LEVELS AND MODELS OF CURRICULUM

DEVELOPMENT

The term curriculum is derived from the Latin word “currerre” which
means run. Thus curriculum is a runway for attaining the goals of
education.
According to cunning house “curriculum is a tool in the hands of an
artist to mould his material according to his studio”. In this definition,
artist is the teacher, material is the student, ideals are the objectives
and studio is the educational institute.
LEVELS OF CURRICULUM PLANNING
Goodland identified three levels of curriculum planning:-
• The societal curriculum
• Institutional curriculum
• Instructional curriculum
THE SOCIETAL CURRICULUM
• Societal curriculum refers to curricula or parts of the curricula
which are planned for a large group or class of students. It is the
curriculum which is planned by groups outside the educational
institutions.
• There are many such groups which exert pressure on curriculum
development in schools or colleges . For example:-
• Groups set up by national organizations such as Indian Nursing
Council who determine the criteria which shall be used in the
accreditation of schools or colleges. For e.g. , INC most
immediately concerned with determining general characteristics
of curriculum content , sequence and implementation , which
 are likely to prepare types of nurses needed to meet society
needs for nursing.
• Groups of experts in the specialized subject areas like
community health nursing, medical surgical nursing, nursing
administration; nursing research etc may concern themselves
with specifying the objectives and the curriculum content for
their respective areas.
• Government at both state and national levels also influences
curriculum development and educational institutions. This can
be done according to the needs and aspirations of the people by
providing finance and other help for improving curriculum or
change in curricula.
• From societal point of view , there also must be concern about
the extent to which society needs are being met by the nurses
being graduated from schools or colleges . This is of particular
concern to professional education.
INSTITUTIONAL CURRICULUM
• The institutional curriculum is one planned by faculty for a
clearly identified group of students who will spend a specified
time period in a particular institution.
• The need for and the importance of cooperative planning
through curriculum committees within the school is obvious if
one looks at the broad base of facts , understandings , skills ,
habits , attitudes and appreciations that are required to prepare
the student to function as a modern professional nurse in a
democratic society.
• Through cooperative curriculum planning overlaps and gaps in
the curriculum can be avoided and therefore non productive
repetitive learning experiences can be kept at a minimum while
 on the other hand correlation curricular experiences can be
planned so that integration of all learning experiences can be
facilitated and the nursing student prepared to give professional
nursing care.
INSTRUCTIONAL CURRICULUM
• Instructional curriculum consists of the content i.e. subject
matter and learning activities , planned by day by day and week
by week by a particular teacher for a particular group of
students.
• A course of study planned by the curriculum committee may be
most ineffective in the hands of a poor teacher. Whereas a badly
planned course of study may be largely compensated by a good
teacher.
• Thus the way in which the curriculum in the particular situation
is influenced by the individual teacher planning.
• Instructional curriculum is conceived to include all the planned
learning experiences of the student it will include :-
• The essential facts, information concepts, meanings, principles
(subject matter).
• Activities that are necessary for the development of skills ,
habits , attitudes, ideals , appreciations ( learning experiences).
• Methods that is useful in teaching, guiding and evaluating
results (methodology of teaching).
• This concept of curriculum helps students to achieve the desired
behavior changes according to educational objectives.
• In this sense nursing curriculum comprises not only subject
matter, but also activities, methods, schools or college and
 classroom organizations, clinical learning experience and the
nurse teacher herself.
• Hence the instructional curriculum can be considered as:-
• The curriculum provided (what the teacher and student plans).
• The curriculum selected and experienced by the student.
MODELS OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
• Models of curriculum help to understand the nature of
curriculum. Some of the important curriculum models are:-
• The behavioral objective (product) model
• The process model
• Cultural analysis model
• Beattie’s four fold model
THE BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVE (PRODUCT) MODEL
• This model was developed by Ralph Tyler (1950). He was one
of the most influential early curriculum theorists.
• He views curriculum objectively and in terms of its function and
clearly includes teaching and learning as important part of it.
• For him the function of curriculum is to set forth the order and
scope of what has to be taught so that learning may be
enhanced.
He identified four fundamental questions to be answered in the
process of developing a curriculum:-
• What educational purpose should the school seek to attain i.e.
objectives?
 • How can learning experiences be selected that are likely to be
useful in attaining these objectives.
• How can learning experiences be organized for effective
instruction.
• How can effectiveness of learning experiences be evaluated.
• This notion of rational curriculum planning led to the
development of curriculum model which consist of four main
components namely:-
• Objectives
• Content
• Method
• Evaluation
Hence this model gives importance to the achievement of objectives
by the student.
• Tyler stressed the importance of stating objectives in terms of
student behavior.
• Thus this is an output model.
THE PROCESS MODEL
• Lawrence stenhouse (1973) formulated the process model. This
is an input model as emphasis is on learning experience or
process of education.
• Stenhouse was strong critic of behavioural objective model
because he felt that faculty controls the students behaviour or
stipulate what is to be learnt and thus restrict the students
freedom in selecting their own goals for education.
 • The content and learning experience can be selected on the basis
of what is needed and important for students.
• The teacher is responsible for assessment and appraising
student’s performance.
• The greatest weakness of process model is its dependence on the
quality of teacher. The teacher has to be committed and willing
to be a learner to improve self performance and judgment.
CULTURAL ANALYSIS MODEL
• Curriculum as an agenda of important cultural issues is utilized
in this model.
• This model has been developed by Dennis Lawton (1983).
• Culture is defined the whole way of life of society and the
purpose of education is to make available to the next generation
the most im[portant aspects of culture.
• Cultural analysis is the process by which a selection is made
from the culture and in terms of curriculum planning.
• The type of curriculum organization appropriate for the content
need to be selected by the teacher.
• This model applies to the curriculum for children and takes into
consideration the moral, social, political aspects of the culture in
relation to planning.
BEATTIE’S FOUR FOLD MODEL
Beattie (1987) suggests that there are four fundamental approaches in
relation to the task of planning a curriculum for nursing. They are:-
• The curriculum as a map of key subjects:- This approach
consists of mapping out the key subjects in nursing curriculum.
 • The curriculum as a schedule of basic skills:-This approach
emphasis the specification of basic skills of nursing practices.
• The curriculum as a portfolio of meaningful personal
experiences:-This approach places the students at the centre of
things by organizing the curriculum around their interest and
experiences.
• The curriculum as an agenda of important cultural issues:- This
approach focuses on controversial issues and political dilemmas
in nursing and health care.
REFERENCES
• Loretta E Heidgerdan (2002), Teaching and learning in schools
of nursing, Principles and methods, 3rd edition, Konark
publisher.
• Basanvanthappa B.T (2003), “Nursing Education” IST edition,
Jaypee publications.
• Neeraja KP (2003), Textbook of nursing education” IST edition,
Jaypee publications.
• Tyler R. Basic principles of curriculum and instruction.
University of Chicago press.
• www.infed.org