TOPIC TWO

Elements/components of a curriculum

A curriculum generally is expected to consist of the following elements:

• Aims, goals and objectives.

• Subject content / learning experiences

• Methods / strategies of delivery / learning activities

• Organization of learning Experiences

 evaluation

Educational, Aims, Goals and Objectives

Aims,

Aims serve a visionary function in curriculum; a rallying point for all curriculum activities. Aims
also have a global quality and a broad framework.

Goals

Whereas aims provide guidance as to direction they do not indicate the actual destination itself,
but goals does.

These constitute a more specific application of aims, so goals provide destination. Goals have an
end in mind so that particular purposes can be achieved. Goals indicate what is expected to be
accomplished from particular effort. For instance from a programme, course, subject, application
of resources, amount of time allocated to a particular curriculum task etc.

Objectives Definition:

Statement of performance to be demonstrated; derived from instructional goal and stated in

measurable and observable terms. Objectives are thus written using measurable and observable
terms- Should be smart

COMPONENT II

Curriculum content or subject matter.

The word content is used interchangeably used with terms such as subject matter, knowledge,
concepts, and ideas.
The question what? Shall be included for purposes of learning are what is termed as the
appropriate content, knowledge, theories all the information to be learned.

COMPONENT III

Curriculum experience/learning experience.

It answers- what instructional strategies – resources and activities will be employed. Instructional
strategies and methods are the core of the curriculum. These instructional strategies and methods
will put into action the goals and use of the content in order to produce an outcome. These would
convert the written curriculum to instruction.

COMPONENT IV

Curriculum Evaluation

Evaluation is a process or cluster of processes that people perform in order to gather data that
will enable them to decide whether to accept, change, or eliminate something. i.e. the curriculum
in general or an educational text book in particular.

In evaluation, people are concerned with determining the relative values of whatever they are
judging. They are obtaining information that they can use to make statements of worth regarding
the focus of evaluation. They are interested in conducting evaluation to determine whether the
expected or the planned for has occurred or is occurring in relation to the intended.

Evaluation serves to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum before
implementation and the effectiveness of its delivery after implementation. The purpose of
gathering such data about strengths and weaknesses is to allow curriculurists to either revise,
compare, maintain, or discontinue their actions and programs.

Sources of Educational Objectives

Generally, there are three main sources of objectives:

the learners,

society

and subject matter.

Lets examine each in turn.

Learners as sources of Objectives

In formulating goals and objectives, curriculum planners are concerned principally with the
needs of learners as members of society. Also important are their interests, and aspirations as
well as their potential. Learners needs can be categorised into the following: -

Physical Needs

- Social Needs

- Psychological Needs

Let us describe each of those needs briefly.

Physical Needs -Curriculum developers should ask themselves what the physical needs of
students are as members of the human community. Examples of universal human needs include
food, clothing, shelter and good health, among others. Generally, all students have the same
physical needs globally. To meet students physical needs therefore means that educational
objectives should be formulated specifically to cater for areas of knowledge, skills and attitudes
that will help meet those needs.

Sociological Needs -All students possess sociological needs which schools must strive to satisfy.
These include affection from home, school and peers; acceptance, belonging, success, security,
status and respect. Social needs of students must therefore form one of the basis for formulating
educational objectives.

Psychological Needs -The psychological aspects of learners’ e.g. emotional needs, should be
taken into consideration in deriving educational objectives. Of special importance are needs of
those who are in special circumstances, those with disabilities such as mental, specially gifted
children, emotionally disturbed, and retarded children. Curriculum must address these situations
for all children to benefit from education.

Society as a source of curriculum objectives

Why do you think society should be considered as a source of objectives? Society is a crucial
source of educational objective for a variety of reasons: - First the school is supposed to prepare
the youth for life in society. Hence the school curriculum should reflect what goes on in society.
E.g. cultural aspects of society should be incorporated. - Secondly, society provides support for
education, e.g. in funding resources etc and should therefore be consulted in curriculum
planning. - Thirdly, education should address the myriad of problems and cultural issues in
society such as unemployment, health issues such as HIV/Aids, and other vices such as
corruption

Subject specialists/subject matter

Who are subject specialists? These are experienced teachers and educators with adequate
experience to be involved with curriculum making. Subject specialist are crucial in the process of
objectives setting. This is because they are the “custodians” of knowledge. Text books are
written by subject specialists among other reasons. Their contribution is therefore vital for
curriculum objectives.

Dimensions of Curriculum

There are many dimensions of curriculum; including formal (or expressed), informal (or hidden)
and non-formal: among others. We shall briefly highlight what each of these curriculum
dimensions represents.

Formal dimension.

It is the course of study or syllabus. is generally considered as the written document that
specifies what is to be taught and how it will be taught and evaluated. The formal curriculum
therefore includes the aims, goals and objectives, learning content, delivery strategies and
methods of evaluation. This is the curriculum dimension that is “planned for” or the
predetermined part of the curriculum.

Non-formal curriculum – This refers to learning planned outside the formal learning system.
For example, learning taking place through students with similar interests coming together and
exchanging viewpoints, e.g. in clubs, youth organizations or workshops; or even in various
games.

Hidden Curriculum consists of indirect messages received by learners from the physical, social
and intellectual environments of the school. It includes norms and values of the surrounding
society. These are stronger and more durable than the formal curriculum and may be in conflict
with it. This is something that is not explicitly taught but it is part of what molds the school
environment, and consequently the learner.

Informal Curriculum, Sometimes referred to as hidden curriculum includes those activities that
happen that are not designed, planned or formally accepted by the school. Informal learning
occurs through the experience of day-to-day situations. It is learning from life, during say play,
exploring, during a meal at table etc.

Null curriculum consists of what is not taught in the school set-up. This may give students the
impression that these elements are not important in their educational experiences or in the
society. The education system may use a combination of formal, informal and non-formal
curricula and learning approaches. In some schools students can get points that count in the
formal – learning systems through working in informal – learning set-ups or circuits

Core Curriculum You may have also come across the term ‘core curriculum’ in your readings.
This is not an independent type of curriculum. It refers to the area of study, courses or subjects
that students must understand in order to be recognised as educated in the area. In other words,
‘core’ refers to the ‘heart’ of experiences every learner must go through. The learner has no
option but to study the prescribed course or subjects.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

What is a process?

the building of a curriculum. “a systematic process of determining the content to be imparted, the
pedagogy suitable for doing so, the structure through which it may be carried out most
effectively and determination of how such a process will be evaluated” (Rodman, 1970) A
process is the flow of an activity from the initial stage to the end stage without repetition.
Curriculum process undergoes systematic stages of development which are well ordered one
building unto the other in a sequential manner

What is curriculum development process?

This is the process of choosing and refining the contents of an education system which may later
on be implemented in schools. It is in nature an improvement or modification or change on the
existing, educational programme. Curriculum improvement or curriculum development cannot
be made in a neat series of steps; it involves a lot of work. Curriculum development is the
process of creating curriculum materials for use by educators and children that are product of
curriculum planning. Curriculum development describes all the ways in which a training or
teaching organization plans and guides learning.

Typically, curriculum development involves four main elements.

(i) Identify what learning is needed and decide on the type of training you need to provide to
meet these learning needs.
(ii) Plan the training carefully, so that learning is most likely to take place.
(iii) Deliver the training so that learning does take place.
(iv) Evaluate the training so that there is evidence that learning has taken place. Curriculum
Development involves the sum total of all the processes which determine how curriculum
construction proceeds, from the conceptualization stage to the evaluation stage

Curriculum development may entail re-writing or reviewing the existing curriculum or a total
overhaul or writing a completely new curriculum and development of new materials. A good
example is when there was a change of the education system in Kenya from 7-4-2-3 to 8-4-4 to
2-6-3-3-3.

Processes involved in Curriculum Development

The curriculum development is a comprehensive, ongoing process that involves a series of

stages. Different scholars propose varied steps for the process. For example, one detailed
processed consists of the following steps:

• Feasibility study, to establish the need for improving or changing existing curriculum

• Determining and analyzing the needs, These needs include; social, economic, political and
environmental factors and changes which influence and affect education.

• Formulation of goals and objectives

• Design of learning experiences; including decisions on content and learning activities

• Selection and development of teaching and learning resources - Learning materials - Teachers
materials - Institutional support facilities e.g. classrooms, workshops, laboratories and
equipment.

• Try out / Pilot testing- At this stage the curriculum changes are tried out in a few carefully
selected schools. This is followed by evaluation of the pilot project during and after the trial
period; analysis of evaluation results and modification of the curriculum as need be

• Implementation- After refining the Curriculum from the piloting process, implementation to all
participating schools is carried out

• Evaluation- Both formative and summative evaluation is crucial.

• Appraisal, research and reconstruction - making adjustments and modifications or improvement

of the programme in line with evaluation results.

What is curriculum development process?

It is the process of building of a curriculum. “A systematic process of determining the content to

be imparted, the pedagogy suitable for doing so, the structure through which it may be carried
out most effectively and determination of how such a process will be evaluated” (Rodman,
1970). It is the process of choosing and refining the contents of an education system which may
later on be implemented in schools. As such, it is in nature an improvement or modification or
complete change on the existing, educational programme.

It is referred as a process because there is flow of activity from the initial stage to the end stage
without repetition. Curriculum process therefore undergoes systematic stages of development
which are well ordered one building unto the other in a sequential manner

Curriculum Development (construction)

Phases of curriculum Development (construction)

Four essential phases of the curriculum development process: ( I) Planning, (II) Content and
Methods, (III) Implementation, and (IV) Evaluation and Reporting. 

PHASE I : PLANNING

The planning phase lays the foundation for all of the curriculum development steps. The steps in
this phase include:

1)   Identify Issue/Problem/Need

The need for curriculum development usually emerges from a concern about a major issue or
problem of one or more target audience. This section explores some of the questions that need to
be addressed to define the issue and to develop a statement that will guide the selection of the
members of a curriculum development team

2) Form Curriculum Development Team

Once the nature and scope of the issue has been broadly defined, the members of the curriculum
development team can be selected

(3)   Conduct Needs Assessment and Analysis

There are two phases in the needs assessment process. The first is procedures for conducting a
needs assessment. A number of techniques are aimed toward learning what is needed and
by whom relative to the identified issue

Analysis, the second part of this needs assessment step, describes techniques on how to use the
data and the results of the information gathered. Included are: ways to identify gaps between
knowledge and practice; trends emerging from the data; a process to prioritize needs; and
identification of the characteristics of the target audience

PHASE II: CONTENT AND METHODS

(4) State Intended Outcomes

Once the issue is defined, the curriculum team is formed, the needs assessed, analyzed and
prioritized, the next step is to refine and restate the issue, if needed, and develop the intended
outcomes or educational objectives. An intended outcome states what the learner will be able to
do as a result of participating in the curriculum activities.

This section includes: (1) a definition of intended outcomes, (2) the components of intended
outcomes (condition, performance, and standards), (3) examples of intended outcomes, and (4)
an overview of learning behaviors.

(5)Select Content

The next challenge in the curriculum development process is selecting content that will make a
real difference in the lives of the learner and ultimately society as a whole. At this point, the
primary questions are: "If the intended outcome is to be attained, what will the learner need to
know? What knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours will need to be acquired and
practiced?"

The scope (breadth of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours) and the sequence (order) of

the content are also discussed.

(6)   Design Experiential Methods

After the content is selected, the next step is to design activities (learning experiences) to help
the learner achieve appropriate intended outcomes

PHASE III:IMPLEMENTATION

7. Production of Curriculum Product

Once the content and experiential methods have been agreed upon, the actual production of
curriculum materials begins. This section includes: 1) suggestions for finding and evaluating
existing materials; 2) evaluation criteria; and 3) suggestions for producing curriculum materials

8)   Test and Revise Curriculum

This step includes suggestions to select test sites and conduct a formative evaluation of
curriculum materials during the production phase.

(9) Recruit and Train Facilitators

It is a waste of resources to develop curriculum materials if adequate training is not provided for
facilitators to implement it.

(10)    Implement Curriculum
This involves the actualization of the curriculum in schools. Effective implementation of newly
developed curriculum products requires thorough planning and actualization.

PHASE IV: EVALUATION AND REPORTING

(11)    Design Evaluation Strategies

Evaluation is a phase in the curriculum development model as well as a specific step. Two types
of evaluation, formative and summative, are used during curriculum development. Formative
evaluations are used during the needs assessment, product development, and testing steps.
Summative evaluations are undertaken to measure and report on the outcomes of the curriculum.

(12)    Reporting and Securing Resources

The final element in an evaluation strategy is "delivering the pay off (i.e., getting the results into
the hands of people who can use them).

IMPORTANCE OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

1. Clear purpose and goals:-  Curriculum construction provide written curricular goals

which are nothing but intended student development outcomes. These goals and
objectives are specified in considerable detail and in behavioral language.

2. Continuous assessment and improvement of quality:- Valid and reliable assessment of

the curriculum is necessary. The curriculum followed by an institution should be
reviewed regularly in order to maintain it’s effectiveness in regards to the changing needs
of the society as a whole.

3. A rational sequence:- In a curriculum educational activities are carefully ordered in a

developmental sequence. This developmental sequence helps to form a well planned (or
coherent)curriculum based on intended goals and outcomes of the curriculum and its
constituent courses.

4. Making strategy in teaching and learning:- Curriculum development helps in suggesting

suitable teaching-learning strategies, teaching methods, instructional materials, etc. It
helps in providing for the proper implementation of the curriculum on the part of teachers
and learners.

5. Helps in the selection of learning experiences:- Curriculum development is needed for

appropriate selection and organization of learning experiences. It helps in the selection of
study matter and other activities so that learners are able to acquire goals and objectives
of teaching.
 6. The process of curriculum development is needed for conceptualizing a curriculum in
terms of the determination of educational objectives for teaching-learning at a particular
grade of school education.

7. Helps in continuous and comprehensive education:-

Curriculum development considers the need of providing a scheme of education for teaching-
learning outcomes. With proper feedback, it helps to bring necessary improvement in the
teaching-learning process and environment.