1.

Definition of Terms and Concepts

The three key terms defined here are: 

1. Education
2. Curriculum
3. Curriculum development

1. Education

The term education is derived from the Greek word educare meaning to nourish or

to raise .

Education refers to the process by which the society, thorough its different institutions
deliberately transmits cultural heritage to its young.- its important accumulated values,
knowledge, skills and practices from one generation to another.

Note that education proceeds throughout one's lifetime and the school is not the only
agency that imparts education. Though the school exerts greater influence in educating the
young, other social agencies for example the home/family, religous  organisations and the
press/mass media supplement its work.

•Oluoch (1982) defines education as the process of acquiring and developing desirable
knowledge, skills and attitudes. 
•The education process takes place in  formal, non-formal and  informal settings inside and
outside the school.

2. Curriculum
Root meaning:• The term curriculum is derived from the Latin word currere meaning    race
course like the track followed by horses.

This is interpreted to mean:

 a course of study to be covered by students in the race towards the finish line ( a
certificate, diploma or degree)
 The layman thinks of curriculum as a;
 •a course of study,

•a syllabus or

•a collection of of syllabi containing a body of subject matter officially taught in     
school.
Contemporary definition of curriculum by various authors

 Kerr ( 1968) says that curriculum as learning which is planned and guided by the
school, whether carried out in groups or individually, inside or outside the school;
 Oluoch (1982) ‘all that which is planned to enable students to develop the desired
knowledge skills and attitudes’.
 Shiundu and Omulando (1992) define curriculum as class and out of class activities
carried out under the aegis of a school in response to societal demands’
 Bishop (1985)  defines curriculum as the sum total of all experiences a pupil
undergoes within or without the school’.

•What is the relationship between education and curriculum ?

•Education and curriculum are related concepts.
•On the one hand education is the process of imparting desirable knowledge, skills,
attitudes and values.
On the other hand, curriculum spells out what knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to be
imparted, how to impart them and how to determine the level of acquisition and
development of the same

3. Curriculum development

A process  of curriculum construction and its implementation, evaluation and maintenance.

•Shiundu and Omulando (1992) define curriculum development ‘as the planning of learning
opportunities intended to bring about certain changes in the learners’.
•It involves a lot of value-judgments and decision making.

•NOTE: Curriculum development process shall be discussed later in detail.

2. Purpose of the School Curriculum

•Translates the national goals into concrete and observable behavioral changes.
•Regulate teachers roles, responsibilities and activities.
•Specifies objectives that schools should attain.
•Specifies activities that take place in an institution.
•Ensures uniformity in coverage of learning activities.
•Regulates evaluation procedures of an education system.
3. Rationale of Curriculum Development

Rationale of Studying Curriculum Development

Teacher trainees should study curriculum development so as to be able to;

•Understand the procedures and strategies of curriculum development.

•Participate effectively in the various stages of the curriculum development process.
•Translate national goals of education into instructional objectives
•Interpret curriculum programs correctly for effective teaching or implementation
•Curriculum development is a professional activity and thus a responsibility of all teachers.

4. Types of Curricula

•Various kinds of curricula are identified depending on the different criteria and perspectives
used;
•Cole(2003) identifies three kinds of curricula, namely;
a)Curriculum on paper: what the syllabus says and should be taught.
b)Curriculum in action: the curriculum implemented in schools
c)Curriculum that is actually learned: the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values which the
learner actually acquires in the teaching and learning process in schools.  

•Andrew(2005) identifies four

a)Official curriculum
b)Hidden curriculum
c)Observed curriculum
d)Curriculum as experienced

`If classified according to the level or phase of education;

•ECD education curriculum

•Primary school curriculum
•Secondary school curriculum

If classified according to the grade level

•Grade /Standard 1 curriculum

•Standard 2  ’’
•Form 1

Curriculum can also be classified according course/programme or individual subjects/ course

unit

Course/programme ; for example,

 Diploma technical teacher education curriculum

 Diploma in automotive engineering curriculum

Individual subjects/ course unit; for example,

 Sociology of education curriculum
 Research methods curriculum
 Curriculum studies curriculum
 5. Curriculum Documents
 •The school curriculum is reviewed, developed  and expressed in various
documents; identify some of these documents.

 a. The school curriculum of a country's education system is expressed in the
following curriculum guides and support materials 
 •Syllabuses
•Teacher’s guide
•Learner’s workbook
•School equipment order book
•Recommended list of books
•Occupational Standards ( as used by TVET CDACC)


 b. The following legal and policy documents have influenced the review and

development of curriculum in Kenya.  
 •The Constitution of Kenya (2010)
 •Acts of parliament e.g TVET Act 2013..
 •Legal orders
 •National curriculum policy
 •Education reports ( committees’ taskforce, commissions)
 •Sessional Papers e.g. Sessional Paper No.1, 2005
 •National development plans e.g Kenya Vision 2030

 c. International policy documents, education reports and  declarations also influence
a country’s curriculum review and development. Some of these are;
 •Education for All  ( EFA)  declaration
 •Universal Primary Education by 2015 ( was the second goal in the United Nations
Millennium Development Goal)
 •Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 
 •World Education Forum reports
