SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM AND

INSTRUCTION

C.Hr -4

INSTRUCTOR : Aklilu Y.
 UNIT ONE:

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON THE

TERM CURRICULUM AND

RELATED ISSUES
 1.1: Definition of Curriculum
Curriculum
• comes from a Latin word “currere” meaning “race
course”,
1.1.1 Broad Definitions (definitions open to many
interpretations)
• All of the learning of students which are planned
and directed by the school to attain its
educational goals (Ralph Tyler ,1949):
• the planned experiences offered to the learner
under the guidance of the school ( D. K. Wheeler ,
1967)
• a plan for providing sets of learning opportunities
for persons to be educated( Lewis ,1981):
• 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
• The learning experiences of students, in
so far as
 they are expressed or

 anticipated in goals and objectives,

 plans and designs and

 the implementation of these plans and

designs in school environments.
1.1.2: Specific Definitions
The specific definitions imply
activities, which are measurable
and observable. Examples
 Curriculum is an outline of a course
of study (Print, 1987).
 Curriculum is a set of subjects
(Marsh, 2001).
 Curriculum is a school timetable
1.1.3: Definitions Based on the Role Placed on Schools
Curriculum could also be defined based on the roles of
schools as prescribed by society or educators
• Subject Center: “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
• Curriculum from Constructivist Point of View: is
taken as ‘enacted’ between students and teachers,
and collaboration and reflection in a ‘community of
inquiry.
• reemphasized the active role students’ play in
acquiring knowledge and the social construction of
knowledge
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:-
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 after identified
 objectives,
 selecting contents and
 learning experiences,
 instructional materials and
 developing evaluation mechanisms.
• Curriculum Design: - refers to the
way one conceptualizes a
curriculum arranges its major
components to provide direction
and guidance in developing the
curriculum.
Curriculum as a Discipline
What is a discipline?
• According to Oliva (1982), a discipline has the following
characteristics:
– organized set of theoretical principles.
– The field of curriculum has its set of principles
– encompasses a body of knowledge and skills pertinent to that
discipline.
– has its theoreticians and its practitioners.
The field of curriculum has its own
 theoretical principles body of knowledge and
 skills as well as
 its own theoreticians and practitioners
 1.2. 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 literature in the area of curriculum
generally distinguishes five categories of
sources of curriculum foundations- namely
1. Philosophical foundation
2. Psychological Foundation,
3. Sociological foundation,
4. Science and Technology foundation, and
5. Historical foundation.
 I. Philosophical foundation

- Philosophy is the study of wisdom

(Love of wisdom)
- “Philosophy is –
- the beginning point in curriculum
decision making and
- is the basis for all subsequent
decisions regarding curriculum” –
John Goodland
Philosophy asks three fundamental
question:
– What are real? - Ontology: the
inquiry into what is real as opposed
to what is appearance(Metaphysic)
– What is truth? Epistemology - the
inquiry into what knowledge is,
what can be known, and what lies
beyond our understanding;
– What is good or of value? 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 ofaxiology 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.
• Two main types of theories have
been influential in explaining the
nature of human knowledge:
rationalist and empiricist views.
The rationalist view of knowledge
Empiricists view of knowledge
 The rationalist view of knowledge

The rationalist view of knowledge

Ideas do not exist outside the human mind.
Truth is attained only through the power of
abstraction /concept/ideas/.
The rationalists reject the view that sensation
is an important means to acquire knowledge
and truth.
They argue to the effect that the evidence of
our sense is misleading but
the rational mind can attain true knowledge
independently of the senses by deductive
reasoning and intuition /Instinct.
The rationalists presume that the spiritual
(immaterial) world is the key to reality
 Empiricists view of knowledge

Empiricists view of knowledge

– Gives primary importance to the nature and
sensations in the process of understanding
nature
– Observation, sense experience,
experimentation, are used to acquire
knowledge
– Knowledge is the product of the interaction
between the external stimuli and mind.
– Authentic /real/ True knowledge is derived
from evidence through the senses.
 Major Social Philosophies as foundations to
curriculum
Idealism
– Highest aim is the search for truth and values that will stand the test of
time
– Truth and values are seen as absolute, timeless, and universal
Realism
– People can come to know the world through their senses and reason.
– Things happen according to purpose and in an orderly way (Natural law).
– Truth emanate from both science and art
Pragmatism
– Referred to as experimentalism, based on change, process, and relativity.
– Construes knowledge as a process in which reality is constantly changing
– Truth is no longer absolute or universal
Existentialism
– Stress in individualism and personal self-fulfilment
– Prefer to free learner to choose what to study and determine what is truth
– Recognizes few standards, customs or tradition.
Educational Philosophies
• there are four major educational
philosophies, each related to one
or more
 Perennialism
 Essentialism
 Progressivism
 Reconstructionism/ Critical
Theory
Perennialism

• For Perennialists, the aim of

education is to ensure that
students acquire understandings
about the great ideas of Western
civilization.
• The focus is to teach ideas that are
everlasting,
• to seek enduring truths which are
constant, not changing,
Perennialism
– Aim: To educate the rational person
– Knowledge: Focus on past and
permanent studies. (Preserving the
past knowledge)
– Role of teacher: Helps students to
think rationally.
– Teacher is an authority in the field
(Unquestionable)
– Teaching method: Socratic method,
oral exposition (lecture), explicit
teaching of traditional values
Perennialism Curriculum
– Classic subjects: Literature,
language, mathematics,
– Constant curriculum (Unchanged)
– Common curriculum for all (Little
room for electives and vocational)
– Students has no freedom to choose
Liberal Arts
Essentialism
Essentialism
• Essentialists believe that there is a common core
of knowledge that needs to be transmitted to
students in a systematic, disciplined way.
• The emphasis in this conservative perspective is
on intellectual and moral standards that schools
should teach
• The core of the curriculum is essential
knowledge and skills and academic rigor.
• Although this educational philosophy is similar in
some ways to Perennialism, Essentialists accept
the idea that this core curriculum may change.
Essentialism Curriculum
• Essential skills (read, write, speak)
Essential subjects: English, Science,
history, math, foreign language
• Students should be taught hard work,
respect for authority, and discipline.
• Teachers are to help students keep their non-
productive instincts in check, such as
aggression or mindlessness.
• This approach was in reaction to
Progressivism approaches
Progressivism
• Progressivists believe that education should focus on
the whole child, rather than on the content or the
teacher.
• This educational philosophy stresses that students
should test ideas by active experimentation.
• Learning is rooted in the questions of learners that
arise through experiencing the world.
• It is active, not passive.
• The learners are a problem solvers and thinkers who
make meaning through their individual experience in
the physical and cultural context.
• Effective teachers provide experiences so that
students can learn by doing.
 Progressivism………….
Progressivism
• Aim: To provide democratic, social living
• Knowledge: Growth and development, living learning process,
focus on active and relevant learning
• Role of teacher: To guide
• Teaching method: Problem solving and scientific inquiry.
Progressivism Curriculum
• Curriculum should be based on student’s interests. Should be
applicable for human affairs (solving problem).
• Interdisciplinary subject matter.
• Focus on activities and projects.
• Reality is changing therefore no need to focus on fixed body of
knowledge.
• Process is more important than content
• Relevant curriculum
 Reconstructionism/Critical
Theory/
• Reconstruction /Social Reconstructionism is a
philosophy that emphasizes the addressing of
social questions
• and a quest to create a better society and
worldwide democracy.
• Reconstructionist educatorsfocus on a curriculum
that highlights social reform as the aim of
education.
• Critical theorists, like social reconstructionists,
believe that systems must be changed to overcome
oppression and improve human conditions.
Reconstructionism
Reconstructionism
• Aim: To improve and reconstruct society.
• Education is for change and social reform
• Knowledge: Skills and subjects that identify problems of society.
• Active learning with focus of contemporary and future.
• Role of teacher: Agent of change and reform (Project
director)
• Teaching method: Case study, involve students for social
responsibilities.
• Social analysis, interpretation, and evaluation activities
Reconstructionism Curriculum
– Emphasis on social sciences and social research methods
– Examination of social, economic and political problem
– Focus on present and future as well as local and global issues
– International education
– Equality of educational opportunity
 Major Perspectives
• Rationalism
• Rationalism is defined as a methodology or a theory
in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but
intellectual and deductive.
• Rationalists believe reality has an intrinsically
logical structure.
• Because of this, rationalists argue that certain truths
exist and that the intellect can directly grasp these
truths.
• Rationalists have such a high confidence in reason
that proof and physical evidence are unnecessary to
ascertain truth
•
• in other words, "there are
significant ways in which our
concepts and knowledge are
gained independently of sense
experience".
• The Rationalists have claimed that
the ultimate starting point for all
knowledge is not the senses but
reason
Empiricism

• Empiricism is a theory which states that knowledge

comes only or primarily from sensory
experience.
• Empiricists may argue however that traditions (or
customs) arise due to relations of previous sense
experiences.
• Empiricism in the philosophy of science emphasizes
evidence, especially as discovered in experiments.
• It is a fundamental part of the scientific method that
all hypothesis and theories must be tested against
observations of the natural world rather than resting
solely on priori reasoning, intuition, or revelation.
• Both empiricists and rationalists view the
learner as recipient of information.
• However, for rationalists, the teacher is
source of ideas, facts and information
• whereas for the empiricists the teacher is
the demonstrator of process.
• The method of teaching for rationalists is
more of drilling, lecturing and subject-based.
. For the empiricists, the method of teaching
is lecturing too and more teacher-centered.
Behaviorism

• Behaviorist theorists believe that behavior is shaped

deliberately by forces in the environment and that the
type of person and actions desired can be the product
of design.
• In other words, behavior is determined by others,
rather than by our own free will.
• By carefully shaping desirable behavior, morality and
information is learned.
• Learners will acquire and remember responses that
lead to satisfying aftereffects.
• Behaviorism is linked with empiricism, which
stresses scientific information and observation,
rather than subjective or metaphysical realities.
Constructivism

• Constructivists believe that the learner

actively constructs his or her own
understandings of reality through
interaction with objects, events, and people
in the environment, and reflecting on these
interactions.
• For learning to occur, an event, object, or
experience must conflict with what the
learner already knows.
• Therefore, the learner's previous
experiences determine what can be learned.
II. Learning theories (psychology) as foundation
of curriculum
• Psychology provides a basis for understanding the teaching
and learning process.
• Teaching and learning are interrelated and psychology
cements the relationship.
• It provides the theories and principles that influence
teacher-student behavior within the context of curriculum.
• Accordingly, the curriculum worker definitely needs the
general understandings of psychological theory and
research.
• Some of the theories that have been propounded are the
following

Mental Discipline
Connectionism
Behaviorism,
Cognitivism, information processing
Constructivism and
Social learning .
 A. Mental Discipline
Mental Discipline: also known as faculty
psychology.
• The mind is made up of series of faculties, each of
which is related to a particular functions or ability
• Learning was thought to be exercising of the
various faculties regarded as muscles, which
needed exercise to grow.
• Memory was one of the faculties.
Mental Discipline Curriculum:
• Curriculum content was often chosen on the basis
of how well it would discipline and exercise the
mind
 B. Connectionism
Connectionism
– A theory of learning based on the
connection of the various elements of
the nervous system in causing
behavior
– . behavior is caused by connection
formulated in the neural passage
hence learning is the process of
formulating new neural passage
connections
 C. Behaviorism
Behaviorism
– It is dealt with and explained in terms of
observable reactions.
– Learning is explained as a conditioned response.
– Much concern is for reinforcement, association &
habit formation.
– Learning occurs when a particular response is
desired & a stimulus is found to produce it.
Behaviorism & Curriculum
– Experiences selected in the curriculum are such
as to produce conditioned response& drill
remains a prominent method of teaching
 D. Cognitive views of learning
Cognitive views of learning
– Cognitivists place their focus on the
students and how they gain and
organize their knowledge
– Students do not merely receive
information but actively create a pattern
of what it means to them.
– Cognitivists believe that learning is the
result of our attempts to make senses of
the world by using all the mental tools
at our disposal.
– The teacher’s role is one of facilitating the students own
discovery-known as inquiry training
E. Constructivism views of learning
Constructivism View of Learning
• believes that there is no objective
reality that a teacher transfers to a
learner from external world;
• rather the real world is a product of the
mind that constructs that world.
 F. Social learning theory
• Attention is given to personality
factors and interactions among
people
• It states that certain learning takes
place through the ability of
individuals to observe the behavior
of other persons, serving as models.
• This allows them to make choices
among these behaviors, which they
adapt to themselves (modeling) and
do in the same or better way.
 III. Sociological foundation of
curriculum
• The sociological foundation of curriculum
encompasses the systematic study of groups
& institutions in the culture with reference
to their contribution to the process & growth
of the educational system as well as the
established practices in the school system.
• The curriculum designer actually deals with
cultural value, social needs & the learners’
background.
• The curriculum should be able to examine
&clarify obstacles prevalent in society,
which make change.
• The curriculum designer should also
consider elements of culture.
These are
• universal culture (distributed among the
adult population),
• special culture (Distributed among only
a portion of the adult population) &
• alternative cultures (Elements that do
not belong neither in the universal or
the especial culture.)
•
• The task of curriculum building
will be principally that of
constructing the curriculum so
that cultural elements, both old &
new will be mutually adjusted & a
new cultural synthesis achieved
IV. Scientific and Technological
Foundation
• Science and technology make things obsolete in a
short period of time
• The innovations, mechanics, mere benefits, etc
are results of science and technology,
• environmental pollution,
• degradation of resource,
• deterioration of human values,
• the dissolving of religious sanctions,
• restructuring of political democracy,
• specializations, psychological witness, etc are
the negative results of science and technological
developments.
• The implications of these to curriculum
planning are 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 manpower
– The unlimited demands for intercultural
exchange
– Securing knowledge about what is going on
around the world and making it part of once
life.
V. Historical Foundation of Curriculum

• Historical foundation refers to a systematic

analysis of curriculum developments during a
given period.
• They may be found in the form of a
chronological recording of educational
incidents pertaining to curriculum
• tracing various educational movements during
a selected period.
• The curriculum is reflective of the political
ideologies, economic systems,
religious convictions and conceptions of
knowledge at a particular point in time.
• Knowledge of history is essential to
making responsible curriculum
decision.
• Knowing what happened in the past
helps to make better judgments about
what might happen today or tomorrow
under similar circumstance.
• Studying the past might remind us to
ask questions about what we might
have overlooked
 1.3. Teacher Role and the major
curriculum views
• Therefore, curriculum and teachers have
strong relationship.
• The role of the teacher in relation to
curriculum could be explained as follows:
1. Work as an instructional designer:
Teachers may have focused on the learners’
developmental, emotional and affective needs in their
teaching
2. Work as an intercultural practitioner (primarily for
language and culture teachers):
The role of teachers, as an intercultural practitioner,
is first to analyze a culture, its concepts and keywords,
and then to introduce and explain them to learners
3. Work with their colleagues to adapt the curricular
standards to their own teaching:
• There are multiple standards for curriculum all over
the world. How do we work effectively
• under the mandated curriculum standards and test
system?
• 4. Work as an effective room manager:
. Classroom management is not separated from
academic curriculum.
• A successfully designed and implemented curriculum
cannot do without effective classroom management
strategies
• 5. Work with parents and community in
designing your schoolwork and
homework:
• classroom is not the only place that
curriculum should be learn and mature
to become adults.
1.4 The Need and Purposes of Curriculum Knowledge and
the Teacher

• The knowledge of curriculum is

important to make educational
discussions and decisions at
different levels.
• Decision makers, officials and
teachers need to know and share
experiences in order to provide
quality, equity and relevant
education for all.
 The Need and Purposes of Curriculum
Knowledge and the Teacher (cont’d)
• The classroom teacher plays an important
role in the design and improvement of school
curriculum.
• He/she provides the necessary data about the
learners and previous curricular materials
when a curriculum or its materials such as
syllabus and textbooks are developed .
• In short, the success of a teacher in
actualizing the students’ desired profiles
demands him/her to have good knowledge of
different curricular variables and their
interactions
 The Need and Purposes of Curriculum
Knowledge and the Teacher……….
• There is a strong relationship between curriculum and
instruction, which could be explained in the following four
different models.
Dualistic Model:
– This model views the relationship between curriculum and instruction
as two independent entities with very minor interaction
Inter-locking Model:
– View the relationship between curriculum and instruction as highly
intertwined.
Concentric Model:
– This model considers curriculum and instruction as system and
subsystem interchangeably.
Cyclical Model:
– This model considered the relationship between curriculum and
instruction as interdependent having significant impacts on each
other.
 Relationship between curriculum and
instruction: Four Models

• Dualistic Model: This model views the

relationship between curriculum and
instruction as
• two independent entities with very minor
interaction.
 Inter-locking Model: View the
relationship between curriculum and
instruction as highly
intertwined.
Concentric Model: This model considers
curriculum and instruction as system
and subsystem
interchangeably
 Cyclical Model: this model considered
the relationship between curriculum and
instruction as
interdependent having significant
impacts on each other.
 Unit Two:

Curriculum Development and

the Planning Process
 2.1 Meaning of Curriculum Development
and Design
Curriculum Development
– describes the process of curriculum-making
– It can also be articulated as a series of steps,
such as:
 define educational purposes;
 selection of contents and learning experiences;
 organizing of contents and learning experiences;
 selection of construct activities/experiences that
can meet these purposes;
– organize activities/experiences and
– Evaluate whether the educational purposes have
been met or not.
Curriculum Design is :
Taba (1962) define curriculum design as a
statement which identifies the elements of the
curriculum,
 states what their relationships are to each other,
and
 indicates the principles of organization and the
requirements of that organization for the
administrative conditions under which it is to
operate.
 A design, of course, needs to be supported with
and to make explicit a curriculum theory which
establishes the source to consider and the
principles to apply.
• When curriculum are planned those who construct
the curriculum may place different emphases on
these component parts of the curriculum.
• Usually more emphasis is placed on the subject
matter.
• Designs also deals with Horizontal and Vertical
Organization of the curriculum component parts.
• Where horizontal organization deals with scope
and integration: side-by-side arrangement of
activities;
• vertical organization deals with sequence and
continuity: longitudinal placement of activities.
 Six Principles of Effective Curriculum
Design
Big Ideas:
– Limit the number of new concepts introduced in a lesson, and
focus first on the most basic concepts before advancing to the
more complex concepts.
– Be sure that students understand one concept before
introducing the second
Conspicuous (attractive) Strategies:
– Use clear models to teach basic concepts. Use simple
language.
Mediated Scaffolding:
– Limit the number of concepts introduced, and
– To reduce the language demands, refrain from introducing
two new and unfamiliar labels in one day
– separate those that are likely to be confused and provide
guided practice
Strategic Integration:
– When the basic concepts are reliably known by
learners,
– Introduce comparative and superlative concepts
– Higher order skills will not be useful or reliable if
the basic concepts are not firm.
Judicious Review:
– To really "know" a concept, students must use it
frequently and in a variety of concepts.
Primed Background Knowledge:
– ensure that students have the prerequisite
knowledge before
Attributes of Curriculum Design

• Curriculum design is purposeful.

• It is not just to “have” a course of study.
• Its grand purpose is to improve student
learning, but it may have other purposes
as well
• Curriculum design is deliberate.
• To be effective, curriculum design must
be a conscious planning effort.
• It is not casual, nor is it the sum total of
lots of different changes being made
• Curriculum design is creative.
• Curriculum design is not a neatly defined
procedure that can be pursued in a rigorous
series of steps.
• At every stage of curriculum design there are
opportunities for innovative thinking.
Curriculum design operates on many levels.
• Design decisions at one level must be
compatible with those at the other levels.
• A middle-school curriculum design that is
incompatible with the elementary
• Curriculum design requires compromises.
• The challenge is to come up with a curriculum
that works well—perfection is not its aim
• Curriculum designs can fail.
• There are many ways in which curriculum
designs can fail tooperate successfully.
• A design can fail because one or more of its
components fail or
• Because the components do not work well
together.
• Or, the people who have to carry it out may
reject the design because they misunderstand
it
2.2 Curriculum Development Models

1. The objective model(rational model)

1. The Tyler Model
2. The Taba Model
3. Wheeler’s model
4. Lawton model of
2. The Process Model
(It was developed by Lawrence Stenhouse.)
3. The Situation Analysis Mode l( developed
by Shilbeck.)
 The objective model
• is also known as rational, classical models.
• Its root is the behavioral psychology.
• emphasize the fixed sequence of curriculum elements,
beginning with objectives and following a sequential
pattern from objectives to content, method and finally
evaluation
• objectives serve as a basis for devising subsequent
elements, its key stages are
1. Stating General Aims, Goals and Objectives
2. Selection of Content
3. Selection of learning experience
4. Organization and matching of learning experience with context
5. Evaluation stage:
• The two principal proponents of rational/ objectives
models are Ralph Tyler and Hilda Taba.
 The Tyler Model (rational model)
• These four questions represented the major tasks and
issues to be dealt with in the process of curriculum
development.
• These questions are:
• What educational purpose that schools seek to attain?
(Objectives).
• What educational experiences can be provided that
are likely to attain these objectives? (Instructional
strategies and content)
• How can these educational experiences be organized
effectively? (Organizing curriculum experiences)
• How can we determine whether these purposes are
being attained? (Assessment and Evaluation)
 The Tyler Model (rational model)……
• According to Tyler, the identification and
defining of objectives is crucially
important in developing an educational
program for learning
• To him, objective is given greater
emphasis
• and should be made the first area of
concern for curriculum development
• and that is why the Tyler model is
referred to as objective model
• Tyler Suggested 3 Sources and 2
screens of objectives
– Three main sources of objectives are:
– The learner needs and interests.
– The society, its culture, problems and issues.
– Subject specialists

– Tyler Advised to use Philosophy and

psychology as screening devises to state
final statement of educational objectives
Curriculum objectives Levels of generality
Can be stated at various levels of generality
1. Aims of Education
2. Goals of Education
3. Curriculum objectives

In formulating objectives the sequence is as:

Philosophy -- aims ---- goals --- objectives
( general objectives or Specific objectives)

Types of Objectives
1. Cognitive domain
2. Affective domain
3. Psychomotor domain
•
 The Taba Model
• Proposed seven-step approach to the processes
of curriculum design and development.
• Unlike Tyler’s model, her model gives priority to
the needs of the students, and hence the
procedures of curriculum development begin
with the diagnosis of needs.
1. Diagnosis of needs
2. Formulation of objectives
3. Selection of contents
4. Organization of contents
5. Selection of learning experiences
6. Organization of learning experiences &
7. Evaluation
Differences with Tyler model
– Taba included diagnosis of needs
– treated contents and learning
experiences separately in terms of both
the selection and organization.
– Taba capitalizes on the
interdependence and inter-relatedness
of the various elements.
– Taba emphasized that no effective
decision is made about any element
without consideration of other elements.
 Wheeler’s Model:
• This model had five basic stages as
follows. Basically, Wheeler used the
fundamental elements of the curriculum
processes as suggested by Tyler.
• But, Wheeler considered Tyler’s approach
is linear and argues that curriculum
development is a continuous process.
• Where as Thus, the activities involved in
the planning need to be interrelated in a
continuous and cyclical form.
 Wheeler’s model of curriculum development
Selection of contents 2
Selection of learning
experiences 3
Aims, goals &
objectives 1

Evaluation 5
Organization & integration
of learning experiences 4
• According to Wheeler, the process of
curriculum development begins with the
treatment of objectives at various levels.
• The treatment begins with the aims from which
intermediate goals are derived.
• Wheeler goes to state that further specific
behavioral outcomes are defined to be attained
at a shorter period including at a specific
instructional level
 Lawton model of curriculum development

• Stages in Lawton’s model

Stage 1 Stage 2
Philosophical questions Sociological questions

Stage 3

Selection of contents
Stage 4
Psychological questions
and theories

Curriculum organization in
Order, sequences Stage 5
 The Process Model:
• It was developed by Lawrence Stenhouse. He
argues that, a process model is more appropriate
than an objective model in areas of the curriculum
which center on knowledge and understanding.
• The root of this model is in philosophy of
education.
• Stenhouse believes that it is possible to design
curricula rationally by specifying content and
principles of procedures rather than by pre-
specifying the anticipated outcomes in terms of
objectives.
Stages in the Process Model
1. Selection of Content
2. Selection of Principles of procedures (learning
strategies)
3. Devising teaching methods and materials
4. Evaluation by criteria inherent in the field of
knowledge
 The Situation Analysis Model
• Focuses on the context in which the teaching-learning
occurs rather than focusing on outcomes and processes.
• Curriculum is made separately for each institutional
situation as these are assumed to be unique.
Stages in the Situation Analysis Model
1. Situation analysis
2. Goal Formulation
3. Program building
4. Interpretation and Implementation
5. Monitoring, Assessment Feedback and Reconstruction:
interpretation and Implementation:
• Curriculum development takes into account the
realities of the society, the needs of the learners, and
developments in science and technology.
• Specifically, curriculum planning needs to be based up
on.
• The nature of knowledge or subject matter
• The needs and interests of the learners
• The social and physical environment
• The nature and processes of learning
• The availability of resources and facilities both
human as well as material
 Curriculum objectives
• Are statements of intentions or intended
outcomes of an educational program
Sources of objectives
– Three main sources of objectives are:
– The learner needs and interests.
– The society, its culture, problems and issues.
– Subject specialists
Screening devises
– Philosophy and psychology
 The selection of contents and learning
experiences

Content or subject matter

– facts, concepts, generalizations, principles, and
theories similar to disciplined knowledge.
includes what men know and believe and their
ideas.
– It also incorporate methods of processing
information as well as what men know and
believe and their ideas.
Types of contents
• Descriptive content. It consists of facts and principles.
• Normative content/ subject matter: It consists of the
rules of the game, norms, or standards by which
individuals make moral and aesthetic choices
Criteria for selection of content
– Self sufficiency (Comprehensiveness)
– Validity- ( with goals and objectives
currency, accuracy)
– Learnability- with students
– Feasibility- time and resources
– Balance ( breadth and depth)
– Utility -the usefulness of the content
• Learning experience
– refers to the interaction between the
learner and the external conditions
– are the mental operations that students
employ in learning content
– involves the instructional component of
the curriculum/Teaching Methods/.
Types of Learning experience
1. Abstract/ Symbolic Experiences
2. Visual /Inactive Experiences
3. Concrete /Direct Purposeful Experiences
• Criteria for the selection of learning experiences
– Matching the experiences with learner level
– One experience to achieve many objectives
– Many experience to achieve one outcome
– Appropriateness to the students interest
– Feasible in terms of time, staff expertise, facilities
available within and outside of the school, community
expectations
– Capable of
• allowing students to develop their thinking skills, rational powers
and address their needs?
• stimulating in students greater understanding of their own
existence as individuals and as members of a groups?
• fostering in students openness to new experiences and a
tolerance for diversity?
 Curriculum Organization
• is fundamentally a matter of arranging curriculum
experiences for a student at a given in a given grade
level

Types of curriculum organization

1. Horizontal relationship
• Concerned with concepts of scope and integration that is,
the side-by- side arrangement of curriculum elements
2. Vertical Organization
• refers to the relationship of ideas contents over time
vertical organization,
• Is concerned with the concepts of sequence and continuity

.
Logical organization
– Logical sequencing where contents & experiences
are sequenced in order of succession. It deals with
the question “what is to follow what” the when of
the curriculum.
Psychological organization
• has to do with how learning takes place in the
mind of the students or, in other words, the
student’s preferred organization.
• It is where contents & learning experiences
are sequenced based on students learning
characteristics such as speed of learning, ease
of difficulty, retention or memory, relevance &
transferability or utility & motivation
 Criteria for curriculum Organization
• There are four main criteria in
organizing curriculum experiences.
1. Continuity – with increasing level
of complexity
2. Sequence -logical or psychological
3. Scope- the amount of concepts
and experiences
4. Integration- relationship of
concepts in different subjects
 Unit Three:
• Curriculum Implementation,
Change and Evaluation
 3.1 Meaning of Curriculum Implementation

Curriculum implementation
– is a process of putting newly planned or changed
curriculum into practice.
– involves changing the status quo by accepting and
utilizing a newly created curriculum or part of a
curriculum.
– If the curriculum is accepted and utilized
successfully, we say that it has become
institutionalized.
Curriculum Change
– is the process of transforming phenomena in to
something different.
– 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.
3.2. Curriculum Implementation Approaches
and Models
• For the implementation process to be successful,
it needs to consider the following points
1. Planning: A deliberate strategy is developed to
implement the curriculum in the school.
2. Communication: The curriculum is presented in terms
of its favorable characteristics.
3. Cooperation: Support is obtained at a systematic level
for the innovation.
4. Support: The characteristics of the school are disposed
towards the innovation.
 Curriculum Implementation Models
• Curriculum implementation can be done using different models. The three
common once are :
1. Fidelity Model:
– the model requires the curriculum to be implemented without any modification as it is,
that is, as it is prescribed by the curriculum experts.
– The teacher has no right to make any form of change in all aspects of the curriculum.
2. Mutual Adaptation Model:
– Teachers are allowed to make some modification by considering the reality of the
context.
3. Enactment Model:
– the curriculum implementer participates in all curriculum development process at all
levels.
– Teachers are the most active participants in curriculum creation.
– This model goes up to school based curriculum development under the national
framework.
 3.3 Factors Affecting Curriculum
Implementation
Factors Related with the Characteristics of the Change:
–Need and Relevance,
–Clarity,
–Complexity,
–Quality and Practicality of Program
Factors Related with the Characteristics of the School District Level
–Previous History of Innovation Attempts,
–The Adoption Process,
–Staff development and Participation,
–Time-line and information systems/ evaluation/, and
–Board and Community Characteristics
School Level Factors
–The Role of the Principal,
–Teacher-Teacher Relationship,
–Teacher characteristics and orientations,
External Environment Factors
–Government Agencies,
–External Assistance
 3.3Factors Affecting 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.
• 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 the curriculum itself
– The situation of the learners
– The professional competence of the teacher
– Availability of resources
– The school environment
– The out of school environment
– The school-community relationship
– The management practices in the school.
 3. 4. Curriculum Change, Resistance and
Increasing Receptivity for Curriculum
Change

• Change is a phenomenon which we experience

continuously, a features of any society ,and a
continuing reality of schools.
• Curriculum change may be considered as a subset
of educational change
• Change can be planned or unplanned,
•
 Change Typologies in Curriculum
According to level of engagement in decision
making
1. Planned Change: It is a change in which those
involved have equal power and function in a
prescribed fashion
2. Coercion: one group determining the goals and
intentionally excluding others from participating
3. Interaction Change: In this type of change, mutual
goal setting and fairly equal power distribution
among groups
According to complexity of change
1. Substitution: one element is replaced for another
2. Alteration : introducing new contents , materials ,etc
3. Perturbations: These changes could first disrupt a
program, but can then be adjusted
4. Restructuring: These changes lead to modification of
the system itself-that is, of the school or school district
5. Value-Orientation Change: These are shifts in the
participants’ fundamental philosophies or curriculum
orientations
 3.4.1 Change Typologies in Curriculum

• Some educators classify changes into different

types. Warren Bennie has identified the
following types of changes:
• Planned Change: It is a change in which those
involved have equal power and function in a
prescribed fashion. People identify and follow
precise procedures for dealing with the activity
at hand. Planned change is taken to be an ideal
one.
• Coercion: one group determining the goals and
intentionally excluding others from participating
characterizes this type of change. The group in control has
the major power and works to maintain the unequal
power balance.
• Interaction Change: In this type of change, mutual goal
setting and fairly equal power distribution among groups
take place. But those involved often lack deliberateness of
effort; they are uncertain how to follow through with the
plans of development and implementation.
• 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. However, if teachers do
not adjust their value domains, any changes enacted are
most likely going to be short lived.
3.4.2: Resistance to Curriculum Change

– a. Inertia
– b. Insecurity:
– c. Rapidity of change:
– d. Lack of knowledge:
– e. Lack of Support:
– f. Self Interest:
3.4.2: Resistance to Curriculum Change
• The people’s resistance to change can be attributed to various
factors.
• a. Inertia: many people think it is easier to keep things as they are.
Wanting to keep things as they exist is often mixed with believing
that things do not need to be changed or that change being
suggested is unwise and will thus be unproductive in meeting the
objectives of the school.
• b. Insecurity: People feel instance about the uncertainty of things to
happen. Those who are comfortable with the present are reluctant
to change for a future which they cannot comprehend or see clearly.
They prefer to stay with certain known deficiencies than venture
forth to uncertain futures, even if the changes most likely would be
improvements.
• c. Rapidity of change: This refers to the factor
which makes people to resist change by
anticipating another change in curriculum
soon.
• Many people feel that if something is
implemented this year, it will most likely be
abandoned when another innovation appears
and this will thus make all their efforts useless.
• d. Lack of knowledge: Sometimes people resist
innovation and its implementation because they lack
knowledge. They either do not know about the
innovation at all or they have little information about it.
• e. Lack of Support: People also resist change if financial
or time support is not given to the effort. Resistance to
change is sometimes perceived as good, because it calls
upon the change agents to think carefully about the
innovations and to consider the human dynamics
involved in implementing programs.
• f. Self Interest: People also resist to
curriculum change when they feel that the
change may result in a loss in their current
position which is related to their personal
interest.
 3.4.3: Improving Receptivity to Curriculum
Change
• Curriculum leaders can also increase the
person’s willingness to change by “linking”
the need and expectations of the individuals
with those of the organizations.
• Curriculum activity must be Cooperative: it
should be perceived by all parties as their own
program.
• Resistance to any new idea is often natural.
Curriculum leaders should anticipate it, and
should prepare procedures for dealing with
• Innovations are subject to change: Nothing
should be viewed as permanent.
• Proper timing: it is a key factor that increases
peoples’ receptivity to an innovation.
 3.4.3: Improving Receptivity to Curriculum
Change
• Curriculum implementation requires face-to-face
interaction or person-to-person contact. It is also a
group process involving individuals working together
• Curriculum leaders can also increase the person’s
willingness to change by “linking” the need and
expectations of the individuals with those of the
organizations.
• Brue Joyce and his coworkers have identified the
following guidelines that help individuals to increase
their receptivity to curriculum innovations.
• Curriculum activity must be Cooperative: if
any program is to be implemented and
institutionalized, it should be perceived by all
parties as their program. This sense of
ownership is achieved by involving people
directly and indirectly with the major aspects
of curriculum development and
implementation.
• Consider as some people do not like change:
Resistance to any new idea is often natural.
Curriculum leaders should anticipate it, and
should prepare procedures for dealing with it.
• Innovations are subject to change: Nothing
should be viewed as permanent.
• Proper timing: it is a key factor that increases
peoples’ receptivity to an innovation.
 3.5 Curriculum Evaluation
• Evaluation is one of the important steps of curriculum
development.
3.5.1: Meaning of Evaluation
• a process that helps us to see the difference between what is
intended or expected and how much is accomplished.
• In doing so it provides valid and reliable information that
could help to decide about the failure or success of an
educational program.
• Modern educational evaluation began with the work of Ralph
Tyler in 1930s (the father of modern program evaluation.
 3.5.2: The Purpose of Evaluation
• Evaluation provides useful information
– to curriculum developers to clarify the stated objectives and where
change is required and
– to those interested (such as students, parents, educational systems,
employers, universities, development planners, and so forth) about
how well students perform in their learning,
• It enables to see what has been achieved (impact evaluation).
• It is used to document what has been done and what progress
has been made (process or implementation evaluation).
• It is used to determine cost-benefit accountability for
expenditures.
• It used to share experiences (professional
development).
• Used to determine the effectiveness of a
program in light of the attainment pre-set
priorities and goals. Therefore, evaluation can
be undertaken for one or more purposes listed
above.
3.5.3 Evaluation Procedures to be Followed

• substantial judgment could be achieved if the following, steps

are followed as evaluation procedures.
– Step 1: Identifying the Objective: the process of evaluation begins with
the identification of educational objectives
– Step 2: Identifying the Situations: Generally, Tyler suggests that
evaluation situation is the kind of situation that gives an opportunity
for the students to express the type of behavior we are trying to
appraise.
– Step 3: Establishing Evaluation Instruments: Here, we identify
particular tests and examine them to see how far they fit into the type
of objectives that are appraised and how far they agree to the learning
situations meant to produce the expected behavior.
 3.5.4: Types of Evaluation
• There are several types of evaluation. Among them,
three major types of curriculum evaluation are
commonly used in education.
1. Formative Evaluation: is undertaken to improve an
existing program. Hence, this evaluation must provide
frequently detailed and specific information to guide
the program being developed. Formative evaluation
can be used at each of the three stages of program
development: planning/designing, disseminating it to
other users and implementing the program.
2. 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.
• 3. Summative Evaluation:
• is concerned with evaluating the overall
program after it is in operation. Summative
evaluation is often based on tests of all sorts,
students’ reaction to the instruction, teachers’
view concerning the effectiveness of
instruction, parents’ reaction, employer ratings
of graduates, and reports from college
examination bureau, etc.
3.5.5 Criteria for Curriculum Evaluation

• 1- Curricular Structure:
• 2 - Curricular Sequence:
• 3 – Curricular Element Proportionality
• 4 - Curricular Integration:
• 5 - Curricular Balance/Learner Outcomes:
• 6 - General Preparation:
• 7 - Curricular Evaluation
• 8 - Faculty Development:
 3.5.5 Criteria for Curriculum
Evaluation
• Criterion 1- Curricular Structure:
 Is the curriculum sufficiently complete?
 What are the current education elements?
 What is missing?
• Criterion 2 - Curricular Sequence:
• Is the sequential logic of the curriculum
optimal?
• For example, are curricular elements
optimally sequenced for learning clinical
method and related topic areas?
• This involves the idea of learner readiness.
• Criterion 3 – Curricular Element
Proportionality
Does curricular content proportionally
reflect the objectives of medical
education, the elements that are
required for the student to develop a
general and balanced preparation?
How is the time allotted in the
curriculum?
Are learning experiences of sufficient
duration for a student to learn what is
intended?
• Criterion 4 -Curricular Integration:
• Is the curriculum sufficiently
integrated /linked in terms of
educational elements
• so that optimal learning is
facilitated and curricular
redundancy minimized?
• Criterion 5 - Curricular Balance/Learner
Outcomes:
• Is the curriculum and its evaluative
components (objectives) balanced in terms
of learner outcomes?
• Is there an educationally sound balance
between knowledge, skill, and attitude
development?
• To what level of competency are learners
prepared?
• 1. Knowledge
• 2. Comprehension
• 3. Application
• 4. Analysis
• 5. Synthesis
• 6. Evaluation
• Criterion 6 - General Preparation:
• Does the curriculum prepare all
students broadly enough?

• How well does the curriculum

achieve a base of general
preparation compared to
specialized preparation?
• Criterion 7 - Curricular Evaluation :
• Are evaluation mechanisms
systematically in place in order to
identify intended learner outcomes
(knowledge, skill, attitude across
the spectrum of expected
competencies)?
• This includes evaluation by learners,
teachers and 'outside' resources.
• Criterion 8 - Faculty Development:
Is there sufficient
• recruitment,
• training,
• evaluation and nurturing of faculty
teachers in order to achieve and
maintain excellence in the
accomplishments of the intended
educational process?
 3.6: Teachers and Curriculum
Relationship

• Clearly teachers participate in a

multiplicity of curriculum activities
at a class room level.
These are very essential for their
daily teaching tasks .
• include such activities as
• selection of specific content,
• selection of teaching strategies, and
use of audio-visual media and so on.
They are as
implementers,
adopters,
developers,
researchers and evaluators.
• As implementer or receiver, the
teacher’s role is to apply curriculum
developed elsewhere.
• Most curriculum writers specializing in
curriculum change would argue that
teacher support is essential for the
effective implementation of any
curriculum innovation.
• Alternatively, the teacher could adopt
the role of adapter or modifier