Introduction

Safi Ullah

Ph.D Education

Qurtuba University Of Science & Information

Technology Peshawar Pakistan
INTRODUCTION TO
CURRICULUM
 Objectives of the Unit
• Discuss the nature of curriculum.
• Explain the meaning of curriculum.
• Classify curriculum definitions into their distinct type.
• Define the terms of curriculum development,
curriculum construction, curriculum implementation,
curriculum formulation, curriculum design,
curriculum change and curriculum innovation.
• Explain the scope of curriculum.
• Discuss why a study of curriculum is important.
 INTRODUCTION TO CURRICULUM
• The word curriculum originated in ancient Rome
and meant a chariot race course.
• The concise Oxford Dictionary definition “Course of
Study”
• The idea of a curriculum as a race with a series of
‘hurdles’ to be overcome might still be a view.
 INTRODUCTION TO CURRICULUM
• Curriculum is the base on which the subject,
activities and experiences are planned. It is more
than textbooks, more than the subject matter or
course of studies.
• It is totality of all the learning to which you are
exposed during study in the school.
• When we talk about the school curriculum and
curriculum guides which are documents from the
results of planning and development. Therefore, are
these documents the curriculum? Or what is a
definition of curriculum?
 Definitions of Curriculum
• Curriculum probably has a greater variety of definitions than
any other word used in education. 
• Curriculum is everything that happens within the school,
including extra class activities, guidance, and interpersonal
relationships.
• Curriculum is that which is taught both inside and outside of
school directed by the school.
• Curriculum is everything that is planned by school personnel.
• Curriculum is a series of experiences undergone by learners in
school.
• Curriculum is that which an individual learner experiences as
a result of schooling.
 Definitions of Curriculum
• The definition you select will effect the way you "do
curriculum". 
• If you accept a definition of curriculum as a set of
subjects you face a much simpler task than a school
system which takes on the responsibility for all
experiences the learner has both inside and outside
of the school.
Be aware, you may select or favor a particular
definition, but others exist and are just as favored
by others and should not be rejected lightly as all
have advantages and disadvantages.
 Curriculum definitions fit 5 categories:
• If you review curriculum definitions you will find they can be
classified into five categories:
• Curriculum as a product - program, document, electronic
media, or multimedia
• Curriculum as a program of study - usually courses offered,
curriculum sequences of study in standards as benchmarks,
gateways,
• Curriculum as intended learnings - goals, content, concepts,
generalizations, outcomes
• Curriculum as experiences of the learner - activities, planned
and unplanned.
• Hidden curriculum - what students learn that isn't planned -
unless you plan for this - or is it possible?
 Curriculum as product
Defining curriculum as a product - program, document, electronic
media, or multimedia has
• Disadvantages
 Limits curriculum to specific programs, courses, activities, or
outcomes described in those documents.
 Assumes all possible outcomes can or will be described in such
documents.
 May separate processes of learning from what is to be learned.
• Advantages
 Can be described in concrete terms and definite ways.
 Provides direction for planning and development by producing a
document.
(Authors with related works: James Macdonald, Hilda Taba, Beauchamp)
 Curriculum as program of study
Defining curriculum as program of study or list of courses in school
is usually used to describe activities or events used to achieve
specific purposes. From required courses of study to electives.
• Advantages
• Easily described in concrete terms.
• Recognize learning takes place in many different settings in
school.
• Disadvantages
• View that all students' learning is contained in programs.
• Programs imply that what is described, is what students will
actually learn.
(Authors with related work: Bestor, Phenix)
 Curriculum as program of study
Curriculum as program of study usually centers on
a subject presentation approach such as nationally
standards classified by subject, national and other
subject related assessment testing, which encourage
school districts to organize class schedules around
subject areas, hiring teachers according to their
certification in subject areas and hence teachers set
subject related yearly goals. Select subject oriented
textbooks and use them as a course of study, create
plans for a course of study based on a subject orientation
and sequence subject related activities for a school year
with a daily schedule divided into subject areas.
 Curriculum as program of study
• Advantages
• Easy to understand as it has been the traditional approach
• Linear development
• Easily revised, usually one text per subject,
• Easily managed,
• Disadvantages
• Mastery of content can be deceiving if mastery is defined at
lower levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.
• Predominately goal oriented.
• Less likely to have heterogeneous grouping and grouping across
grades levels.
• Less likely to offer students choices or a personalized instruction
so learning is not at each student's level and rate.
 Defining curriculum as intended learnings
Defining curriculum as intended learnings or what is
to be learned, not how or why.
• Advantages
 Curriculum becomes a concept rather than a
product.
 More manageable focus by limiting the scope.
• Disadvantages
  Fragmentation by not including: how to achieve
and why it needs to be achieved.
 Curriculum as experiences of the learner
• Advantages
 Focuses on learning and the learner, rather than teaching.
 includes all experiences planned and unplanned.
 Can allow for broader experiences.
 Can be more meaningful learning if it relates to student interests,
needs, or if students help select meaningful learning activities.
 Can be greater retention of learning as subject matter takes on a
more increasingly personal significance, and progress becomes a
means to achieve power.
• Disadvantages
 more abstract and complex
 makes curriculum so comprehensive that it cannot be described
in simple terms or short phrases
 Curriculum as experiences of the learner
• An experienced centered approach is most likely
implemented with a unit, project, portfolio
approach. Where a topic like: people and
transportation is selected and modifies the subject
content for a specific purpose usually related to and
based on student's needs. It is more flexible to meet
changing needs of the students, correlate learning
across subject by themes and relate to the real
world.
 Curriculum as planned and hidden
• Intended learnings and experiences are not the only
elements of curriculum. It's helpful when thinking
abut curriculum to remember that all curriculum
planning can be thought of as the 1) planned
curriculum and what isn't planned as the 2) hidden
curriculum. Both of these are important to consider
when we think about education and how or
students will be prepared for their future lives.
 Other Considerations
• Students learn in accordance with their purposes and
experiences, therefore we must look to a responsive
interactive relationship with students to know whether
they are or not learning and if so what. What students
learn is dependent on what they choose to actively
perceive and how they are able to perceive and negotiate
their perceptions to construct meaning, and connect it to
their current understandings.
• No matter what we do, nothing is possible without
student involvement. Therefore, any of these descriptions
of curriculum must include a student centered approach
that is responsive to the students' needs.
 Other Considerations
• Different school systems and different teachers may
use different approaches and achieve the same goals,
but no one can achieve their goals without the
student's involvement.
• MOST curriculum change
is cut and paste reorganization, more of this and less of
this, move physical science to 8th grade and biological
science to 7th, switch short stories and poetry from
semester to semester, add a special class for
media/computers, bring the guidance counselor into
the classroom once every two weeks to work with the
students,...
 Other Considerations
• These kind of changes, usually well meaning and
based on students' needs, don't truly have much of
a chance for large scale success. Yes, there are
anecdotal, proof by selective instance kinds of
stories, but overall a really significant impact for a
curricular change must change the way a majority
of the faculty, staff, and students go about learning.
 Curriculum
Development
(Total Process)

Includes Leading to

Curriculum Construction Curriculum Implementation

(decisions about elements of design) (decisions about elements of design)

Which is based on Demands that decisions be

and
made about overall

Curriculum Foundations Curriculum Design

Source: Taylor and Richard (1979. p.11)

 Curriculum Development
• Curriculum development can be defined as the step-
by-step process used to create positive improvements
in the courses offered by a school, college or university.
The world changes every day and new discoveries have
to be roped into the education curricula. Innovative
teaching techniques and strategies (such as active
learning or blended learning) are constantly being
devised in order to improve the student learning
experience. As a result, an institution has to have a
plan in place for acknowledging these shifts and then
be able to implement them in the school curriculum.
 What are the models of curriculum
development?
• Current curriculum models can be broken down into two
broad categories
The product model and
The process model.
• The product model is results-oriented. Grades are the prime
objective, with the focus lying more on the finished product
rather than on the learning process.
• The process model, however, is more open-ended, and
focuses on how learning develops over a period of time.
These two models need to be taken into account when
developing curriculum.
 What is curriculum planning?
• Curriculum planning involves the implementation of
different types of instructional strategies and
organizational methods that are focused on
achieving optimal student development and
student learning outcomes. Instructors might
structure their curriculum around daily lesson plans,
a specific assignment, a chunk of coursework,
certain units within a class, or an entire educational
program.
 What is curriculum planning?
• During the curriculum planning phase, teachers
consider factors that might complement or hinder
their lesson curriculum. These include institutional
requirements. Each administrator at a university or
college will have guidelines, principles and a
framework that instructors are required to
reference as they build out their curriculums.
Educators are responsible for ensuring that their
curriculum planning meets the students’
educational needs, and that the materials used are
current and comprehensible.
 What is curriculum planning?
• During the curriculum planning phase, teachers
consider factors that might complement or hinder
their lesson curriculum. These include institutional
requirements. Each administrator at a university or
college will have guidelines, principles and a
framework that instructors are required to
reference as they build out their curriculums.
Educators are responsible for ensuring that their
curriculum planning meets the students’
educational needs, and that the materials used are
current and comprehensible.
 What is curriculum planning?
Educators should employ the curriculum process that
best incorporates the six components of effective
teaching. These components are applicable at both
the undergraduate and graduate level:
• To demonstrate knowledge of content;
• To demonstrate the knowledge of students;
• Select suitable instructional strategy goals;
• To demonstrate knowledge of resources;
• To design coherent instruction;
• Assess student learning.
 What is curriculum design?
• Curriculum design is the deliberate organization of
curriculum within a course or classroom. When
instructors design their curriculums, they identify what
will be done, who will do it and when, as well as what
the objective of each course is.
• Remember that the curriculum contains the knowledge
and skills that a student needs to master in order to
move to the next level. By thinking about how their
curriculum is designed, teachers ensure they’ve covered
all the necessary requirements. From there, they can
start exploring various approaches and teaching
methods that can help them achieve their goals.
 What are the types of curriculum design?
• There are three basic types of curriculum design
• Subject-centered,
• Learner-centered, and
• Problem-centered design.
 Subject-centered curriculum design
• Subject-centered curriculum design is not student-
centered, and the model is less concerned with
individual learning styles compared to other forms
of curriculum design. This can lead to problems with
student engagement and motivation and may cause
students who are not responsive to this model to
fall behind.
 Learner-centered curriculum design
• Learner-centered curriculum design, by contrast,
revolves around student needs, interests and goals.
It acknowledges that students are not uniform but
individuals, and therefore should not, in all cases,
be subject to a standardized curriculum. This
approach aims to empower learners to shape their
education through choices.
 Learner-Centered Curriculum Design
• Differentiated instructional plans provide an
opportunity to select assignments, teaching and
learning experiences, or activities. This form of
curriculum design has been shown to engage and
motivate students. The drawback to this form of
curriculum design is that it can create pressure on the
educator to source materials specific to each
student’s learning needs. This can be challenging due
to teaching time constraints. Balancing individual
student interests with the institution’s required
outcomes could prove to be a daunting task.
 Problem-centered curriculum design
• Problem-centered curriculum design teaches
students how to look at a problem and formulate a
solution. Considered an authentic form of learning
because students are exposed to real-life issues,
this model helps students develop skills that are
transferable to the real world. Problem-centered
curriculum design has been shown to increase the
relevance of the curriculum and encourages
creativity, innovation and collaboration in the
classroom. The drawback to this format is that it
does not always consider individual learning styles.
Curriculum Implementation
 Curriculum Implementation
• Putting into practice the written curriculum that has
been designed in the syllabi, course of study,
curricular guides, and subjects. It’s a process
wherein the learners acquire the planned or
intended knowledge, skills and attitudes that are
aimed at enabling the same learners to functions
effectively in the society.
 Curriculum Implementation Ornstein and
Hunkins
• as the interaction between the curricula that has been
written and planned and the persons(teachers) who
are in charged to deliver it. It implies the following:
 Shift from what is the current to a new or
enhanced curriculum
 Change knowledge, actions attitudes of the person
involved
 Change behavior using new strategies and
resources.
 Change which requires efforts hence goals should
be achievable
THE ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS IN IMPLEMENTING
THE CURRICULUM
• STAKEHOLDERS are individuals or institutions that
are interested in school curriculum. These
stakeholders shape the school curriculum
implementation.
 Stakeholders in Curriculum Implementation
 Parents
 Teachers
 Community
 Curriculum Managers & Administrator
 Learners
 CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONS
• Curriculum foundations are generally referred to as
the basic forces or ideas which influence and shape
the curriculum. It is usually considered that these
include philosophical ideas about the nature of
education and knowledge, the influence of society
and culture and views about the person (or child)
and how he or she learns.
• The foundations of curriculum are sometimes called
the ‘source’ of the curriculum. Tyler refers to three
sources of the curriculum, i.e. the learner,
contemporary life, and the subject.
 CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONS

PHILOSOPHICAL
FOUNDATIONS

HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL

FOUNDATIONS CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONS

SOCIAL
FOUNDATIONS
 Role of Curriculum in National Development

• Curriculum plays crucial role in national integration

and harmony. Curriculum role as observed in the
National Education Policy (1979) should aim enable
the learners to learn knowledge, develop
conceptual and intellectual skills, attitudes, values
and aptitudes conductive to the all round
development of their personality and proportionate
with the societal, economic and environmental
realities at national and international level.
 THANK YOU
Presented By Mr. Safiullah
Ph.D (Education)
safiullah.pedo@gmail.com
03159254686