3.3 Evaluation and curriculum development
A design research perspective offers rich possibilities to reinforce the quality of curriculum
development. From this perspective, curriculum evaluation is focused on the four quality
criteria of relevance, consistency, practicality, and effectiveness – with some shifts in emphasis
during the curriculum development process. This becomes apparent in different ways:
• through analysis activities early in the process, to provide a solid ground for subsequent
design decisions;
• through frequent formative evaluation during the process, aimed at determining the
quality of intermediary products and the generation of improvement proposals.
Summative evaluation, at the conclusion of a process, is aimed at the assessing of the
effectiveness of the final product and contributing to knowledge development.