Mzuzu University

Centre for Open and Distance Learning

Curriculum Theory and

Practice

Sam Dumba Safuli

 Mzuzu University

Centre for Open and Distance Learning

Curriculum Theory and

Practice

Sam Dumba Safuli

i
Published by Mzuzu University, Centre for Open and Distance Learning
P/Bag 201
Luwinga
Malawi

Editor: John Bisika

Designer: Centre for Open and Distance Learning
Typesetter: Centre for Open and Distance Learning

©Mzuni 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form
by any means photocopying, recording, microfilm or otherwise without prior
written notice from the publishers.

ISBN: 978-99908-57-64-1

Printed by: Centre for Open and Distance Learning

ii
Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all members of staff in the Department of Education and
Teaching Studies for their support and advice they gave to me when I was
developing this module.

Let me also thank my wife and my children for their patience and support they
usually render to me when doing my projects of various magnitude.

I wish also to recognise the role played by the Centre for Open and Distance
Learning , specifically so materials production, in facilitating the production of
this module through training, technical advice and editorial functions. Let me
also thank Mzuzu University for a token of financial support that enabled me
do some research to come up with this type of job.

At the helm of all these, remain God the Almighty Father who deserves
bountiful thanks for keeping me alive until today.

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Contents
Acknowledgements-----------------------------------------------------------------------------iii
Introduction----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------v
Unit 1 The Curriculum: What is it?-------- ------------------------------------------------1
Unit 2 Types of Curriculum-----------------------------------------------------------------10
Unit 3 Curriculum Development Models------------------------------------------------25
Unit 4 Situational Analysis and Needs Assessment-----------------------------------40
Unit 5 Learning Outcomes against Learning Experiences---------------------------50
Unit 6 Implementation of the Curriculum-----------------------------------------------59
Unit 7 Curriculum Evaluation--------------------------------------------------------------68

iv
Introduction to Curriculum Theory and Practice

As a practicing teacher you must have been involved in a curriculum

development process directly or indirectly. You might have been involved in
one of the stages or phases of curriculum development process. In this module
you will study about the curriculum process. Curriculum process has a number
of stages or steps, these include:
• Situation Analysis,
• Formulation of Aims Goals and Objective,
• Development and Selection of Content,
• Selection of Methods
• Implementation and
• Evaluation.
The aim of this module therefore is to introduce you to some of the concepts
and issue related to curriculum process. The module will also help you, should
you one day be called upon to participate in the process of curriculum
development. The module has seven Units. At the end of each unit there is a set
of questions that will help you to find out how much you have learnt.

v
Unit 1 The Curriculum: what is it?

Introduction
In Unit One you are going to study how different people have defined the term
“Curriculum”. How each one of them came up with his/her own definition of
the term “curriculum”. Therefore the differences in definitions of the term led
Professor Robert Zias (1976) to indicate that people should not spend a lot of
time on the definition because by doing so we would spend a lot of our
valuable time doing something not academically useful.

In the unit you will also study the three types of definitions and how the three
types of definitions apply to the term curriculum process. The unit has also
discussed the levels of the curriculum. Lastly you will study the four elements
of the curriculum.

Areas of emphasis
In Unit One there are four areas of emphasis that you must bear in mind as you
studying the unit. These areas are:
• The widest meaning of the term curriculum;
• The three types of curriculum definitions;
• The levels of the curriculum;
• The elements of the curriculum.

Key words
The key words or phrases you need to pay attention to are as follows:
The curriculum; Descriptive, Programmatic and Stipulative curriculum
definitions; Societal, institutional, instructional and experiential curriculum
levels; Purpose and Content Evaluation.

Prerequisite knowledge
From Module One; “An Introduction to the Art and Teaching Profession” you
must have studied about some of curriculum documents such as syllabuses,
schemes and records of work, text books and teachers’ guides. You must have
also studied the importance of these few documents and how useful they are in
the education system.

Materials needed
Mtunda FG & Safuli SDD. (1987) An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of
Teaching. Blantyre, Dzuka.
Urevbu, A. (1999) Curriculum Studies, Longman. Lagos, Nigeria.

Time required
Four hours

1
 Learning objectives
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• define the term “Curriculum” in relation to imparting knowledge, attitudes
and skills to the learner in a school system
• describe the four areas of the curriculum that provide the widest and common
meaning of the term curriculum
• discuss briefly why a stipulative definition of the term curriculum is very
appropriate in a today’s dynamic society
• explain why the society level is the most influential level in curriculum
development process
• describe briefly each of the four elements of the curriculum.

What is curriculum?
Before going into the details of this course, let us talk about the word or term
Curriculum. What does the word mean? What do people who claim to know
what the word mean say? Do they say the same thing when they are talking
about the word curriculum? From what has been written by many theorists it
shows that many people have come up with different definitions of the word.
Robert Zais (1976 p13) says “a search for the correct definition of the term
Curriculum is not a productive enterprise”. What Zais is talking about is true
that looking for the correct term of the word curriculum is a waste of time and
energy because there are many definitions of the term.

However we will try to exposes some few definitions of the term. The word in
its widest meaning looks at four areas:
• What is taught (content),
• How it is taught (methods),
• Why is it taught (aims and objectives).
• Who are the major stakeholders in curriculum (students, teachers and the
society)?

The meaning of the term curriculum includes other aspects of the word which
are; evaluation, control and classroom interaction.

As earlier indicated that there are many definitions of the word, here are some
of them. I would expect you to look for some more definitions. Read them
carefully and find out how they are similar and how they differ.

“..any socially constructed or prescribed activities, selected in some way from the
culture of that society, that results in the transformation of the individual” (Alliistair
Ross 2000)

“..Curriculum embodies all the teaching-learning experiences guided and directed by

the school” (Harnack (1968)).
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“.. a plan or a programme for all experiences which the learner encounters under the
direction of the school” (Oliva (1982)).

“..that series of things which children and youth must do and experience by way of
developing abilities to do the things well that make up adults the affair of adult life; and
to be in all respect what should be.” (Bobbit (1918)).

“..the learning experience of students, in so far as they are expressed or anticipated in

educational goals and objectives, plans and designs for learning and the
implementations of these plans and designs in school environment.”(Skilbeck (1984)).

“.. the commonly-accepted definition of curriculum has changed from content of course
of study and lists of subjects and courses to all the experiences which are offered to
learners under the auspices or direction of the school.”(Doll (1964)).

“..an attempt to communicate the essential principles and features of an educational

proposal in such a form that is open to critical scrutiny and capable of effective
translation into practice.” (Stenhouse (1975)).

“..all of the planned experiences provided by the school to assist pupils in attaining the
designated learning outcomes to the best of their abilities. (Neagley and Evans).

“..that construction of knowledge and experiences systematically developed under the

auspices of the school to enable the learner to increase his/hr control of knowledge and
experience.” (Tanner and Tanner (1980)).

The definitions given above are just a few of the large number of definitions
formulated by different people. Because we have seen different definitions we
are therefore forced to blend some of these definitions into one or more in order
to come up with a definition that would satisfy our needs.

Activities
You have just read a list of definitions of the term curriculum, written by
different people.
Can you identify the similarities and differences of these definitions? Which
definition do you think is the best to you and why?

Types of curriculum definitions

Israel Scheffler in Urevbu (1995), discusses three types of curriculum definitions
and these are: Descriptive, Stipulative and Programmatic. Although one
cannot discuss each one of these in its purest form, but Scheffler ascribes certain
distinguishing futures to each.

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A descriptive definition is one which purports to describe adequately what is
being defined or the way in which the term is used. Dictionaries unusually
provide descriptive definitions. For example Chambers English Dictionary says
that the term curriculum came from a Latin word Currere meaning to run or
more precisely to run a course. Traditionally schools were established to run
courses for the youth. From the early usage of the word, today, according to
laymen the term curriculum is defined as a course of study, or syllabuses or a
collection of syllabuses, containing a body of subject matter officially taught in
schools.

Although this definition appears clear and simple but it is confusing and is
accused of being narrow in nature. Educators ask whether the term curriculum
mean Official curriculum – that is what is laid down in the syllabuses or the
Actual curriculum sometimes being referred to as the curriculum-in-use, that is,
what actually happens in the classrooms and schools. Some educationists call
this the hidden curriculum. The hidden curriculum refers to the non-academic
but educationally important to schooling. For example school life teaches one to
be friendly, respectful, polite, and obedient to authority, neatness, games and
sports.

Programmatic definition according to Scheffler, he tells us overly or implicitly

that this is a way things should be. The definition is intended to embody
programmes of action or is an expression of a practical programme. An
example of programmatic curriculum definition reads as follows:

“All learning which is planned or guided by the school. Whether it is carried on in

groups, or individually, inside or outside the school.”

“A programme of activities designed so that pupils will attain, as far as possible, certain
educational ends or objectives”.

“That the curriculum consists of content, teaching methods, and purpose may in its
rough and ready way to be sufficient definition with which to start. These three
dimensions interacting are the operational curriculum”( Urevbu, A. (1999).

The last two example definitions tell us what the curriculum should be. The
first definition implies that curriculum needs not to be organized knowledge; it
could be anything learnt in the school or those learnt outside the school. What
this definition says is what is learnt at school, at home, at workplace, or during
play. It is encompassed by the term curriculum. Thus, there are no clear
boundaries to what we might regard as curriculum,
The second definition, the term curriculum is used to mean a programme of
activities designed to promote certain ends of liberal education, that is, the
introduction of children to the main forms of knowledge which in Scheffler’s
view constitute human understanding. The definition rules out a curriculum
which simply describes what the learner should do.

4
The third definition incorporates the three dimensions; content, teaching
methods, and purpose. Curriculum is thus reduced to a linear and a mechanical
paradigm which appears to be a document for classroom teaching. It may be a
lesson plan or schemes of work or even a unit plan.

The third type of definition is what Scheffler calls a Stipulative definition. A

stipulative definition is one which is invented or better still, is given by the
author. For example in his book Class, Culture and the Curriculum, Lawton
argues against the various definitions of curriculum but for the purpose of his
book, he used the term curriculum as a selection from the culture of a society.
He argues that for the interest of social justice, all pupils should be exposed to a
selection from a common culture. As he puts it in one of his books;

“Certain aspects of our way of life, certain kinds of knowledge, certain attitudes, and
values are regarded so important that their transmission to the next generation cannot
be left to chance in our society, but should be entrusted to specially trained professionals
(teachers) in elaborate and expensive institution (schools). Not everything in our
culture is regarded as of such importance, and in any case time is limited, so selection of
what is to be transmitted to the next generation has to be made. (Urevbu, A. (1999).”

The stipulative definition offered by Lawton could also be a descriptive

definition in its reference to the use of the word curriculum to describe the
selection from the society’s culture. A stipulative definition of curriculum is a
very broad, which includes both official and the actual curriculum in schools.

The stipulative definition of the term curriculum does not say or imply that
schools can compensate for the society and schools cannot remedy all the ills of
the society and eliminate all the ills in our societies. Schools should therefore
not be blamed for all the imperfections of the society as a whole. Lawton
however admits that education can equip people to understand the society
better to improve it.

Curriculum is a human enterprise in which people attempt to do something in

a purposeful, thoughtful and careful way. We can now be precise when we
want someone to define the term curriculum. We either have to ask for a
descriptive, programmatic or stipulative definition of the term curriculum.
Stipulative definition of the term curriculum is the most appropriate in this
changing or dynamic global village.

Activities
1 Among the three definitions of the term curriculum, why would you
think the Stipulative definition of the term be the most
comprehensive?

2 Why would selection of what to include in the curriculum from the

society be very important in the development of the curriculum?
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Levels curriculum
Levels of curriculum; refer to the degree of remoteness from the learners for
whom the curriculum has been planned and developed. These levels include
societal, institutional, instructional and experiential curriculum.

• The Societal Level is the farthest curriculum removed from the learners
and is designed by the public including politicians, representative of special
interest groups, administrators at different levels and professional specialists.
These groups often decide on the goals, topics to be covered, time to be spent
and the materials to be spent.

• Institutional curriculum level serves schools and is derived largely from

societal curriculum with some modifications by local educators and laypersons.
This curriculum is commonly organized according to subjects and does include
topics and themes to be studied.

Institutional curricula include the documents produced and used at the district
or school level. These documents would include lesson plans or teachers’
guides. This curriculum is sometimes referred to as Explicit Curriculum.

• The Instructional Curriculum level refers to the one that teachers plan
and deliver in schools. Teachers base instructional curricula on what has been
determined as necessary or desirable for their school board and their school
authority. This is true for the decentralized education systems like the ones in
the United State of America where each school district has its own curriculum.

• Experiential curriculum level is the one perceived and experienced by

the students. What is experienced is different from one student to another
because of the different backgrounds, motivation, and levels of aspirations.

Activity
Imagine that you have been invited to The Malawi Institute of Education as
a member of a particular curriculum committee, what level of the curriculum
is the curriculum you are going to involved in will be?

Elements of curriculum
The curriculum has four elements that are in consistent interaction and these
are:
• Purpose (aims, goals and objectives),
• Content or subject matter,
• Methods or learning experiences,
• Evaluation.

6
It is the interaction of these elements in the social, political, economic,
technological and environmental context that constitutes a curriculum. Now let
us look at each element at a time.

Purpose (Aims, Goals,

and Objectives)

Content: Subjects to
Methods or Learning be studied.
Experiences

Evaluation:
Performance
measurement

Elements of the Curriculum

Purpose
The purpose of the curriculum:
• Is based on the social aspirations of the society.
• Outlines the aims and goals of the programme and
• Is expressed as aims, goals and objectives.

There are three categories of goals and objectives:

• Cognitive, referring to intellectual tasks,
• Psychomotor, referring to muscular skills and
• Affective, referring to feelings and emotions.
Please note that the curriculum always reflects the relevance of whatever the
society deems to be important.

Content or subject matter

The content of the curriculum:
• Is divided into bodies of knowledge, for example mathematics, English
and science.
• Outlines the desired attitudes and values;
• Includes cherished skills;
• Is determined by prevailing theories of knowledge; and
• Caters to ideological, vocational and technical consideration.

Please note that the curriculum content must be applicable to the solution of the
problems affecting the society which uses it.

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Methods or learning experiences
The methods or learning experiences outlined in the curriculum;
• Deal with teaching and learning experiences and
• Involve organizational strategies.
Flexible teaching methods facilitate learning.

Evaluation
Evaluation is used in curriculum process to:
• Select appropriate content based on the aims, goals and objectives of the
curriculum.
• Select appropriate methods to address the content and purpose.
• Check the effectiveness of methods and learning experiences used.
• Check the suitability and appropriateness of the curriculum in
addressing the social needs of the society.
• Give appropriate feedback to the learners teachers, planners, industry
and the society.
• Provide a rationale (the justification) for making changes.

Conducting evaluation judgments must be made regarding: Inputs, means,

content, outputs and outcomes of the whole learning process.

Activities
1 Which level of the curriculum would provide a richer and more relevant
curriculum for the needs of the society?
2 Which level would give a more restricted curriculum?
3 Why would evaluation be a very useful curriculum element that would
help to improve the quality of the curriculum?

Unit summary
The term curriculum has a very wide selection of definitions. The many
definitions in general terms they all mean four main areas:
• What is taught (content)?
• How is it taught (methods)?
• Why is it taught (aims, goals and objectives)?
• Who are the major stakeholders in curriculum (learners, parents and the
society)?

Israel Scheffler came up with three types of curriculum definitions. These are
descriptive, programmatic and stipulative definitions. Among the three
stipulative definition gives a richer meaning to the term. It talks about the need

8
for selection from the society of what the learners will learn from the
curriculum.

There are four curriculum levels. Among the four the curriculum societal level
is the one which is remotest from the learner and its closer to the society. This
curriculum levels originates from the society. The other three levels bring the
curriculum very close to the learner. The learners and the other members of the
school participate in the formulation of curriculum.

The curriculum has four main elements that are in consistent interaction. These
four elements are;
• Purpose (aims, goals and objectives),
• Content or subject matter,
• Methods or learning experiences and
• Evaluation.

Evaluation
Try to answer the questions below:

1 Why doe Professor Robert Zais say that trying to come up with one
acceptable definition of the term curriculum is a waste of time?
2 Discuss briefly the four commonest elements of the curriculum that
provides its meaning?
3 Israel Scheffler discusses three types of definitions of the curriculum;
briefly describe each one of them?
4 Among the three types of definitions “stipulative definition calls for
the curriculum developers to select what is to be included in the
curriculum. Why is it so?
5 Why would the societal level of the curriculum provide a richer and a
more diverse field of the curriculum?
6 Discuss briefly each of the four elements of the curriculum?

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Unit 2 Types of the Curriculum

Introduction
In Unit two, you are going to study six types of curriculum. These six are not
strictly very different from each other but are very close. Their definitions are
related to each other. You will also study some of the theories of knowledge
that are an important source of curriculum decisions. The scope of curriculum
process is part of the knowledge you will study in the unit.

Factors that influence curriculum development process have been analyzed in

order for you, the reader to appreciate the value of the factors and how they
affect curriculum decision, design and development.

Areas of emphasis
In Unit two the areas of emphasis that you need to concentrate on are the
following:
• The six types of curriculum;
• The four areas of curriculum perspectives,
• The three curriculum ideologies;
• The scope of curriculum process;
• The six factors that influence the curriculum design process.

Key words / phrases in the unit

The following terms and phrases are very important for you to understand this
unit. The words and phrases are:
• Formal, Informal, Actual, Hidden, Collateral, Core, and Extra-Mural
curriculum;
• Rationalistic, Empiricist, Pragmatist, Existentialist and Phenomenologist
• Classical Humanistic, Progressivism, Social Reconstruction and
Ethnocentrisms.
• Curriculum Planning, Curriculum Construction, Curriculum
Engineering, Curriculum Theory, Curriculum Design, Curriculum
Development, Curriculum Implementation and Curriculum Evaluation.

Prerequisite knowledge
Module One - An Introduction to the Art and Teaching Profession, which you
have already studied by now, will help you to understand some of the concepts
in this unit. Concepts such as; types of curriculum have partly been covered in
Module one. However there are many concepts which are new and you will
need to pay a lot of attention to such terms and concepts.

Materials needed
Mtunda FG & Safuli SDD (1987) An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of
Teaching. Blantyre, Dzuka.
Urevbu, A. (1999) Curriculum Studies. Lagos, Longman.

10
Time required
Four hours

Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• discuss briefly the six types of curriculum
• explain briefly what each one of the following philosophers believe in
terms of curriculum development. Rationalists, Empiricists,
Pragmatists and Existentialist
• discuss briefly the three curriculum educational ideologies
• identify at least five areas of the scope of curriculum process
• explain briefly why curriculum change is an important aspect in the
curriculum process
• define the term curriculum change.

Types of curricula
Curriculum can be classified into six types. Although their definitions are very
close but they are both meant to benefit the learner.

• Formal curriculum: According to Urevbu (1995), formal curriculum

refers to: what is laid down as a syllabus or that which is to be learnt by
students. It is the officially selected body of knowledge which government,
through the Ministry of Education or any body offering education wants the
students to learn. Formal Curriculum is all the work that teachers plan and use
with students. This curriculum meets specified objectives of educating
identified groups of learners or students in their varying setting. It is the
selected written programmes or courses students go through.

• Informal curriculum: Urevbu (1995) refers to informal curriculum as the

curriculum in use. Teachers in their course of implementation of the formal
curriculum may include other aspects of knowledge derived from other
sources. The additional material is what makes a formal curriculum to be
known as Informal Curriculum.

• Actual curriculum: This refers to both written and unwritten curriculum

from which students encounter learning experiences (Tanner and Tanner 1975)
and can be selected from other sources rather than the prescribed, official, and
formal materials. The actual curriculum is the total sum of what teachers teach
and students learn from formal and informal curriculum.

• Hidden curriculum: It is the non-academic but educationally significant

component of schooling. Tanner and Tanner (1985) prefer to call it the
Collateral Curriculum. They argue that the word hidden implies deliberately
concealing some learning experiences from the learners. Since it is not written
11
or officially recognized, its influence on learning can manifest itself in students’
attitudes and behaviours, both during and after completing their studies.

Behaviours such as obedience to authority, punctuality, neatness, and even

study skills are some of the things that are acquired and learned from hidden
curriculum. These are usually remembered longer than information learnt from
formal curriculum.

• Core curriculum: This is not an independent type of curriculum, it refers

to the area of study, courses or subjects that students must go through in their
studies to be recognised that they are educated in the area of study. “Core”
refers to the “heart” of experiences every learner must go through. The learner
has no option but to study or cover the prescribed course or subjects. In an
education system there are subjects that are classified as core subjects and that
students are expected to study these subjects. Students may take a combination
of these subjects for their certificates. In Malawi the core subjects at the
secondary school level include the following Mathematics, English, Chichewa,
Physical Science, Biology, Agriculture Geography and History. The other
subjects are not regarded as Core subjects and the school may decide to offer
them or not.

• Extra-mural or non-formal curriculum: Refers to those learning

experiences or activities students are exposed to by their teachers but which are
not stipulated in the formal or official curriculum documents. Teachers plan
and deliberately teach these experiences and sometimes assess their learning
outcomes. For example coaching and training in different or various aspects of
school sports are some of the extra-curricular learning experiences made
available to students that are not stipulated in the formal curriculum.

Activities
1 What is the difference between a Formal and a Core Curriculum?
2 How are the two curricula similar?
3 Explain why Tanner and Tanner do not like the term Hidden
Curriculum?

Curriculum perspectives
Curriculum Perspectives are theories of knowledge which are an important
source of curriculum decisions. Zewii (1984), states that; “what goes into the
curriculum depends heavily on these perspectives. There are a number of
curriculum perspectives that you need to be familiar with. Some of these
perspectives are as follows;
• Rationalistic,
• Empiricist,
• Pragmatist
• Existentialist.
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It is important to consider each perspective as it relates to the learner, teacher,
method to be used and the type of curriculum.

Rationalists say that:

• True knowledge is achieved by the mind.
• Knowledge is a series of revelations.

Empiricists think that:

• True knowledge is derived from evidence.
• Authentic knowledge comes through the senses.

Pragmatists believe that:

• Knowledge is hypothetical and is changing constantly.
• Knowledge is experienced,
• Knowledge cannot be imposed on the learner.
• Knowledge is a personal activity.
• Knowledge is socially constructed.

Existentialists or phenomenologist concludes that:

• Knowledge is personal and subjective,
• Knowledge is one’s own unique perception of one’s world.
• Education should be less formal
• Curricula should be diverse and not common for all.

Perspectives Learner Teacher Method Curriculum

Rationalist Recipient of Source of Drilling and Subject matter
information ideas facts lecturing of of symbol and
and subject matter idea.
information
Empiricist Recipient of Demonstrator Lecturing Subject matter
information of process Teacher- of the physical
centered world.
Pragmatist Experiences Researcher Inquiry, Problem
knowledge project Participatory solving,
director Problem Hypothetical
Solving Subject to
changes
Problem
Projects
Existentialist Ultimate Facilitator of Inquiry Subject matter
chooser, choices Discovery of choices not
search for rigid
personal
identity

The table above summarizes the perspectives as they relate to the learner, teacher,
method and the curriculum. Adapted from Beach, D. M., and Reinhatz, J. (1989).
13
Curricula educational ideologies
Curriculum is developed and implemented for the benefit of the individual and
society. That is educational curriculum is driven by dimension of knowledge.
These dimensions are part of the educational ideologies. These ideologies exert
great influence on the type of curriculum design used, the stated purpose of the
curriculum and the nature of planned learner experiences.

Lawton (1983) identified three basic educational ideologies, each of which

generates a different type of curricula. These three ideologies are:

• Classical Humanistic or Traditional Curriculum,

• Progressivism or Problem–Solving Curriculum.

• Social Reconstruction or Ethnocentrisms Curriculum.

These ideologies are ideal type and that they don’t exist in pure form. For
example the Malawi curriculum is not influenced by one ideology but rather by
each and every one of the three ideologies.

Classical humanism or traditional

This ideology is based on knowledge-centered education, which is
characterized by teacher domination or teacher-centered learning. It is probably
the oldest educational ideology. This ideology originated in Greece in the 4th
Century BC. Plato developed the idea of cultural heritage, whose custodians
were a class of guardians.

Classical humanism is the basis of humanities in curriculum in modern

education. It emphasizes cultural heritage, which is described as knowledge
worked out over hundreds of years giving access to the best in terms of the arts,
religious and moral education, literature, music, history and more recently
social sciences. The essential feature of humanism is that it associates traditional
culture and values with a small minority group called the elite. The elite were
to receive a quite different education from other groups. They were referred to
as men of gold while other groups were men of bronze and silver (Kayira, P.
K, 2002)

Classical humanism is not a good ideology because it encourages segregation

within a society. It does not respect the rule of democracy. In a democratic
society education is regarded as a means of encouraging greater equality to all
rather than a small group of elites. However classical humanism should not be
thrown out completely because it is anti-democratic. There is a lot in cultural
heritage that needs to be preserved and passed on from generation to
generation.

Progressivism or poblem-solving
This ideology is based on pupil-centered education and the emphasis on
discovery learning. It also has a long history. It was a healthy and natural
rejection against the principles of classical humanism. One of the earliest
14
proponents of progressivism was Jean Jacques Rousseau (1774) and the idea of
progressivism was supported by John Dewey and other educationists more
recently.

Progressivism emphasises the idea that instead of the teacher transmitting

cultural heritage ideas, there is a need for the pupil to discover for him/herself
and follow his/her own impulses. The learner’s freedom is very important than
the social order. Progressive curriculum would be concerned not with subjects
only but what the learner’s experiences and topics would be chosen by the
learner him/herself. Piaget has indicated some aspects of progressivism in his
theories of child developmental stages.

Progressivism has led to the development of school science laboratories and

experimentation and school-based education in an attempt to promote problem
solving skills in the learners.

Social reconstruction or ethnocentrism

This ideology is based on society-centered education, hence the term
ethnocentrisms. Here education is seen as a means for improving the society.
The curriculum should therefore be directly linked to national policies of the
government. Everyone must have an equal chance to education so that every
citizen has an equal chance of knowing how to read and write. Reconstructions
stresses upon social values in a democratic society such as citizenship and
social cooperation.

Activities
The tendency for the learner to follow his/her impulses makes the learner to
discover his/her environment. What would this ideology be?

The scope of curriculum process

Curriculum process comprises a number of areas some of the most known are
as follows: curriculum development, curriculum planning, curriculum design,
curriculum change, curriculum theory, curriculum construction, curriculum
implementation and curriculum evaluation.

Curriculum planning deals with a number of reality-oriented statements

concerned with questions such as; what should be taught and how should it be
taught? To which group of the population should the said curriculum be
taught? What should be the relationship of the different components of the
curriculum? In the western societies where there are homogeneous societies it
would be easy to answer these questions. However in heterogeneous societies
like those found in developing countries it would require a lot of work to come
with a very comprehensive curriculum planning programme. Curriculum

15
planning would enable one to resolve these complex questions and develop a
workable curriculum.

Curriculum planning tries to address the following:

• What is it that has to be taught (content)?
• How is the content going to be taught (methodology)?
• How would the different components relate to each other in the
curriculum document?

Curriculum planning is very important because today there are vast amounts of
what is to be learnt. There is therefore the need to select what is to be learnt.
The large amount of what is learnt is reflected by the fact that people who are
specialized sometimes do not know some of the things in their own areas of
specialization. There is therefore the need for curriculum planners to select
what has to be learnt.

Curriculum theory: Like the term philosophy, the term curriculum theory has a
wide range of definitions and meanings. An individual would define
curriculum theory in dealing with the explanation and application of general
principles related to curriculum. Such would include statements like:
• Intended consequences of implementing a curriculum;
• The problem whether someone is achieving the intended goals.
• One would also think about the best strategies to be used during the
implantation of the curriculum.

Looking at the term curriculum theory one would conclude that it serves two
functions in the curriculum.
It serves to organise data and facts so that they are understandable.
It also serves as a basis for action, since understanding must provide a basis for
action.

Curriculum theory may take the form of a list of tricks of the trade of
curriculum process. It may be a series of steps for how to do what in the
curriculum process or a set of bald assertions about what the school is
supposed to be doing.

Curriculum construction: the term was traditionally defined to refer to all the
processes involved in the making of a curriculum. Some were referring the
same as curriculum engineering. Curriculum construction, some refer to it as
scientific curriculum making it an activity analysis of man’s activities into
particular and specialized units of behaviour. In curriculum construction one
deals with identifying and creating those experiences that prepares the student
to perform those activities. According to Franklin Bobbitt the skills that are
needed in adulthood are what constitute the curriculum of the school. However
John Dewey disagrees with Bobbitt’s view that education is for preparation for
adult life. Dewey says that education is a process of living and not a
preparation for the future living.
16
Dewey’s argument is that it is impossible to prepare someone for a remote
future. You never know what lies in the future. The child therefore can not be
taken as someone who will not decide for his own future destiny. The society is
always changing and we are always learning to cope with the changes. It is
therefore impossible for the school to provide an education that would prepare
someone for the future he/she does know about.

Imagine the coming in of the technological age; imagine the coming in of the
HIV/AIDS pandemic. Who knew about it in the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s? Did our
school curriculum include these? They were not included because we never
knew about them.

However in the course of living we have come across the HIV/AIDS and learnt
that it is deadly and that it must be included in our curriculum. The society is
now busy trying very hard and making sure that the youth are made aware
about it.

Curriculum design: Curriculum design is concerned with making a choice of

what should be the organizational basis or structural framework of the
curriculum. Some patterns of curriculum design include;
Subject-centered curriculum, Teacher-centered curriculum,
Child-centered curriculum, Core curriculum
Integrated curriculum and Emerging needs curriculum.

Curriculum design deals with the arrangement of curriculum elements to

produce a unified curriculum. The components and elements in a curriculum
include the following;
• Aims, goals, and objectives
• Subject matter or content
• Learning activities or experiences and,
• Curriculum evaluation.

Activities
1 1 How are curriculum construction and curriculum design similar?
2 What are some of curriculum patterns?

Curriculum change
Curriculum change refers to an element of dealing with a curriculum that is
already in existence. For one reason or other there may be need to make some
changes to it for improvement. When talking about curriculum change one
thinks about one of the following:
• Curriculum revision,
• Curriculum renewal,
• Curriculum innovation and
17
 • Curriculum improvement.

Curriculum change is inevitable and desirable. It will always occur. Any time
government changes one would expect a change in a lot of things one of them is
the curriculum. When the environment changes, the education system must
introduce change in the school curriculum to cope up with the changes in the
environment.

Curriculum Development
Curriculum development has the widest scope and number of definitions in the
curriculum process. Some people define curriculum development as:
• The process of writing books for schools and colleges.
• The general process of improving the entire instructional process.
• The process that determines how curriculum construction will proceed.
• The process that includes planning, implementation, and evaluation of
the curriculum process.
• The process of designing, developing, implementing and evaluating the
curriculum.

The process of curriculum development has different approaches. These

approaches are best presented in the form of models. These models can be
described as patterns that serve as guidelines to the action of curriculum
development. When a model is put into practice it becomes a process. A model
can be presented graphically or can be expressed through mental images.

Models are used in curriculum development because:

• They provide a framework that can be followed when constructing a
curriculum.
• Models help the developer understand and describe curricular
phenomena.
• Lastly models serve as frame of reference by which one ca examine and
discuss elements of curriculum.

Curriculum development is broadly defined as a process of; designing,

planning, implementing, and evaluating learning opportunities. Curriculum
development therefore implies that it is a continuous or ongoing process with
an aim of improving the curriculum. Curriculum development is associated
with change and innovation. It is usually carried out by groups of teachers who
are called upon to participate in the process. To the teachers curriculum
development is a form of teacher–education. Teachers who are greatly
involved is curriculum development greatly increase their professionalism.

Teacher Development Centers are meant to be curriculum development centers

where teachers in a zone or district come together to carryout curriculum
development work. Apart from involving teachers at a Teacher Development
Center, teachers can be involved in curriculum development work at a national
level. The teachers may come together at a national Curriculum Development
18
Center like the Malawi Institute of Education, Mauritius Institute of Education,
Lesotho Institute of Education, and Kenya Institute of Education. Curriculum
development work can go for several months or even years. By the time you are
through with a programme you may need to go back to start the work all over
again.

This brings in the element of Curriculum development as an ongoing exercise

or a continuous process. The society is dynamic, knowledge is dynamic, and
things are changing every day, week, month and year. Therefore these changes
have to be taken into consideration by including them in the curriculum hence
the continuous nature of curriculum development. Curriculum planning is the
preliminary phase of curriculum development. It is basically the thinking or
design phase.

Activities
1 Curriculum Change is sometimes known by different names; what are
these names?
2 Curriculum development is the major activity in the curriculum
process; why is it so?
3 What would be the major activities of a curriculum development
center?

Curriculum process
Curriculum process is a collective term that encompasses all of the
considerations about what a curriculum worker thinks about and ultimately
uses to make choices in the development and evaluation of a curriculum
project. Very rarely is the school curriculum developed from scratch, because
most of the new curricula represent those in existence. That is most of the
curricula work is an improvement of that which is being used.

Curriculum development means recreating or modifying what is taught to

students. It includes a number of decisions whose outcomes aggregate as a
curriculum design. Curriculum designs are based on the primary source of
curriculum content (subject matter, needs of the society-culture, learner’s
interests that make possible the realization of a particular purpose of
education).

In addition to look at what has been pointed out above, curriculum developers
prepare statements outlining the anticipated relationships among teachers,
students, and curriculum content. The developers then select and organize
content so that the relationship of the society and that of the teachers and
students can be realised. In developing curriculum developers usually selects a
particular model in developing a curriculum.

19
Most of the curriculum developers maintain that there are four major stages in
the process of curriculum development and these are:
• Formulating objectives,
• Selection and organization of content,
• Selection and organization of learning experiences and
• Evaluation.
Each of the four stages is broken into sub-stages.

Curriculum implementation
At the end of all the mechanical work of producing curriculum documents
such as syllabuses, text books, teacher’s guides, comes the implementation of
the new curriculum. Curriculum implementation brings in an element of
Introduced Change.
• This is one of the crucial stages of curriculum development process.
• This is when the administration requires a lot of cooperation from the
teachers
• because they (teachers) are the implementers of the new curriculum.
• They (teachers) are the people who will take the new ideas, skills,
knowledge and attitudes to the students.
• This is the time when the materials are taken to the classroom before the
students.
• This is the time students would be introduced to new instructional
materials.
• This is the time when students would expect changes in teaching
methods.
• This is the time teachers would be expected to show their commitment to
their profession.
• This is the time students would be expecting new trends of
examinations.
• This is the time when past examination papers would no longer be
relevant.

Curriculum implementation would be a success if teachers have been involved

during the other stages of curriculum developing process. Teachers as other
professional want change, but they do not like sudden change. They want
change that hey can control. Teachers enjoy their freedom of doing what they
feel relatively comfortable to do.

Curriculum leaders must create an environment that encourages openness and

trust. An environment that gives feedback so that teachers realize that their
contributions are appreciated and their talents considered worthwhile.

Curriculum implementation does not occur all at once with all teachers in the
school system. Ideally, an implementation process allows sufficient time for
groups of teachers to tryout the new curriculum materials in pieces. One of the
most efficient ways of implementing a new curriculum is by conducting an
orientation course for groups of teachers who are going to use the materials.
20
These orientation courses could be done at all levels of all geographical areas
(national, divisional, district and zonal).

Activities
1 Why is curriculum implementation very crucial in the curriculum
process?
2 Why are teachers an important factor in the implementation of the
curriculum process?

Factors that influence curriculum design

The idea and wish for coming up with a new curriculum or thinking about
coming up with changes to be made to the current school curriculum originate
from a number of reasons or factors. There are many reasons why curriculum
developers think of coming up with proposals to develop a new curriculum or
make changes to the current curriculum in use. The list of the factors that
influence curriculum developers to come up with the changes is a long one. We
will only examine the following:

• The influence of politics on the curriculum,

• The influence of the society on the curriculum.
• The influence of the economy on the curriculum.
• The influence of technology on the curriculum.
• The influence of the environment on the curriculum.
• The influence of child psychology on the curriculum.

How political factors influence curriculum design process

You may have heard politicians from the radio or seeing a politician on
television talking about what he/she wants students to learn in schools. He/she
may mention that the education standards were going down and that he/she
would like things change for the better. All what the politician is saying is that
he/she wants the curriculum to be changed. The reason why people talk about
education as a political activity is because of the involvement of politicians in
education.

National ideology and philosophy have tremendously influence on education

system because;
• Politics determine and define the goals, content, learning experiences
and evaluation strategies in education. Political statements like “We
want our youth to compete favorably with those in the west in
computer science”, would make curriculum developers to include some
aspects of what the students in the west learn about in Computer
science.
• Curricular materials and their interpretation are usually heavily
influenced by political consideration.

21
 • Political considerations may play a part in the hiring of personnel. In
Malawi we have group of United States of American Peace Corps
Volunteers teaching in our secondary schools because of our political ties
with the US Government
• Funding of education is greatly influenced by politics.
• Entry into the educational institutions and the examination systems are
heavily influenced by politics.

How social factors influence curriculum design process

Every society has its own expectations about the aims and objectives that
should be considered when designing a curriculum. The society also has its
own perception of what the product of the school system should look like. It is
therefore necessary for curriculum designers to take into account these societal
considerations. If this does not happen, the curriculum becomes irrelevant.

In many countries, Christians and other religious groups live together and that
the different religious groups equally influence what should be included in the
curriculum. In such cases, the curriculum developers try to look and address
the interests of different social groups of community.

The designers of curricular materials and their representatives should

accommodate the culture of the society that the curriculum is seeking to serve.
You should however be sensitive to the fact that curriculum can be used to
perpetuate inequalities.

You may have a curriculum that is gender biased against the female members
of the society because it includes instructional materials that portray negative
attitudes towards women and girls. It is therefore possible for culture to have
both positive and negative influences on the curriculum.

In any society there are a number of groupings that live together as a

community. The community would be made up of many different sub-groups
composed of professionals, teachers, religious groups, and many others. These
groups have interest in the education of their young. Therefore they would
have their own views about what the education for their young should be like.
This is so because any relevant curriculum should be relevant to the needs of
the society. The curriculum should reflect needs of the society.

Economic factors that influence curriculum design

One of the reasons why education is financed by government is to improve the
countries economy. Therefore, the national curriculum should concern itself
with the requirements of the economy. At this point I should think that you are
wondering how the economy of the country would influence the curriculum
design.

The students you will be teaching after your graduation will need to be
employed. The skills needed by industry from those future employees should
22
be translated into the content and learning experiences of the curriculum. The
skills, knowledge base and attitudes required by industry should be developed
in the classroom.

You might have noticed in the news papers employers advertise for vacant
position to be filled. Each employer has his/her basic requirements for
knowledge and skills. Those who have the required qualification have the
chance of being recruited for the position. These skills and knowledge are
acquired at school. Therefore it is correct to say that “The market forces
(industry) dictate what should be included in the national curriculum. The
market force also subtly determines the quality of learners at different levels.

As a teacher, you require classroom supplies such as textbooks, writing

materials notebooks, and chalk, chemicals for science lessons and equipment.

Some of the materials required by the school are the products of industry.
Without these materials, learning would be compromised. It is therefore crucial
that serious consideration be given to economic demands when designing the
curriculum.

How technological factors influence curriculum design

The computer is the latest technological innovation that has a great influence on
education and the society at large. If you are not computer literate you feel you
are far behind others in the society.

There is need for many schools to introduce computer science as one of the
subjects on the curriculum. This is so because for those to be employed they
need to be computer literate. Without computer skills they would not function
in industry. Apart from computers, the school system has introduced a number
of other technologies which are helping teachers in their teaching. Therefore
curriculum designers cannot afford to ignore technology and its influence on
the curriculum.

Environmental factors influence on curriculum design

Over a long time people have been insensitive to the environment or their
surrounding and their natural resources. This has affected the sky, the land and
the sea. The end result is that humanity is being adversely affected by these in-
considerations.

Industrial wastes have polluted the world. For example, the ozone layer in the
atmosphere, which protects us from harmful radiation from the sun, is being
depleted. The world wants this situation redressed. It is through education that
this problem can be addressed. Consideration of the environment must be
included in the school curriculum so that learners can learn about the respect of
the environment. The careful protection of the environment would ensure the
survival of future generation.

23
The influence of child psychology
Apart from the factors listed above, curriculum design is also influenced by
child psychology. Theories of learning and child development have to be
considered when designing the content of the curriculum and how it is
delivered. Learning can be maximized by ensuring that activities and
experiences are introduced at the most teachable moment.

Activities
1 How would politics and society jointly influence curriculum design?
2 The country’s economy and level of technology could influence
curriculum design.
3 How would it be?

Unit summary
In Unit two you have studied different aspects of the curriculum process. You
looked at the four perspectives of the curriculum. These are rationalistic,
empiricist, pragmatist and existentialist. You also studied the curriculum
educational ideologies which are; Classical Humanist or Traditional,
Progressive or Problem-solving, and Social Reconstruction curriculum.

You also studied the scope of the curriculum process. The scope include:
curriculum planning, curriculum theory, curriculum construction, and
curriculum design and curriculum implementation. You also studied the six
factors that influence curriculum design. These factors are: political, the society,
the economy, technology, the environment and child psychology.

Self assessment
What have you learnt from Unit two?

Unit test
1 Explain briefly why Tanner and Tanner prefer to call what is
generally known as “Hidden Curriculum” as Collateral Curriculum?
2 Discuss briefly why Formal and Core Curricula are very close to each
other.
3 What are curriculum perspectives? How are they important in
curriculum development process?
4 Briefly describe the classical humanistic ideology in curriculum
development?
5 Discuss briefly how curriculum planning is very important in the
curriculum process?
6 Discuss briefly how the six factors mentioned in the unit influence
curriculum design.
7 Why is curriculum change unavoidable and inevitable?
24
Unit 3 Curriculum Development Models

Introduction
In Unit three, you will study different curriculum development models, starting
with the Ralph Tyler’s through to Malcolm Skilbeck model. You will also study
how models are useful to the curriculum developer and why these models are
being used. The unit also tries to explain the weaknesses of each one of these
models, their differences and similarities.

Areas of emphasis
The following will be the main areas of emphasis in unit three;
• Why models are used in curriculum development process;
• The three types of curriculum models; Rational Objective Models,
Cyclic Models and Dynamic/Interactive Situational Models;
• Some of the shortfalls of curriculum models,
• Characteristics of rational objective models,
• Ralph Tyler’s and Hilda Taba’s models. Their criticisms and
differences.
• The Cyclic Models; Wheeler’s model, Audrey and Howard Nicholls
Models.
• Kerr’s and Tanner and Tanner models
• The Dynamic/Interactive Situational Models; Lawton’s Curriculum
Development Model and Malcolm Skilbeck’s curriculum model.

Key words
The main words in the unit are as follows:
Models, Rational, Cyclic, and Interactive models, linear, sequential, classical
and scientific models.

Prerequisite knowledge
The concept of models is new and does not appear in the previous modules you
have studied in Education Studies. Therefore you need not to prerequisite
knowledge to study this unit.

Materials needed
Barrow, Robin, (1984) Giving Teaching Back to Teachers: A Critical Introduction to
Curriculum Theory. Sussex: Wheat-sheaf Books.
Bishop, George, (1985) Curriculum Development: A Textbook for Students. London:
Macmillan Education Ltd. (LB 2806 BIS 1985)
Hau, S. A. (1985) The Process of Curriculum Development and Implementation: A
paper presented at an induction course for subject Inspectors and Principal
Methods Advisors held at Lilongwe Hotel. Malawi Institute of Education,
Domasi.
Kerr, John F. (1968) Changing the Curriculum. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

25
Time required
Four hours would be required

Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
• explain briefly the functions of curriculum development models to
curriculum developers
• describe briefly the characteristics of Rational Objective, Cyclical and
Dynamic/Interactive situational models
• discuss briefly similarities and differences between Ralph Tyler’s and
Hilda Taba’s Models
• discuss briefly similarities and differences between Wheeler’s and
Audrey and Howard Nicholls’ models
• explain the major weakness of Kerr’s curriculum development model
• discuss why Tanner and Tanner’s model is a very strong model
• explain briefly the five elements in Malcolm Skilbeck’s model.

The curriculum development models

A curriculum model is a pattern that serves as a guideline to action. When put
into practice it becomes a process. Models help to conceptualize a process by
showing certain principles and procedures. They are applied to curriculum to
note at the relationships between the parts of a process of curriculum
development. These parts or elements or components are:
• Objectives,
• Content,
• Instructional methods and
• Evaluation.

The originators of the models realized the importance of models that they
would be useful in coming up with a systematic development of a curriculum.
Therefore models are today being used in the curriculum development process
because;
• They help curriculum developers understand and describe curricular
phenomena.
• They serve as frames of reference by which one can examine and discuss
elements of the curriculum.
• Models provide a framework that can be followed when constructing a
curriculum.

Models are presented in a variety of ways. Some are diagrammatically

presented while others are presented as lists of steps to be followed in a linear
form. Some are more complicated than others and as such we cannot take one
model to be better or more superior to the other. It has also been observed that

26
we cannot show all the details of a model to do so would require producing
very complicated drawings.

The many models so far developed, have basically been grouped into three
types as summarised below.
The three types of curriculum models
Rational objectives Dynamic /interactive
Models Cyclical models Situational models
Sequential, rigid Gradual change from Flexible interaction
approaches to one form to the other and modifiable
curriculum process
Designers Designers Designers
Ralph Tyler and Hilda D. K. Wheeler and Malcolm Skilbeck
Taba. Nichols and D. F. Walker

Although models make it easy for curriculum developers in their work, some of
them (curriculum developers) have identified a number of shortfalls in using
the models. Some of the shortfalls or disadvantages are as follows:

Models prescribe specified objectives to be achieved but learning occurs beyond

these objectives.

• There can be an overemphasis on formulating measurable learning

outcomes (specific or behavioral objectives) which may be difficult to
achieve.

• Many teachers prefer not to follow a sequential order when doing or

planning their work, rather they prefer to work with what they know
(content) and work from there.

• Kerr has argued that the whole curriculum process should not be static
but dynamic and continuously evolving.

• Leading educationist such as Brunner has argued that leaving evaluation

until the last stage of the process is not wise. Evaluation should take
place at every stage.

• John Dewey did also argue that there should be flexibility and a freedom
to change the ends as they interact with the means.

• Although Taba’s model has a lot of merit, some educators think that
putting such effort to the grassroots framework weakens the model. In
agreement with the observation Robert Zais (1976) says the model
applies the concept of participatory democracy to a highly technical,
complex and specialized process.

Rational objectives curriculum models

27
The rational curriculum planning is a scientific curriculum design based on
scientific principles. The Objective model is the commonest model in the field of
curriculum development. It is sometimes called:
• Linear model
• Sequential model
• Logical model
• Scientific model
• Classical model or
• Means-end-model.

The objectives model tries to improve the practice of education by first

obtaining clarity about the ends of education. It is indicated that once one is
clear about what one is seeking to achieve one can plan more effectively the
means to achieve those ends. Ralph Tyler’s Hilda Taba’s Curriculum
Development Models are good examples of Rational Objective Models.

Ralph Tyler’s curriculum model

Ralph Tyler’s model is one of the best known and earliest models. Tyler says
that to develop a curriculum one needs to ask four fundamental questions and
these are:
• What educational purpose should the school seek to attain? (What are
the objectives of providing or offering this curriculum)?
• What educational experiences can be provided that is likely to attain
these purposes? (What content will be
• Provided and what instructional strategies would be used to present the
identified content to the learners?)
• How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?
(Organizing learning experiences or determining scope and sequence for
effective presentation of the content).
• How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained? (
How are the learners going to be evaluated to find out if they have
attained what was planned for them to learn?)

The questions above do reflect the four-steep process of Tyler’s curriculum

planning model. The four steps are the ones used in planning and developing
the curriculum according to Tyler. These steps are shown in the model diagram
below. The model is linear in nature starting from objectives and ending with
evaluation. In this model evaluation is terminal. Please note the following:
• Objectives form the basis for the selection and organisation of learning
experiences.
• Objectives form the basis for assessing the curriculum.
• Objectives are derived from the learner, contemporary life and subject
specialist.
To Ralph Tyler, evaluation is a process by which one matches the initial
expectation with the outcomes.

28
Step 1 Objective

Sources: 1 The learne.

2 The society
3 The subject specialist
.............................................................................................................
Philosophical and Psychological Screen

Step 2
selection of learning experiences

Step 3 organisation of learning experiences

Step 4 evaluation

Ralph Tyler’s curriculum development model

Criticisms of Tyler’s model

Tyler’s model has been criticized by a number of people. Some of the criticisms
are indicated below;
• The model is too simplistic and mechanistic.
• In the model evaluation is left till the last stage. This is like doing a
military intelligence after the war is over.
• The whole process of curriculum development should not be static but
dynamic and continuous. For example, objectives can not be fixed
permanently; there must be flexibility and freedom to change them.
• Tyler’s model does not indicate adequately the interaction and
• Interrelatedness of the elements involved. Each element is treated in
isolation except for the one way succession or linkage.

Tyler’s model was later modified by educators such as Hilda Taba, Wheeler
and Kerr.

Hilda Taba’s curriculum model

In Hilda Taba’s attempt to modify Tyler’s model, Hilda came up with a seven
step model of the curriculum development process. The diagram below shows
the Hilda Taba’s model with its seven steps.

29
 Diagnosis of Needs

Formulation of Objectives

Selection of Content

Organization of Content

Selection of learning experiences

Organization of Learning Experiences

Determination of what to Evaluate and

On the way and means of doing it

Hilda Taba’s curriculum development mode

As you might have noticed in the diagram of the model above, Taba believed
that the development of a curriculum should be preceded by a situation
analysis to determine learning needs. On this she said:

“Curricula are designed so that students may learn. Because learners’

backgrounds differ from one to the other, it is therefore important to diagnose
the gaps, deficiencies and variations in the learner’s backgrounds” Diagnosis
then is an important step in determining what the curriculum should be for a
given population.

Taba also believed content selection and content organization should be treated
as two distinct phases in the curriculum development process. However you
will notice that Taba’s model has some short comings similar to those of Tyler’s
in that it is also simplistic and linear; and that evaluation is the last step and
interrelatedness of elements is minimal.

Hilda Taba took a grassroots approach to curriculum. She said that those who
teach curriculum must participate in it. What she did was to modify Tyler’s
basic model to make it more representative of curriculum development in
schools.
While still using the linear approach, Taba indicated that curriculum should be
developed by teachers who in the end are the users.

30
The difference between Taba’s model and that of Tyler are
• Taba’s model has seven steps than that of Tyler which has only four
steps. Therefore Taba’s mind is more comprehensive than that of Tyler’s.
• Curriculum development begins with needs assessment instead of
beginning with objectives.
• Taba’s model indicates from where objectives have been derived unlike
Tyler’s model.

Shortfalls of Hilda Taba’s Model:

Despite being more detailed than Tyler’s, Hilda Taba’s model has some
shortcomings. Herewith are some of them:
• The model is simple and linear as that of Tyler.
• There is a minimal interrelationship of elements.
• Taba’s model does not show or indicate the bases or criteria used for the
selection of content and learning experiences.
• Evaluation is at the last stage of the process.

Wheeler’s curriculum model

Wheeler’s model is an improvement on both Tyler’s and Taba’s models. Instead
of developing a linear model as Tyler and Taba, Wheeler developed a cyclical
model. Evaluation in Wheeler’s model is not terminal. Findings from the
evaluation are fed back into the system (objectives and goals which influence
the other stages).

Wheeler contends that;

• Aims should be discussed as behaviours referring to the end product of
learning which yields the ultimate goals. One can think of these ultimate
goals as outcomes.
• Aims are formulated from the general to the specific in curriculum
planning. This results in the formulation of objectives at both an
enabling and terminal level.
• Content is distinguished from the learning experiences which determine
that content.

Wheeler’s model
31
The Wheeler’ curriculum development model has five phases:
• Aims, Goals and Objectives
• Selection of learning experiences
• Selection of content
• Organisation and integration of learning experiences and content
• Evaluation.

Wheeler’s model by being cyclic partly answers the criticism on interaction and
interrelatedness of elements found in Tyler’s and Taba’s models. The cyclic
nature of the model also suggests that curriculum development is a continuous
process. That is it goes on and on as the needs, interests and objectives of the
society changes.

Wheeler suggests that:

• The general aims have to be analyzed into a set of ultimate goals,
• The ultimate goals should be broken down into mediate goals which are
applicable at different stages of learning.
• Proximate goals should be derived from the mediate goals. These
proximate goals are achieved over a short period of time.
• From proximate goals, the specific objectives should be
• achieved.

Criticisms of Wheeler’s Model

Wheeler’s model had some weaknesses which some curriculum developers
noted. Some of the criticisms are:
• There is still a one-to-one relationship between elements as in Tyler and
Tuba’s models instead of relating each element to every element in the
model.
• Wheeler’s model seems to suggest that curriculum development always
begins with objectives and finishes with evaluation before the process
starts again.
• The model does not show the multi-directional nature of the curriculum
development process.

However, Wheeler still seems to suggest that one could start the curriculum
development process at any point in the cycle. Furthermore, if you use double-
headed arrows, the degree of interaction between elements could have been
increased.

Audrey and Howard Nicholls model

Audrey and Howard Nicholls came up with a model that is similar to that of
Wheeler. The major difference between their models is that in the Audrey and
Howard Nicholls’ model the phase on situation analysis has been added. This is
the phase that shows where the objectives of the curriculum are coming from.

32
A modified curriculum development process model
(Audrey and Howard Nicholls)

The criticism of the Wheeler’s model also applies to Audrey and Howard
Nicholls’ model. However the double-headed arrows increase the interaction
and interrelatedness of the elements. Also, the inclusion of the situation
analysis phase in the model by Audrey and Howard Nicholls shows the source
of the objectives of the curriculum.

Kerr’s curriculum development model

Kerr came up with a curriculum development model as that of Wheeler.
• In it Wheeler’s elements were reduced from five to four. These four
elements are; objectives, content, learning experiences and evaluation.
• Each element interacts with three other elements in a model; that is every
element is related to and influences every other element.
• The double headed arrows joining the elements indicate that curriculum
development can start at any point in the cycle.
• Evaluation is done to all other elements and not only to objectives.

33
 Objectives

Content Evaluation

Learning Experiences

Kerr’s curriculum developmentm model

Kerr’s model is based on and reflects what Kerr thinks curriculum is. According
to Kerr, curriculum is all the learning which s planned and guided by the
school, whether it is carried out in groups or individually or inside or outside
thee school.

Criticisms of Kerr’s model

Tanner and Tanner criticized Kerr’s model as follows:
• The model does not show the base from which decisions on each element
are made-selection of objectives, organization of subject matter and
instructional methods and learning experiences.
• The systematic evaluation lacks philosophical base.

Tanner and Tanner curriculum development model

Daniel Tanner and Laural N. Tanner criticized Kerr’s model on the grounds
that it does not show the base from which decisions in each element are made,
although it shows that the elements are interrelated and interdependent.
Tanner and Tanner argue that: “Decisions on the selection of educational
objectives, selection and organization of subject matter, organization of
instructional methods and learning experiences and the utilization of
systematic evaluation proceedings should be philosophically based.”

Tanner and Tanner model indicates that the philosophy as a source for
developing aims and values. As far as Tanner and Tanner were concerned,
Philosophy did not only serve to animate and criticize aims and values but also
serves as a source for developing aims and values.

34
 Sources

Pupils Society Disciplines

Objectives
Cognitive Affective Psychomotor

Subjects Philosophy Methods and

Organisation

Evaluation

Tanner and Tanner curriculum model

Lawton’s curriculum development model

Lawton’s curriculum development model process is represented as a five stage
flow chart.

Stage 1. Philosophical Stage 2. Sociological

questions (cultural universals) questions (Cultural variables)
e.g. aims of education e.g. the kind off society we
worthwhile knowledge want/ we have.

Stage 3. Selection
from Culture

Stage 4: Psychological
questions and theories e.g.
learning instruction
development etc.

Stage 5. Curriculum
Organized in Stages
and Sequences

35
Lawton’s curriculum development model
In stage one of Lawton’s model, the aims of education would be defined in the
philosophy of education espoused by the society.

The second stage of the model tries to look at the sociological aspect of the
society. The content of the curriculum is examined against the kind of
knowledge the society needs.

The third stage is the selection from the culture and is reached once the
philosophical and sociological questions have been posed and answered.
Society would need to identify elements in its own culture and include these for
further study at different level of educational level.
At stage four psychologists would ask questions related to effectiveness of
implementation of the curriculum content. For example, would a class of thirty
or forty be appropriate to be effectively taught as class for any subject? Would a
45 minute lesson period be appropriate for any lesson in any subject?

In stage five Lawton suggest that we examine how the curriculum is organised
in stages and sequences. In sum, Lawton’s model presents a more suggestive
approach to curriculum planning.

36
Malcom Skilbeck’s situational curriculum development model
Skilbeck’s curriculum development model suggests that the curriculum may
commence with any element rather than the fixed sequence, as in objective
model.

Situation analysis

Goal formulation

Programme building

Interpretation and
Implementation

Monitoring feedback,
Assessment and reconstruction

Skilbeck’s curriculum development model

The five elements of Skilbeck’s curriculum model

1 Situation Analysis:
This stage in the model involves finding out the content in which the
curriculum development process is to take place and about the possibility of it
being successful. It is argued that, “we must know where we are before we plan
a course of action. Situation analysis involves collecting basic information about
the;
• The educational system
• Learners,
• Teachers.

Situational analysis procedure involves;

• Identifying problems in the content,
• Selecting appropriate factors,
• Collecting and analysing data,
• Making recommendations.

2 Goal formation
The statement of goal formation embraces teacher and teacher interaction and
teacher and learner interaction. The goals will mainly imply inferences value
judgments, priorities and emphasis.

3 Programme building
37
At the third stage, the teacher-learner activities, content, structure and method,
scope and sequence are designed. This work includes means and materials such
as resources units and textbooks. Furthermore, appropriate instructional setting
such as classrooms and laboratories, fieldwork workshops are identified.
Finally personnel deployment and role definitions are also made.

4 Programme interpretation and implementation

This stage comprises of the following activities;
• Selecting subject matter for teaching and learning,
• Sequencing matter for instruction,
• Developing staff to take up the responsibilities of implementation of the
new curriculum.
• Choosing appropriate supplementary materials and media as a backup
for effective implementation of the curriculum.

5 Monitoring , assessment, feedback and reconstruction

The fifth stage involves a wider concept of evaluation to find out if the
curriculum has met its objectives. The task of evaluation would include the
following.
• Providing an ongoing assessment of the programme
• Identifying a wide range of outcomes (including learners’ attitudes and
the impact on the school organization as a whole.
• Keeping adequate records based on responses from a variety of
participants including the learners.

Unit summary
In unit three you have studied about curriculum models. You have looked at
the three types of models and these are:
Rational Objective models, these models are described as sequential and rigid
models. They are easy for curriculum developers to work with. Ralph Tyler’s
and Hilda Taba’s models are good examples of the rational objective models.
The Cyclic Models are a gradual change from one form to the other. They too
are easy to work with. Wheeler’s and Audrey and Howard Nichols’ models are
the examples of the cyclic models.
The Dynamic/ Interactive Situational Models are the third type of models that
are flexible and modifiable. Silkberg’s model is the best example.

The other models have been described and explained. These are Ralph Tyler’s,
Hilda Taba’s models have been described are among the oldest and simpler to
use than other models. They are linear and have a lot in common. They both
end up with an evaluation process. The other models you have studied are
Wheeler’s and Audrey and Howard Nicholls models. Both of these are cyclic
models. As cyclic models they portray that the curriculum process is an
ongoing or continuous process.

38
The other models you have studied in this unit are Kerr’s, Tanner and Tanner’s
models, and Lawton’s models. All these models help curriculum developers to
understand better the process of curriculum development. The developers
would understand that there are a number of ways of developing the
curriculum.

Unit test
1 Discuss briefly the characteristics of the three types of curriculum
development models.
2 Explain the main similarities and differences of Ralph Tyler’s and
Hilda Taba’s models.
3 What is the major difference between Wheeler’s and Audrey and
Howard Nicholls curriculum models?
4 Can you explain why Kerr’s model is the most interactive model?
5 Discuss briefly the Tanner and Tanner’s model.
6 Discuss briefly each of the five elements of the Malcolm Skilbeck’s
Situational Curriculum model.

39
Unit 4 Situational Analysis and Needs Assessment

Introduction
In unit four, you are going to study what a situation analysis is, what is its role
in curriculum development process? You are also going to look at needs and
needs assessment. Types of needs and needs assessments. You will also study
what are Opinion surveys and the major stakeholders in opinion surveys,
purposes of opinion surveys and methods used by curriculum developers in
collecting opinions or information. Lastly you will look at Task Analysis and its
function.

Areas of emphasis
• Activities that curriculum developer get involved in during the early
days of developing the curriculum.
• Different types of people who directly and indirectly benefit from the
curriculum.
• Situation Analysis and its functions in the curriculum process,
• Needs Assessment and type of needs

Key words
Situation Analysis, needs, needs assessment, normative needs, comparative
needs, anticipated needs; discrepancy needs assessment, diagnostic needs
assessment, opinion survey, specialist, the community, clients, gatekeepers,
task analysis, social indicators and feasibility analysis.

Prerequisite knowledge
What you have studied in unit three will help you to understand about needs
and needs assessment and the value of the community in needs assessment.
Some of the curriculum models have reflected some of the stages where needs
assessment is a prerequisite for formulating objectives and learning
experiences. For example the Tinnier and Tanner’s model, Hilda Tuba’s model,
and Silkberg’s model do reflect an element of situation analysis.

Materials needed
The following resources are required for you read and understand this unit
better;

Barrow, Robin, (1984) Giving Teaching Back to Teachers: A Critical Introduction to

Curriculum Theory. Susex: Wheatsheaf Books.
Bishop, George, (1985) Curriculum Development: A Textbook for Students. London:
Macmillan Education Ltd. (LB 2806 BIS 1985)

Hau, S. A. (1985) The Process of Curriculum Development and Implementation: A

paper presented at an induction course for subject Inspectors and Principal

40
 Methods Advisors held at Lilongwe Hotel. Malawi Institute of Education,
Domasi.
Kerr, John F. (1968) Changing the Curriculum. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

Time required
Five hours will be adequate too study this unit.

Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit, you should be bale to:
• discuss briefly what a situation analysis is and its function in
curriculum development process
• describe what a need assessment is and why is it carried out in a
curriculum development process
• identify three groups of stake holders in curriculum development
process that are involved in opinion surveys
• discuss briefly the three main methods used in collecting information
in an opinion survey
• describe briefly the relationship between needs assessment and task
analysis.

Situation analysis

What is it?
As Combs (1968) says “Situation analysis is very important that we firmly
believe that the world crisis in education can be overcome if the people
concerned should systematically diagnose their educational problems and then
plan their educational future in the light of what they uncover in their self-
diagnosis”.

It is therefore important that before we can develop an effective curriculum we

need to have the information that would help us to find what we actually need
to include in the curriculum. The activity we should be involved in should be:
• Identifying tasks and problems that would help us to fulfill our
requirements.
• We need to seek possible solution that would help to address the
problems.
• Anticipate possible areas of resistance from the implementers and major
stakeholders
• Plan how the resources would be utilised.
• Plan necessary organizational changes that may be important to include.

It is only after carrying out a comprehensive situation analysis that it is

necessary to move on to the next stage of curriculum development process
which will be setting realistic objectives. Skilbeck’s model differs from other
models because of the following:
41
 • The model identifies the learning situation as the most difficult area of
curriculum development and not the materials production stage.
• The model encourages developers to think educationally about the
situation which is to be changed, and not how to implement pre-
designed models and techniques of change.
• The model also encourages curriculum developers to enter the model at
whatever stage they wish.

Needs and Needs Assessment

There is a general agreement amongst educators that curricula should be based
on the needs of the learner’s needs. What is a need? A need is a discrepancy
between the present and the preferred state. A need is a state of lacking
something which must be achieved. A need is therefore seen as a gap that exist
in a situation and that the gap must be filled. It is a gap between the set
standard or a norm and the status quo.

In a school the gap could be the expected standard set by the school and the
actual performance by the learners. The gaps would be reflected in the learners’
failure to attain the expected standard. To address these needs these needs have
to be systematically identified.

Activities
1 Can you try to identify the similarities and differences of these terms;
situation analysis and needs assess
2 Explain why each one of these two terms are of vital importance in
the identification of what should be included in a new curriculum and
what should be left out in an old curriculum.

Type of needs
Bradshaw has identified four types of needs and these are:
• Normative needs: The need which a pupil may have based on what his
performance is for example: The learner may obtain a 40% grade and
teacher’s expected required grade is 60%. In this case the learner need is
20% to meet the expected standard.
• Comparative needs: These are discrepancies between the needs of one
learner and another. The discrepancy could be in the form of services
provided by the school to the learner groups. For example the school
could provide adequate pencils to Form one Class the Form three
students would be give less. The situation would force the two groups of
students to compare the provisions given by the school.
• Anticipated needs: These needs are associated with future plans of the
school. For example if the anticipate to increase enrollment, it would
therefore consider of acquiring more text books or create additional
classrooms for the additional learners.
42
 • Expressed needs: These needs are sometimes referred to as demands.
To identify needs one requires be involved in identifying what is the present
and what is it that is preferred. The process is called a needs assessment. Suarez
(1991) defines needs assessment as an information-gathering and analysis
process which results in the identification of the needs of an individual, groups,
institutions, communities, or societies.

Needs assessment is a type of formative evaluation that is carried out to

identify strengths and weaknesses of a current curriculum to provide direction
for its improvement or innovation. It is a set of procedures for gathering
information about human needs. These processes include consultations,
collecting of social indicators and task analysis. Specialists, clients and
gatekeepers should be consulted. Telephone interviews are among the most
effective means of reaching out the respondents for collecting information.

Other steps to be taken before beginning to design a new curriculum include

reviewing existing curricula and research, conducting a feasibility analysis, and
obtaining the necessary human and material resources for curriculum planning.
The main sources of information include opinion surveys, task analysis, social
indicators, tests and research data.

Types of needs assessment

Generally speaking there two major types of needs assessments and these are:

Discrepancy needs assessment

The most commonly used type needs assessment in which the assessors try to
search for differences between projected (what should be) and the current
(what is the situation now) situations. School evaluators using evaluation
instruments, obtain information from citizens, parents, students, and the school
personnel and then assess these differences. The evaluators analyze and
interpret the data, high-priority needs are incorporated into the curriculum
development planning and the results are reported to the community.

Diagnostic needs assessment

Diagnostic needs assessments are frequently schools or classrooms based and
are conducted primarily by teacher-developers who want more information
about their students. Diagnostic needs assessments have at least two
limitations. The needs statements must be clearly stated so that the students can
read and understand the same thing. Diagnostic needs assessment is prompted
by the question: What do students need in this curriculum? Evaluators collect
both qualitative data, depending on their purpose and the circumstances in
which the data are available. Observations can be made of naturally occurring
events in classrooms, using structured and unstructured formats.

Sometimes evaluators gather information in one-to-one interviews with

participants. Interviews involve a person who asks questions and one who
answers them.
43
Interviews frequently use a set of questions which are prepared so that the
questions asked are uniform.

Opinion survey
An opinion survey is a method of collecting information from different groups
of people. It is part of needs assessment used to collect data that would be
useful in curriculum process. To meet the ends of opinion surveys three main
groups of people need to be involved. The groups are the consulted specialists,
clients and gatekeepers.

Specialists
The need for information requires that we ask the opinion of specialists. For
example, if we are about to plan a new curriculum in any subject, say,
Mathematics, we would want to speak to some competent mathematicians,
particularly those interested in the underlying principles ad philosophy of
mathematics. This group would no doubt university professors, but it would
also desirable to include those mathematicians working in government,
business and industry. These specialists would have a sense of future
development of the field.

Another group of specialists are those in the classroom. Teachers or lecturers

not only have substantial, successful practical experience. But they have
reflected deeply on the purpose and meanings of the subjects they teach. Social
scientists, such as sociologists, anthropologists and psychologists may provide
further specialist input.

Clients
Clients include students, parents, teachers and the community and subsequent
educational institutions. The most obvious clients of the curriculum are
students. Ascertaining students’ background, interests, aspirations,
motivations, preferences and aversions in very important during the
curriculum process. The students’ histories of success and failures are essential
if curricula are to meet their needs rather than those of teachers or curriculum
planners. When surveying potential students, it is worth not only to look for
what they want to learn but also how they prefer to learn. In some ways even
more valuable as sources of information than current students are former
students, booth graduates and dropouts.

Parents are also clients of educational institutions. They are experts on their
own children and they view the school as an extension of the education given at
home, and consider it to be primarily responsible to them.

Teachers are also clients of the school system and have the right to be consulted
about the curriculum changes that would affect their work and environment.

Employers are also clients because they rely on the school to provide the skills
they want their employees to have before they join them through employment.
44
The competencies which employees have when they enter employment are
acquired at school.
The community also needs to be regarded as a major player in education. It is
a client in curriculum development process. It is advisable to consult
community members as widely as possible, rather than relying on only a few
key informants.

Gatekeepers
Gatekeepers are the people who have the power to affect the implementation of
decisions. These include the members of the school board or PTA members, the
Ministry of Education, the legislature committee members, influential
administrators and educators, community opinion leaders chambers of
commerce chief executives and directors. It is generally fatal to plan
programmes without taking account, from the beginning of the views of
significant members of the community.

Teachers fall into three categories; they are clients, specialists and gatekeepers.
Curriculum improvement is most likely to succeed if the changes and
implementation involves the teachers who will be mostly be affected by it
(Holt, 1987; Walker, 1988). It is more logical to think from the beginning in
terms of developing implementable curriculum. The approval of teachers is
very critical to implementation. One way of obtaining that approval is by
ensuring that teachers are included in the process. Administrators are also
gatekeepers and are capable of ignoring the results of needs assessment. The
views of specialists, clients, and gatekeepers can be accessed by meeting with
individuals and groups to assist in the design of the survey.

Activities
1 Can you explain briefly the four types of needs?
2 Which of the four are mostly used in the classroom by both the
teacher and the learners?
3 With a colleague discuss what the terms discrepancy and diagnostic
needs assessment are.
4 Which one of thee two is used by the teacher to find out the problems
learners have in their learning process?

Methods for collecting opinion/ information

1 Questionnaires
The standard method for accessing public opinion is by means questionnaires.
They appear to be cheap, fast and easy to design. However, unless properly
designed, questions may be unconsciously biased; the language unclear, people
may not be honest in their responses. Respondents may not really be sure of
what they think on certain issues and the response rate may be too small to

45
ensure a random sample. The ambiguity of the questions or items makes the
data difficult to interpret. It is important to read some of thee literature on
questionnaire design if a team or a person intends to use questionnaires.

2 Telephone interviews
Face-to-face interviews are time consuming and expensive to conduct.
Telephone interviews are becoming a standard method of opinion research.
They are relatively fat and cheap o conduct. Deception is rare in telephone
interviews. The interviews can be conducted from aa central location where
continued supervision and support are available to interviewers.

It is advisable to choose suitable days and time for telephone interviews

according to the respondents. Some basic training in telephone interviewing
should be provided. In research interview, the quality of date collected depends
on the quality of the questions asked. The questions to be asked should be
carefully worked out before hand. The interviews can be pilot tested with a
small sample, then revised before the main survey begins.

3 Hearings and briefs

Public hearings or community forums and invitations to submit briefs can also
be used to gain access to public opinions and raise public interest.

Purposes of opinion surveys

The strength of well-conducted opinion surveys is that they show that the
curriculum planners respect the views of those persons consulted. However,
curriculum planners need be clear about where the responsibility for
curriculum decisions lies. Care must be taken in a public survey to make it clear
to respondents that the purpose of the exercise is to seek information and
advice and not to conduct a referendum. The responsibility for making
curriculum decisions ultimately belongs to curriculum developers and
eventually subject to approval by public representatives.

Task analysis
Needs cannot be determined merely by asking people what they need no
matter how insightful, honest, wise and mature the target group may be (Kuh
et al. 1981). Other methods are needed to corroborate the subject data produced
by respondents in interviews, hearings and surveys. One such method is task
analysis.

The function of task analysis is to identify the important components of tasks

that will in turn become significant elements of the curriculum. There are
normally two elements of task analysis. The first is task identification by direct
observation of task performance. Trained observers may follow the employees
throughout the whole day to monitor the nature, purpose, scope, frequency,
sequence and importance of task being performed. The observers may also note
what information skills and attitudes are used on the job; what training and
supervision are relied on; what tools are being used; and the extent to which
46
tasks involve interaction with data, people and things (Jonassen, Hannum and
Tessmer, 1989). The second element is task evaluation. Specialists, such as
workers, supervisors and trainers are given lists of tasks and asked to rate the
importance of each and add any omitted tasks.

A number of studies in mathematics have observed that people in employment

and non-employment situations in an attempt to understand and describe the
kind of mathematics operations that people use and need in everyday life.

These studies tend to show that the mathematics taught and learnt in schools is
of little value or of use to adults. Task analyses are more likely to be effective if
they are planned by curriculum planners themselves as part of their
preparatory work.

Social indicators
Other kinds of empirical data that have value in needs assessment are social
indicators. These balance the more subjective information obtained in opinion
surveys. Social indicators are not opinions but relatively “hard data”, such as
statistics on date of births and deaths, unemployment rates and family incomes.
Social indicators required will depend on the nature of the curriculum being
designed.

Developers of curriculum on African History for example may want to

determine utilization of African History collections in schools and public
libraries. Much demographic and economic data based on census information,
can usually be obtained from data banks. However, official statistics maybe
unreliable. For instance, if an inefficient chief of police is replaced by a more
vigilant one, the crime rate may appear to go up as more crime are detected and
reported and more arrests are made.

Existing curricula
It is always desirable in principle, to conduct a needs assessment prior to
developing a curriculum. But it is not always necessary to develop a new
curriculum. A perfectly good curriculum may have been developed somewhere
and can successfully be adapted for use somewhere else. So once the needs
assessment is complete, the next step is to review other curriculum documents
in the same field.

Results of the needs assessment

The overall effect of needs assessment is to make the process of curriculum
planning reflective, more inclusive and more professional. Hence curriculum
committees are expected to establish priorities on the basis of empirical needs
assessment and not on traditional.

Feasibility analysis
Feasibility analysis involves ensuring that the task to be undertaken can be
successfully undertaken. This is essentially weighing resources against
47
constraints such as amount of time and money available, teacher and learner
competence, facilities and political support. The curriculum developers need o
ascertain competent people to develop the curriculum and implement it or if in-
service training can generate the required competence.

Organising for curriculum development

There is a need that curriculum Committee be formed early enough so that it
can be involved in planning and conducting the needs assessment. Each each
curriculum team should include critical expertise in the curriculum subjects,
curriculum planning and in the pedagogy and some of those involved in the
needs assessment.

However, representativesness is sometimes counterproductive in the formation

of action-oriented committees. It is often preferable to form a separate advisory
committee for the purpose.

Curriculum planning teams require basic resources including time, funds,

access to good advice and decision have decision makers in thee system. If
these are not available, it may be better just to give good textbooks and in-
service teacher education in how to use the textbooks.

Before constructing he new curriculum, a curriculum committee needs to

review its resources, must organize its budget, plan liaison activities with
gatekeepers and future users, allocate tasks, set deadlines by which phases of
the project will be completed, and plan for the most effective use of its time.

Activities
1 Explain why in an opinion survey the teacher should not be omitted?
2 During briefs and hearings and face-to-face interviews talk or interact
with people directly.
3 How do these processes differ?

Unit summary
In unit four, you have studied what situation analysis is and why curriculum
developers get involved in a situation analysis. You have also looked at a
similar but different set of activities generally known as needs assessment. You
studied what needs assessment is and what needs are and the types of needs.

You have studied the two types of needs assessment and these are Discrepancy
and diagnostic needs assessment. Apart from that you have studied what
opinion surveys are and the three groups of people who are important in
opinion surveys and these are the specialists, the clients and the gatekeepers.

48
There are several ways of collecting data or information during opinion
surveys. These are by using questionnaires telephone interviews, face-to-face
interviews, hearing and briefs. The last point you looked at is task analysis and
the need to examine social indicators in the community you are carrying out a
needs assessment.
Unit test
1 Describe briefly the function of a situation analysis in a curriculum
development process?
2 Discuss what is needs assessment and why is it required in
curriculum development?
3 Explain briefly the three groups of people who are involved in
opinion surveys?
4 Explain the most common methods of collecting data in an opinion
survey
5 What is the relationship between needs assessment and opinion
survey?

49
Unit 5 Learning Outcomes versus Learning Experiences

Introduction
In unit five you will be expected to distinguish “learning outcomes from
learning experiences. As a student you will be expected to differentiate the
following terms: Aims, goals and objectives. You will also appreciate their
relationships. In the course of studying this unit you will also understand the
curriculum content is and the criteria for the selection of the content. Hoe
content is organized to provide scope and sequence of content in the
curriculum document

Areas of emphasis
• In unit five you will have pay extra attention in the following areas:
• What are learning experiences and learning outcomes? How are they
related to one another?
• What are aims, goals and objectives? How are the they related to each
other and their differences?
• What is curriculum content and what is its value to the curriculum
process?
• What are the criteria for the selection of curriculum content?

Key words
In the unit there are the following words and phrases that you have to pay
extra attention to:
Learning outcomes, learning experiences, goals, aims, objectives, validity,
significance, learnability, feasibility, continuity, sequence, usefulness,
consistency with social realities, human development, relevance, articulation,
balance and integration.

Prerequisite knowledge
You may wish to remind yourself about what is covered in the Module An
Introduction to the Art and Teaching Profession In the unit you did study
about preparation to teaching, formulation of aims, goals and objectives. You
also studied about syllabuses.

Materials needed
Barrow, Robin, (1984) Giving Teaching Back to Teachers: A Critical Introduction to
Curriculum Theory. Susex: Wheatsheaf Books.
Bishop, George, (1985) Curriculum Development: A Textbook for Students.
London: Macmillan Education Ltd. (LB 2806 BIS 1985)
Hau, S. A. (1985) The Process of Curriculum Development and Implementation: A
paper presented at an induction course for subject Inspectors and Principal
Methods Advisors held at Lilongwe Hotel. Malawi Institute of Education,
Domasi.

50
Kerr, John F. (1968) Changing the Curriculum. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

Time required
You will need three hours to study unit five.

Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• differentiate between Learning outcomes and learning experiences
• describe the relationships between Aims, goals and objectives in a
curriculum development process
• discuss how content is formulated in relation to aims, goals and
objectives
• discuss briefly the criteria used for the selection of curriculum content
• explain why scope and sequence of curriculum content is very useful
in curriculum development.

Intended learning outcomes and planned learning experiences

Learning outcomes result from students’ experiences with the curriculum
content selected by developers and noted in their content statements. The
content statement is what appears in the syllabus and other curriculum
documents.

The curriculum developers plan Intended Learning outcomes, but students or

learners achieve actual learning outcomes that may differ. Intended Learning
Outcomes represent what learners are expected to be able to do with
curriculum content as a result of participating in planned learning experiences
involving one or more teaching agents.

Formal knowledge and skills, the learners are expected to acquire can be and
are easily stated as intended learning outcomes. However, attitudes interests,
appreciations, thinking-skills are difficult to frame as intended learning
outcomes. These skills are communicated through plans for learning outcomes.

Learning outcomes involve content conceived broadly to narrowly. In part

broadness is related to generality or inclusiveness of the content. For example
in Biology, Birds are taken as a subgroup of Animals. Learning outcome
referring to birds would have or has less content generally than the learning
outcome about animals.

Verbs used also differ; some have broad meaning than others. For example
verbs like: Understand, think critically have broad meaning than those like
write, read, jump, calculate etc. , which have narrower meanings.

51
 Activities
1 Can you differentiate the two phrases Intended learning outcomes
and Intended learning experiences.
2 How are they related to each other?

Aims goals and objectives

Aims are general, philosophical and long term and often serve as statements of
purpose. They are not measurable and do not exist to provide shape and
direction for a curriculum.

An aim can be made operational as a set of goals that provide answers to the
question: “What destination do you have in mind for the learners as far as a
particular curriculum or subject is concerned (Davies 1976)?
Because they represent destinations, goals are less broadly stated than aims and
provide indicators of curriculum scope.

Goal 1.
Aim

Goal 2.

Goals are of different types depending on content generality and planning

requirements at various levels of curriculum decision making. Goals can be
measured to the extent of deciding if they are met or if one goal is met better
than another (Kaufman & Herman 1991).

Although goals may be considered long term, they are less long term than
aims. Depending on their generality goals can be achieved during a school term
or college or university semester.

From goals come Objectives which are narrower statements of learning

outcomes. Degrees of specificity in objectives vary depending largely on how
planners conceive of content and their preferences.

Objectives provide curriculum developers with an opportunity to state

operationally what the goal statements mean and provide direction to
instructional planners. Objectives are also more time-bound than goals. Because
of their specificity, objectives enable evaluation of a Curriculum.

52
Objectives are classified into three categories or taxonomy levels. Although
there are three categories or taxonomies of objectives, they can be classified into
two levels- Lower level (L) and higher-than-lower level (HL). For example the
statements below are examples of two levels of objectives.

The learners should be able to:

• Identify colours by name from a plate displaying a complete range of
colours.
• Create a colour scheme appropriate for a living room.

The first objective of identifying colours is a lower level objective; while the
second requires some application which means it is a Higher-than-lower level
objective.

Summary Information about Learning Outcomes: (Sowell, E. J. 2000)

Outcome Question Degree of
Answered Function Measurability Generality
Aim Why is this Gives shape None Very
Curriculum being and direction general
taught? to curriculum
Goal What destination Provide shape Some General
do you have in for the
mind? curriculum.
Objective What specific Provides Much Less
destination do direction for general
you have in instruction.
mind?

Objectives are learning outcomes describing abilities that learners are expected
to demonstrate on completion of learning experiences and their quality of
performance can be evaluated more precisely than those of goals (Kaufman
&Herman 1991).
To evaluate objectives, curriculum implementers usually specify conditions
under which students demonstrate their abilities and criteria by which the
demonstration is deemed successful.

Unfortunately, labels for learning outcomes are not uniformly applied.

Learning outcomes called goals in one curriculum project are sometimes
labeled as objectives in another project. This means that these terms are
sometimes used interchangeably or are used loosely

53
 Aim for an education system
The students should possess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary
to pursue post-secondary education and/or obtain meaningful work.

Goals for a Programme

Develop students’ attitudes of and appreciation for the uses, benefits, and
limitations of science in our society.

Demonstrate an understanding that natural phenomena display a wide

variety of similarities and differences.

Objectives for a class lesson

Identify and illustrate various forms of energy transformations and the
waves they create.

Explain how distance between stars, the lifetime of a star, and the speed of
light are all barriers to the search for life in outer space.

Examples of learning outcomes (aims, goals and objectives):

Selection and organizing content

Lawton says that selection of content in a curriculum development process
comes immediately after formulating the objectives. The objectives should
reflect the nature of the child, the societal needs and the nature of knowledge
itself. It is therefore important to examine what the child is and what he/she can
be able to do. There is also need for the curriculum planner to find out what the
society is up to in terms of what the learner needs to be provided in order for
him/her fit into it (society). This section deals with what content is, and the
principles of how it can be selected and organized.

Content: The term content means different to different people. Some people
define content as:
• That which is taught and learnt at school.
• The knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to be learnt.
• That which is presented to learners or that which is made available to
learners for possible use.
• That through which learning experiences can be provided.
• The body of knowledge or information which forms part of learning
materials for a particular course or a given level of education.
• The information consisting of a related body of facts, laws, theories and
generalizations or a description of events.

54
Criteria for the selection of content
Content to be included in a curriculum document need to be selected carefully
so that it can meet the specific qualities for the learners it is meant for. The
content should reflect certain qualities that would tally with the objectives
formulated. Listed below are the criteria for the selection of content.

a) Validity: Curriculum content is said to be valid if:

• There is a close connection between content and the goals and objectives
which it is intended to serve.
• It facilitates the attainment of the intended learning outcomes or
objectives.
• It is authentic and or true.

b) Significance: The significance of the curriculum content requires that:

• All the objectives which are stated should have corresponding content.
• Appropriate content be provided for each operational statement of
expected behaviour.

c) Learnability: The content would be described as learnable when:

• The content is appropriate for the intended target group.
• The content must match the mental development of the learners.

d) Feasibility: Feasibility of the content addresses the following question:

• The content selected, can it be taught in the time allocated and with the
resources available?
• Are the teachers available to teach thee course content?
• Can the content be able to be taught with the political situation in the
community or nation?
• Can the content be effectively taught with the available financial
resource in the schools?
Sometimes very useful content is left out because the constraints of feasibility
appear to bee insurmountable.

e) Continuity and sequence: In the selection and organization of content,

consideration has to be given to the criteria of continuity and sequence.
• Continuity and sequence refer to maintaining an interrelationship over
time within courses or subjects.
• Continuity refers to the fact that there should be a smooth linkage within
a course or subject area from one education level to the next one.
• Sequence refers to a process of progressive hardening or complexity of
content within a course or subject to suit advancing levels of
achievement.
• Continuity and sequence refer to vertical interrelationship within a
course or subject.

55
f) Usefulness
• The curriculum content must be useful both to the learner and the
society. It must be useful now and in future.
• The curriculum content must relate to the learner’s everyday life.

g) Consistency with social realities

• Curriculum content should be chosen to provide the most useful
orientation to the world around us.
• The content must respond to the demands of the immediate situation
and the achievement of a thoughtful reality orientation to the basic needs
of the culture of the society.
• The curriculum content selected should meet the cultural demands of
the society which has thee final as o what shall be taught to the citizens.

h) Human Development
• Content selected should be appropriate for a particular developmental
level of the learners.
• The content should be within the capabilities of the learners to process
intellectually.
• The content that is sophisticated should be allocated to the appropriate
learners who may be able to understand it.

i) Relevance: The relevance of thee curriculum content should have the

following qualities;
• The content should be functional; that is it must have a maximum
relation to life in thee present and future.
• Content selected should provide basic permanent knowledge or skills of
some kind or directly meet some demands of living.
• Curriculum content selected should cater for the needs of the learners
and society.

j) Articulation: Articulation of the curriculum content should have the

following characteristics;
• There must be a relationship between content topics. There must be
some connection between topics within a subject area.
• Theory must almost every time be followed by practice so that the
learner can visualize thee application of some theories.
• The content must be looked as units and not as disjointed pieces of
information.
• Content selected must relate to the real life of the society.

k) Balance
• There must be a balance between breadth and depth of the content and
the amount time for teaching.
• There must be a balance between the breadth and depth of content for
each topic.

56
 • The content selected must reflect a reasonable balance between
individual needs and interests and mental maturity of the learners.
• There must be a reasonable balance in the time allocation for each course
or subject in the curriculum.

l) Integration
• The course content in one subject area should be related meaningfully to
content in other courses or subject areas.
• It is important to inter-relate content themes, ideas and facts in order to
show the unity or oneness of knowledge.

m) Needs and interests

• The curriculum content selected should be based on the needs and
interests off the learner.
• Content should bee selected if it can be easily related to the learners.

Organisation of content
Once content has been selected it should be organized to facilitate teaching and
learning. There are a number of ways of organizing content. For example,
content selected can be organized into scope and sequence chart for various
levels of education. Content can also be organized into a somewhat detailed
teaching scheme often called a syllabus. Course outlines are also useful ways of
organizing content.

Development of a scope and sequence chart

A scope and sequence chart is concerned with the arrangement of content in
terms of breadth and depth both within a particular year or level of education
and from one year or level of education to the next. Such orderly arrangement
is generally designed to facilitate teaching and learning.

Scope refers to the amount of content on any topic which should be taught to a
specific target group. It is not only how much content but also the extent of the
depth. Scope is concerned with the question; “What are the topics to be taught?
How much content is to be covered at each level of education? Here we are
concerned with the breadth and the depth of content for a particular cycle or
level of education.

The scope of the curriculum is in part regulated by the objectives generated

during the situation analysis stage in the curriculum planning.

Sequence refers to the logical order of the content. The arrangement of the
topics also shows the depth of the content. Sequence of content can be based on
the following factors, principles and considerations:
• Are the topics arranged in an order which will facilitate teaching and
learning?
• Which piece of content is a prerequisite to which?
• What content should precede which and when?
57
 • Are the various elements of the content to be taught arranged in
meaningful order of difficulty from one level of education to the next?
(The principle of proceeding from simple to complex).
• Does the sequence take into account the mental maturity of the learners?
• Has the logic of the subject or discipline been considered?
• Are there interrelationships that exist between the content?
• Is there a smooth linkage within the subject content? (The principle of
continuity).

Activities
1 How are aims, goals and objectives related to each other?
2 What are the criteria you have to bear in mind when selecting content
materials?
3 How these materials are arranged inn a curriculum document such as
syllabuses?

Unit summary
In unit five, you have looked at intended learning outcomes and Intended
learning experiences. These two phrases are very close to each other because
one is a result of the other. That is after going through a learning experience the
end product or the result of a learning experience is the learning outcome.
These two phrases are directly related to aims, goals and objectives.

You have also studied how to select curriculum content and the criteria one
uses for the selection of the content. The content has to be organized in scope
and sequence order.

Self assessment test

What have you learnt from the unit five?

Unit test
1 How are learning experiences different from learning outcomes?
2 Explain the relationship between aims, goals and objectives?
3 How is the formulation of curriculum content related to aims, goals
and objectives?
4 Discuss the criteria for the selection of content.
5 Explain why scope and sequence of the content help the learners in
the learning process?

58
Unit 6 Implementation of the Curriculum

Introduction
In unit six, you will study the implementation of the curriculum. This is an
important segment of the curriculum process where the school (the teachers
and learners directly involved. The curriculum which has been produced is
used in the schools. The teachers are called upon to the implementation
process. Their commitment and dedication will be required so that the
implementation succeeds. The unit also looks at some of the factors that
influence curriculum implementation. These factors include teachers, learners,
resource materials, interest groups, culture and ideology, instructional
supervision and the school environment. Apart from looking at factors that
influence curriculum implementation, barriers that hinder an effective
curriculum implementation has also been included. Lastly the unit has some
guideline for effective curriculum implementation.

Areas of emphasis
• Curriculum implementation. What is involved in curriculum
implementation?
• Factors that would influence an effective curriculum implementation
• Possible barriers to effective curriculum implementation

Key words
Please take note of the following words and phrases: Curriculum
implementation, interest groups, instructional supervision, culture and
ideology, in-service education programme, ethos of collegiality.

Prerequisite knowledge
In the Module An Introduction to the Art of Teaching and Learning, you
studied something about lesson content, lesson notes and lesson delivery. This
is part of curriculum implementation. That information should be able to assist
you to understand what curriculum implementation involves.

Materials needed
Barrow, Robin, (1984): Giving Teaching Back to Teachers: A Critical
Introduction to Curriculum Theory. Sussex: Wheat-sheaf Books.

Bishop, George, (1985) Curriculum Development: A Textbook for Students. London:

Macmillan Education Ltd. (LB 2806 BIS 1985)
Hau, S. A. (1985) The Process of Curriculum Development and Implementation: A
paper presented at an induction course for subject Inspectors and Principal
Methods Advisors held at Lilongwe Hotel. Malawi Institute of Education,
Domasi.
Kerr, John F. (1968) Changing the Curriculum. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

59
Time required
You will need four hours to study this unit.

Learning objectives
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• discuss what curriculum implementation process is.
• explain why it is important for the teachers to develop an element of
ownership during the implementation of the curriculum.
• discuss briefly the seven factors that would influence an effective
implementation of the curriculum.
• describe briefly the three factors thee would hinder the smooth
implementation of the curriculum.
• explain he guidelines for the smooth implementation of the
curriculum

Curriculum implementation
Curriculum implementation is a process of putting into action a curriculum that
has been planned, designed and developed.

Hankins & Ornstein (1988) defines curriculum implementation as the acceptance over
time, of some specific item- an idea or practice by individuals, groups or other adopting
units linked to specific channels of communication to a social structure and to a given
system of values or culture.

Curriculum implantation entails putting into practice the officially prescribed

courses of study, syllabuses and subjects. The process involves the learner
acquiring knowledge or experience. It is important to note that curriculum
implementation cannot take place without the learner. The learner is therefore
the major figure in the implantation process. Implementation takes place as the
learner acquires the planned experiences and or knowledge, skills, ideas and
attitudes that would allow the learner to function effectively in the society. The
idea is that any well-designed curriculum must be implemented in schools if it
is to make any impact on the learners they interact with the society.

In other words implementation means getting education programme to shift

from a current programme to the new programmes. Such a modification can be
met with great resistance. Nevertheless, effective implementation of motivation
requires:
• Time to do the implementation,
• Personal interaction and contact,
• In-service training,
• Other forms of people-basic support.

60
Thus, in order for implementation of a programme or process to take place,
changes must be made in the behavior of all affected parties. Successful
implementation of curriculum results from careful planning.

Implementation of a new a curriculum entails social action that builds a climate

of acceptance for a change. It may be facilitated by establishing a climate of
trust, ensuring that the change meets recognized needs, consulting widely,
establishing clear goals, and developing support systems using personal
contacts, providing in-service training and needed resources, and maintaining a
focus on institutional growth. Curriculum should not be regarded as
permanent installation but as subject to continual improvement and renewal.

Putting the curriculum into operation requires an implementing agent.

Stenhouse (1970) identifies the teacher as the agent in the curriculum
implantation process. She argues that implantation is the manner in which the
teacher selects and mixes the various aspects of knowledge contained in the
curriculum document or syllabus. The teacher’s personality, the teaching
materials and the teaching environment interact with the learner. Curriculum
implementation therefore refers to how the planned or officially designed
course of study is translated by the teacher into syllabuses, schemes of work
and lessons to be delivered to the students.

Factors that influences curriculum implementation

There are a number of factors that would influence the smooth implementation
of the curriculum. Listed below are some of the most crucial factors:

The teacher
Whitaker (1976) asserts that teachers view their role in curriculum
implementation as an autonomous one. They select and decide what to teach
from the syllabus or curriculum. Since implementation takes place through the
interaction of the learner and the planned learning opportunities, the role and
the influence of the teacher in the process is indisputable.

The teachers are pivotal in the curriculum implantation process. If the teacher is
to be able to translate curriculum intentions into reality, it is imperative that
the he/she understands the curriculum document or syllabus well, in order to
implement it effectively. If the curriculum is what the teachers and students
have created together, the teacher must play a more significant role in
designing the curriculum. Teachers must be involved in curriculum planning
and development so that they can implement and modify the curriculum for
the benefit of their learners.

The learners
The learners are also critical in curriculum implementation. While teachers are
the arbiters of the classroom practice, the learners hold the key to what is
actually transmitted and adopted from the official curriculum.

61
The official curriculum can be quite different from the curriculum that is
actually implemented. The learner factor influences teachers in their selection of
learning experiences, hence the need to consider the diverse characteristics of
learners in curriculum implementation. For example, background and learner
ability can determine what is actually achieved in the classroom.

Resource materials and facilities

As is always the case, no meaning teaching and learning take place without
adequate resource materials. This also applies to curriculum implementation as
well.

For the officially designed curriculum to be implemented as per plan, the

government through the Ministry of Education should supply schools with
adequate and relevant resource materials such as text books and reference
materials so that learners and the teachers can effectively implement the said
curriculum.

Apart from instructional materials, the government must make physical

infrastructure available. The availability of quality and appropriate
instructional materials and facilities would influence the implementation of the
curriculum.

Interest Groups
Interest Groups are those who are interested and are stakeholders in education.
These groups include: parents, parents’ teachers association (PTA) members
Religious groups, NGOs, Companies, University professors and many others.
These groups can influence the implementation in the following ways:
• Provide schools with financial resources to purchase the required
materials.
• Demand the inclusion of certain subjects in the curriculum.
• Influence learners to reject courses they consider detrimental to the
interests of the group.
It is therefore important to involve these groups at the curriculum planning
stage.

The school environment

One other factor that would affect the implementation of the curriculum is the
school environment. Schools located in rich social-economic environment such
as affluent urban locations or townships and those that have adequate human
and material resources can implement the curriculum to an extent that would
be difficult or impossible for schools in poor economic environment.

Culture and ideology

Cultural and ideological differences within a society or country can also
influence curriculum implementation. Some communities may resist a
domineering culture or government ideology and hence affect the
implementation of a centrally planned curriculum.
62
Instructional supervision
Curriculum implementation cannot be achieved unless it has been made
possible through the supervisory function of the school head. The head does
this through:
• Deploying staff.
• Allocating time to different subjects taught at the school.
• Providing teaching and learning materials
• Creating an atmosphere conducive to effective teaching and learning.

Activities
1 Would define what curriculum implementation is?
2 What is involved in curriculum implementation?
3 How do teachers and learners influence curriculum implementation?
4 Why would you think school inspection is a vital factor in making
sure that curriculum is implemented effectively?

Barriers to curriculum implementation

When we enter he field of curriculum implementation we leave the green
pasture of educational planning and enter the harsh arena of politics. The high
rate of curriculum rejection has been one of the factors that have forced
curriculum developers to take a special interest in looking at he issues of
curriculum implementation.

Developing a curriculum without the participation of those who will directly or

indirectly be affected by the new curriculum may increase its chance of being
rejected once introduced. A better approach is the “design implementable
curricula. Part of this approach is the needs assessment that is conducted
before curriculum begins, so that the existences of local or national needs are
established and the potential political support and opposition identified. The
inclusion of significant individuals and groups in discussions of the curriculum
change helps too ensure a smooth implementation. Failure to consult with key
players can doom a curriculum before it even reaches the implementation stage
(Fowler, 1989; Kenney & Orr, 1984). Let us look more closely at some key
players in curriculum innovation.

Officials
Government and school officials provide the framework within which the
school operates. Success is more likely if the school and government officials
share and implement the same philosophy. These officials must have a problem
solving approach; exercising strong leadership with an active administrative
team. Curriculum improvement or innovation must be one of their priorities
driven and coordinated by goals which include distribution of resources to
promote effective teaching and learning.

63
The headteacher
The support of the head teacher is essential for successful implementation of
the curriculum. Head teachers facilitate professional development and visits
and are expected to attend in-service training courses with teachers. Head
teachers excise high expectations for students’ academic achievements and
monitor those achievements through out the school.

Head teachers work to prevent interruptions in teaching and learning in the

school. They provide feedback to teachers on their performance. They take a
pro active role in mobilizing resources and government support to the school.

Teachers
Whatever administrative and instructional talents the head teacher and the
District Educational Manager may have in curriculum development process,
the implementation of a new curriculum could stand still or fall by the action of
individual teachers. Implementation strategies that attempt to change or
manipulate teachers against their will almost inevitably fail if a curriculum
change is not actually initiated by he teachers, then it must at least be
understood and supported by them.
Teachers may not implement curriculum effectively for a number of
reasons:
• The curriculum may contain unrealistic amount of material to be
covered within the expected time period.
• The insufficient instructional materials that would make it difficult for
the teachers to go ahead in the effective implementation of the
curriculum.
• The teachers may have insufficient time in the preparation for the
implementation of thee curriculum.
• He teachers may have little or no support from other stakeholders
during the implementation of the curriculum.
It is recommendable that, in order to succeed, implementation must not be a
process of command, but of negotiation.

Guidelines for curriculum implementation

A lot of information has been collected about successful and unsuccessful
implementation of the curriculum, and that guidelines have been worked out
on how best curriculum can be implemented. The guidelines include the
following;

Establishing a climate of trust

This means that the curriculum is implemented exactly as stipulated.
Implementers should be empowered to make significant choices about the
details of the design and action and should be getting support as they proceed.
Improvements begin with small success and build upon them.

64
Implement changes that meet recognised need
The implementers should see to it that the society perceives the change as
meeting their needs. School inspectors must be very active making sure that the
teachers are teaching what is stipulated in the curriculum. For more important
to teachers is the assurance that the new curriculum will improve students’
learning. That is teachers will adopt a new curriculum that will enable them to
be more effective in producing student excitement, interest and learning.

Consult widely
It is very important to consult with the stakeholders in education if curriculum
change is to be successful and productive. The most important stakeholders
include; parents, teachers, students, members of the community. It is not an
effective strategy for leaders to unilaterally announce firm curriculum decision
without consulting other stakeholders.

Use personal contact

There are a few circumstances in which people change on command. In
everyday life, we tend to be influenced most by words of our friends. We do
many things in our everyday life through the recommendations from friends,
colleagues, relations and workmates. Face-to-face contact is very effective when
it comes to seeking support and acceptance in introducing a new programme.
As Michael Fullan (1992) says; “The abilities to communicate, listen, motivate,
gain trust, and the like are all crucial interpersonal skills necessary for effective
leadership for change.

Provide systematic in-service training

It is an accepted practice that any new materials introduced in an education
system needs to be introduced to the teachers first. The teachers must be
oriented or informed how the new curriculum can be presented to the learners.
The programme may be for a day or days. The meeting is what we refer as an
in-service course or an orientation course. Growth is best facilitated not by hit-
and-run visits by charismatic experts or one-time orientation sessions, but by a
school climate that provides social support, shared experiences and
collaborative staff development (Barth 1990; Fullan 1991; Little, 1981; Joyce &
Showers, 1982). There is need for both the teachers and head teachers to
participate in regular in-service programmes.

Develop an ethos of collegiality

Collegiality refers to the idea of working together in a friendly and professional
manner with an intention of success. Judith Little (1992) suggests that
collegiality is recognizable by four behaviours:
• Talking to each other about professional practice,
• Observing each other teaching,
• Developing school curriculum cooperatively,
• And even teaching each other.
It is very important that leaders in education should create an environment in
which cooperation and collaboration will flourish. Curriculum improvement is
65
most likely to succeed in an institution that has developed an ethos of collegial
support.

Establish clear goals and limited scope

Curriculum implementation programme that is vague and uncertain cannot be
carried out effectively. Any project that has very objectives and clear direction
will be very easy to implement.

Provide Time and Resources:

Time is one of the most important items in terms of implementing a project.
Shortage of time is the single most frequently cited barrier to implementation
(Fullan, 1982). Therefore for an effective curriculum implementation, there is
need to provide teachers with adequate time when they can tryout new ideas
included in the new curriculum. Apart from adequate time, there is need for the
teachers to be provided with adequate and relevant instructional materials that
teachers can use during lessons.

Do not try to change everyone

In any society not anything introduced will be accepted by every individual in
the society. There are those who think otherwise for anything introduced. They
will always fear any change and thinking that;
• They will lose from the benefit of the old by introducing something new.
• Any new idea comes with lots of problems.
• All changes are futile and cannot work.
• If it worked at that school it will not work here.

There is no innovation on earth that has benefited mankind that has not
originally been condemned by experts as impractical, impossible or immoral.
Therefore, when implementing a new curriculum, do not expect every teacher
to accept it. However with time those reluctant to change would accept the
change and the programme would run smoothly.

Do not despair
As stated earlier not all teachers and even head teachers will not accept changes
easily. Some people will try to say a lot of negative statements about the
proposed change. However do not give in. Keep on fighting till you will win.

Activities
1 Why would the teacher or head teacher be a barrier to curriculum
implementation?
2 How would they support the implementation of a curriculum?
3 As a head teacher how would make sure that your teachers are
heavily supporting the implementation of a new curriculum?

66
 Unit summary
In unit six, you have studied what curriculum implementation is, who are
involved in it? The ministry officials, the head teachers and the teachers are the
major players in curriculum implementation. The factors that would influence
curriculum implementation would include the teachers, the learners,
instructional materials such as; textbooks and others. The people whom we
refer to as interest groups, school environment, and culture of the society, the
ideology of the society and instructional supervision and inspection are part of
the factors that would influence an effective curriculum implementation.

However there are some elements in thee education system that would act as
barriers to a smooth implantation of the curriculum. These barriers include
ministry official, head teachers and teachers.

The guidelines to effective curriculum implementation include:

• Establishing a climate of trust that teachers should be empowered to
select what is appropriate to be taught to the learners.
• The implementation should meet the recognized need.
• The implementing teachers or team should consult widely to learn more
where it is necessary to do so.
• There is always a need to provide an in-service course that should help
the teachers who are seeking help and to understand the new
curriculum.
• There is a need for the teachers to talk to each other in so doing they can
share their findings on the new curriculum

Self assessment test

What have you learnt from Unit six?

Unit test
1 Discuss briefly what is meant by thee term curriculum
implementation.
2 Why is it important that teachers develop a spirit of ownership when
implementing a curriculum that they have participated in
developing?
3 Describe briefly factors that would influence an effective
implementation of the curriculum.
4 Discuss briefly three factors that would hinder a smooth
implementation of the curriculum.
5 Explain some of the guidelines that would help in implementing the
curriculum.

67
Unit 7 Curriculum Evaluation

Introduction
In unit seven, you will look at curriculum evaluation which is one of the steps
in the curriculum process. Some people would think that this is the last stage in
the process, when in actual fact is not. Curriculum evaluation provides
information that helps the developer to improve on the product of the
curriculum development process. Evaluation can be carried out at any of the
steps of the process. There are two types of evaluation- formative and
summative evaluation. Between the two types of evaluations, formative
evaluation is more used and more useful in the curriculum process than the
summative evaluation.

Areas of emphasis
• Three major meanings of the phrase curriculum evaluation.
• Two areas curriculum developers are interested in
• Gattawa’s (1990)five approaches to curriculum evaluation
• Curriculum evaluation process
• Two forms of evaluation

Key words
Key words and phrases in the unit include;
Curriculum evaluation, measurement, valuing, bureaucratic, autocratic,
democratic, norm-referenced and criterion-referenced evaluations, formative
and summative evaluations.

Prerequisite knowledge
In the module An Introduction to the Art of Teaching and Learning you studied
about evaluation. Although the concept evaluation has not been described in
detail, but you must have an idea of what evaluation is all about.

Materials needed
Barrow, Robin, (1984) Giving Teaching Back to Teachers: A Critical Introduction to
Curriculum theory. Susex: Wheatsheaf Books.
Bishop, George, (1985) Curriculum Development: A Textbook for Students. London:
Macmillan Education Ltd. (LB 2806 BIS 1985)
Hau, S. A. (1985) The Process of Curriculum Development and Implementation: A
paper presented at an induction course for subject Inspectors and Principal
Methods Advisors held at Lilongwe Hotel. Malawi Institute of Education,
Domasi.
Kerr, John F. (1968): Changing the Curriculum. London: Hodder and
Stoughton.

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Time required
You would need almost three hours to study this unit.

Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
• discuss the three definitions of curriculum evaluation as expressed by
Gatawa (1999)
• describe the five approaches to curriculum evaluations
• discuss the functions of curriculum evaluation
• differentiate the two forms of evaluations.

Curriculum evaluation
A school curriculum cannot function very well without a mechanism for
determining whether or not thee objective of he curriculum have been
achieved. Curriculum evaluation is generally referred to as a process of
determining the extent to which thee objectives of the educational programme
have been achieved.

According to Gatawa (1990) the term curriculum evaluation has three major
meanings.
• The process of describing and judging an educational programme or
subject.
• The process of comparing a student’s performance with behaviorally
stated objectives.
• The process of defining, obtaining and using relevant information for
decision-making purposes.
Each one of the definition does not exist in isolation from the others although
each can be an activity on its own. The first activity involves the collection of
descriptive and judgmental information for the purpose of establishing whether
an educational programme or project is doing what it is expected to do. The
evaluator pronounces judgment at the end of the exercise.

He second activity involves comparing the performance of one or, ore students
with set standards. Such an evaluation determines the extent to which the
objectives of a learning activity are being realized. This is thee kind of
evaluation teachers conduct on a daily basis.

The third activity is concerned with the identification of deficiencies in an

educational program or syllabus for the purpose of effecting revision and
improvement.

Please note that curriculum evaluation exercises usually combine these three
activities. Data is collected for passing judgment, to identify deficiencies in
programmes and analyse programmes in order to determine alternatives or
find appropriate interventions.
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Curriculum evaluation involves determining the value of a document as
opposed to programme evaluation which involves evaluation of the activities
that occur after a curriculum has been adopted and implemented.

Curriculum evaluation refers to a number of processes that provide

information so that decisions can be made about whether a curriculum should
be accepted, changed or even rejected. The general purpose of evaluation is to
ascertain whether what was expected for has been achieved. The main aspect of
curriculum evaluation is decision-making about the curriculum. Evaluation is
meant to be continuous process and an integral part of the curriculum.

Curriculum evaluation has two major areas a curriculum developer is

interested in. The two areas are:
• Measurement: is when the learner’s performance is assessed after
studying a particular unit of study. The teacher compares the learning
outcomes and the intended objectives. When giving a test the teacher is
trying to find out how much of the intended objectives has he/she
achieved.
• Valuing: is when the curriculum is assessed if it is relevant to the
objectives it has been developed for.

Approaches to curriculum evaluation

Gatawa (1990) has identified five curriculum evaluation approaches, and these
are;
• Bureaucratic evaluation,
• Autocratic evaluation
• Democratic evaluation
• Norm-referenced evaluation,
• Criterion-referenced evaluation.

Bureaucratic evaluation
This evaluation is usually initiated by the government or thee Ministry of
Education. The ministry could evaluate a course off study or subjects taught in
schools to find out whether they need improvement or modifications. The
results of the evaluation are used by the government or Ministry.

Autocratic evaluation
This evaluation focuses on what is considered to be the educational needs of
thee curriculum. The government or Ministry of Education usually asks
independent evaluators such as consultants to conduct this evaluation. The
government or Ministry is not obliged to accept the results of the evaluation.

Democratic evaluation
This approach focuses on the experiences and reactions the curriculum
initiators have had with the programmes or project being evaluated. In this

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approach, the evaluation does not lead to firm recommendations to bee
considered b the initiators or programme implementers.

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Non-referenced evaluation
This approach of evaluation deals with students’ performance relative to other
students’ performance. The performance of current students or of previous
students can be compared.

Criterion-referenced evaluation
Criterion referencing measures students’ actual performance and compares it
with the objectives of instruction identified in the syllabus.

Activities
1 In your own words would you explain what curriculum evaluation
mean.
2 Why measurement and valuing is are important to the curriculum
developer?
3 Can you describe the some of he approaches of curriculum
evaluation?

Functions of curriculum evaluation

Urevbu (1985) has identified some of the functions of the curriculum. Some of
them are:
• Curriculum evaluation informs decision-makers on the state of affair of
the some aspects of the programmes.
• It enables teachers to evaluate themselves.

Decision-making: Partlett & Hamilton, argue that the principle purpose of

evaluation is to contribute to decision making. In our circumstances,
curriculum evaluations are conducted in order to correct deficiencies make
improvements and establish new priorities. For meaningful decision to be
made, they must be supported by evidence from evaluation exercises.

Self evaluation: This puts the teacher at the center of evaluation exercise. As a
curriculum developer you are involved in a research-based teaching. The
advantage of self-evaluation is that it allows you to change the curriculum or
instructional strategies if evaluations show that they could be more effective.

Focuses of evaluation
Curriculum evaluation generally focuses on the whole curriculum or aspect of
it such as: Objectives, content, methodology, and outcomes.

Curriculum bjectives
Curriculum objectives have to be evaluated because they are the foundations on
which the curriculum programme or project is frequently based. In order to
conduct an evaluation on the objectives, a number of questions must be asked.
The most obvious questions asked are:
• Are the objectives worthwhile?
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 • Can they be achieved by the learners?
• What are the expected outcomes from the objectives?

Objectives need to be evaluated because curriculum content, methodologies

and instructional materials are designed to fit the objectives. Those (teachers)
implementing the curriculum use the objectives to guide classroom activities,
hence the need for evaluation.

Curriculum content and methodology

Curriculum content must b evaluated in order to establish whether it is relevant
to the needs and the aspirations of the society. When evaluating the curriculum
content, the focus should be on the effect it has on learners. It is important to
determine whether the methodology is consistent with the curriculum
objectives (Gatawa, 1990), and appropriate for the content.

Curriculum Outcomes:
The evaluation of objectives, content and methodology are conducted
simultaneously as the evaluation of outcomes. The purpose of this evaluation is
to supply curriculum designers with information that can be used in improving
the curriculum as a whole.

Forms of evaluation
There are two forms of curriculum evaluation and these are formative and
summative evaluation. Both of them can be used to provide useful information
that would be required for decision making.

Formative evaluation
The term formative evaluation was originally coined by Scriven (1973) to
classify evaluation that gathered information for the purpose of improving
instruction as the instruction was being given. During the developmental stages
formative evaluation includes all those activities that are taken to improve on
what is being worked on. Data is collected during the developmental phase of
the programme in order to modify the programme before it is implemented.
Because curriculum development is a long process, formative evaluation is
specially suited for guiding the creation an fine-tuning of a curriculum.

Information about the learners’ immediate retention of skills and knowledge,

retention over a time and attitudes were used to shape instruction as it
proceeded. Formative evaluation was considered to be an integral part of
instructional design and delivery.

In the curriculum context formative evaluation can be considered to be the

process that looks for evidence of success or failure of the curriculum
programme, and or the syllabus as it is being prepared, or looks at the subject
as it is taught during the implementation stage.

Formative evaluation answers two main questions:

73
 • Is the instruction successful during the implementation stage?
• If it is not successful what can be done to avoid failure of the
programme.

It ensures that all aspects of the programme or project are likely to produce
success. It provides information that can be used to stop doubtful projects from
being implemented. It is therefore a conceptual and physical exercise that is
carried out before a programme comes to an end.

Summative evaluation
This type of evaluation assesses whether or not the project or programme can
perform as the originators and designers intended. It aims at getting a total
picture of the quality of the produced curriculum. It is usually taken after the
project has been completely developed and after it has been implemented
school-wide or national-wide. It focuses on the effectiveness of the total
curriculum process by providing a summary of the entire educational
programme.

It considers cost effectiveness in terms of money, time and personnel. It also

assesses the needs (requirements) the teachers may need in order to implement
a programme successfully. It determines whether a new curriculum
programme, syllabuses or subjects are better than the ones that are intended to
be replaced or other alternatives. Summative evaluation is unusually conducted
at the end of the programme cycle. Although it is performed at the end of the
development process, it must not be perceived as only happening. It can for
example be conducted several times at the end of particular unit plans

Formative and summative evaluations can take place wherever an evaluation

exercise is conducted. They can be conducted on educational projects and
programmes existing in the curriculum or on he teaching of individual subjects
in the school system.

Activities
1 Can you come up reasons why curriculum evaluation is important in
the curriculum process?
2 Why should evaluation be carried out at every level of the curriculum
development process?
3 How are formative and summative evaluations an important aspect of
curriculum development process?

74
 Unit summary
In unit seven you have studied what curriculum evaluation is, what its value in
curriculum development are. You have looked at the five types of curriculum
evaluation. You have also studied the two forms of curriculum evaluation and
these are formative and summative evaluations.

How are these two forms of evaluations different from each other? The
formative evaluation is said to be an ongoing exercise as the curriculum is
being processed. It may start at needs assessment all through to the
implementation of the new curriculum stage. Where as, in summative
evaluation the evaluation is usually carried out at the implementation stage.

Evaluation
What have you learnt from Unit Seven?
Can you try these questions below?
1 Discuss briefly the three definitions of curriculum evaluation as
defined by Gatawa (1999).
2 Explain the different approaches of curriculum evaluation.
3 Describe the different functions of curriculum evaluation.
4 Discuss the major differences of formative and summative
evaluations.

75
 References
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paper presented at an induction course for subject Inspectors and Principal
Methods Advisors held at Lilongwe Hotel. Malawi Institute of Education,
Domasi.
Hunkins, Francis, P. (1980) Curriculum Development: Program Improvement. Ohio:
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Barrow, Robin, (1984) Giving Teaching Back to Teachers: A Critical Introduction to
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Salia-Bao, Kemoh (1987) An Introduction to Curriculum Studies in Africa. London:
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