Components or Elements of Curriculum

1. Objectives
➢ Is the intent communicated by a statement, describing a proposed change in the
learner.
➢ Is a statement of what the learner is to be like when he successfully completes a
learning experience.
➢ An outcome that student exhibit as a result of experiences they receive from the
curriculum.
➢ Instructional objective is a statement of what will describe what learner will be able
to do after completing the instructional course.
When formulating curriculum objectives one considers educational objectives domain
which includes:
a. Cognitive domain – The domain relates to objectives concerned with knowledge
and intellectual skills. The six levels from the simplest to the most complex are as
follows: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation.
b. Affective domain – Includes objectives which describe changes in the interest,
attitude, and values and the development of appreciation and adequate adjustment.
The five levels of the affective domain from the simplest to the most complex –
Receiving, responding, valuing, organization and characterization.
c. Psychomotor domain – Includes physical and motor skills e.g. writing and talking.
The six level from the simplest to the most complex include reflex movements,
basic fundamental, movement, and non-discursive communication, perception, set
guided response, mechanism, adaptation origination.

2. Learning opportunities or experiences

Learning experience is the interaction between the learner and the external condition in the learning
situation/environment in which he encounters. The components of learning opportunity is
composed of teacher, learning materials and learning facilities.
Factors considered when selecting learning opportunity:
• Nature of behavior desired
• Nature of learning materials, activities and facilities
• Provide experience that give student opportunity to practice the behavior.
• Suitability of learning environment
Learning experience help in:
• Acquiring information
• Developing social attitudes
• Developing interest
Learning experience is w at students internalizes or what a student portrays after learning i.e. in
terms of skills, knowledge and attitude. Learning experience is a result of learning activity.

3. Subject matter/content
• Information to be learned in school.
• Curriculum content – facts, observations, data, perception, ideas and concepts for a
specific subject matter to be taught.
• Is the subject matter of the teaching learning process and includes knowledge,
processes and values.
 4. Evaluation
• Process of collecting information with the intent of making value judgment on the
goodness or badness of the learners achievements of objectives based on subject
matter/content.
• Refer to the formal determination of the quality, effectiveness or value of the
program, process and product of the curriculum.
• For measuring how far the objectives have been achieved.
Note: Curriculum objectives are derived from the subject content to be taught which is offered
through learning experiences and evaluated through evaluation of achievement of curriculum.

Dimensions of School Curriculum

1. Formal
Refer to that aspect of the school curriculum which consists of those learning activities that
students undertake formally as a class as well as the curriculum objectives and student
assessment methods that relate to them. These activities may be carried out inside or
outside classrooms or even outside the school compound, but they are normally undertaken
by students as formal class work. These activities are embodied in what are known as
courses of studies in a school, showing the objectives to be aimed at and the way in which
the students would be assessed.
Characteristics of formal dimension
1. Shows the objectives of the content to be covered, i.e. it has a syllabus.
2. Shows methodology and evaluation procedures as well as the learning materials
and resources.
3. Time allocation for learning is indicated
4. It is taken as formal class work.
5. Assessment of learning is done and the relevant methods to be used in carrying out
the assessment are indicated.

2. Non – Formal Dimension

• Refers to the organized and the planned out of class learning activities in which students
engage in the school or out- of- school compound.
• Include activities and out of school performance organized by the school to benefit
learners.
• Not carried out in regular class groupings rather students group themselves in
accordance with such factors as individual interest, ability and ages.
• Are organized in a less rigid manner than formal learning activities.
• When success of students is being considered with a view to selecting students for
further education, for employment, these learning activities are hardly considered as
they are viewed as things outside the school curriculum and of little relevance in the
process of education.

Characteristics
1. Activities are organized in a less rigid manner than formal curriculum e.g. societies and
clubs.
2. It is not a major part of the curriculum but add or supplement it.
 3. It is not formally examined and graded
4. It is not restricted to a specific level, gender or grade but these factors may be considered
when organizing them.
5. May be organized based on students’ ability, interest, aptitude and chronological age.

3. Informal Dimension
Refers to all things a student learns while at school without being aware.
Can also be termed as indirect learning or unconscious learning.
Can also be referred to as hidden curriculum. Attitudes, skills, habits and hidden values are
often copied from teachers, elders and peers. Children learn certain ways of dressing,
speaking and other mannerism from teachers, elders and peers.
Is no- academic, but educational significant to outcomes of learning.
Only the activities that relate to the planned aspects of the environment that count as formal
learning activities and hence part of the informal dimension of the school curriculum. The
planning of the environment is done through such means as formulation of school rules
and regulations and encouragement of desirable lifestyles among the staff of an institution.
The richer the environment, the more the opportunities of benefiting from this dimension.
Consist of those learnings unintentionally passed on to students during the presentation of
intended curriculum. Those learnings were not intended by curriculum developers and are
not stated as objectives in the curriculum.
Characteristics
1. It is unplanned for spontaneous experiences
2. They are by products of formal and non-formal dimension
3. Products of the entire school program comprising of students personnel, guests or physical
environment.
4. It may modify behavior of learners through copying positively and negatively.
5. It may take the form of imitation or identification
6. Varies from situation to situation and is not recognized by school personnel.

4. Emerging Curriculum
o Includes activities such as tree planting, entertainment, graduation day, national
day, prize giving days and parent days.
o All these activities that occur in school.
o The occurrence of these emerging opportunities should be anticipated and taken
advantage of.

Note: All these dimensions are integrated to have a whole set of learning environment for a learner
to grow and develop in all aspects of life. Some learners are very good in some of these dimensions,
while others may not be favourable too them. Learners can be good in co curricular activities while
others are good in the formal curriculum. This can only be possible with the help and guidance of
the teachers or instructors.

Curriculum Aims, Goals and Objectives

Aim is a general statement that provides both shape and direction to more specific actions designed
to achieve some future products, expectations or behavior. Aims are broad statements of purposes
of education which give general direction to the entire education system. Aims provide guidance
to the direction but they do not indicate the actual destination itself. Aims are guidelines to
education. The aims of a given system of education should address:
1. Intellectual dimension: Issues of acquisition of knowledge, comprehension of that
knowledge, love and desire for knowledge.
2. Social-personal dimension: Aims at developing various interactions: (i)Person – Person
(Interpersonal relationships), (ii) Person – Society, (iii)Person _ self (Intra-personal
relationships)
3. Productive dimension – How an individual performs at home, at work and in the society.
Provides guidelines to school system so that they can organize the type of educational
encounters that will help the individual to become productive member of the society. This
provides: (a) A framework of education programs i.e. curriculum, syllabus, policies that
guide education (b) Philosophy to guide teaching in schools (c) Forms the first stage of
aims and objectives.
4. Physical dimension – maintenance of strong and healthy bodies.
5. Aesthetic – values and appreciation of the arts and environment
6. Moral – Appropriate moral behavior
Note: Each country is guided by the global aims of education drawn by United Nations
Educational, scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to derive her own aims of education.
The global aims of education are:
1. To foster international understanding among people of the world.
2. To solve continuing problems that plague humanity
3. To correct social ills in the world
4. To prepare and enlighten citizenry
5. To improve the standards of living of people in various countries.

Curriculum Goals
• Curriculum goal is a purpose or an end stated in general terms. They are statements of
educational intention which are more specific than aims.
• Statement of purpose with some outcome in mind.
• They suggest intended destination for a learner as far as particular curriculum is concerned.
• Curriculum goals provide the teacher and curriculum developer with broad general
statements of what they expect to accomplish in terms of learning as result of a particular
course.
Importance of Curriculum Goals
➢ Define the standards that the curriculum materials need to be helping students meet.
➢ Communicate to others who may be helping the teacher design lesson plans, unit plans and
other curriculum material, what the plan needs to achieve.
➢ Guide to examination, assessment procedures and evaluation.
➢ Guide the curriculum specialists when selecting and developing content to be taught in
various subjects for different education levels and in different classes.
➢ Guide teachers when selecting learner’s activities.
Curriculum Objectives
• Objective is a purpose or an end stated in specific and measurable terms.
• It is a short term goal
• Indicates what is to be achieved based on goals.
• It is an intended behavioral change that a learner is expected to exhibit after undergoing a
learning experience.
• Specified from a more general curriculum to subject or classroom.
• Objectives are more specific and this specificity increases as one advances from program
objectives to unit objectives and to lesson objectives or instructional objectives.

Importance of Curriculum Objectives

• Define the direction of education development
• Determine the number of levels of the program
• Help to select content and desirable learning experiences
• Forms basis for evaluation
• Serves as implicit contract between instructor and students
• Drive the curriculum planning.

Relationship between Curriculum Aims, Goals and Objectives

• A temporal hierarchical relationship exist between aims, goals and objectives.
• The first two are regarded as abstracts, vaguely worded statements of intent, while
objectives are specific statements of what learners will experience.
• Aims of any curriculum may be translated into many goals.
• Each goal may in turn be translated into numerous unit objectives.

Theories of Curriculum Development

• Theory is a system of beliefs which guide and control activities.
• It provides a general explanation for observations over time.
A theory explains and predicts behavior. A theory can be modified. Theory explains reality in four
main ways:
1. Prediction: Theory predicts the occurrence of as yet unobserved events, basis of principles
embedded in it.
2. Explanation: Explanation addresses why. It only points out the relationship between
phenomena but suggests explicitly the reason for the relationships.
3. Description – It provides a narrative classification of knowledge in a particular theoretical
field. It furnishes a structure through which individuals interpretation of complex activities
can be verified. It organizes and summarizes knowledge. It presents an account of events.
4. Guidance – Theory acts as a guide. It helps researchers choose data for analysis and make
economical summaries of data.