7.1
Factors Influence Curriculum Design
Curriculum design follows a dynamic trend that is multi-factorial in nature. Several
factors affect all curriculum development in the field of education.
1. Philosophy of Education
A philosophy of education should include discussion of several basic components.
Central issues should include the purpose of education, the nature of the curriculum,
the place of students, and the role of teachers.
Some approaches are:
Perennialism - a teacher-centered philosophy that focuses on "great books"
the hope of impart the culture's enduring themes to students. The goal is to
develop the ability for rational thought in students.
Essentialism - a teacher-centered, back-to-basics approach to education
that stresses the three R's and emphasizes the remembering of facts.
Progressivism - a student-centered philosophy that attempts to interact
with the real-world concerns and experiences of students. Classrooms are
more democratic in governance and learning is more participatory and
experimental than in either Essentialism or Perennialism.
Most educators and curriculum developers tend to be eclectic - they draw from more
than one of these approaches.
2. Psychology Perspectives
The pioneers of psychology each had their own interpretations and approaches to
this fascinating field. These perspectives have been used to study behavior for years.
Psychologists today still follow these same ideas. The study of observable behavior is
the proper subject matter of psychology is referring to learning. John Watson, Ivan
Pavlov and B.F. Skinner adopted this method of thinking.
The psychoanalytic approach was used by Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Alfred
Adler. Psychoanalytic means that in order to understand one's personality, one has
to look at the underlying drives and motivations from childhood. One has to look
inward and analyze childhood fears, wishes, and thoughts.
The humanistic school of thinking is a reaction to the behaviorists. They argue that
the focus of psychology should be on the self concept or the self.
Based on this method, Carl Rogers developed a theory of therapy and Abraham
Maslow developed a theory of motivation.
Roger Sperry and James Olds focused on the biological aspects. They looked at
biological structures that influence everyday behaviors. Things like our genetic
make-up, hormones and our nervous system are examples of biological structures.
The sociocultural perspective focuses on issues such as, how our thinking varies
with our cultural heritage. By this, we mean how does our ethnicity, gender and
diversity affect our thinking? It also looks at how our thoughts and perceptions store
and interpret information.
Charles Darwin is credited with being the father of evolutionary psychology and
adaptive survival. The premise here is that certain behaviors, such as aggression are
hereditary in nature.
The cognitive perspective deals with how our thoughts and perceptions store and
interpret information. Our interpretations of a situation might make us angry. The
anger then affects our thinking as well. Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck focused on this
approach.
3. Increasing Importance of National and State Standards
At the time of this writing, there is considerable debate about national standards.
Although almost all national organizations representing the various subject areas
have issued voluntary content standards, policy battles over the proper federal role
have stalled some of the most ambitious plans for implementing them.
Continuing dissatisfaction with student achievement, especially as reflected in the
news media, is likely to result in more discussion of the proper role of national
standards. In a well-balanced analysis, Smith, Fuhrman, and O'Day (1994)
summarize the pros and cons of national standards. Advocates, they say, assert that
standards will
Ensure that all citizens will have the shared knowledge and values needed to
make democracy work.
Result in greater efficiency, since all 50 states can draw upon the national
standards.
Encourage state and local boards to raise their standards.
Improve the quality of schooling.
Ensure a large measure of educational equity.
Still, Smith and colleagues note several disadvantages emphasized by the critics of
national standards:
1. Common standards tend to reflect minimum skills and knowledge, which
results in lowering the entire system.
2. The development of standards at the national level will draw resources from
state and local efforts.
3. National standards can become a de facto curriculum that will inhibit local
creativity in curriculum development.
4. Standards alone will have no effect on student achievement unless significant
resources are provided to local school systems (an unlikely development given
attempts to downsize the federal government).
Several experts have noted problems with states setting standards in curriculum.
The standards are set by state officials who are far removed from local schools and
free from the burden of accountability. Curriculum standards are often not supported
with other systemic changes, such as new approaches to teacher education. Thus
state initiatives may be seen as fragmented and often contradictory. And at a time of
limited resources and the accompanying downsizing of staffs, most state
departments of education do not have the wherewithal to help local districts
implement state standards.
This trend has several implications for curriculum workers. First, developers at the
state level should recognize the need for comprehensive support of the educators
they serve. At the district level, developers should create curricula that address such
state standards, while still providing for curriculum development at the school and
classroom levels. Finally, school administrators and teachers should find ways to
make the district curriculum relevant to the students.
4. Teacher Characteristics
An effective teacher and curriculum planner must understand some central concepts,
tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline he or she teaches and can also
create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful
for students. The teacher must understand how children learn and develop and they
should be able to support their intellectual, social, and personal development. A wise
teacher uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage all diverse students’
development of problem solving, critical thinking, and performance skills. A positive
thinking teacher will understand the importance of motivation and will pass their
positive attitude onto the student’s in the classroom. Being a positive role model for
students is so important. A teacher really must be a dynamic person who is always
evaluating the effects of his or her choices and actions on others (students, parents,
and other professionals in the learning community).
5. Technology
Some teachers are fearful of their classroom computers simply because computers
are a relatively new tool for classroom teachers. Technology is broad and expansive
and it can help with curriculum design. Technology is simply just another tool for
teachers. The best question a teacher could ask is “What tools will help me help my
students?” It is all dependent upon the teacher if they choose to use technology as
an instructional aid or not.
6. Funding
During the last few decades, while business was forging ahead with development
and utilisation of technology, school education was constrained by limited funds. The
purchase of a mainframe and terminals, or a multimedia computer, costing hundreds
of thousands of dollars was simply not as cost-effective for small schools as it was to
hire several new teachers.
The situation is worse for schools situated in remote and sparsely populated areas.
These small schools are usually further behind in technology than their city
counterparts because of reduced funding and increased costs due to the distances.
7. Student’s Background, Status, and Social Forces
All children come from different backgrounds and there is an increasing number of
student’s that are from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Curricular planners
work to build an education that suits our multicultural society and that will help
every child from every different background live, work, and go on to lead successful
lives in our melting pot of a society.
Curriculum reflects a complex society, a society in which there is never perfect
agreement on the characteristics of that society (Orlosky & Smith,1978). Some see
the primary purpose of the curriculum is the acquisition of cognitive knowledge.
Some others would consider it as a program for helping pupils develop humane and
rational qualities. Curriculum is organized according to grade and age levels.
8. Classroom Management
Classroom management is about achieving order so productive learning can occur.
The ultimate goal of classroom management is to promote learning. If learning is
accomplished then the teacher is getting his or her curriculum across to the
students. Effective teachers give students opportunities to make their own decisions.
Good classrooms are not teacher-dependent environments but rather independent
student learning arenas. Excellent instructional leaders provide students with
multiple opportunities to make choices and accept consequences of those choices
(Fredericks,2005). Teachers who empower students in making decisions are
facilitating independent and responsible learners. Establishing Routines for students
provides them with a sense of responsibility and allows them to make decisions that
are theirs rather than the teacher’s.
9. Publishers
Educators and the general public recognize the role of publishers in guiding
curriculum practices. Textbooks, software, and other media have become both a
unifying and a stabilizing factor in curriculum implementation.
Over the years, publishers have taken on the role of curriculum dev
7.1
Factors Influence Curriculum Design
Curriculum design follows a dynamic trend that is multi-factorial in nature. Several
factors affect all curriculum development in the field of education.
1. Philosophy of Education
A philosophy of education should include discussion of several basic components.
Central issues should include the purpose of education, the nature of the curriculum,
the place of students, and the role of teachers.
Some approaches are:
Perennialism - a teacher-centered philosophy that focuses on "great books"
the hope of impart the culture's enduring themes to students. The goal is to
develop the ability for rational thought in students.
Essentialism - a teacher-centered, back-to-basics approach to education
that stresses the three R's and emphasizes the remembering of facts.
Progressivism - a student-centered philosophy that attempts to interact
with the real-world concerns and experiences of students. Classrooms are
more democratic in governance and learning is more participatory and
experimental than in either Essentialism or Perennialism.
Most educators and curriculum developers tend to be eclectic - they draw from more
than one of these approaches.
2. Psychology Perspectives
The pioneers of psychology each had their own interpretations and approaches to
this fascinating field. These perspectives have been used to study behavior for years.
Psychologists today still follow these same ideas. The study of observable behavior is
the proper subject matter of psychology is referring to learning. John Watson, Ivan
Pavlov and B.F. Skinner adopted this method of thinking.
The psychoanalytic approach was used by Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Alfred
Adler. Psychoanalytic means that in order to understand one's personality, one has
to look at the underlying drives and motivations from childhood. One has to look
inward and analyze childhood fears, wishes, and thoughts.
The humanistic school of thinking is a reaction to the behaviorists. They argue that
the focus of psychology should be on the self concept or the self.
Based on this method, Carl Rogers developed a theory of therapy and Abraham
Maslow developed a theory of motivation.
Roger Sperry and James Olds focused on the biological aspects. They looked at
biological structures that influence everyday behaviors. Things like our genetic
make-up, hormones and our nervous system are examples of biological structures.
The sociocultural perspective focuses on issues such as, how our thinking varies
with our cultural heritage. By this, we mean how does our ethnicity, gender and
diversity affect our thinking? It also looks at how our thoughts and perceptions store
and interpret information.
Charles Darwin is credited with being the father of evolutionary psychology and
adaptive survival. The premise here is that certain behaviors, such as aggression are
hereditary in nature.
The cognitive perspective deals with how our thoughts and perceptions store and
interpret information. Our interpretations of a situation might make us angry. The
anger then affects our thinking as well. Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck focused on this
approach.
3. Increasing Importance of National and State Standards
At the time of this writing, there is considerable debate about national standards.
Although almost all national organizations representing the various subject areas
have issued voluntary content standards, policy battles over the proper federal role
have stalled some of the most ambitious plans for implementing them.
Continuing dissatisfaction with student achievement, especially as reflected in the
news media, is likely to result in more discussion of the proper role of national
standards. In a well-balanced analysis, Smith, Fuhrman, and O'Day (1994)
summarize the pros and cons of national standards. Advocates, they say, assert that
standards will
Ensure that all citizens will have the shared knowledge and values needed to
make democracy work.
Result in greater efficiency, since all 50 states can draw upon the national
standards.
Encourage state and local boards to raise their standards.
Improve the quality of schooling.
Ensure a large measure of educational equity.
Still, Smith and colleagues note several disadvantages emphasized by the critics of
national standards:
1. Common standards tend to reflect minimum skills and knowledge, which
results in lowering the entire system.
2. The development of standards at the national level will draw resources from
state and local efforts.
3. National standards can become a de facto curriculum that will inhibit local
creativity in curriculum development.
4. Standards alone will have no effect on student achievement unless significant
resources are provided to local school systems (an unlikely development given
attempts to downsize the federal government).
Several experts have noted problems with states setting standards in curriculum.
The standards are set by state officials who are far removed from local schools and
free from the burden of accountability. Curriculum standards are often not supported
with other systemic changes, such as new approaches to teacher education. Thus
state initiatives may be seen as fragmented and often contradictory. And at a time of
limited resources and the accompanying downsizing of staffs, most state
departments of education do not have the wherewithal to help local districts
implement state standards.
This trend has several implications for curriculum workers. First, developers at the
state level should recognize the need for comprehensive support of the educators
they serve. At the district level, developers should create curricula that address such
state standards, while still providing for curriculum development at the school and
classroom levels. Finally, school administrators and teachers should find ways to
make the district curriculum relevant to the students.
4. Teacher Characteristics
An effective teacher and curriculum planner must understand some central concepts,
tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline he or she teaches and can also
create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful
for students. The teacher must understand how children learn and develop and they
should be able to support their intellectual, social, and personal development. A wise
teacher uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage all diverse students’
development of problem solving, critical thinking, and performance skills. A positive
thinking teacher will understand the importance of motivation and will pass their
positive attitude onto the student’s in the classroom. Being a positive role model for
students is so important. A teacher really must be a dynamic person who is always
evaluating the effects of his or her choices and actions on others (students, parents,
and other professionals in the learning community).
5. Technology
Some teachers are fearful of their classroom computers simply because computers
are a relatively new tool for classroom teachers. Technology is broad and expansive
and it can help with curriculum design. Technology is simply just another tool for
teachers. The best question a teacher could ask is “What tools will help me help my
students?” It is all dependent upon the teacher if they choose to use technology as
an instructional aid or not.
6. Funding
During the last few decades, while business was forging ahead with development
and utilisation of technology, school education was constrained by limited funds. The
purchase of a mainframe and terminals, or a multimedia computer, costing hundreds
of thousands of dollars was simply not as cost-effective for small schools as it was to
hire several new teachers.
The situation is worse for schools situated in remote and sparsely populated areas.
These small schools are usually further behind in technology than their city
counterparts because of reduced funding and increased costs due to the distances.
7. Student’s Background, Status, and Social Forces
All children come from different backgrounds and there is an increasing number of
student’s that are from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Curricular planners
work to build an education that suits our multicultural society and that will help
every child from every different background live, work, and go on to lead successful
lives in our melting pot of a society.
Curriculum reflects a complex society, a society in which there is never perfect
agreement on the characteristics of that society (Orlosky & Smith,1978). Some see
the primary purpose of the curriculum is the acquisition of cognitive knowledge.
Some others would consider it as a program for helping pupils develop humane and
rational qualities. Curriculum is organized according to grade and age levels.
8. Classroom Management
Classroom management is about achieving order so productive learning can occur.
The ultimate goal of classroom management is to promote learning. If learning is
accomplished then the teacher is getting his or her curriculum across to the
students. Effective teachers give students opportunities to make their own decisions.
Good classrooms are not teacher-dependent environments but rather independent
student learning arenas. Excellent instructional leaders provide students with
multiple opportunities to make choices and accept consequences of those choices
(Fredericks,2005). Teachers who empower students in making decisions are
facilitating independent and responsible learners. Establishing Routines for students
provides them with a sense of responsibility and allows them to make decisions that
are theirs rather than the teacher’s.
9. Publishers
Educators and the general public recognize the role of publishers in guiding
curriculum practices. Textbooks, software, and other media have become both a
unifying and a stabilizing factor in curriculum implementation.
Over the years, publishers have taken on the role of curriculum dev
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