AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA

Affiliated To FCE Kano Campus

SCHOOL OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS EDUCATION

COURSE CODE: EDUC 404

COURSE TITLE: CURRICULUM STUDY II

Group Members

QUESTION
Examine any four (4) types of Curriculum evaluation
Introduction

The curriculum is one of the most critical aspects of a successful education. A curriculum
includes the content and lessons taught for each subject, including the lesson framing,
implementation goals, and assessments. Educators utilize the curriculum to ensure that all
students meet the expected standards. Therefore, curriculums must be evaluated to ensure
that students learn all materials in the best way possible.

Curriculum evaluation is the process of assessing and analyzing the effectiveness,

relevance, and overall quality of an educational curriculum. It aims to determine whether a
curriculum is meeting its intended goals, objectives, and outcomes, and whether it is
adequately preparing students for their future endeavors. Curriculum evaluation involves
gathering and analyzing data to make informed decisions about curriculum design,
implementation, and improvement.

Curriculum evaluation

Curriculum evaluation is a systematic process of assessing the effectiveness, relevance, and

quality of an educational curriculum. It involves gathering and analyzing data to determine
whether the curriculum is achieving its intended goals, meeting the needs of learners, and
facilitating desired learning outcomes. The goal of curriculum evaluation is to ensure
continuous improvement of the curriculum, making it more responsive to changing
educational needs and societal demands.

Important of curriculum evaluation

Educational prepares future generation to take their due place in the society. It becomes
essential that substandard educational goals, materials and methods of instruction are not
retained but up-dated in consonance with the advances in social cultural and scientific
field.

Aspects of curriculum evaluation:

Goals and Objectives Assessment: This involves examining whether the curriculum's
stated goals and objectives align with the educational institution's mission and the needs of
the students. It assesses whether the curriculum is meeting the intended learning
outcomes.

Content Relevance: Evaluating the curriculum's content for its relevance to current
knowledge, skills, and real-world applications. This ensures that students are learning
concepts that are up-to-date and applicable to their field of study.

Teaching Methods and Strategies: Assessing the methods and strategies used to deliver
the curriculum. This includes evaluating whether the teaching methods are engaging,
effective, and suitable for diverse learning styles.

Assessment and Evaluation Strategies: Examining the methods used to assess students'
learning progress and the effectiveness of these methods in accurately measuring student
comprehension and skills. Student Performance and Outcomes: Analyzing student
performance data, such as test scores, assignments, projects, and other assessments, to
gauge how well students are mastering the curriculum content.

Feedback from Stakeholders: Gathering input from various stakeholders, including

students, teachers, parents, administrators, and industry professionals, to get a
comprehensive view of the curriculum's strengths and weaknesses. Continuous
Improvement: Based on the evaluation findings, making necessary adjustments to the
curriculum to enhance its effectiveness. This might involve adding new content, modifying
teaching strategies, or updating assessments.

Long-Term Impact: Assessing the long-term impact of the curriculum on students' future
academic and professional success.

Alignment with Standards: Ensuring that the curriculum aligns with national or regional
educational standards and guidelines.

Cultural Sensitivity and Diversity: Evaluating whether the curriculum is culturally

sensitive, inclusive, and diverse, reflecting the needs and backgrounds of all students.

Methods of curriculum evaluation can include surveys, focus groups, interviews, classroom
observations, analysis of student work, and quantitative data analysis. It's important to
note that curriculum evaluation is an ongoing process and should be conducted
periodically to ensure that the curriculum remains effective and relevant over time.

Impact of curriculum evaluation

Curriculum evaluation has several significant impacts on educational institutions, students,

teachers, and the overall learning process. These impacts contribute to the ongoing
improvement and effectiveness of education.

Quality Enhancement: Curriculum evaluation leads to the identification and correction of

weaknesses in the curriculum, ensuring that the educational content and methods are of
high quality and aligned with educational standards and goals.

Improved Learning Outcomes: By assessing student performance and understanding,

curriculum evaluation helps educators adjust their teaching methods to enhance student
learning outcomes, ensuring that students are acquiring the intended knowledge and skills.

Informed Decision-Making: The data and insights gathered from curriculum evaluation
inform decision-making processes related to curriculum design, content selection, teaching
strategies, assessment methods, and resource allocation.

Relevance and Responsiveness: Evaluation ensures that the curriculum remains relevant
and responsive to changes in societal needs, technological advancements, and industry
requirements. This adaptability ensures that graduates are well-prepared for the real
world.

In essence, curriculum evaluation is a dynamic process that brings about positive changes
in education, benefiting learners, educators, institutions, and society as a whole.

Types of Curriculum Evaluation

Formative Evaluation

A formative type of evaluation assesses the curriculum as it is used. Instead of waiting until
the end of the school year to look back on how well the curriculum worked, using a
formative evaluation allows you to get feedback on a consistent basis, according to the
Carnegie Mellon University. This type of assessment allows educators and administrators
to make changes as the school year progresses and adapt the curriculum for different
learning styles. Methods for formative evaluation may include collecting student reflection
papers after lessons, midterm course evaluations or reviewing summaries that the students
write on instructional units.

Summative Assessment

Unlike formative evaluations that take place on a consistent basis, giving ongoing
feedback, the summative type is done at the end of a course or school year or through
standardized assessment testing. Summative evaluations measure curricular success by
reviewing the outcomes against benchmark standards. These are evaluations of learning
for accountability and are not necessarily used to boost the educational process,
according to educational consultant and learning specialist Judith Dodge on the website
Scholastic Teachers.

Process Evaluation:

Process evaluation focuses on how the curriculum is being implemented, including

teaching methods, instructional strategies, and classroom dynamics. It assesses whether
the curriculum is being delivered as intended and whether any modifications are needed.

Methods and Models

Within both formative and summative evaluations, there are models that inform how you
conduct the individual assessments. Based on educational research and theory,
evaluation models not only guide the process of the assessment but also provide a
framework for it. For example, the objectives-centered model -- created by theorist Ralph
Tyler -- is a systematic type of evaluation that starts with setting behavioral objectives
that include both the curricular content as well as learning behaviors. In this model, the
evaluator chooses and uses several assessment tools and compares the results. In
contrast, a goal-free model places the evaluator as an unbiased observer who creates a
need profile. The assessment then compares the effects of the curriculum to the students'
needs.
Conclusion

Each type of curriculum evaluation serves a specific purpose and contributes to a

comprehensive understanding of how well a curriculum is performing. Combining these
different types of evaluation can provide a well-rounded perspective on the curriculum's
strengths and areas for improvement.

References

Atwill, Janet M. (2009) [1998]. Rhetoric Reclaimed: Aristotle and the Liberal Arts Tradition.
Cornell paperbacks. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.
p. 16. ISBN 9780801476051. Retrieved 27 March 2023. [...] Renaissance curricula were
far more influenced by Quintilian's pedagogical program than by Cicero's goals for the
training of an orator.

Bobbitt, John Franklin. The Curriculum. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1918.

Jackson, Philip W. "Conceptions of Curriculum and Curriculum Specialists." In Handbook of

Research on Curriculum: A Project of the American Educational Research Association,
edited by Philip W. Jackson, 3–40. New York: Macmillan Pub. Co., 1992.

Pinar, William F., William M. Reynolds, Patrick Slattery, and Peter M.

Taubman. Understanding Curriculum: An Introduction to the Study of Historical and
Contemporary Curriculum Discourses. New York: Peter Lang, 1995.
Hawe, P., Degeling, D., Hall, J. (1990) Evaluating Health Promotion: A Health Worker’s
Guide, MacLennan & Petty, Sydney. South Australian Community Health Research
Unit n.d.c