Curriculum Development And Change example essay topic

INTRODUCTION There seems to be a lot of controversy and uncertainty as to! yen what is the curriculum?! | As such, there is a distributing lack of consensus on an all-embracing definition of this comprehensive concept. This is, in part, due to the various interpretations, meanings, emphasis and approaches that the scholars of curriculum studies embark upon. This, in turn, leaves the education practitioners and the general public in the dark as to what constitutes that which should be considered as! yen good curriculum practice! | in educational institutions. This exposition seeks to highlight and evaluate the key concepts of the curriculum and some of the factors that have marked influence on curriculum planning, curriculum development and change. The impact that learning environments, learning theories, culture, ideologies and knowledge have on the curriculum will be briefly brought to the fore.

2. KEY CONCEPTS OF THE CURRICULUM The term curriculum is derived from a Latin word!! | meaning the! yen racecourse! |. Implicit in the meaning is, as cited by Fraser, W.J. et al (1990: 81).

The fact that the curriculum is! yen a relatively fixed track or terrain (learning content) which must be covered (mastered) by the participant (learner) in order to reach the winning-post (learning result).! |Based on this literal meaning, attempts to clarify what the curriculum is have led to the following definitions:" X A programme of study"X Course content "X Planned learning experiences"X Intended learning outcomes"X A plan for instruction According to Graham-Jolly, M. (2000: 3), these definitions are narrow interpretations of the curriculum since! The term is often used to refer to the formal academic programme provided by a school, as reflected in subjects on the timetable, , , it might also be used to refer to a particular course of instruction or syllabus. The focus here is, in the main, on didactic activities as they occur within the classroom situation. The latest trend, however, places emphasis on a broader and more inclusive interpretation of the concept, which takes into cognizance the social, political, economic and historical contexts within which the curriculum is designed, developed and implemented. Lubisi, C et al (1998) distinguishes between the curriculum as a! yen product! | or! yen plan! | (narrow perspective) and curriculum as! yen practice! | or! yen process! | (broad perspective).

The product view entails a plan to be followed by the teachers (blue print) in carrying out the didactic activities. The practice view encompasses all the activities that inform the occurrences in an educational institution. In a nutshell, the narrow perspective pays more attention on the intentions, plans or ideas regarding what should happen in a school. On the contrary, the broad perspective focuses on the existing state of affairs and recognises the actual happenings based on social constructs. 2.1 DIFFERENT FORMS OF CURRICULUM Lengthy debates pertaining to the definition of the curriculum, among, have culminated in the emergence of divergent connotations and hence various forms of the curriculum namely: 2.1.

1. Formal or! yen official! | curriculum planned and documented form of the curriculum. 2.1. 2.! yen Actual! | curriculum- That which takes place when the! yen official! | curriculum is implemented. 2.1. 3.! yen Hidden! | curriculum The values, beliefs and norms of behaviour that are communicated implicitly through the process of socialization; intentionally or unintentionally. The hidden curriculum is accidental in nature and is a by-product of planned activities. Social and sex roles are acquired through this form of the curriculum. 2.1. 4! yen Common! | curriculum This form of the curriculum seeks to address the imbalances and inequities that existed in racially-divided South African educational institution. In the light of the vast complexity of dimensions pertaining to the word curriculum, I find it proper not to commit myself by trying to define this comprehensive term.

I am, however, of the opinion that in any definition of the curriculum attempts should be made somehow to include the! yen hidden! | curriculum, a broad perspective that is: 3. Curriculum Planning, Development and Change 3.1 Curriculum Planning Professor Ralph Tyler notes with concern that curriculum planning consists of four dimensions namely objectives or goal, content or subject matter, method or procedures and evaluation. This is a very simple and linear model which starts off by specifying what we intend to achieve (objectives). Next the ground to be covered (content) is considered followed by the mechanisms to be put in place in reaching the goals envisage (methods) and finally, make attempts to measure the success of the whole exercise (evaluation).

The! yen objective! | planning model has been severely criticised since it does not leave room for interrelatedness of the separate dimensions. The most preferred planning mode is a cyclical one which links up evaluation with the objectives to form a continuous cycle. Some scholars, however, argue that evaluation should not be delayed until the end of the exercise rather it should occur continuously at any stage of the planning process. There are other models that place emphasis on content (traditional approach) while some models focus solely on procedures (progressive approach). All the planning models cited here, unfortunately, do not give precise answers in terms of criteria for the selection of objectives, content, alternative procedures and forms of evaluation Denis Lawton, (1973) as quoted by Kelly (1989) attempts to answer these value-related questions by suggesting that! yen in planning a curriculum we should frame our objectives and decide on appropriate content and procedures by reference to three kinds of consideration.!

| Consideration alluded hereto are: o The nature of the target group (learner) for whom the curriculum is intended o The nature of knowledge The social situation of the learning environment (school). The aforementioned planning models including Lawrence Sten house's! yen Process model! | and Shi lbeck's! yen situation model! | do not give us a clear-cut design which forms a basis for effective curriculum planning and hence curriculum development. 3.2 Curriculum Development And Change Fraser, W. J et al (1990) states that curriculum development refers to! | all the processes necessary to plan, design, [disseminate], implement and evaluate a functional curriculum.! yen Evaluation may result in re planning, amendment and modification of the existing curriculum. Curriculum development is thus a continuous, cyclical process which has no end. This emanates from the dynamic nature of the components of the curriculum coupled with the continual rethinking about interrelationships between these components.

According to Fraser, W. J et al (1990), Curriculum takes place at the three levels:" X Macro-level (National, Provincial and specific didactic environment) "X Meso-level (specific departments, faculties, courses and subject curricula"X Micro-level (individual situation, work scheme and lesson preparation.) Taylor P. and Richards, C.M. (1987) rightly pointed out that Curricula are artificial! Kare man-made and liable to change! Social changes, political revolutions, economic transformations, advances in knowledge and re-evaluation of the past are some of the factors which serve to reshape curricula which are just one of mankind's many cultural products! KIt follows, therefore, that curriculum change comes into being as a result of endeavours to keep pace with the modifications, adjustments, innovations, developments, transformations and evolutions that happen at various levels of the society in a particular environment.

Any attempt to change the curriculum should be aimed at finding better ways of dealing with the challenges of life and thereby meet survival needs. 4. Some Factors That Influence Curriculum Planning, Development And Change 4.1. Learning Environments and Curriculum The nature of the structure (physical set up), personnel (all stakeholders), and funding including time framework have a bearing on the manner in which the curriculum is planned and developed. All the available resources need to be utilised to their maximum potential in order to attain effectiveness and meet desirable goals of an educational institution. An environment which is not conducive to effective teaching and learning impacts negatively on the curriculum.

Teachers who have sound pedagogic and subject knowledge and also hold high moral values contribute positively towards curriculum development at school level. They form a link between curriculum theory and practice. Teachers can either make or break the learning environment. The level of social, cognitive, effective and psychomotor development of the target group for whom the curriculum is planned plays a pivotal role. The performance of learners from impoverished socio-economic backgrounds is usually below average.

The! yen common! | curriculum envisaged in South Africa is currently under threat due to the existing state of affairs regarding resources. Schools that are well-resourced stand a better chance of successfully implementing OBE as opposed to poorly-and-under-resourced schools. The harmonious connection that exists among various elements of the learning environment impacts positively or negatively on curriculum planning and development. 4.2. Theories Of Knowledge And Curriculum Kelly, V (1989) categories theories about the nature and structure of knowledge into two main kinds: the! yen rationalist view! | recognises the supremacy of the intellect and stresses by the mind independently of sensory information.

Those who subscribe to this theory believe that evidence based on the senses is unreliable, misleading and fallible. To the rationalist, knowledge is reified, timeless and God-given. On the other hand, the! yen empiricist view! | is based on the premise that man comes to terms with the natural phenomena through the interpretations of sensory information. There have been hot debates around the issue of identifying those areas of knowledge that have value and as such deemed to be a must in curriculum designing. This is partly due to the fact that knowledge is tentative, hypothetical and not universally accepted.

Consequently, epistemological theories play a trivial role in curriculum planning since they do not offer any clear-cut criteria in as far as the curriculum objectives, content and procedures are concerned. 4.3. Educational Ideologies And Curriculum Taylor, P and Richards, C.M. (1987) define an ideology as, ! yen system of beliefs and values held in common by members of a social group, each of whom draws on this system of meanings in explaining the world or part of it (e.g. education).! |Educational ideologies in a sense, therefore, refer to clusters of beliefs, values, sentiments and understandings that seek to explain the philosophy of education and the impact thereof on the society According to Taylor and Richards there are two broad perspectives pertaining to educational ideologies namely the traditional ideology which supports a product view of the curriculum and the progressive ideology which place supremacy on the process view of the curriculum. The progressive ideology is / can be subdivided into conservative, revisionist, romantic and democratic ideologies".

X! yen Conservative! | ideology- values stability, continuity with the past and the transmission of cultural heritage". X! yen Revisionist! | ideology! V values modernization, efficiency and the expansion of education to produce skilled labour force". X! yen Romantic! | ideology- centres on individual rather than the notion, on the present rather than past or the future, on child rather than adult".

X! yen Democratic! | ideology- values equality and supports change in education (and the wider society) in order to realise thus. Curriculum planners are, to a large degree, influenced by the approach that the government of the day adheres to with regards to curriculum development. Political and educational ideologies are intertwined. Paradigm shifts in terms of ideologies occur in response to political imperatives. In South Africa prior to the 1994 elections the conservative ideology reigned supreme and with the new political dispensation the focus is on the romantic ideology. The democratic ideology advocates for the creation of a! yen common culture! | and! yen common curriculum! | in schools.

The inequities regarding distribution of resources and the multi-cultural nature (diversity) of the present day South African schools leave no room for the application of this ideology 4.4. Culture And Curriculum The! yen conservative! | ideology stresses the importance of transmitting common cultural heritage from one generation to the next. The schools are, amongst other institutions, the agencies for inducting children into ways of life of a particular society. This notion poses numerous challenges concerning the selection of curriculum content To begin with, the word! yen culture! | has different meanings.

Secondly, the culturally-diversified modern societies do not have a common culture. In the third place is the issue of ever-changing, evolving and developing nature of culture. Finally, technological advancement brings about change in norms, values, beliefs and customs of any society. The other difficulty that schools are faced with, is the question of whether to transmit culture or transform it.

In principle, yes, curriculum planning should be done bearing in mind the way of life of clients (learners, parents and society) but in practice this not always feasible. 4.5. Learning Theories And Curriculum Numerous definitions on learning view change of behaviour aimed at adaptation of individuals to their environment as a point of departure. However, not all behaviour al changes should be attributed to learning. Durminy, P. A et al (1992: 287) states that! yen human beings with all their cognitive, normative and affective abilities, actively too to come to grips with what is unknown to them.! |Learning theories such as behaviour ism, Gestalt approach and approach, to mention a few, seek to predict and explain the relationships between learning conditions and learning outcomes The teachers didactic approach will, in more ways than one, implicitly reveal the kind of learning theories's / he subscribes to. The cognitive approach addresses the question of how learning content should be graded and adapted to the child's level of advancement and experience.

The OBE seems to subscribe to the phenomenological approach because of emphasizes the following basic princes:" X Child-cent redness"X All learners can learn Curriculum planning, development and change in a school situation should not be linked to a single learning theory rather all learning theories should have a place in modifying the learners! | behaviour. 5. Conclusion Curricula are defined, planned, developed and changed over time with the intention of introducing the target group (learners) to the material and non-material world they live in. Teachers at a micro level bridge the gap between theory (official curriculum) and practice (actual curriculum).

Any reflection on the curriculum should encompass both the theoretical and practical aspects. Curriculum development at all levels should serve to optimism the effectiveness of schools as learning organisations and prepare the learners to become conquerors of the world they inhabit. In this paper I attempted to highlight the international view of the curriculum but within a South African context. I discovered that the influence of the learning environments and learning theories on the curriculum are too broad and as such could not be adequately addressed in an essay of this nature. I also found out that some elements that influence the curriculum are so interrelated and it was not always easy to discuss each one separately. 6.

Bibliography

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