·
Curriculum is a word
which originated from the ancient Romans. It means a race course i.e. a track
followed by racing horses.
·
Different scholars have
defined curriculum in different ways.
·
Franklin Bobbitt
(1918) defined it as “those series of things which children and youth must
do to have an experience by way of
developing ability to do things well that make up the affairs of adult life.”
Curriculum is therefore viewed as a set of experiences
·
Beauchamp viewed
curriculum as subjects and subject matter.
·
Kansas (1958)
defined curriculum as what happens to children in a school as a result of what
teachers do.
·
Oluoch G. P. has
defined it as all that is planned to enable the student to acquire and develop
desired knowledge skills and attitudes.
·
Ondiek P. E.
defined it as all the experiences planned or guided by the school for children
while they are under the direct and legal jurisdiction of school authorities.
·
Kern (1968)
defined it as all the learning which is planned or guided by the school whether
it is carried on in groups or individual inside or outside the school.
·
Farrant J. S.
defined curriculum as all that is taught in a school including the time-tabled
subjects and all those aspects of its life that exercise an influence in the
life of children.
·
Other scholars
have defined It is everything that is organized and planned to enable students
to acquire and develop desired knowledge skills and attitudes.
·
School curriculum is a
means by which a school enables the learners to change their behavior in
desired directions through skills and attitudes.
·
A curriculum can be
distinguished into;
i.
Types – i.e.
primary school curriculum, secondary, pre-school
ii.
Subjects e.g.
mathematics curriculum
iii.
Grades e.g.
standard one curriculum
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
·
Is defined as the
Process of creating curriculum materials for use by teachers and students.
·
It is the Process which
determines how curriculum construction will proceed.
·
It constitutes Planning
of learning opportunities intended to bring about certain changes in the
learners.
·
It involves the
writing, trial and testing of instruction / plans and education materials.
Ondiek (1986) has defined it as the “planning of learning opportunities intended to
bring about changes in pupils” behaviours and the assessment of the extent to
which these changes have taken place.
·
This definition does
not specify whether in the process of planning learning opportunities for
students, changes are made to the existing curriculum or a new one is
developed.
Print (1993) defines curriculum development as “the process of planning learning
opportunities intended to bring about certain desired changes in pupils and the
assessment of the extent to which these changes have taken place.
Marsh & Willis (1999) define curriculum development as “a collective and
intentional process or activity directed at beneficial curriculum change.”
This definition emphasizes some change to
an existing curriculum with an aim of improving it.
o Curriculum development varies in purpose, scope and
time; e.g. the purpose could either be revision or alteration of an existing
curriculum and this can be achieved by re-arranging the content of the syllabus
of a subject i.e. shifting some content from one grade level to another or
dropping it altogether; while the other could be when an entirely different
curriculum is produced on a large scale or nationwide basis or on small scale
affecting some subjects or courses.
Key features of curriculum development
a)
It is a
continuing function which requires appropriate national permanent mechanism.
b)
It is a
continuous process i.e. dynamic as opposed to static.
c)
Involves the
planning of learning opportunities intended to bring about changes in pupils
behavior
d)
The assessment
of the extent to which these changes have taken place.
Note
·
Curriculum development
is a process which involves the planning, implementation and evaluation of the
program.
·
In curriculum development, several questions
are asked;
a.
Who will be
involved in curriculum construction?
b.
What procedure
and strategies will be used in curriculum construction? e.g. formation of
administration committees, training panels, consultancy etc.
c.
How will the
committees / panels be organized?
d.
How will the
curriculum be evaluated?
Components of curriculum development
1. Curriculum design – way in which the
component parts or element of the curriculum have been arranged in order to
facilitate instruction.
2. Curriculum implementation – making real of what has been planned
3. Curriculum evaluation – involves use of various tools and methods to measure
those alternatives either directly or indirectly, analyzing and interpreting
measurement data assigning values and finally making a decision which could be
either to accept, improve or reject the curriculum or any of the alternatives.
Characteristics of curriculum
·
Comprises the
experiences of children for which the school is responsible.
·
It has content
·
It is planned
·
It is a series
of courses to be taken by students.
Curriculum
considers the learners and their interaction with each other, the teacher and
the materials.
Elements of a School Curriculum
Elements – refers
to the parts / components of a school curriculum. These are curriculum
objectives, learning activities / experiences and student assessment /
evaluation.
Elements of curriculum
1.
Curriculum Goals
and Objectives
·
Education was earlier
defined as the acquisition of desired knowledge, skills and attitudes. The word
‘desired’ in the definition implies that there exist objectives at which the
learners are to aim. Hence need to state these objectives first.
·
Objectives refer to the
end results towards which the curriculum is oriented. The aims should clearly
be spelt out.
·
These; Outline the goals and aims of the
program.
o
Are based on the
social aspirations of society - Curriculum reflects the relevance of whatever
the society deems to be important.
Categories of goals and objectives include the
following;
Cognitive – intellectual tasks
Psychomotor – muscular tasks
Affective – feelings and emotions
·
The general aims of
education are translated into more specific objectives or into behavior changes
that we expect to occur in the learners.
·
The decisions on what
objectives to include a political one i.e. objectives are given by the
political machinery that exists in a country. The curriculum workers then take
the given objectives and work on them.
Note
Curriculum
developers and teachers should state clear objectives for the various aspects
of curriculum which should be consistent with the general aims of education
e.g. the primary school curriculum objectives should be in line with the aims
of primary education and those of education as a whole in Kenya. These
objectives should appear in the syllabus, schemes of work and lesson plans.
2. Content or
subject matter
·
Divided into
bodies of knowledge e.g. English, mathematics, science etc.
·
Outlines the
desired attitudes and values.
·
Includes
cherished skills
·
Is determined by
prevailing theories of knowledge.
·
Caters for
ideological, vocational and technical considerations.
Curriculum
content must provide solutions to the problems affecting the society which uses
it.
3. Methods /
learning experiences
·
The acquisition and
development of desired knowledge skills and attitudes occurs as a result of the
pupils / students carrying out learning activities.
·
This element therefore
involves the statement of the planned learning activities / experiences through
which desirable learning will be expected to take place.
·
Learning experience is
the interaction between the learner and the external conditions in the
environment e.g. people, facilities that provide opportunities for useful
interaction e.g. content, subject matter, teachers, resource persons, fellow
learners, teaching method.
·
Deal with
teaching and learning experiences
·
Involve
organizational strategies
4. Evaluation /
student assessment
Refers to
the process of determining the extent to which the objectives of the curriculum
have been achieved.
Evaluation
is used to;
·
Find out whether
objectives have been achieved or not.
·
Making decision for
changing building or improving the curriculum.
This comes from the data on evaluation.
·
Select appropriate
content based on the aims and objectives of the curriculum.
·
Select
appropriate methods to address the content and purpose.
·
Check the
effectiveness of methods and learning experiences used.
·
Check on the
suitability and the appropriateness of the curriculum in answering social
needs.
·
Give feedback to
the planners, learners, teachers industry and society.
·
Provide a
rationale for making changes.
Note
In
conducting evaluations judgments must be made regarding.
·
Inputs
·
Means
·
Content
·
Outputs
·
Outcomes of the
whole learning process
Interaction of the Elements
QUIZ: Identify the benefits of curriculum evaluation
to planners, employers, learners, and teachers.
It is the
interaction of these elements in the social, political, economic, technological
and environmental context that constitutes a curriculum.
Dimensions of a School Curriculum
1. Formal Dimension
Selected
written programs or courses students go through.
Features;
·
Refers to those
activities that are normally undertaken by learners as formal class work. These
activities can take place in class, outside the class or even outside the school.
·
The activities
are normally encompassed in what are known as courses of studying a school.
These courses show the objectives to be achieved and ways of assessing the
students.
·
Comprises the
formal courses of study or that which is officially prescribed in the school
syllabus in the form of subjects. The
syllabus shows; the objectives, content to be covered, methodology, evaluation
procedures and learning resources.
2. Non-formal
Dimension
Comprises
activities which have traditionally been undertaken by the school
·
The activities
do not appear in the written syllabus.
·
The activities
occupy a substantial amount of student time and contribute significantly to the
achievement of educational aims.
·
Activities are
normally referred to as co-curricula meaning that they do not form a major and
without them formal education is inadequate.
·
Occur outside
the school daily program.
·
They are not
examined formally.
·
Occur outside
the grading system. Students mix freely across the grades and perform these
activities.
·
Atmosphere in
which these activities take place is free and relaxed.
Examples
Games,
sports, athletics, clubs and societies and field excursions
3. Informal
Dimension / Hidden Curriculum
·
Unplanned and
spontaneous experiences at school that influence the learners’ behavior.
·
They could be
the by-products of the formal and non-formal program or of the entire school
environment.
·
Informal
interaction goes on all the time and it is unconsciously acquired from the
environment.
·
Can be done or
effected through formulation of school rules and regulations, encouragement of
desirable lifestyle among members of staff of an institution.
·
Can also take
place through imitation, language, standards of behavior deeds and ability to
think.
·
The learner
requires models who could be peers, teachers or other persons within the school
environment.
4. Emerging Dimension
·
Emerging means
coming up
·
These dimension
involves activities which are planned for by the school and members of the
public are called upon to attend such activities e.g. open days, parents days,
exhibitions graduations etc.
Relationship between elements and dimensions of the
curriculum
1.
There is a clear
cut difference between the formal and non-formal dimensions, however, the
informal dimension cuts across the two.
2.
The informal
influence may occur in the process of effecting the formal and non-formal
activities.
3.
The three
dimensions can be identified within the learning experiences i.e. one can
easily identify the experiences that belong to three dimensions.
4.
Evaluation can
be broken down into formal, informal and non-formal techniques of evaluation.
Curriculum as a Discipline
·
Curriculum as a field
of study or as a discipline means that curriculum is a part of knowledge which
has over the years developed into a disciplined area of study.
·
A discipline or area of
study is one which has a substantial knowledge content
which can be passed on through instruction and which is capable of growing
through research and other modes of inquiry.
According
to Kliebard’s analysis (1975) curriculum theory should address the following;
1.
What kind of
knowledge should be taught in school or any other institution? Any knowledge that goes into the curriculum
should be justified.
2.
Who should be
taught what? i.e. age, background, interests, present or future role in
society.
3.
What effect will
a particular domain of knowledge have on the learner? This is important in
deciding how and when to teach the subject e.g. curriculum planners and
teachers should know the effect of teaching mathematics at what time of the
day, week, month or year. It should be taught and who should teach it so as to
have positive effects.
Nature/characteristics of Curriculum as a discipline
a)
It is a well
defined area of study, just like other distinct disciplines like economics,
etc.
b)
Has a
substantive knowledge content which can be passed on through instruction.
c)
Has ability to
grow through research and other modes of inquiry i.e. can be subjected to research
scrutiny.
d)
It has distinct
theories, concepts, principles and generalizations.
Theory – reasonable or scientifically
acceptable explanation for a fact or event which
has not been proved to be true
Concept
– thought, idea or principle
Principle
– truth or belief that is accepted as a base for
reasoning or action
e)
Has a method of
inquiry.
Categories of curriculum content / knowledge
1. Curriculum
context physical and social setting in which the curriculum is
designed, developed and implemented.
2. Curriculum
design – structure, pattern or organization of the
curriculum.
3. Curriculum
development – process of planning,
implementation and evaluation of the program
