CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

Curriculum design is deciding about the ‘shape’ of a curriculum plan. It involves selection of content in line with the goals and objectives of the curriculum. The selected content will have to be arranged in a form that will help teacher in choosing and organising appropriate learning experiences for the classroom. Sometimes, curriculum design is also referred to as ‘curriculum organisation’. In short, designing the curriculum involves the task of organising or arranging the four components; namely, objectives, subject matter, teaching-learning experiences and evaluations. Giles (1942), these four components are intertwined and interactive.

            In this case, the focus of curriculum design based on selection and organisation of content (or subject matter) for learners and learning experiences (activities).  Obviously, the selection of content and learning experiences will be based on sound theoretical framework. According to Ornstein & Hunkins (1998) there are five criteria to guide the selection of content; (i) significance, (ii) utility, (iii) validity, (iv) learn ability, and (v) feasibility. The content selected should be significant. For example, curriculum developers who favour subject matter designs think of significance in terms of the concept and principles of each subject area. That means, the needs and interest of learners was very important parts. Taba (1962) further urges that we should not just select content based on the cognitive aspects of learners but also on their affective dimensions.

            Secondly, utility refers to the usefulness of the content. This again depend on the subject-centred design will be useful in the workplace. The students can apply directly what they have learned to their daily lives and the world of work. Next, validity refers to weather the information passed on the students is authentic and obtained from credible sources. This is especially significant today with the deluge of information that is easily accessible which may not necessarily be credible or reliable. Fourth, learn ability it may seem strange that anyone would select content that is not learnable. Unfortunately, it does happen. For example, the content selected for a particular age group might be too difficult to others and teachers need more time to teach them. Lastly, feasibility refers to consideration of time, expertise of staff, funding and other educational recourse that school might face. Content selection has to be considered within the context of reality of economic and the role of teachers, parents, and the government.

Principles of Content Organisation

After having decided on the content, the next step is organising the content in a form that will facilitate learning. In this case, curriculum is what to be taught while instruction is how it is taught. The relationship between curriculum and instruction is a partnership. The content to be taught along with the learning experiences and instruction may be taught of as methodology, teaching and accessing of achievement. Olivia (1982) described curriculum and instructions as two entities. In his model, ‘curriculum and instructions relationship’ (1982), showed that process is continues, repeated and never-ending.

            The following principles have been proposed when deciding on content organisation; scope, sequence, continuity, integration, articulation and balance (Sowell, 2000; Ornstein & Hunkins, 1998). Based on these coursework, I have to choose three aspects of this curriculum design dimensions.

(i)            Scope

Scope refers to both the breadth and depth of content and includes all topics, learning experiences and organizing threads found in the curriculum plan. Scope not only to cognitive learning but also affective learning and some would argue spiritual learning (Goodland & Zhixin Su, 1992). Sometime the scope of a curriculum is narrow, consisting of just a simple listing of key topics and activities. For examples, ‘the mathematics syllabus is overloaded’, and ‘scientific literacy of secondary school students is low’.

When we talk of scope, we are concerned with such questions like ‘How much science should students in primary school know? Another one, ‘What is the level of mathematics required of students before they graduate from secondary school? In this case, when curriculum developers are engaged in deciding how much content should be included, they are determining the scope of the curriculum. According to Ornstein & Hunkins (1998), when deciding about the scope of curriculum, the following guidelines may be useful; the usefulness of the content selected, students abilities, amount of content, and balance in the content selected between cognitive, psychomotor and affective or spiritual outcomes.

(ii)          Sequence

Sequence refers to the organization of content and the extent to which it fosters cumulative and continuous learning. Curriculum developers should know, ‘Do student have opportunity to make connections and enrich their understanding of content?’ it is important that the sequencing of content lead to cumulative development of intellectual and affective processes.

The sequence of content and experiences should be based on the logic of the subject matter and the way in which individuals learn. It should be based on psychological principal and understanding of human development and learning. The following are some principles indentified as a guidelines in sequencing the curriculum: (Ornstein & Hunkins,1998, Taba, 1962, Bruner, 1960).

a)    Simple to complex – content is organized going from simple components to complex components depicting interrelationships among components. Optimal learning occurs when students are presented with easy, often concrete and to more difficult and abstract content.

b)    Spiral – in ‘spiral curriculum’ concepts may be introduced on a simple level in early grades, and then revisited with more and more complexity and applications later on (Bruner, 1960).

c)    Prerequisites – It works on the assumption that bits of information or learning must be grasped before other bits of information can be understood.

d)    Whole to part – content is better understood if an overview (whole) is first presented to show the connections between the parts.

e)    Chronology – This is a useful organizer for sequencing content especially in subjects such as history, political science and world events.

f)     Vertical organization – This simply means that content and skills are arranged so that they build on one another; that they align with the general sequence of cognitive development. They indicate what students have learned and what they will learn later.

g)    Horizontal organization – It involves how skill and content that are taught during one level or one period of time relate to another. For example, in a social science course, we might consider particular issues from a historical, sociological, political and economic point of view. 

(iii)         Integration

Integration is the bringing together of the concepts, skills and values of different subject areas to reinforce each other. Information from different subject areas are brought together in such a way to present the learner with a unified picture of knowledge. Much curriculum planners try to integrate information; it is the learners who integrate what they are learning in their minds. It’s something that happens within the individual learner.

The idea of integration was popularized in the 60s by Halida Taba because of concern that school curriculum was too disjointed, fragmented and detached. In this case, I saw that the need to examine phenomena drawing from various disciplines has intensified interest in the integrated curriculum. Examples of the integrated curriculum include science-technology-society and reading across the curriculum. In the science-technology-society curriculum, science is combined with social sciences in attempting to solve practical, everyday problems. The integrated approach takes the student outside the laboratory and away from the textbook into the local community.

The integrated curriculum is receiving much attention in Malaysia even though it is not necessarily a new way of looking at teaching and learning. The expanding body of knowledge, concerns about curriculum relevancy, lack of connection among subjects and the need for future workers to have the ability to draw from many fields in solving problems has been cited as reasons for a moving towards an integrated curriculum. 

The integrated curriculum is organized in such a way that cuts across subject matter, bringing together various aspects of content to focus upon broad areas of study. It views teaching and learning in a holistic way that reflects the real world. For example, the major curriculum reform in the Malaysia education system is the introduction of the Integrated Primary School Curriculum in 1983 and the Integrated Secondary School Curriculum in 1989. The curriculum was reformed because of demand from society that the existing curriculum was overloaded and the relatively disturbing number of students who could not read and write at the desired level. The revamp of the curriculum was based on the National Philosophy of Education (Ministry of Education Malaysia).

The role of the curriculum is a produce a Malaysian citizen who is well-rounded, skillful and cherishes the goal of achieving national unity. The underlying principle of the curriculum is the integrated approach. The integrated approach calls for infusion of moral values, patriotism, science and technology, proper use of language, environmental education, study skill, creative and critical thinking. Infusion of these ideas is to occur subject areas. For example, patriotism is infused in subject such as geography, science and biology.

Individuals Involved in Curriculum Development

Developing a curriculum requires the involvement of many different people. Each is a ‘key player’ in the change process. Without the coordinated involvement of these individuals the development of curriculum programme will encounter many problems. Among the key players indentified are teachers, students, principal (headmasters), assistant principals, district education officers, state education officers, curriculum developers, academics, parents, interested political officials and lay citizen. In a centralized system, the national curriculum is developed at the national level and passed on to the individual districts and schools to be implemented.

            In this coursework, I would like to discuss three people who should be involved in the curriculum development processes. There are teachers, principals (headmasters) and parents.

a)    Teachers

Without doubt, the most important person in the curriculum development (implementation) process is the teacher. With their knowledge, experience and competencies, teachers are central to any curriculum development effort. Regardless of which philosophical beliefs the education system is based on, there is no denying that teachers influences students’ learning. Better teachers foster better learning. Teachers are most knowledgeable about the practice of teaching and responsible for introducing the curriculum in the classroom.

            The key to getting teachers committed to an innovation is to enhance their knowledge of the programme. This means teachers need be trained and workshops have to be organised for professional development. Unfortunately, in any curriculum implementation process not all teachers will have the benefit of such exposure. There are just too many teachers and insufficient funds to go around. The most common approach is to have one-day workshops given experts with the lecture method being the dominant pedagogical strategy. Among the many extrinsic factors indentified that may impede curriculum change are adequacy of recourse, time, school ethos and professional support. The intrinsic factors are professional knowledge, professional adequacy and professional interest and motivation. (see Table 1.0)

            Hence, professional development of teachers is as an important factor contributing to the success of curriculum development and implementation. To what extent have teacher education programmes required prospective teacher to study curriculum development?  Some view teachers as technicians and as such do not include curriculum development in their teacher education programmes. Certainly and adequate teacher education programme should include curriculum development, both theory and the work of curriculum development to ensure that teaching is to be a profession and if educational opportunities for learners are really to be improved. There are some topics to be addressed in designing professional development opportunities for teacher who are developing and implementing a new programme. There are programmes philosophy, content, pedagogy, components of the programme and so forth (Ornstein & Hunkins,1998).

Factors	Description
Resource Adequacy	Adequacy of equipment, facilities and general resources required for developing a new curriculum
Time	Time available for preparing and delivering the requirements of the new curriculum.
School Ethos	Overall school beliefs towards the new curriculum. Status of the curriculum as viewed by staff, administrators and community.
Professional Support	Support for teachers from both within the school and outside.
Professional Adequacy	Teacher perceptions of their own ability and competence to teach the curriculum.
Professional Knowledge	Teacher perceptions of the knowledge and understandings teachers possess towards a curriculum area.
Professional Attitude and Interest	Teacher perceptions of the attitudes and interest held towards the new curriculum.

Table 1.0 Factors influencing the developing of a curriculum in schools

Source: adapted from the science Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire (SCIQ). http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~lewthwai/introSCIQ.html

b)   Principals or Headmasters

Principals or headmasters are important players the curriculum development and implementation process in a school. They should understand the need for change as well the steps that have to be taken along the way. Principal or headmasters also should have in-depth knowledge about the planned change and of the development process. They should be familiar with the goals and components of the curriculum and be able to see a shift in teachers’ role in the classroom and the way in which teachers interact with students.

            Apart from that, they should be accessible and willing to communicate with others involved in the process. Establishing a two-way information flow give principals or headmasters a change to stay on top of issues that need to be addressed. It will also allow attending to critical problems or concerns before they lead to frustration or even anger among teachers. Lines of communication are best set early to get out information to people as well to provide a platform in which they can voice their concern. Information gathered from listening and talking to people will also help principals or headmasters decide where to focus and need attention.

            Beside that, they should be able to convince parent on the merits of the new curriculum and how the new pedagogical strategies can become more meaningful for their children. For example, they may need to speak to parents and the community on the new curriculum. It is important that they give the message that they have thought carefully about the need for change, that they have anticipated the issues that will arise and have a plan for addressing the issues.

            The effective principals or headmaster must have their best-laid plans can meet unexpected challenges. For example, insufficient teacher in a particular subject area due to resignation, unexpected introduction of programmes by the government, sudden change of government policy. For this reason, a flexible implementation plan may be necessary which is adapted and revisited along the way.

            Lastly, they must be committed to the change and be able to employ a variety of leadership strategies to meet the needs of teachers such as building on the strengths of their staff, being willing to take risks, being positive about the planned change and to use this optimism to motivate others, especially their staffs and students.

c)    Parents

Besides teachers and principals (headmasters), parents also play an important role in the development and implementation curriculum process. For example, when parents see a subject being taught in way that is unfamiliar to them, they naturally have questions about what is going on. They must be proactive. When children being homework from school that parent feel unable to help with, they feel confused and lost. To be successful, any new programmes needs to be embarrassed by parents. The best forum among teachers and parents is like ‘Hari Permufakatan Ibubapa dan Guru’ such PIBG programme in school.

            On way of researching out to parents is to organise workshops for them focusing on the new curriculum. The workshops should be designed to help parents better understand the content and philosophy of the new programme. Parents need an opportunity to share their concerns and voice their support in an open forum. These workshops should be conducted by teachers so that they may explain what is really going on in the classroom.

            Another approach in reaching out to parents is to make available information on curriculum change on the internet. For example, the school has its website a curriculum handbook for parents containing information on subjects offered, programmes and courses available in their school. The information is updated each year as changes are made to the curriculum. Similarly, print-based newsletters can be made available to parents informing them of the changes that are taking place with the introduction of the new curriculum.

Conclusion

The world is changing rapidly and each day the pace quickens. Many nations are striving to achieve the status of a modern and prosperous state. The rate at which such status is achieved varies, with some countries getting there earlier than others. Toward this goal, nations are pushing towards greater industrialisation, automation, computerization and modernisation of agriculture. Based on the education programmes, the development and implementation curriculum were very important. In education, they refer to the invisible assumptions or beliefs educators have about their student’s ability to learn.

            Based on curriculum development, its important understands the nature of change. Understanding the change process can be a challenging and exciting process. Of course, curriculum design involves making decisions about the selection and organisation of content and learning experiences in line with the goals and objectives of the curriculum. The principles guiding content organisation such scope, sequence, continuity, integration, articulation and balance can be subject matter, bringing together various aspects of content to focus upon broad areas of study.

Bibliography:

Bruner, J. (1960). The process of education. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press.

Giles, H. McCutchen, S. & Zechiel, A. (1942). Exploring the curriculum. New York : Harper.

Goodland & Su. Z. (1992). Organisation and the curriculum. In P. Jackson (Ed). Handbook of Research on Curriculum. New York : Macmillan Co.

Olivia, P. (1982). Development of curriculum. Boston : Little Brown & Co.

Ornstein, A. & Hunkins, F. (1998). Curriculum foundations, principles and issues. Boston : Allyn and Bacon.

Sowell, E. (2000). Curriculum : An integrative introduction. Upper Saddle River , New Jersey : Prentice-Hall.

Taba, H. (1962). Curriculum development : Theory and practice. New York : Harcourt Brace and World.

Internet Resources:

Factors influencing the developing of a curriculum in schools. Source: adapted from the science Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire (SCIQ). http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~lewthwai/introSCIQ.html