Curriculum has been defined in different ways by different authors. Traditional schools defined it as a group of subject arranged in a certain sequence peculiar to a specific field for the purpose of instruction.
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
1. Essentialist – considers the curriculum as something rigid composed of various subject areas
-wants to maintain the status
quo
- Book- centered
-memorization method is used
to master facts and skills
2. Progressivist –
includes the pragmatists, experimentalist, Reconstructionist, and
existentialists
-conceives the curriculum as
something flexible based on areas of interest
-Learner-centered
-considers the principle of
individual differences
-aims towards the holistic
development of the learner
DIMENSIONS IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
1. Philosophic – Theological Dimensions
·
Essentialism
– value centered
Ideals that are essential to one’s culture should never be forgotten
·
Idealism
– preservation of one’s freedom
-concentration should be on moral, intellectual and aesthetic development of the learner
· Pragmatism - The meaning of ideas lies in its consequences Education must be useful to the society
·
Progressivism
– Education must be flexible
-Emphasizes
self-activity
-Child centered
curriculum
· Existentialism – Education should enable man to make choices in life .The teachers have the right to teach students how to think but not what to think.
· Reconstructionism – Aims to develop the inherent powers of the learner. Espoused a critical re-examination and reconstruction of the current problems and situations to modify them.
· Aims to transform the society through technological and scientific revolution.
·
Realism
– Education based on natural phenomena and social institutions. Education should
be based on the actualities of life. Aims to prepare the child to face the real
world.
2. Psychological Dimensions
- Consideration of the Principles and Laws of Learning such as Association, Field Theories, etc.
3. Social Dimensions
- Curriculum for individual development (Individual or Italian Humanism)
- Curriculum for social development (Social or Northern Humanism)
-
Curriculum for individual and social development
(Democratic Education John Dewey)
GUIDELINES FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
A Good Curriculum Must:
1. Encourage inquiry and creativity
2. Be democratic with regards to procedure
3. Accept individual differences
4. Take into consideration scientific and scholarly findings and methods
5. Minimize memorization and maximize discovery
6. Take into consideration the potential for achievement through either the individual learner or the group
7.
Must employ teacher resources in a
multi-dimensions role
APPROACHES TO CURRICULUM DESIGN
1. Subject-Centered Curriculum – organized on the basis of separate and distinct subjects, each of which embodies a body of knowledge and skills. The learner is expected to acquire these knowledge and skills.
2. Child-Centered Curriculum – the child is considered the center of the educative process.
3.
Problem-Centered
Curriculum – the child is guided toward maturity within the context of the
social group. It helps the child to solve his problems.
CURRICULUM PATTERNS
1. Traditional Curriculum
Pattern
Conventional and orthodox
views about the school curriculum
- Subject Curriculum
- The school subjects constitute the bases for organizing the school experiences of the learners.
- Various subjects are offered based on their logical relationship so as to meet the multifarious needs of the child.
- Correlated Curriculum
-
Articulates and establishes relationships
between two or more subjects on the basis of a topic or a theme
- Teaching similar topics in two or more subject simultaneously in an effort to help students gain a better understanding of the topic.
o Ex. Organic & Inorganic Chemistry are used to reinforce each other.
o C. Broad-Fields Curriculum
- Combines several specific areas into larger fields
o Ex. Political Science, History, Geography, Sociology are combined to become Social Science
- Subject-centered in nature
2. Integrative Curriculum
Pattern
- Eliminates school subject division
- Aims to foster integration of the learner to his socio-cultural milieu
- Use of the actual learning experiences, social needs, interest, abilities and interests of the learner as learning tools
-
Learner-centered and socially oriented
A. Learner-Centered
-
Organizes the learning experiences and content
around the life of child
-
B. Experience Curriculum
- places emphasis on the immediate interest and needs of the child and not on the anticipated needs
-
The learners are given the opportunity to choose
an activity based on their area of interest
C. Core Curriculum
- Also called social function or Area –of- Living Curriculum
- Learning experiences are organized on the basis of major functions of social life or aspects of living.
-
Intended to enable the learner to study the
problems that demand personal and social action.
3. Unified Program
- Common sense point of view in the curriculum organization
- A balance between the direct teaching of the subject skills and unified learning experiences based on problems which are life centered
- A logical and psychological organization of learning experiences
-
Learning should be organized based on persistent
life situations as well as on the basis of organized body of knowledge when
needed