and revising
those decisions on the basis of continuous and subsequent evaluation. It is the more
comprehensive term which comprises planning, implementation and evaluation.
It is concerned with how curriculum evolved, implemented, evaluated and what various
people, process and procedures are involved in the construction of the curriculum.

 Curriculum planning is a process of making the curriculum materials (the syllabus,

textbooks, teachers' guide, manuals and worksheets) after identifying objectives, selecting
contents, learning-experiences (methods of teaching and activities) instructional materials
and evaluation mechanisms.
 Curriculum design is a blue print which refers to the way that conceptualizes the
curriculum and arranges its major components (objectives, the subject matter or contents,
learning experiences, activities, instructional methods and materials) to provide direction
and guidance in developing the curriculum.
It refers to the way one conceptualizes a curriculum arranges its major components to
provide direction and guidance in developing the curriculum.

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 1.4. The Teacher and the Curriculum

Most governments invest heavily in education as a proportion of their total budget since they tend
to see the educational process as a primary means of producing the sort of intelligent and skilled
workforce required to operate in this changing environment at all levels of the economy. And
formal education is led by well-designed curriculum which is expected to be implemented by
teachers. Therefore, curriculum and teachers have strong relationship. The role of the teacher in
relation to curriculum could be explained as follows:

 Work as an instructional designer

 Work with their colleagues to adapt the curricular standards to their own teaching
 Work as an effective room manager
 Work with parents and community in designing your schoolwork and homework
 Write curricular goals and objectives
 Select subject matter (content)
 Choose instructional materials
 Identify resources in the school and community
 Sequence or re-sequence the subject matter
 Decide on the scope of the topics or course
 Revise the content
 Decide on types of instructional plans to use, construct the plans
 Tryout new programs
 Create developmental and remedial programs in reading or other subject matter
 Seek ways to provide for all kinds of individual difference in the classroom.
 Incorporate content mandated by bodies above the classroom
 Develop their own curricular materials.

1.5. Relationship between curriculum and instruction

Instruction is the how of teaching, the ways that students gain knowledge, the method that students
and the teacher interact each other inside or outside the classroom, the way that knowledge is
transfer from the teacher to the students ,the process, procedure, method, and strategies of teaching
to achieve the desired educational objective.
Curriculum and instruction are sub-system of the larger systems, schooling and education.
Curriculum focuses on planning learning experiences. It is a program in which contents of the
subject matter to be treated whereas instruction is an interaction between the teacher and the
students. It is a means that uses different activities to implement the curriculum. Although
curriculum and instruction are studied and analyzed as separate entities, they have related,
interlocked and interdependent functions. Curriculum can be conceived as the 'what' and
instruction as the 'how' of teaching. We may think of the curriculum as a program, a plan, content
and learning experiences, where as we may characterize instruction as methods, the teaching acts
or operations, implementation, and presentation. Curriculum and instruction might be recognized

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as two entities, but one may not function without the other. Generally speaking, curriculum is that
which is taught and instruction as the means used to teach that which is taught. The relationships
existing between curriculum and instruction are revealed by the following four models.
1. Dualistic model
This model puts curriculum on one side and instruction on the other. In such a way that they never
meet. Between the two entities lies a great gulf/difference. What take place in the classroom under
the direction of the teacher seems to have little relationship to what the master plan says should go
on the classroom. The planners ignore the instructions and in turn are ignored by the instructors.

Curriculum Instruction

Discussions of curriculum are divorced from their practical application to the classroom. Under
this model the curriculum and instruction process may change without significantly affecting one
another.
2. Interlocked model
When curriculum and instruction are shown as a system entwined, an interlocking relationship
exists. No particular significance is given to the position of instruction or curriculum in either of
the versions of this model. The same relationship is implied no matter which element appears on
the left or the right.

A B
This model clearly demonstrates and integrated relationship between these two entities. The
separation of one from the other would to serious harm to both. Curriculum planers would find it
difficult to regard instruction as paramount to curriculum and to determine teaching methods
before program objectives. Nevertheless, some faculties proceeded as if instruction were primarily
by dispensing with advanced planning of the curriculum and by letting it more or less develop as
it unfolds in the classroom.
3. Concentric model
The proceeding model of the relationship between curriculum and instruction reveal varying
degrees of interdependence, from complete detachment to interlocking relationships. Mutual
dependence is the key feature of concentric models. Two conception of the curriculum-instruction
relationship that show one as the sub system of the other.

Curriculum Instruction
A B
Instructio Curriculum

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 A clear hierarchical relationship comes through in both these models. Curriculum above
instruction in model “A” and instruction is pre dominant in model “B”. In model “A” instruction
is very dependent portion of the entity curriculum. Model “B” makes curriculum subservient to
and derivative from the more global instruction.
4. Cyclical model
The cyclical model conception of the curriculum & instruction relationship is a simplified system
model that stresses the essential element of the feedback. Curriculum and instruction are separate
entities with a continuing circular relationship. Curriculum makes continuous impact on
instruction and vice versa, instruction has impact on curriculum. This model implies that
instructional decisions are made after curricular decisions, which in turn are modified after
instructional decisions are implemented and evaluated. This process is continuous, repetition, and
never-ending. The evaluation of instructional procedures affects the next round of curricular
decision making, which again affects instructional implementation.

Curriculum Instruction

Common beliefs
As determined by Derebssa (2014), most curriculum theoreticians appear to agree with the
following comments.

 Curriculum and instruction are related but different

 Curriculum and instruction are inter locking and inter dependent
 Curriculum and instruction may be studied and analyzed as separate entities but cannot
function in mutual isolation.

1.6. Foundations of curriculum

Curriculum foundations may be defined as those basic forces that influence and shape the minds
of curriculum developers and hence the content and structure of the subsequent curriculum. The
major foundations are the following:

1.6.1. Philosophical foundation of curriculum

Philosophy gives meaning to our decisions and actions. It attempts to understand all that comes
within the bound of human experience. It aims at fundamental understanding of things.
Philosophical foundation of curriculum refers to the philosophies, values, ideals, and ideologies
which represent points of view that guide the development of the curriculum at a particular time.
Philosophy and philosophical assumptions are basic to all curriculum foundations as they are
concerned with making sense of what we encounter in our lives. How curriculum developers and

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implementers perceive the world, and hence education, may be determined by posing the following
three philosophical questions. These are:
What are real? Ontology: the inquiry into what is real as opposed to what is appearance, either
conceived as that which the methods of science presuppose, or that with which the methods of
science are concerned; the inquiry into the first principles of nature; the study of the most
fundamental generalizations as to what exists.
What is good? Axiology: the inquiry into the nature, criteria, and metaphysical status of value.
Although the term "axiology" is not widely used outside of philosophy, the problems of axiology
include (1) how values are experienced, (2) the kinds of value, (3) the standards of value, and (4)
in what sense values can be said to exist. Axiology then is the subject area which tries to answer
problems like these:
How are values related to interest, desire, will, experience, and means-to-end?
How do different kinds of value interrelate?
Can the distinction between intrinsic and instrumental values be maintained?
Are values ultimately rationally or objectively based?
What is the difference between a matter of fact and a matter of value?
There are two main subdivisions of axiology: ethics and aesthetics. Ethics involves the theoretical
study of the moral valuation of human action not just concerned with the study of principles of
conduct. Aesthetics involves the conceptual problems associated with describing the relationships
among our feelings and senses with respect to the experience of art and nature.
What is true? Epistemology: the inquiry into what knowledge is, what can be known, and what
lies beyond our understanding; the investigation into the origin, structure, methods, and validity
of justification and knowledge; the study of the interrelation of reason, truth, and experience.
Individuals will perceive and answer these questions in different ways and hence individual
philosophies emerge. In turn, differing philosophies will affect how individuals perceive and relate
to the curriculum.
Philosophy provides educators, especially curriculum specialists, with a framework for organizing
schools and classrooms. Since philosophy is the way we perceive the world around us and how we
define what is important to us, it helps us to understand what we are, why we are and where we
are going. Therefore; it provides curriculum specialists with a framework for broad issues and
helps to determine such elements of education:

 The goals of education

 The content and its organization
 What methods and materials to use?
 How students learn
 What subjects are of value
 How students are evaluated and their performance is improved
 The process of teaching and learning
 What experiences and activities they wish to stress in schools and classrooms etc.

It also provides educators with a basis for making such decisions as what work book, textbooks,

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or other cognitive and non-cognitive activities to utilize and how to utilize them, what homework
to assign and how much of it, how to test students and how to use the test results, and what courses
or subject matter to emphasize (Ornstein, Behar- Horenstein and Pajak, 2003)
The importance of philosophy in determining curriculum decisions is expressed well by
Hopkins (1941) in Ornestein (2003) as "philosophy has entered into every important decisions that
has ever been made about curriculum and teaching in the past and will continue to be the basis of
every important decision in the future". Basic philosophies influencing curriculum development
are: Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism and existentialism.
A. Idealism
Idealism is the oldest type of philosophical positions which begins with the writings of Plato,
Socrates, Descartes, Berkeley, Hegel, Hume, Kant and others. The idealists assume that truth does
not exist separate and apart from the individual or the society in which he/she lives. It must be
discovered and thereafter considered to be absolute and eternal in the eyes of its viewers. Idealists
give over emphasis to the intellectual aspects of life and little emphasis to the physical aspects.
For idealists, idea is regarded as a source of knowledge and the -world as a creation of the mind not
as natural phenomena. Reality is found in man's mind and God is the source of knowledge.
To them moral and spiritual reality are taken as the chief explanations of the world. They believe
that truth and value are absolute, timeless and universal. The world of mind and ideas is permanent,
regular and orderly. It represents a perfect order.
To know is to rethink the latent ideas that are already present in the mind. The teacher’s task is to
bring this latent knowledge to consciousness. They argue that knowledge of art; morality and
religion are such aspects of life which have got supreme importance.
Idealism and Curriculum
According to idealists, the purpose of education is to transmit the cultural heritage throughout the
ages. It is the eternal process of superior adjustment of the physically and mentally developed,
free, conscious, human being to God as manifested in the intellectual, emotional, and volitional
environment of man.
They prefer the order and pattern of subject matter curriculum that relates ideas and concepts to
each other. Their curriculum is hierarchical. Priority is given to philosophy, theology,
mathematics, language, history, geography, art and literature. The idealist teachers are expected to
bring inner spiritual growth, development of the inner striving towards self-hoods, to self-
consciousness and self-direction. Their method emphasizes on experience than nature and the self
than facts. They believe that the less mature self is stimulated to participate in experience of the
more matured self which lead them to broader and deeper selves.
B. Realism
Realism is another traditional school of thought originated and developed by Aristotle, Thomas
Aquinas, Pestalozzi, Harry Broudy and J. Wild. To them, the real world is the physical world.
They argued that people can come to know the world through their sense and reason. Everything
is derived from nature and is subject to its laws. Human behavior is rational when it confirms to
the laws of nature and when physical and social laws govern it. They believe that personal wants

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and feelings are subjective, subordinate and secondary. The mind has originated in the course of
evolution as anything else than being the cause of the universe.
Natural laws come out of observation and are thought to be the real world separate and apart from
the mind of the observer. The inductive method of gathering data is extensively used by the realists
to develop new principles and generalizations.
Realism and Curriculum
The curriculum under realism consists primarily of the physical and social sciences that explain
natural phenomena. Less emphasis is placed on language and more emphasis is given to
mathematics. The acquisition of subject matter (facts) is encouraged. This is because true
knowledge comes to the learner only when he/she can assimilate facts and see his/her
interrelationships in an insightful manner. The realists believe that subject matter experts are the
source of authority/knowledge.
C. Pragmatism
It is also referred as experimentalism. The known proponents of pragmatism are Charles Darwin
and John Dewey. It appeared in contrast to the traditional philosophies with a position of change,
process and relativity about truth. Pragmatism considers knowledge as a process in which reality
is constantly changing. Learning occurs as the person engages in problem solving which is
transferable to wide variety of situations. Knowledge is considered as transaction between learner
and environment. Pragmatism places little emphasis on the permanence of truth. As to these
philosophers all ideas are relative to the situations in which they arise and they are subject to
continuous verifications by consequences. So, no final, eternal and valid system of ideas or values
can be fixed up.
Pragmatism and Curriculum
Pragmatism does not presuppose a body of knowledge that must be mastered by each student. The
focal point for organizing the curriculum is the interest of the learners rather than the subject
matter. Thus, in the curriculum development, it is the learner who gets more attention than the
subject or the teacher.
The pragmatist curriculum is concerned with the realities of the learner's nature and of life. The
contents of the curriculum must be selected from different activities of real life. Pragmatists place
great deal of emphasis on method; or approach to learning. For the learner, it is most important to
acquire the method or process of solving problems in an intelligent manner.
For pragmatists the aim of education is to adjust the free, conscious, human being to the biological
and social environment in a creative manner. The curriculum should follow children’s natural
interests at the successive stages of their growth than mastering a prescribed body of knowledge.
Thus, the curriculum should include subjects which may give the necessary skills to students. This
may include language, hygiene, history, geography, physical training, science, domestic science,
etc.…

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 D. Existentialism
Existentialists are known by their endeavor that focuses on searching for the meaning of human
existence. They believe that faith and the meaning of existence are not things that can be imposed
up on the individual by some outside authority. The highest interest of the individual is the sole of
his/her existence and constitutes his/her reality. People are trust to a number of choices making
situations where some are minor and others significant. But choice must be given to the individual
and his/her decision should lead to personal self-definition. The life of the individual is meaningful
only when his/her individuality is accepted. This will lead him/her to individual supremacy over
the society.
Existentialism and the Curriculum
Existentialists believe that the root to knowledge is personal. Education should help the individual
find the meaning of his/her own existence where he/she can extract possibilities without exacting
reciprocal tribute of human compliance.
To them the goal of education should be self-development, self-fulfillment, creative and self-
direction. Pragmatists argue that arts, sciences and humanity subjects help children better to come
on to contact with the external world. These enable them to acquire subjective knowledge with the
help of the objective.
Major Educational Philosophies as foundations of Curriculum
The major educational philosophies are:

 Perennialism
 Essentialism
 Progressivism
 Reconstructionism
Each of these has roots in one or more of the major philosophical traditions. In this regard,
perennialism draws heavily on the principles of idealism. Essentialism is rooted in idealism and
realism. Progressivism and reconstructionism stem from pragmatism. Reconstructionism has also
linkages to existentialism.
1. Perennialism
Perennialism is the oldest and most conservative educational philosophy. It emphasizes at the
elementary level on the curriculum of 3 Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic) and the moral and
religious trainings; at the secondary level on the subjects as Latin/ language, rhetoric, logic and
geometry, etc. It relies on the past, which is asserted by agreed upon, universal and cherished value
of society
Since this philosophy is rooted from idealism, it advocates teacher-centered classrooms and subject
centered curriculum. The curriculum draws heavily on defined disciplines or logically organized
bodies of content. Its proponents call· it "liberal" education with attention on language, literature,
mathematics, arts, and science. There is little flexibility in the curriculum. They aim to sharpen
students' intellectual powers and enhance their moral qualities.

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Perennialists believe that the goal of education should be to develop rational thought and to create
disciplined minds to think rigorously.

They see education as a sorting mechanism, a way to identify and prepare the intellectually gifted'
for leadership, while providing vocational training for the rest of learners. They emphasize on
common curriculum, a academic standards and programs, tests and examinations, etc.
The perennialist Classroom: Students in a perennialist classroom spend considerable time and
energy mastering the three "Rs", Reading, " Writing" and "Arithmetic"; moral and religious
training at elementary level. At secondary level, the curriculum emphasizes on subjects like
language, literature, mathematics, and sciences Latin, Greek, grammar, rhetoric, logic, and
geometry. Greatest importance is placed on reading, and unlocking the enduring ideas found in the
Great Books. The students' mind is considered as a sponge for absorbing knowledge. Special
attention is given to teaching values and character training, often through discussion about the
underlying values and moral principles in a story. The teacher is understood as source of
knowledge/an authority in a field of study. Teaching is based on oral exposition, lecture, and
explanation.
2. Progressivism
Progressivism developed as protest against perennialism thinking in education. It is usually
considered as a reform movement in educational, social and political affairs. Progressivism
developed from pragmatic philosophy, and organizes schools around the concerns, curiosity, and
real-world experiences of students. The progressive teacher facilitates learning by helping
students formulate meaningful questions and devise strategies to answer those questions. John
Dewey is among the proponent figure of this philosophy. It also emphasizes on the child as a
learner rather than on the subject. According to progressivists, people learn best through social
interaction in the real world. They do not believe that the mind can be disciplined through
reading Great Books, rather the mind should be trained to analyze experiences thoughtfully and
draw conclusions objectively.
The progressive classroom: In the progressive classroom, the teacher is not standing at the front
of the room talking to rows of seated students, rather learners work in small groups, moving about
and talking freely. Progressivists build the curriculum around the experiences, interests and
abilities of students, and encourage students to work together cooperatively. Teachers feel no
compulsion to focus their students' attention on one discrete discipline at a time. Opportunities are
given for students to integrate several subjects in their studies.
3. Essentialism
Essentialism is surfaced in the 1930s as a reaction to progressivism. Essentialism which originated
from both idealism and realism strives to teach students the accumulated knowledge of civilization
through core courses in the traditional academic disciplines. They aim to fill students with: the
3R's at the elementary school levels and five academic or essential subjects such as mother tongue
language, mathematics, science, history, and foreign language at the secondary level.

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Essentialists aim to instill students with the essentials of academic knowledge, patriotism and
character development. This traditional or "back-to basics" approach is meant to train the mind,
promote reasoning and ensure a common culture among students.
The Essentialist Classroom: Students receive information in skills such as writing, reading,
measuring, and computing. Even when studying art and music, subjects most often associated with
the development of creativity, students master a body of information and basic techniques, and
gradually moving to more complex skills and detailed knowledge. According to essentialists, it is
only by mastering the required material that students are promoted to the next higher level.
For essentialists, classrooms should be oriented around the teacher, who should serve as an
intellectual and moral role model for the students. The teacher decides what is most important for
the students to learn and place little emphasis on student interests. Teachers rely on achievement
test scores to evaluate students' progress. Essentialists expect that students will leave school
possessing not only basic skills and an extensive body of knowledge, but also disciplined practical
minds, capable of applying school house lessons in the real world.
4. Social Reconstructionism/critical theory
This was developed in reaction to child-centered education which they believe that the curriculum
mainly served the individual child and the middle class. They argued for society-centered
education with major emphasis on cultural pluralism, internationalism and featuring. It encourages
schools, teachers, and students to focus their studies on alleviating pervasive social inequities, and
as the name implies, reconstruct society into a new and more just social order. A social
reconstructionist teacher must model democratic principles. Students are expected to live and learn
in a democratic culture; the students themselves must select educational objectives and social
priorities. According to this philosophy the world is becoming a global village with many
alternatives and society is always changing and hence the curriculum must be changed always.
The social reconstructionist classroom
A social reconstructionist teacher creates lessons that both intellectually inform and emotionally
stir students about the inequities that surround them. The teacher's role would be as facilitator. In
a social reconstructionist class, a research project is more than an academic exercise; the class is
engaged in a genuine effort to improve society.
5. Existentialism
Existentialism places to highest degree of importance on student perceptions, decisions and
actions. They reject the existence of any source of objective, authoritative truth other than the
individual.
Individuals are responsible for determining for themselves what is true or false, right or wrong,
beautiful or ugly. In short, it is up to the student to make all relevant educational decisions, and to
evaluate those decisions.
The Existentialist classroom: In the existentialist classroom, subject matter takes second place to
helping the students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals. The teacher's
role is to help students define their own essence by exposing them to various paths they may take
in life and by creating an environment in which they can freely choose their way. Existentialism,

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more than the other educational philosophies, allows students great freedom in their choice of
subject matter and activity.
The existentialist curriculum often emphasizes the humanities as a means of providing students
with vicarious experiences that will help allow to run free their creativity and self- expression. For
example, existentialists focus on the actions of historical individuals, each of whom provides a
model for the students to explore.
Existentialist learning is self-paced, self-directed, and includes a great deal of individual contact
with the teacher. Thus, honest interpersonal relationships between the teacher and students are
emphasized

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 Perennialism Essentialism Progressivism Social
reconstructionism
Origins Idealism Idealism/realism pragmatism Pragmatism/
Existentialism
/events of history
Goals Development of Preserve and Reconstruct Reconstruction of
intellectual and transmit the basic experiences existing society
spiritual potential elements of human related to needs
culture and interests of
students and
society
Curriculum Curriculum based Subject-centered Child centered A curriculum
on great works of curriculum. Basic curriculum, based on social
literature history, skills of literacy and emphasizing reform. Emphasis
science, math (elementary), problem solving on social science
philosophy. Basic content of history, activities, projects and process.
skills that are English, science, related to child’s
constant and a literature, math, interests,
preparation for foreign integration of
life. language(secondary) subject areas, and
social issues.
Methods and Didactic methods Direct teaching for Problem solving, Democratic
Teachers developing mastery of essential active group cooperative
rationality. skills. Teachers must learning activities. learning. Teachers
Knowledgeable be competent in Teachers should should identify
and asks probing subject matter and be stimulator, major social
questions and has method. consultants to problems and
directing students, and direct students to
discussions active in the study them
curriculum impartially.
planning and
operation of the
school.

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 1.6.2. Psychological Foundations of Curriculum
Psychology deals about investigating mental process and behavior of persons. It provides us with
theories of learning, which deals with nature of learners and learning. Similarly, curriculum deals
with learning experiences capable to empower children with the knowledge, skills and attitudes
that are used to solve problems, create new things, use their environment adequately, etc.
Psychological foundations consist of the accumulated knowledge which guides the learning
process and allows the teacher who is executing the curriculum to make intelligent decisions
regarding the behavior of the learners. As mankind continues to explore and develop, the discipline
of psychology holds great promise in strengthening the process toward enlightened human
behavior.
This is evident that psychology and curriculum are closely related to each other curriculum
concepts such as selecting, organizing and implementing objectives, contents, instructional
methods and materials, assessment/evaluation mechanisms are mainly taken from and determined
based on learning theories, principles and analysis given in the field of psychology.
Psychology and Curriculum
Psychology is concerned with how people do learn. It provides a basis for understanding the
teaching and learning process, Teaching and learning are interrelated, and psychology cements the
relationship. Psychology provides the theories and principles that influence teacher student
behaviors within the context of the curriculum. In short, psychology is the unifying element of the
learning process. It forms the basis for the methods, materials, and activities of learning, and it
subsequently serves as the impetus for many curriculum decisions. In psychology, there are many
theories of learning which deals with the learning processes.
Different writers have formulated different theories of learning that explain the process of learning
from different perspectives. It is really difficult to give a single theory, which satisfies all interested
persons.
The major learning theories may be broadly categorized as:
A.Mental discipline
B.Connectionism
C.Behaviorism
D.Gestalt Theory
E.Cognitive theory

A. Mental Discipline Theory of Learning

This theory was also known as faculty psychology. The theory assumes that the mind is made up
of series of faculties, each of which are related to a particular function of ability of mind. For them
learning was presumed to be the training of various faculties of mind where memory is one of the
faculties.
Mental discipline and the curriculum
Mental discipline is the prevailing theory during the period when rote memory is the primary
learning process. Curriculum content is often chosen on the basis of how well it would discipline

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and exercise the mind, rather than mere consideration of its value in the life of the student. The
curriculum designed to meet the needs of the philosophy rather than its contribution to the life of
students. As a result of this they give priority to subjects such as foreign language, mathematics
and sciences.
B. Connectionism
Connectionism is a theory of learning based on the connection of the various elements of the
nervous system in causing behavior. Edward, L. Thorndike is the first advocator of the theory of
connectionism. This theory has served as the point of departure for all learning theories since then.
According to this theory, the basis of learning is an association between the sense impression and
impulses to action. This association came to be known as a bond or connection. These bonds or
connections become strengthened or weakened in making or breaking of habit.
According to Thorndike, learning means the establishment of proper relations between stimulus
and response. That is why his theory is known as connectionism theory of learning. He formulated
three laws of learning:
1. The Law of Effect: The law of effect is the strengthening or weakening of a connection based
on the consequence brought about by the connection. If a connection produces results, it is
strengthened and the connection is likely to be repeated. If a connection produces unpleasant or
annoying results, it is weakened and it is less likely to be repeated.
2. The Law of Exercise: The law of exercise is related to repeating or failing to repeat a
connection. Repeating or exercising a connection strengthens the connection, that is, it raises the
probability that particular set of circumstance could be expected to yield the same reaction.
3. The Law of Readiness: The law of readiness is an aspect of the law of effect. It has to do with
the tendency of the physiological neurons to operate or to conduct in order for connection to be
made.
Connectionism theory and the curriculum
The curriculum dictated by connectionism has a great deal of drill and repetition in it. Effort is
made to select experiences, which are selected on the basis of their securing a satisfying reaction
from the learner.
C. Behaviorism Theory
The proponents of this school of psychology were Watson, Skinner, Thorndike, Pavlov and
Guthrie. These scholars believe that learning is a continual interaction of individuals with the
environment, which is more determinant factor in learning than heredity. They argued that
learning brings about change in behavior. Human behavior can be controlled, predicted and
modified. Behavioral changes are objectively observable.
Behaviorism and Curriculum
The curriculum implied by behaviorism differs little from that of connectionism. Behaviorists view
curriculum as all the conditioned responses produced by selected, organized and manipulated
stimuli.
Accordingly, they believe in drill, reinforcement, association and habit formation methods of
learning. Learning experiences are selected based on their place to reinforce learning or bring

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conditioned responses. For them learning experiences are conditioned responses.
D. Cognitive View of Learning
Cognitive theorists believe that learning is the result of our attempts 'to make senses of the world.
For them the ways we think about situations along with our knowledge, expectations, feelings
and interactions with others, influence how and what we learn. According to cognitivists view,
people are active learners who initiate experiences and seek out information to solve problems
and recognize what they already know to achieve new insights. Instead of being passively
influenced by environmental events, learners actively choose practice, pay attention, ignore, and
make many other divisions as they pursue goals.
Their assumptions about learning can be summarized as follows:
 Cognition is fundamental for action
 Individuals are creator of knowledge
 Learning is a question of organizing, understanding and integrating self-experiences.
 Learning is primarily determined by our conscious mind.
For them curriculum is learning experiences that students learn both inside and outside the schools
and contents are means of learning. They believe in learning by doing or problem-solving methods
of learning- which in fact are considered as their contributions.
E. Gestalt Theory of Learning
Gestalt comes from German word which means pattern or structure. The German Wolfgang Kohler
is its founder. According to this theory, learning is the reorganization of parts into meaningful
whole. It should be patterned, coherent and governed by generalities and principles. The child
should be treated as a whole and nothing to be imposed on the learner. Their theory focuses on the
factors that affect perception. For them understanding is based upon insight.
A learning situation is taken as problem situation. The learner perceives the problem as he/she
focuses his/her experiential background up on the problem situation. In viewing the learning
situation, the learner perceives a likely solution and tries that solution. Through such experiences
the learner develops insight.

Gestalt Theory and Curriculum

Gestalt theory leads to the development of a curriculum that offers the learner an opportunity to
discover processes and relationships. Emphasis is placed upon perceiving a whole in order to
understand the importance of a specific. Generalities and principles are emphasized in preference
to isolated facts and meaningless drills.
1.6.3. Historical foundations of curriculum
Historical foundations refer to a systematic analysis of curriculum developments during a given
period of time. The formulations of the school program in the past which have persisted until the
present or which have an influence on the present are the historical foundations of curriculum. It
may be found in the form of a chronological recording of educational events pertaining to
curriculum or delineating and tracing various educational movements during a selected period of

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time- both of which are helpful in understanding the historical and traditional foundations of
curriculum.
Historical foundation of curriculum requires understanding about the past, concrete current
situations and the trends for the future at national, local, as well as school level. Knowledge of
historical foundation is very important that it:
 Can help to know what happened before and make better judgments about what
might happen today or tomorrow under similar circumstances.
 Can help to study the past that might remind us to ask questions about the present
that we might have over looked.
 Can help discover that people who lived before us created something we can use to day
 Can help to make responsible curriculum discussion or search for alternatives to
adjust or adopt the curriculum.
 Can help not make unnecessary duplications and keep the standard of education.
1.6.4. Social Foundations of Curriculum
Social foundations are the concepts and theories of the way that groups manifest themselves in
their culture. Social foundation of curriculum is the area of study which analyses the relationships
of individuals, groups and institutions which have existed in the culture and through which human
activity has been conducted. In every society the curriculum is a reflection of what the people
think, fell, believe and do. The social foundation of curriculum encompasses the systematic study
of groups and institutions in the culture with reference to their contribution to the process and
development of the educational system as well as the established practice in the school system.
Knowledge of social foundations has the following importance in developing the curriculum:
 It helps us to consider the national and global cultural values.
 It helps us to recognize individual difference of the students and accommodations.
 It helps us to understand and use the available resources existing in the society.
 It helps us to identify the useful and harmful traditions that the harmful ones would be
replaced by scientific or modern one
1.6.5. Science and Technology as Foundations of Curriculum
Science and technological advancement brought changes in every field of human life and made
man efficient. This has implication to curriculum development that:
 The need for the inclusion of many things to be learned and culture to be transmitted.
 Updating the curriculum to satisfy the increasing demand of skilled man power.
 Securing knowledge about what is going on around the world and making it part and
parcel of one’s life with respect to science and technology.

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2. Curriculum development process
Curriculum design model refers to structures/patterns which, serve as frameworks or guidelines to
a certain action required while developing the curriculum. Curriculum development seems as the
process for making programmatic decisions and for revising the products of those decisions on the
basis of continuous and subsequent evaluation. According to Taba, if one conceives of curriculum
development as a task requiring orderly thinking, one needs to examine both the order in which
decisions are made and the way in which they are made to make sure that all relevant
considerations are brought to bear on these decisions. There are various models of curriculum
development. Objective, process, and situational analysis models are the commonly used models.
Hereunder are the details of the models.

2.1. Curriculum Development Models

2.1.1. The Objective Model
The objectives model takes as its major premise the idea that all learning should be defined in
terms of what students should be able to do after studying the program, in terms of learning
outcomes or learning objectives. Care must be taken not to focus on the objectives to a trivial level
or narrow specification as this limit the teacher and valuable learning experiences may be lost.
Using an objectives model enables the construction of assessments which can be designed against
the learning objectives.

The objectives model is a systematic approach to course planning. It forms part of Outcomes Based
Education (OBE) which states that “educators should think about the desirable outcomes of their
programs and state them in clear and precise terms. By using an outcome approach, educators are
forced to give primacy to what learners will do and to organize their curricula accordingly” This
model is greatly influenced by behavioral psychology and systematized into a coherent rational by
Ralph W. Tyler. The following are sub models of the objective model.

A. Tyler's Model
One of the earliest and well-known curriculum experts is Ralph Tyler. This model is also named
as “End-Means” model. According to him, in a planning curriculum, four basic questions must
be answered. The answers to these questions represent a design or a model for curriculum planning.
That is, anyone who must design a plan a curriculum must consider his model based on answers
to the four questions, which are:

1. What educational purpose(s) must the school seek to attain? (i.e., what are the ends
being sought or objectives for educating the learners in the society?
2. What educational experiences must be provided to attain these purposes or objectives
(i.e., the school subjects, activities or general content of the learning experiences)
3. How can the educational experiences be effectively organized to achieve the objects?
(This includes personnel (teachers, etc.) to be involved, and the instructional materials
to be used and the methods etc.).
4. How can we determine whether or not the expected objectives are attained or being
attained? (This deals with the use tests, examinations and other methods of evaluation).

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Based on the above questions, Tyler's rationale has four stages:
1. Determining educational objectives
2. Selection of learning experiences
3. Organization of learning experiences
4. Determining relevant evaluation strategies
The model is linear in nature, starting from objectives and ending with evaluation. In this model,
evaluation is terminal. It is important to note that:
Objectives form the basis for the selection and organization of learning experiences.
Objectives form the basis for assessing the curriculum.
Objectives are derived from the learner, contemporary life and subject specialist.
To Tyler, evaluation is a process by which one matches the initial expectation with the outcomes.
He also suggests that the objectives must be clearly stated in behavioral terms. That is, the
objectives should be stated in terms of measurable and observable outcomes. He was of the opinion
that the curriculum objectives dictate the direction in which the other elements in the process would
logically follow. The emphasis of this model therefore is the statement of objectives behaviorally
so that it may be measurable.
Application of Ralph Tyler’s model
In applying Tyler’s model to curriculum design, the process starts with coming up with objectives
for the curriculum. Because of its emphasis on importance of objectives, it is considered to be an
objective based model. This process starts with analyzing information from various data sources.
Data sources for curriculum according to Tyler include:
 Contemporary society / life. For this source, the designer analyses the issues affecting
society that could be solved through education. Examples of these are; cultural issues,
socio-economic issues, and health issues such as HIV/Aids among others.
 Learner’s needs and interests.
 Subject specialists / subject matter.
From these sources, the designer comes up with educational purposes/general objectives. These
are subjected to a screening process, using philosophy of education and psychology of learning as
the major screening criteria. Social values are also used as a screening tool, but sometimes these
are subsumed in philosophy of education. This yields a feasible number of objectives that can be
focused on in education.
Specific objectives are then derived from the general objectives. For each of the specific objectives,
learning experiences are identified. In this context, the learning experiences include the subject
matter / content and the learning activities. The next step is organization of learning experiences.
This is done to ensure effective learning takes place. The various principles of organization
include: scope, sequence, integration, continuity, among others. The final step involves evaluation,
to determine the extent to which the objectives have been met. Feedback from the evaluation could
then be used to modify the learning experiences and the entire curriculum as found necessary.
Specific objectives are then derived from the general objectives. For each of the specific objectives,
learning experiences are identified. In this context, the learning experiences include the subject
matter / content and the learning activities. The next step is organization of learning experiences.

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This is done to ensure effective learning takes place. The various principles of organization
include: scope, sequence, integration, continuity, among others. The final step involves evaluation,
to determine the extent to which the objectives have been met. Feedback from the evaluation could
then be used to modify the learning experiences and the entire curriculum as found necessary.

Selection of Selection of
Organization Evaluation of
Aims and learning
of contents objectives
objectives experiences

Figure 1: Pictorial presentation of Tyler’s Model

His major contribution to the curriculum planning process is the introduction into curriculum
vocabulary what is now known as Behavioral Objectives. In spite of Tyler’s contributions, his
model of curriculum planning was severely criticized on the following grounds:
It presents curriculum planning in a linear form, without showing the interconnected dress
of the process;
Each of the elements are being presented as if they are discreet categories that is, as if there
is no relationship among them;
It presents evaluation, the fourth step, as a terminal point.
However, in spite of these criticisms, the Tyler model has several advantages: It is relatively easy
to understand and apply. It is rational and systematic. Tyler’s model has made a significant
contribution to the field of curriculum development as it provides the foundation upon which
others made improvement to the curriculum development process. It focuses attention on curricular
strengths and weaknesses, rather than being concerned solely with the performance of individual
students.
As Guba and Lincoln (1981) pointed out, however, it suffers from several deficiencies. It does not
suggest how the objectives themselves should be evaluated. It does not provide standards or
suggest how standards should be developed. Its emphasis on the prior statement of objectives may
restrict creativity in curriculum development, and it seems to place undue emphasis on the pre-
assessment and post-assessment, ignoring completely the need for formative assessment.

B. Wheeler’s Model
Another scholar who contributed to curriculum development is wheeler (1967). He presented his
model in his book curriculum process. He seemed to further build upon the work of Tyler (1971)
by presenting a model that shows the interrelatedness of each of the elements. He argued that each
step is interconnected and that evaluation can take place at any place in the development process,
rather than at the last step.
Wheeler’s emphasis is on learning experiences, whereas Tyler’s was on learning outcome.
Wheeler’s major concern was how the learner will be provided with an opportunity to interact with
the learning environment in order to bring about learning. These are the major differences between
Tyler and wheeler’s models. Wheeler’s model consists of the following five steps, instead of four
proposed by Tyler:
1. Determination of aims and objectives: The objective tells the planner the direction of
educational development and forms the basis for distinguishing between learning resulting

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 from classroom environment and learning resulting from other sources than the classroom.
Thus, in specifying objectives, wheeler goes a step further in specifying between what is learnt
in the classroom and outside it respectively. This leads to the second step;
2. Selection of Learning Experiences: This is a major difference from Tyler’s model. Here,
wheeler is concerned with the learner and the learning environment with which he interacts.
For example, what kind of learning environment is provided for the learner involved in mental
activities as opposed to those involved in physical activities such as in playing writing and
construction projects;
3. Selection of Content: This involves the preparation of content; the subject to be taught and
the topics to be specified;
4. Organization and Interpretation of Learning Experience: This is as in Tyler’s model;
5. Evaluation: In this model, evaluation is considered as a broad concept, not in terms of paper
and pencil tests. It is something that can take place at any stage of the curriculum process, with
the outcomes serving again as input into further development of the step. Hence his model is
considered cyclic and not linear like Tyler.
Following now is a visual presentation of the Wheeler’s model.

Aims, Goals
and
objectives

Selection of
Evaluation Learning
Experiences

Organization
and Selection of
Interpretation
of Learning Content
Experience

Figure 2: Pictorial presentation of the Wheeler’s Model

C. The Taba Model

Taba (1962) also presented a cyclic model of curriculum planning and added additional elements.
Taba also built upon Tyler’s (1971) model. The major contribution of this model is the attempt to
bridge the gap between theory and practice. She (i.e., Taba) presented a seven-step process of
curriculum planning as follows:
1. Diagnosis of needs: the curriculum developer begins by determining the needs of the
students for whom the curriculum is being planned. The curriculum worker should
diagnose the gaps, deficiencies, and variations in students' backgrounds.
2. Formulation of educational objectives or goals: after students` needs have been
diagnosed, the curriculum planner specifies objectives to be achieved.

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 3. Selection of contents
4. Organization of contents
5. Selection of learning experiences
6. Organization of learning experiences or activities
7. Determination of what to evaluate and of the ways and means of doing it.
In the model, as can be seen Taba had gone on to further modify the cyclic model, by adding two
more steps. One emphasizes the importance of diagnosing needs before formulating objectives –
this is a kind of evaluation even as a first step in the design such that the needs identified formed
the basis for stating objectives. She also specified the ways and methods of carrying the evaluation
at step seven such that it may be both summative and formative.
Strengths of the objective model
It can be applied to any subject and to any level of teaching
It provides a set of procedures which are necessary and very easy to follow and which
appear to be most logical and rational.
Weaknesses of the objective model
The separation of the curriculum development steps tends to under estimate the
interrelationship, which occur in any curriculum planning activity.
It gives more emphasis for the intended curriculum by not valuing the unintended one
There are no explicit guidelines about why certain objectives are chosen over the others.
2.1.2. The Process Model
The process model assumes that content and learning activities have an intrinsic value and they
are not just a means of achieving learning objectives and that translating behavioral objectives is
trivializing. Stenhouse (1975) argued that there were four fundamental processes of education:
 Training (skills acquisition)
 Instruction (information acquisition)
 Initiation (socialization and familiarization with social norms and values)
 Induction (thinking and problem solving)
He claimed that behavioral objectives were only important in the first two processes and that in
initiation and induction it would not be possible to use objectives. From this it was suggested that
behavioral objectives were inappropriate for PBL, professional development or clinical problem
solving. Approaches to course design under the process model include the ‘intellectual approach’,
which examines the subject matter in terms of assumptions held in the discipline with regard to a
particular body of information, knowledge and skills.
Generally, in this model the following issues have got due attention
a. Selection of contents- the content shows important procedures, key concepts and
criteria inherent in the field of knowledge.
b. Devising teaching methods and materials which are consistent with the principles,
concepts, and criteria in such activities.
c. Selection of principles of procedures (learning strategies)
d. Evaluation by criteria inherent in the field of knowledge.

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 Strong sides of the process model
 It offers higher personal and professional development.
 It considers learning as a process, but not as an end.
 It gives high attention to both intended and unintended learning.
Weaknesses of the process model
 It is vulnerable to subjectivity
 It assumes/gives autonomy for individual teachers
2.1.3. The Situation Analysis Model
According to this model, curriculum development is the process of examining the context for
which a curriculum is to be developed & the application of situational analysis to curriculum
planning. Developers of this model forwarded that curriculum development must take place based
on the situations of individual schools & teachers who are working there. The school situations
are:
I. External situations/factors which include:
 Expectations and requirements of parents and employers
 Community assumptions and values including adult- child relations
 The changing nature of the subject disciplines.
 Actual and anticipated flow of recourses in schools.
 The potential contribution of teacher support systems. E.g., Teacher training institutes.
 Changes and trends in society (E.g., political directives, cultural movements) and so
forth.
II. Internal factors such as:
 Student related factors
 Teacher related factors
 School management systems
 Resource related factors
 Perceived and felt problems and shortcomings in the existing curriculum
 The presence of school facilities
Stages of curriculum development in situation analysis
1. Situation analysis-is analyzing both the internal and external factors and involves a
review of the situation and an analysis of the interaction of different elements of the
existing situations.
2. Goal formulation-goals are derived from the outcomes of the situation analysis.
3. Program building-includes selection of subject matter, sequencing of teaching and
learning episodes, the development of staff and the choice of appropriate
supplementary materials and media.
4. Interpretation and implementation-is a process of tackling problems related to:
o anticipation of the already designed/modified curriculum and
o changing the curriculum into action
5. Monitoring, assessment, feedback and reconstruction: this includes '''providing on-
going assessment of progress
6. Keeping adequate records based on responses obtained from the on-going
assessment.

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The best approach to curriculum design is to combine the best of both approaches according to
student need, teacher experience and organizational structure and resources. For example, it is
useful to design the overall shape of the course, the main aims and learning objectives, broad
content areas and time allocation centrally but then devolve out the detailed planning and design
to those teachers who will be delivering the course so that they have ownership of their program.

3. Basic elements in curriculum development

3.1. Need Assessment / Diagnosis in Curriculum Development
Need is a gap between the present status of an individual/society and the desirable objective. It is
one of the major preliminary activities of curriculum development. Need assessment is an activity
of identifying and validating needs and establishing priorities among different needs. It involves
the identification of the gaps that exist between the current state of affairs and the desired changes.
This gap between the actual and the expected can be in relation to the learners as well as the larger
society. Need can be understood, therefore, as deficiencies or the missing behaviors, traits, or
features which should be fulfilled as a result of the implementation of the curriculum.
According to Pratt (1980) need assessment is the collection of both opinions and facts from all
those concerned and involved in the education of the youth. Need diagnosis is an essential part of
curriculum development and revision (Taba 1962). It is instrumental to make the curriculum
relevant to the needs of the time and of the students, and to determine the kinds of objectives that
should be emphasized. The diagnosis involves identifying what the students know and understand
what skills and capabilities they have and what they lack.

3.1.1. Sources of Information for Needs Assessment

Educators believe that the following are important sources of evidence during need assessment.
1. Parents
Parents would talk about what they aspire for their students. They can also suggest problems and
realities of life that prevail in the society.
2. Politically influential individuals and pressure groups
These groups can include committees within government offices, teacher organization, and
members of school boards, school administrators, and teachers, religious r political groups,
commentators, and writers with special interest in education. Involving these groups is helpful that
their attitude would not be a challenge in implementing the curriculum.
3. Students
Basically, the curriculum is designed with the ultimate purpose of bringing about changes of
behavior on the students. Thus, the needs of the students should be given a central importance in
the curriculum.
4. Teachers
Teachers know very well about the needs, interests, and difficulties of their students. Teachers are
also the ones who implement the curriculum. Teachers should be well informed about the

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objectives as well as means of school curriculum. Thus, they should be consulted and need to take
part in the planning of curriculum.
5. Academic Specialists
Academic specialists are subject specialists who are experts with higher levels of training and
experience in various disciplines. Their recommendations and suggestions are valuable in the
formulation of objectives, and in the selection and organization of the means of the curriculum.
6. Employers
Employers are stakeholders of the work of the schools. That is, the different institutions and
organizations that employ graduates of the educational institutions have a strong interest in the
type and nature of what the students learn in schools.
7. Graduates
Graduates are those who have undergone through the existing educational programs. Graduates
have the opportunity to evaluate what they have learned in school in relation to the world of work
they are in. They can tell what was valuable and helpful to their life. Equally they can suggest what
was less important and less relevant. Therefore, consulting graduates would be helpful in planning
curriculum.
In addition, public representatives, community agencies, interested groups and leading thinkers
need to be consulted and participate in the preliminary steps of curriculum development.

3.1.2. Instruments of Data Collection

In order to carry out a systematic need assessment, curriculum planners need to employ specialized
techniques and methods of data collection. These techniques or methods can be those which are
used to gather data in the survey and other types of research investigations. Some of the methods
are questionnaire, interview, observation, reading, public hearing and analysis of social indicators,
documents analysis, etc.

3.2. Formulating Educational Aims, Goals, and Objectives

The major points towards which educators direct their activities are referred to as statements of
educational purposes. Such statements of educational purposes or end points are often associated
with certain common terms like aims, goals or objectives. Such terms are indicators of expected
educational outcomes even though they differ in scope (generality and specificity) and time
(immediacy and long lasting). Formulating educational aims or purposes is, thus, one of the major
components of curriculum development process. The aims of curriculum determine the “why” of
education. Policy makers first determine the national aims of education. Based on the national
aims of education, the goals and objectives of the curriculum will be selected. Each of these terms
is treated below.
Aims: are general and open statements formulated at philosophical level and they provide direction
to more specific action designed to achieve future product or behavior. Aims are open to different
interpretations.
They are considered as vision and slogans to respond for the question "why to educate?"
 They serve the crucial function of guiding education

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  They are orientations, not specific quantifiable outcomes
 They are too general to guide particular instructional decisions
Example of aims:
To cultivate personal talents and interests.
To create sense of national identity.
Goals: are specific statements derived from various aims and provide the teachers and educators
with broad statements of what they should accomplish in terms of students learning as a result of
a particular subject or educational program. While aims are open statements dealing with the
general process of education, goals are relatively specific and show some reference to a particular
subject area of a curriculum. They are expected to be practiced at institutional level (School,
College, University, etc.)
To make the distinction between aims and goals of education more practical, examine the
following example.
Aim of education: Economic efficiency
Goals of education: Students will gain appropriate career education and knowledge of the
world of work including an understanding of the nature and place of work in the society
Objectives: An objective is an intended outcome of a planned program of teaching. We can have
either general objectives (goals) or specific objectives (intended learning outcomes). As aims are
translated in to specific goals, goals will further be translated in to objectives.
The sequence can be illustrated as:
General Specific
Philosophy Aims Goals
objectives objectives

Educational objectives are divided into two:

A. General/course/unit objectives
 Stated at course or unit level.
 Are sources of lesson/ specific objective.
 Derived directly from educational goals and indirectly from philosophy and aims of
education.
 Written by the teacher
 Stated in terms of students’ behavior
Examples of General Educational Objectives:
At the end of this course/unit, students will be able to:
1. demonstrate skills in manipulating the computer.
2. understand the process of curriculum development
B. Specific objective/lesson/instructional objectives/
 Use active verbs
 Written by the teacher
 Derived from general objectives
 Show students level of proficiency

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  Are highly specific and easily measurable (SMART)
 Written in terms of students’ behavior
Examples of specific educational objectives:
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
 Define the term curriculum.
 Identify tools of data gathering tools for need assessment
Sources of Educational Objectives
Tyler recommended that curriculum planners should identify objectives of education by
gathering data from three sources:
a. The learners/students
b. The contemporary society
c. The subject matter
a) Students as a source of educational objectives
The curriculum worker begins his/her search for educational objectives by gathering and analyzing
data relevant to student needs and interests. The total range of needs to be studied include:
educational, social, occupational, physical, psychological, and recreation. The curriculum designer
can use observations of students; interviews with students, parents, teachers, employers and others;
questionnaires; and tests as techniques for collecting data about students. By examining the needs
and interests of students, the curriculum developer identifies a set of potential objectives.
b) Contemporary Society as Source of Educational Goals/Aims
Analysis of contemporary life in both local community and in society at large is a necessary step
in the process of formulating general objectives. Different aspects of life such
as health, family, recreation, vocation, religion, consumption, culture, economy and civic roles can
be treated in analyzing needs of the society. From the needs of the society many potential
educational objectives can be identified.
c) Subject matter as source of educational aims
Educational goals may be pertinent to specific disciplines or may cut across disciplines. The
purpose of the school is to transmit to students the knowledge, beliefs and skills which prepare the
learner for full-fledged adult life.
3.3. Selection of Contents and Learning Experiences
Contents are elements of a subject matter, which help the learner in the acquisition of knowledge,
the development of skills, habits, attitudes, values, and so on. They are the experiences that help
the individual to achieve the required changes.
Contents are seen as vehicles for the all-round development of the learners' intellectual abilities,
physical abilities and skills as well as value systems. They are the means to develop the social,
emotional, ethical and aesthetic qualities in addition to the mental and physical abilities and skills.
Contents are facts, principles, theories, ideas, rules, concepts, etc. to be learned by the students.
They are selected out of the total vast stocks of accumulated experiences of societal culture and
the natural world.

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Criteria of content selection
There are no fixed criteria for the selection of contents. However, the following are the common
ones:
a) Validity of the content-is the relevance of contents to achieve the objectives. Validity of the
content is also related to the authenticity/truthfulness of the content.
b) Significance of the content- refers to the importance or the capacity of the contents that reflect
the scientific knowledge, essentiality, or meaningfulness to master the course.
c) Appropriate balance of scope and depth- It is common that the content must cover the areas
to be studied and go to some extent in depth. Scope refers to coverage or breadth while depth
is to the level of understanding. They may become in conflict unless balance is maintained.
Because large coverage reduces depth and makes time insufficient. Digging deep also created
little coverage and affects developments. Therefore, maintain appropriate balance between the
scope and depth by careful consideration of facts, ideas, concepts, principles and thought
systems on the basis of study and time is advisable.
d) Appropriateness to the needs and interests of the learners-the developmental task: lasting
needs and interests of the learner have to be considered to keep the learners' active participation
in their learning activities.
e) The durability of the subject matter: It is clear that the more applicable content is at different
situations and time, the greater is its chance of being durable. Therefore, both the old and the
new, which are tested and proved to be workable, are given priority. Contents that have
acceptance and function at different times and conditions without being obsolete are better
selected.
f) The logical relationship of the contents to main ideas, concepts, principles, etc. Every
discipline has its structure which mainly includes facts, main ideas, concepts, principle and
thought systems or theories in ascending order. Hence, meaningful aspects of
subject matter that represent the basic structures contribute to learning more than those which
have no relationships.
g) Learnability of the content: The contents that can be learnt by the students and arouse
imagination, growth in meaning and those which are results of assimilation and recreate
materials of instruction need to be selected. It refers to students' levels of achievement
h) Feasibility of the content: contents are selected by considering available resources (human,
material, time and finance).
i) Contents that cross the subject- contents that can integrate different subjects are good to be
selected.
j) Contents that contribute the development of the society. Contents which have utility for
daily life activity of the society are given priority.

Selection of Learning Experiences

Learning experiences are opportunities that are planned and guided by the school including societal
opportunities arranged by the school or institution, the nature of the school community, the
relationships between the students and teachers, variations arising from individual differences and
levels of readiness, the actual content and methods by which the content is presented to the learner.

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Learning experiences as opportunities give answers to the question," How do students acquire the
desired changes in behavior?" This implies that learning experiences are the means to achieve
educational objectives. They are activities of students made to learn different contents. Learning
experiences are the interaction of students with their environment in which they are living in. Thus,
it is the task of curriculum designers to select the right kinds of learning experience for better
learning to take place.

Criteria of selection of Learning Experiences

The criteria are closely related to practice, social values, facilities, coincidence to the interests and
abilities of the learners.
1. Learning experiences should allow the practice of the behavior which the objectives have
suggested. They should give opportunities for practicing the expected behavior. For example,
if the objective is formulated in a way that the students will be able to" Draw map of Africa"
the learning experiences to be selected is " activities related to drawing the map of Africa.
Learning experiences should also give satisfaction in practicing it.
2. Learning experiences should express what the learner believes that he/she is expected to know.
The perceived worth of the experiences makes a significant contribution to the individual's
learning.
3. Learning activities should sometimes be of self-activating type Learning experiences should
make individual student to involve individually and learn independently. It gives chance to
develop self confidence in the learner.
4. Learning experiences should foster whenever possible, an intimate face to face relationships
with in small groups. Social values, sense of responsibility, group’s interests and actions
develop when students are made to work in group than individually.
5. Learning experiences should be as varied as the objectives they represent. It is advisable to
have a corresponding number of learning experiences to achieve the desired objectives.
6. Learning experiences should be continuing and consistent. Learning experiences of one time
should be built on what has been gained and lead on to further experiences of maximum worth.
7. Learning experiences should be based on socially accepted values of the current society.
Learning experiences of the schools have to be drawn from the society's culture. Therefore,
any contradiction with the society's culture makes schools to deviate and loose support.
8. Learning experiences need to be effective and efficient. Effectiveness is associated to the
achievement of the set educational objectives while efficiency is related to the wise use of
resources.
9. Learning experiences should not be limited to classroom. They should create opportunities for
students to learn outside of the classroom in their daily life experiences.
10. Learning experiences should involve the total behavioral development of the learning. The
selected learning experiences need to contribute to the all-rounded development of the
individual's personality.
11. Learning experience should be feasible to be accomplished. When we select learning
experiences, they should be related to the existing human and non-human resources such as
time, materials, budget and so forth.

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 No curriculum can ignore content and experiences. Students cannot engage in learning without
experiencing some activity and some content. Likewise, students cannot deal with content without
being engaged in some experience/activity. One could speak of effective learning only if both
content and process are fruitful. Whatever the organization of the curriculum can be contents and
learning experiences are always there. In general, there will be no curriculum without contents and
learning experiences.
4. Curriculum organization
Curriculum organization is a systematic arrangement of objectives, contents, learning experiences
and materials in unified and consolidated manner. It is a process of putting contents and learning
experiences together to form some kind of coherent program. The types of curriculum
organizations are:
Vertical organization (integration): relationships that exists within a course at different
grade levels.
Horizontal organization (integration): relationship of different subjects at the same grade
level

Curriculum Organization

Horizontal Organization Vertical Organization

Scope Integration Continuity Sequence

Figure 3: Flow of curriculum organization

Criteria for curriculum organization

In organizing the curriculum, curriculum planners should consider the following criteria:
1. Scope: concerned with the latitude 'or breadth of the curriculum. It focuses the coverage of
the school program, the subjects taught and the units included.
2. Continuity: the vertical recurrence or repetition of the concepts, skill and values at different
grade levels of the same subject over period of time.
3. Integration: concerned with the horizontal and vertical relationships between different
subject areas.
4. Sequence: refers to the successive or progressive nature of contents and learning experiences.
a) Logical sequence-is putting curriculum elements into some order of succession in
answering the question "What is to follow what?"
b) Psychological sequence-is arranging curriculum elements based on principles of
psychology by considering the learning activities in relation to the learner's abilities,
interests, aspirations and background rather than the course and content coverage.

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Approaches of Curriculum Organization
1. The subject based/linear approach: It is organizing contents on the basis of direct subject lines.
Different subjects are organized mainly on the basis of their logical structure without
considering social problems and interests of the learner. E.g., physics, history, geography, civic,
etc. are mostly organized in this approach. It is the common and the oldest approach of
curriculum organization
2. The broad field /integrated approach: This approach is the opposite of the above approach. It
is organization of the curriculum by combining those closely related subjects. Organizing the
curriculum by suing this approach can be done by taking themes, competence, correlation,
common skill, areas, or nature of different subjects. E.g., natural science (chemistry, biology,
physics, etc.).
3. The core (unified approach): It is an arrangement of subject matter around social problems. It
includes all areas of subject- based and broad field approaches.
4. Learner-centered approach: focuses on the learner's interests in determining the curriculum
organization. The reference point is students' experiences, needs, interests, abilities, hopes,
aspirations, feelings, choices, etc.
Principles of Curriculum Organization
Elements of curriculum organization and their sequencing principles are: concepts, skills and
values which represent the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domain respectively. The
elements mentioned above could be sequenced by considering one or more than one of the
following ways:
1. Starting from simple and preceding to the complex ones
2. The whole to the part: organizing the curriculum by stating from what is general and
proceeding to the particular, or specific.
3. Chronological order (approach) is an approach where the contents and learning experiences
are arranged in time sequences. The later events are preceded by the presentation of the earlier
ones. E.g., History can be organized in such away.
4. Sequence on the basis of concentric cycle. The arrangement of curriculum element starts with
those contents and learning experiences which are known and immediate to the
leaner and gradually proceed to those which are unknown and remote.
5. Sequencing based on prerequisite teaching. Curriculum is organized by starting with the
prerequisite concepts, principles, ideas etc. & move to those which are broad & more difficult.

5. Curriculum implementation
Curriculum implementation is a process of putting newly planned or changed curriculum into
practice. Implementation in curriculum involves changing the status quo by accepting and utilizing
a newly created curriculum or part of a curriculum. That is taking a curriculum document as
devised in the development phase of the model and putting it into practice. If the curriculum is
accepted and utilized successfully, we say that it has become institutionalized.
Change is the process of transforming phenomena in to something different. Therefore, curriculum
change can be defined as any alteration in the aspects of curriculum such as educational
philosophy, values, objectives, organizational structures and material, teaching strategies, student
experiences, assessment and learning outcomes.
The term curriculum implementation refers to the actual use of a curriculum, syllabus, textbooks,
teacher's guide and related curriculum materials. Some of the necessary conditions for curriculum
implementation are:

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1. Planning-a careful planning is a necessary prerequisite for implementation, which would
address the needs, necessary changes and resources required for caring out intended actions.
2. Communication-frequent discussion about the new program among teachers, principal and
curriculum workers is a key to successful curriculum implementation.
3. Cooperation-cooperation between all persons who are supposed to be involved with program
implementation is-essential for sound curriculum implementation.
4. Support- curriculum implementers need to be provided the necessary supports such as money,
materials, and ideas, and so on.
Models (perspectives) of Curriculum implementation
1. The fidelity perspective (model)-is the best-known approach of curriculum implementation.
Its main intention is determining the degree of implementation of a curriculum and determining
factors which facilitate curriculum implementation. The curriculum expert who designs and
develop the curriculum innovation see the curriculum knowledge as being unmanly created
outside the classroom. The teacher is perceived as the one who implements the curriculum as
planned without any adjustment. Change is conceived of as linear process.
2. Mutual adaptation model-is the process of curriculum implementation whereby adjustments
in curriculum development is possible. The curriculum designed and developed by the expert
can be implemented by the teacher with necessary adjustments. The curriculum is implemented
by taking the school contexts into account.
3. Curriculum enactment model-students and teachers design and develop the curriculum
jointly. They also implement it. Change is seen as a personal development process.
Factors which affect curriculum implementation
Factors Related with the Characteristics of the Change Need and Relevance.
Need and relevance refers to the perceived need to the part of implementers. It would
seem that the greater the recognized need for change, the greater the degree of
implementation.
Clarity: refers to understanding of goals and means of an innovation by users. The greater
the understanding of goals and what is to be gained from their adoption, the greater the
degree of implementation.
Complexity: has to do with the difficulty and extent of change required of users. The
greater the complexity in innovations with differentiated components incrementally
introduced, the greater the degree of implementation.
Quality and Practicality of Program: refers to the quality and availability of materials.
Users must perceive that materials are going to meet important needs as well as be practical
and usable. Unavailability of required materials acts as inhibitors of implementation.
Factors Related with the Characteristics of the School District Level
Previous History of Innovation Attempts: the more positive the previous history with
innovation, the greater the degree of implementation.
The Adoption Process: the higher the quality of planning to meet problems, the greater
the degree of implementation.
Administrative Support: the greater the “real” administrative support, the greater the
degree of implementation.

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 Staff development and Participation: The greater the quality and quantity of sustained
interaction and staff development, the greater the degree of implementation.
Time-line and information systems/evaluation/: the greater the extent to which timing
or events is guided by an understanding of implementation, the greater the degree of
implementation. The greater the linkage between evaluation data and school/class level
improvement needs, the greater the degree of implementation.
Board and Community Characteristics: the greater the board and community interest
and support without controversy, the greater the degree of implementation.
School Level Factors
The Role of the Principal: the greater the active support of the principal, the greater the
degree of implementation.
Teacher-Teacher Relationship: the more collegiality, trust, support, interaction and open
communication between teachers, the greater the degree of implementation.
Teacher characteristics and orientations: The greater the sense of teacher efficacy, the
greater the degree of implementation.
External Environment Factors
Government Agencies: The greater the congruence between local needs and the reform
and the greater awareness of subjective realities, the greater the degree of implementation.
External Assistance: The greater the interaction with local district, the greater the degree
of implementation.
As a whole, curriculum implementation can be affected by the following variables:
 The nature of change or innovation
 The school context such as availability of resources, the school management system,
teacher related factors, budget, student related factors, availability of different facilities like
library, laboratory, pedagogical center, and the like
 The existing political system
 Culture of the society
 Time
 Motive and commitment from concerned bodies
 Integration, collaboration, cooperation and support between stakeholders
 Nature of the curriculum (the plan)
 Motive and recognition given for implementers and so on.

6. Curriculum evaluation
Evaluation is one of the basic backgrounds in making educational decisions. When new curriculum
is developed, it must be evaluated to differentiate the strong and weak side of the educational plan
at its over-all processes. Curriculum evaluation is a process that people perform in order to gather
data that will enable them to decide whether to accept, change, or eliminate a program or process.
It is a means of checking whether the program is meeting its goals or not. It is a systematic
collection and analysis of the relevant data necessary to promote the improvement of the
curriculum and analyze its effectiveness within the context of a particular institution. It is a means
to compare the actual outcome against the expected results.

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The main purposes/functions of curriculum evaluation include the following. It is useful to
check the adequacy of the curriculum, relevance of the curriculum; existence of balance in the
curriculum; existence of integration in the curriculum; existence of sequence in the curriculum;
existence of continuity in the curriculum; whether learning is transferable or not; whether the
curriculum is fulfilling its purpose or not; validity of objectives appropriateness of the curriculum
for a certain group of students; appropriateness of models selected with respect to the goals of the
educational system; appropriateness of contents; suitability of curriculum material for learners and
so forth. Generally, curriculum evaluation can serve to get feedback about the effectiveness of the
program; to improve the curriculum continuously; to identify factors which influence the teaching-
learning processes; to add different innovations to the existing program; to have continuous
professional development and so forth.
Principles of curriculum evaluation
The following are some of the principles of curriculum evaluation:
 The determination and classification of what is to be evaluated.
 It should use a variety of selected evaluating instruments in terms of the purpose to be served.
 Evaluation should involve all the concerned people.
 Curriculum evaluation should be comprehensive.
 Curriculum evaluation should be continuous.
 Internal evaluation should be also proved by external team of experts.
 The purpose of curriculum evaluation should be constructive.
 Curriculum evaluation should identify both immediate and long-term problems.
 Curriculum evaluation should be considered as means but not as ends.
Curriculum evaluation procedures
Curriculum evaluation procedures may include:
1. Specification, selection, refinement, or modification of program goals and evaluation
objectives.
2. Planning of appropriate evaluation design.
3. Selection or developing data gathering instruments or methods.
4. Collection of relevant data.
5. Processing and summary of data.
6. Contrasting the data (result) and the objectives of the program.
7. Reporting results and setting feedback system.

Forms/types of curriculum evaluation

A. Formative evaluation: is undertaken to improve an existing curriculum. It provides
frequent, detailed, and specific information to guide the program developing. Formative
evaluation goes hand-in- hand with curriculum planning, design, and implementation.
B. Diagnostic Evaluation: is directed towards two purposes, either for placement of students
properly at the outset of the instructional period (such as secondary school), or to discover
the underlying cause of deficiencies in student learning as instruction unfolds. The essential
feature of diagnostic evaluation, therefore, is to provide useful information on student
performance in order to address a problem. It can be conducted before commencing a unit
of learning and during instruction when a student reveals repeated inability to profit from
the learning experiences.
C. Summative evaluation: is the process of evaluating the overall program after it is in
operation. It is performed based on tests, of all sorts, students' reaction to the instruction,
teachers' views concerning the effectiveness of instruction (the curriculum), parents'

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 reactions, employers' rating, reports from graduates and examination centers and others.
The purpose of summative evaluation is to select from several competing curriculum
programs or projects that should continue and those that are inefficient of which to be
improved or rejected.
Criteria of curriculum evaluation
1. Consistency: there should be relation between the chief intentions of educational objectives
and the intentions of the curriculum evaluation.
2. Comprehensiveness: curriculum evaluation programs are required to be as comprehensive in
scope as are educational objectives of the curriculum.
3. Validity: the evaluation is said, to be valid, if it has the capacity to describe what it is designed
to describe.
4. Continuity: education is being a continuous process; curriculum evaluation is also required
to be continuous.
5. Objectivity: is related to be free from bias/subjectivity.
Concerns of Curriculum Evaluation: Curriculum evaluation involves the evaluation of
programs and students' achievement. The information helps interested group get complete pictures
about the program.
A. Evaluation of the program: Program evaluation is part of the curriculum evaluation, where
the different component parts of the curriculum are evaluated. The evaluation of a program is
usually done to assess and ascertain the successes or failure of a program.
B. Evaluation of Students' Achievement: A curriculum is designed with the aim of bringing
desirable behavioral change on students. Evaluation of students' achievement helps to get clear
information about the effectiveness and efficiency of a curriculum. Teachers and program
evaluators use different instruments to measure students' personality profiles.

Models of curriculum evaluation

As a result of differences existing in curriculum design models, educators have identified different
models of curriculum evaluation. The common ones are discussed below which are discussed by
Saylor.
I. The behavioral objective model-the purpose of curriculum evaluation is checking the extent
of behavioral change taking place on students. The purpose of instruction is bringing behavioral
change on the students. Schools should have aims, goals, and objectives which show direction
what they are going to do. Curriculum evaluation is done by comparing outcome of schools and
the stated educational objectives by applying summative evaluation. The simplest logic of this
evaluation model is that education should be judged according to the stated intentions. Evaluation
in behave oral objective model largely relies on summative evaluation, testing, grading, classifying
and measuring students’ achievements. This model is still widely used because it nicely fits into a
bureaucratic management style.
II. Decision making model: curriculum evaluation is the process of delineating, obtaining, and
providing useful information for judging decision alternatives. This model applies formative
evaluation method to obtain information for decision making. To provide information needed by
decision maker, the decision-making model generates data about four stages of program operation.
The following are to be evaluated.
1. Context evaluation: it contributes to the definition of objectives

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2. Input evaluation-which is necessary for decision making on matters of curriculum design.
3. Process evaluation-decision making concerning educational operations.
4. Product evaluation- which provides information for judging attainments of a program to reach
on decision for revision, termination or continuation of the program.
III. Goal free (process) evaluation model-is less concerned with attainment of predetermined
educational objectives and more concerned to improve activities of the teaching-learning
processes. As a result, the curriculum evaluator’s emphasis shifts from accurate measurements of
quantitative procedures to careful investigation of qualitative process. It bothers about why things
happen than measuring what has been happened in the teaching-learning processes.

7. Curriculum Change
Curriculum change is any alteration of the curriculum, teaching strategies, assessment
mechanisms, educational materials, etc. Changes in curriculum vary in their nature and phases.
The concepts that are related to the nature of curriculum change include the following.
 Curriculum change: is a term used to show any alterations in instruction or educationally
arranged condition surrounding instruction.
 Curriculum innovation: most frequently used to refer to specific curriculum changes. It
ranges from single subject change to more comprehensive changes. Their relatively clear
boundaries, goals and means of achievement characterize innovations.
 Curriculum reform: is related to particular changes, which usually concerns more
comprehensive and fundamental curriculum change. It involves restructuring of school system,
wholesome revision of the curriculum, etc.
 Curriculum movement: is used to characterize periods of change by their main common
themes.
The sources of curriculum change: Curriculum decisions need to be done by considering
changes in society’s economic, social, political, cultural, etc. aspects. Changes in values, belief
systems, ideological social structures and institutions and their relations (institutional,
organizational), changing patterns of behavior in small and larger groups (personal and
interpersonal behavior) and processes of interaction among different aspects or forces of society
(interacting and dynamic forces) bring about changes in curriculum. Similarly, changes in science
and technology, responses to changes in society (problems of peace and war). Changes within
education (reorganization school structures, issues of multiculturalism, or equal opportunity for
education, etc.), etc. become the sources of changes in curriculum.
Classifications of Change: Curriculum changes can be classified into different types. By
considering the involvement of people, one can see change as follows:
 Planned change: is a change in which those involved have equal power and function in a
prescribed fashion. They identify and follow precise procedures for dealing with the activity
at hand. The changes are ideal.
 Coercion: is a change where one group determines the goals and intentionally exclude others
from participating. The group in control has the major power and works to maintain the unequal
power.
 Interaction change: is a change, where mutual goal setting and fairly equal power distribution
among people take place.

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Changes have also been classified according to their complexity. John McNeil has identified five
types of changes as described below.
Substitution: This depicts alteration in which one element is replaced for another. By far, this
is the easiest and most common type of change.
Alteration: This type of change exists when someone introduces into the existing materials
and program new content, items, materials, or procedures that appear to be only minor and thus
are likely to be adopted readily.
Perturbations: These changes could first disrupt a program, but can then be adjusted
purposefully by the curriculum leader to the on-going program within a short time span.
Restructuring: These changes lead to modification of the system itself-that is, of the school
or school district. New concepts of teaching roles such as differentiated staffing or team
teaching would be a restructuring type of change.
Value-Orientation Change: These are shifts in the participants’ fundamental philosophies or
curriculum orientations. Major power brokers of the school or participation in the curriculum
must accept and strive for this level of change for it occurs.
Resistance to Change: Human beings play great roles in the implementation of curriculum.
Sometimes, people resist change. The factors attributed to the resistance are related to:
 Inertia: is a feeling of people to keep on things as they are. Teaching and administrative
staffs including the community adhere to what is operating and need it to continue.
 Insecurity: a tendency to feel insecure about the uncertainty of things to happen. Those
who are comfortable with the present are reluctant to change for a future.
 Rapidity of change: a factor that makes people to resist change anticipating another change
in curriculum soon.
 Lack of knowledge: If people don't know about the change at all or if their knowledge is
little, they resist it.
 Lack of support: can be caused by absence of financial and time support given to the effort.
Mechanisms to Improve Receptivity to Curriculum Change: Curriculum activity involves
people's thinking and acting. The human element is very important factor in change. Getting the
will of the people and their active participation is a guarantee for the success of programs. The
mechanisms increase receptivity of change includes the following.
 Curriculum activity should be cooperative: If a curriculum is to be implemented and
institutionalized, all groups should take it, as their own program. This sense of ownership is
achieved by involving people directly and indirectly in the planning activities and
implementation.
 Considering the feelings, worries and concerns of people: Resistance to change is often
natural. This is inevitable. The planners need to identify the areas, which may cause questions
on the innovation. Regarding the feelings, worries, areas of conflicts, and mechanisms of
reducing the anxiety level of individuals is important.
 Making People recognize that innovations are subject to change: Things are in state of
change. Nothing should be viewed as permanent or static. New curriculum is usually presented
as a response to a particular time and context. Change is constant and people need to realize
that all programs will be reviewed.
 The use of proper timing: Taking advantage of the right timing is important to get support
from teachers and other practitioners. If the school community is demanding that a new
program need be created to respond to a perceived national need, then a new program needs to
address that need is likely to meet with success and acceptance. However, if people are satisfied
with the current program, and there is little demand for change from either the staff or
community, then a major curriculum change shouldn't be attempted.

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