Sources of Curriculum Design

EDM 207- Curriculum Development
SOURCES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

Curriculum designers must clarify their philosophical, social, and political views of society and the individual
learner-views commonly called curriculum's sources. As David Ferrero notes, educational action (in this case,
curricular design) begins with recognizing one's beliefs and values, which influence what one considers worth
knowing and teaching. If we neglect philosophical, social, and political questions, we design curriculum with
limited or confused rationales.
Doll describes four foundations of curriculum design: science, society, eternal truths, and divine will." These
sources partially overlap with curriculum sources identified by Dewey and Bode and popularized by Tyler:
knowledge, society, and the learner.
Science as a Source.
Some curriculum workers rely on the scientific method when designing curriculum. Their design contains only
observable, quantifiable elements. Problem solving is prioritized. The design emphasizes learning how to learn.
Much discussion of thinking processes is based on cognitive psychology. Advocated problem-solving procedures
reflect our understanding of science and organization of knowledge. Some educators think the curriculum should
prioritize the teaching of thinking strategies. With knowledge increasing so rapidly, the only constant seems to be
the procedures by which we process knowledge.
Society as a Source.
Curriculum designers who stress society as a curriculum source believe that school is an agent of society, and
should draw its curriculum ideas from analysis of the social situation." Curriculum designers must consider
current and future society. In the United States, fostering democracy is an ongoing goal.
Schools must realize that they are part of, and designed to serve the interests of, their local community and larger
society. Curriculum designers should not ignore social diversity: multiple cultures, ethnic groups, and social
classes. Such diversity is increasingly evident as the United States incorporates diverse immigrant groups.
Curriculum design operates within social, economic, and political contexts. The challenge is to address students'
unique needs and the particular demands of di verse social groups while allowing students to gain understanding
of the common culture and to acquire common, agreed-on competencies. Indeed, the search for a common
curriculum presupposes that there is something general and universal for all to know.
Effective curriculum designers realize the need for collaboration among di verse individuals and groups. People
from disparate backgrounds and cultures are demanding a voice regarding how education is organized and
experienced. Society currently is a powerful influence on curriculum design. As Arthur Ellis notes, no curriculum
or curriculum design can be considered or created apart from the people who make up our evolving society.
Moral Doctrine as a Source.

Some curriculum designers look to the past for guidance regarding appropriate content. These persons emphasize
what they view as lasting truths advanced by the great thinkers of the past. Their designs stress content and ranks
some subjects as more important than others. Some people believe that curriculum design should be guided by the
Bible or other religious texts. While this view was common in the schools of colonial America, it has had little
influence in public schools for more than a century, primarily because of the mandated separation of church and
state. However, many private and parochial schools still subscribe to this now, including a growing number of
Islamic schools.
In this century, public schools are increasingly considering the relationship between knowledge and people's
spirituality. Many people are criticizing Western society's emphases on science, rationality, and material wealth.
Dwayne Huebner has argued that education can address spirituality without bringing in religion. For him, to have
spirit is to be in touch with life's forces, or energies. Being in touch with spirit allows one to see the essences of
reality and to generate new ways of viewing knowledge, new relationships among people, and new ways of
perceiving one's existence.
According to James Moffett, spirituality fosters mindfulness, attentiveness, awareness of the outside world, and
self-awareness. Spiritual individuals develop empathy and insight. Curriculum designers who draw on spirituality
reach a fuller understanding than those who rely only on science. Spiritual individuals develop empathy and
compassion. They consider and promote the welfare of others. They welcome differing viewpoints. Spiritual
curriculum designers ask questions about the nature of the world, the purpose of life, and what it means to be
human and knowledgeable. William Pinar comments that viewing curriculum as religious text may allow for a
blending of truth, faith, knowledge, ethics, thought, and action. He feels that faith, ethics, and action need more
emphasis.
Knowledge as a Source.
Knowledge, according to some, is the primary source of curriculum. Herbert Spencer placed knowledge within
the framework of curriculum when he asked, "What knowledge is of most worth?"
Those who place knowledge at the center of curriculum design realize that knowledge may be a discipline, having
a particular structure and a particular method or methods by which scholars extend its boundaries. Undisciplined
knowledge does not have unique content; instead its content is shaped according to an investigation's focus. For
example, physics as a discipline has a unique conceptual structure and entails a unique process. In contrast,
environmental education is undisciplined in that its content is drawn from various disciplines and adapted to a
special focus.
The challenges to those who accept knowledge as the primary source of curricular design is that knowledge is
exploding exponentially. But the time for engaging students with curriculum is not increasing. Most schools still
require 180 school day sessions. Spencer's question is now even more daunting. Not only must we rethink "what
knowledge is of most worth?" but we must posit the following inquiries: "For whom is this knowledge of value?"
"Is there any knowledge that must be possessed by the majority?" "What intellectual skills must be taught to
enable common and uncommon knowledge to be utilized for individual and social good?"
The Learner as a Source.

Some believe that the curriculum should derive from our knowledge of students: how they learn, form attitudes,
generate interests, and develop values. For progressive curricularists, humanistic educators, and many
curricularists engaged in postmodern dialogue, the learner should be the primary source of curriculum design.
Such curricularists tend to draw heavily on psychological foundations, especially how minds create meaning.
Much cognitive research has provided curriculum designers with ways to develop educational activities that
facilitate perceiving, thinking, and learning. Since the final years of the 1900s, microbiological research on the
brain has had much significance for educators. We are learning that the educational environment can influence the
anatomy of a child's brain. Quantity and quality of experiences physically affect brain development.
Learner-focused curriculum design emphasizes students' knowledge. Individuals construct, rather than simply
acquire, knowledge, and they do so in unique ways with specific unique conclusions. They may use the same
words to answer a question, but their deep comprehension of the material is quite distinct. As a source of
curriculum design, the learner-centered approach overlaps with approaches that focus on knowledge or science, in
that the science-based approach emphasizes strategies for processing knowledge, and the knowledge-based
approach emphasizes how individuals process information. Of course, all sources of curriculum design overlap to
some extent. Learner-based curriculum design seeks to empower students and foster their individual uniqueness.
Reference: Ornstein, A., & Hunkins, F. (2009) Curriculum Design. In Curriculum: Foundations, Principles and
Issues (5th Ed.), pp. 183-185 . Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
MARIANNE B. PAROHINOG
Presenter
Sources of Curriculum Design
 Science as Source
 Society as Source
 Eternal and Devine Sources
 Knowledge as a Source
 The Learner as a Source
Science as a Source
 The scientific method provides meaning for the curriculum design.

 Only those items that can be observed and quantified should be included.
 Problem-solving should have the prime position in the curriculum, i.e., stress thinking.
 Procedural knowledge or knowledge of process.
 The curriculum teaches rational processes for dealing with reality.
Society as a Source
 Curriculum is an agent of society.

 Curriculum are designed to serve the broad social interests of society, as well as the
local community.
 Support is shown for society as a curriculum source since the universe is becoming,
rather than existing for our detached scientific viewing.
 Society shows where to modify the curriculum.
External and Devine Sources
 Curriculum design should be intended to perpetuate society.

 It should pass on the significance of people's values and personal morality.
 Devine will, eternal truth from the Bible.
 Today these sources are reflected through the curriculum designer's values and
personal morality.
Knowledge as a Source
 One of the prime sources of curriculum.

 Disciplined knowledge has a particular structure and a particular method(s) used to
extend its boundaries.
 Disciplined vs Undisciplined Knowledge
o Disciplined = unique
o Undisciplined = various (training)
The Learner as a Source
 Curriculum is derived from what we know about the learner.

 We draw much from the psychological foundations.
 Based on cognitive research.
 Emphasizes "learning by doing".

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What are the different sources of curriculum design discussed in the passage?

How does the scientific method influence curriculum design according to the passage?

EDM 207- Curriculum Development

Moral Doctrine as a Source.

The Learner as a Source.

Sources of Curriculum Design

 The scientific method provides meaning for the curriculum design.

 Curriculum is an agent of society.

External and Devine Sources

 Curriculum design should be intended to perpetuate society.

 One of the prime sources of curriculum.

The Learner as a Source

 Curriculum is derived from what we know about the learner.

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