Early Perspectives on Curriculum Design

Jerry Smith, PhD LE Program

First things first: The word Curriculum defined(various sources)

Byrne, H. W. 1999. A Christian Approach to Education. Patriot University Press.

The word curricula comes from a Latin word meaninga place of running, a race course, i.e. the curriculumis a course of study, a line of progress through a seriesof subjects.

The curriculum is that which includes all the activitiesand experiences utilized by the school for theaccomplishment of the aims of education.

Bandi & Wales (2005)

According to the most common definition derivedfrom the word Latin root, which means racecourse.

“for many students, the school curriculum is a race tobe run, a series of obstacles or hurdles (subjects) tobe passed.”

Wilson, 1990

“Anything and everything that teaches alesson, planned or otherwise. ”

Howell and Evans 1995

Simplicity Curriculum – is a structured set of learning outcomes

or task that educators usually call goals andobjectives.

Curriculum – is the “what” of teaching.

Curriculum – listings of subjects to be taught inschool.

Curriculum is content.

Curriculum is a sequence of courses.

Curriculum is a set of performance objectives.

John Delnay (1959)

Curriculum is all planned learning for whichthe school is responsible.

Curriculum is all the experiences learners haveunder the guidance of the school.

A rose by any other name: The essential features common to all curricula:

1. Formalized course of study designed for learners

2. Conscious planning that attempts to determine learning outcomes.

3. Some form of structure to facilitate that learning

Allen & Unwin. 1993. Curriculum Development & Design. p.4. Murray Print.

BACKGROUND: Theoretical Perspectives on Curriculum

Question to be answered in this report

What have been the most significantperspectives on curriculum developmentin the United States?

The REALITY of Curriculum Development

Every curriculum represents a choiceas to how to approach the educationof students.

Caution! "Indoctrination represents a classic dilemma in the field of

curriculum studies...“

“…educators questioned whether the teaching…represented a form of indoctrination."

Kridel, Craig. 2010. Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies, Volume 1. p.474.

*indoctrination (uncritical acceptance of doctrine [system of beliefs])

Educational problems can be responded to with various curricula.

Assumptions

Often termed philosophies or perspectives

The approach chosen depends on thebeliefs and assumptions of the people thatdevelop the curriculum.

These assumptions consider the following questions: How does learning occur, and how is it facilitated?

What objectives are worthwhile?

What content is most important, and how should it beorganized?

How should educational progress be evaluated?

What should the relationship be between schools andsociety?

FIVE (Representative) Perspectives on Curriculum Development (and their Central Questions)

1. Traditional

What are the most important aspects of our culturalheritage that should be preserved?

2. Experiential

What experiences will lead to the healthy growth of theindividual?

3. Structure of Disciplines

(a.k.a. Disciplines, i.e. the branches of knowledge)

What is the structure of the disciplines of knowledge?

4. Behavioral

At the completion of the curriculum, what should the learners be able to do?

5. Cognitive

How can people learn to make sense of the world and to think more productively and creatively?

Question to ask yourself regarding your own curriculum (curriculum analysis)

Does my curriculum REFLECT aparticular theoretical perspective?

Early perspectives on the curriculum: TRADITIONAL

Traditional Education (Background) Education needed to focus on

transmitting the cultural heritage ofWestern civilization

The curriculum should make theaccumulated wisdom of the raceavailable to all children

Harris seemed to follow evolutionarythinking of the time

(Leonardo, Zeus, & Grubb, Norton W.Education and Racism. 2013. Routledge.pp15-18)

William Torrey Harris(September 10, 1835 – November 5,

1909)

Educator, philosopher

Lecture-recitation method

Authoritarian teacher

Children (learners) are passive recipients

Knowledge for the sake of knowledge

Pupils are simply recorders of information

The mind is a storehouse

Memorization and recollection of facts

Traditional Education (Mechanics)

The KNOWLEDGE conceptTheories of the nature of curriculum: four major concepts. Byrne, H. W. 1999. A Christian Approach to Education. Patriot University Press.

Factual material for intellectual mastery. One’seducation is measured in terms of the amount ofinformation he has memorized and retained over theyears.

Until today, a resilient perspective

Most other perspectives were responses tothis one

E. D. Hirsch Jr.Humanities Professor

Early perspectives on the curriculum: EXPERIENTIAL

Experiential Education (Background) Grew as a response to the authoritarian

view of the traditional perspectivewhich was in conflict with democracy.

Based on the assumption thateverything that happens to studentsinfluences their lives.

The curriculum must be extremelybroad.

Deal with matters not only in school, butalso outside of school.

John Dewey(October 20, 1859 – June 1,

1952)

Philosopher, psychologist,

educational reformer

Experiential Education A philosophy that informs many methodologies in which

educators purposefully engage with learners in directexperience and focused reflection in order to increaseknowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and developpeople's capacity to contribute to their communities.

(Association for Experiential Education, http://www.aee.org/)

Examples: A save-the-tree campaign; write the schoolnewspaper; act in the school play; organize the playgroundbuilding committee

More on practical subjects (Electives, e.g. PE, Health, HomeEconomics, Arts & Crafts, Music, etc. ) and teacher-guided,student-directed projects.

Curriculum is based on the needs and interests of thestudents

Curriculum cannot be solely academic and intellectual butalso functional

Aims: health, command of fundamental processes, worthyhome membership, vocational preparation, citizenship, worthyuse of leisure time, and development of ethical character

Experiential Education (Mechanics)

The Eight-Year Study (1930’s)

NO two schools provided the same curriculum

Curriculum was based solely on teacher andstudent perceived needs and interests

Indications showed that the experiential schoolsdid slightly better academically than thetraditional schools.

Early perspectives on the curriculum: STRUCTURE OF DISCIPLINES (DISCIPLINES)

Disciplines Education (Background) Grew out of the tension and fear during the Cold

War that followed WWII (Sputnik, flabbyeducation, not enough scientists or engineers)

Believed that the Experiential perspectivecurriculum was insufficient, inaccurate, and orunimportant

Returned the focus of the curriculum back tosubject matter (traditional education); specificallyMATH and SCIENCE

In the 1950’s, Jerrold Zacharias led a group ofHarvard and MIT physics professors in analyzingsecondary school physics curriculum concludedthat curricula of the time did NOT contain topicsthat they considered most important.

Professors were considered heroes of the time

Jerrold Zacharias(January 23, 1905–July 16,

1986)

Physicist, professor

Knowing over knowing about

The student learning physics was a physicist,math a mathematician, etc. rather than aconsumer of facts

Scientific inquiry rather than simple textbookfacts

Disciplines Education (Mechanics)

Curriculum Tenets Evolving topics

Each discipline must engage in research and follow adiscipline-specific model of inquiry.

Each learner develop a sense of multiple models ofscientific inquiry relating to multiple disciplines

The DISCIPLINARY conceptTheories of the nature of curriculum: four major concepts. Byrne, H. W. 1999. A Christian Approach to Education. Patriot University Press.

Subject matter is utilized to exercise anddevelop the learner’s mental powers andcapacities. Greater emphasis on HOW onelearns rather than what.

Early perspectives on the curriculum: BEHAVIORAL

Behavioral Education (Background) Grew as a response to the Disciplines

Concerned that all of the knowledge abouthow children learned over the past 50 yearswas being ignored.

Curriculum development needed to focusNOT on content, but what students should beable to DO with that knowledge.

Educators need to consider HOW studentsacquire behaviors – the conditions of learning.

Rooted in Aristotle’s ideas of learning(imagery is the basis of memory) expressedthrough John Locke, and David Hume

Edward Thorndike(August 31, 1874 – August 9, 1949)

PsychologistFounder of behavioral

psychology

The Behavioral idea for curriculum development:

“You cannot determine your itinerary and mode of travel until you decide specifically where you want to go”

Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956)

Established behavioral analysis

which came to be known as

behavioral objectives. These

formed the bases of curriculum

development.

Proponent of the time

Knowledge is rooted in the senses: what we can see, hear, touch, taste,and smell (Based on Aristotle’s imagery)

Objectives are expressed through behaviors that educators want learned.

As opposed to the content of the traditional perspective As opposed to the experiences of the experiential perspective

Courses are broken down into a step-by-step series of behaviors whichmust each be mastered before the student is allowed to move on.

These objectives require a verb to express observable behaviors (i.e. thestudent will be able to…)

Successful graduates should be able to accomplish very specific,measureable goals

Behavioral Education (Mechanics)

Early perspectives on the curriculum: COGNITIVE

Cognitive Education (Background) Can be traced back to Plato.

A person’s knowledge and ideas are innate, orinborn. The teacher only needs to help thestudent recall them. Learning is recollection

Piaget did much research which led him toconclude that educator’s must WAIT until thechild is cognitively ready before teachingabstract concepts

In contrast, in modern times, Noam Chomskydemonstrated contrasting ideas with regard toyoung children and language acquisition

Jean Piaget(9 August 1896 – 16

September 1980)

Developmental psychologist, philosopher

People are NOT recorders of information (Traditional)

To know something is NOT to just have receivedinformation. Information must be interpreted and relatedto other knowledge. Thinking and learning are integrated

It is not enough to just be able to perform some action(Behavioral) , but know WHEN to perform it, AND adapt it tovarious circumstances

Purposeful activities requiring decision-making, problem-solving, and judgments

Cognitive Education (Mechanics)

Some CONTRASTING thoughts about EACH perspective The Traditional curricula views the mind as a STOREHOUSE

Cognitive curricula view the mind as a GARDEN

Behavioral curricula view teaching as SHAPING behavior

Disciplines curricula as inducting NOVICES into acommunity of SCHOLARS

Experiential curricula considers teaching as working behindthe scenes to facilitate student DISCOVERY of (relative)knowledge

EXAMPLE objectives to help illustrate EACH perspective

Traditional The student will identify the parts of a flower.

Experiential The student will plant and raise a flower for 3 months while keeping

a journal.

Disciplines The student will explain how a flower grows as it relates to all plant

life.

Behavioral The student will be able to classify flowers into categories.

Cognitive The student will recognize the relationship between flowers and the

emotions people feel upon receipt of them.

ONE FINAL NOTE on early perspectives on the curriculum:

SUPPLEMENTAL information:

The oft-left-out CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE on the curriculum

These days, all syllabi in DLSU (Expected Lasallian Graduate Attributes) are coupled with “God-loving”

“Develop an understanding of the true task of a teacheras exemplified by the Great Teacher Himself, the LordJesus Christ.”

The CHRISTIAN Perspective The CHRISTIAN perspective starts with the BIBLE (John 17:17).

From this approach, we can learn that education begins with GOD(Proverbs 1:7) and involves the whole man (body, mind, social,and spirit).

The previous perspectives EXCLUDE/NEGLECT the spirit of man

JESUS CHRIST grew in wisdom, stature, favor with God, favor withman (Luke 2:52)

Knowledge of facts WITHOUT knowing God (cannot be isolated)

Christian Education (Mechanics) There is truth in ALL of these ideas but each is lacking.

Education must be concerned with the whole man (physical,emotional AND spiritual).

The Source of all truth is GOD from His WORD, the Bible (John17:17).

Our ability to understand this has diminished as a result of SIN.

To achieve the WHOLE-MAN concept curriculum must be Bible-integrated, pupil-related, and socially-applied with CHRIST atthe center.

BUT our ability to understand this has diminished as a result ofSIN.

Questions for DISCUSSION

HOW did each perspective seek to mold and shapeeducation according to the perceptions or beliefs ofthe time?

Could these perspectives be considered a form ofindoctrination (uncritical acceptance of doctrines)?

What is a TRUE education (as opposed toindoctrination)?

Presentation of ALL sides of a matter.

Which is the predominant perspective embraced inour / your local education system?

Sources/ References Used for this Report

Blahing, Kimpee I. 2013. Major Foundations of Curriculum. A presentation at Mindanao State University, College of Education. www.slideshare.com(Accessed November 15, 2014)

Byrne, H. W. A Christian Approach to Education. 1999. Patriot University Press.

Clark, Robert E., et al. 1991. Christian Education: Foundations for the Future. Moody Press, Chicago.

Crump, Cynthia, Dr. Curriculum Development. Overview/Foundations. A presentation. www.slideshare.com (Accessed November 15, 2014)

Education in the Middle Ages. www.localhistories.org/middle.html (Accessed November 16, 2014)

Indian Influences on Asia. http://www.britannica.com (Accessed November 16, 2014)

Kridel, Craig. 2010 Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies, Volume 1. p.474. www.books.google.com.ph (Accessed November 16, 2014).

Montero, Gail S. Professor. 2013. Curriculum Planning & Development. A presentation. www.slideshare.com (Accessed November 15, 2014)

Pasigui, Ronnie Espergal, Professor. The Nature And Scope Of Curriculum Development (Philippine Context); A presentation. www.slideshare.com (Accessed November 15, 2014)

Ramos, Jhun R. Major Foundations of Curriculum. A Presentation. www.slideshare.com (Accessed November 15, 2014).

Schiro, Michael Stephen. 2013. Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns Second Edition . SAGE publications. http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/47669_ch_1.pdf (Accessed November 16, 2014)

Theodore, Peter A. Associate Professor Department of Educational Leadership. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Foundations of Curriculum: Essentialism. http://www.siue.edu/~ptheodo/foundations/essentialism.html (Accessed Nov 16, 2014).

Theories of Education: Essentialism. 2012. http://education101intrototeaching.pbworks.com (Accessed November 16, 2014)

Unwin & Allen. 1993. Curriculum Development & Design. p.4 Murray Print. www.books.google.com.ph (Accessed November 16, 2014).

THE ENDThank you for your attention AND participation