CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION

Emerita Reyes, Ed. D.

Erlinda Dizon, Ed. D.
Danilo K. Villena, Ph. D.
Discuss the components of curriculum design and its
organization that impart essential concepts, attitude,
and skills to the learning experiences of the students.
At the end of this chapter, students are expected to:

• Define curriculum implementation;

• Familiarize oneself with the major problems involved
in curriculum implementation;
• Analyze factors that influence curriculum
implementation; and
• Examine some common models that support the
process of curriculum implementation.
Introduction
• Curriculum plays an important role in an educational
system.
• It is somehow a blueprint which leads the teacher
and the learner to reach the desired objectives.
• As a result, authorities have to design it in such a way
that it could lead the teacher and the learners to
meet the desired learning outcomes.
• However, the ultimate goal is not to design the best
and ideal curriculum, but to put it into operation
successfully.
• Implementing the curriculum is the most crucial and
sometimes the most difficult phase of the curriculum
development process.
What is Curriculum
Implementation?
• Implementation is an interaction between those
who have created the program and those who are
charged to deliver it.
• Large sums of money are spent on implementing
new curriculum.
• According to Sarason (1990), the main reason for
the failure in implementation is the lack of
understanding of the culture of the school by both
experts outside the school system and educators in
the system.
• Successful implementation requires understanding
the power relationships, the traditions, the roles and
responsibilities of individuals in the school system.
• Implementers should be well-versed with the
contents of the curriculum.
• They must be clear of the purpose, the nature, and
the real and potential benefits of the innovation.
• According to Fullan and Pomfret (1977), effective
implementation of innovations requires time,
personal interaction and contacts, in-service training
and other forms of people-based support.
 Approaches on
Curriculum Implementation
1. Laissez-faire Approach
- also known as ‘let-alone’ approach
- teachers have absolute power to determine
what they see best to implement in the
classroom
- teachers teach lessons they believe are
appropriate and in whatever way they want to
teach
- no form of control or monitoring
2. Authoritarian Control
- teachers are directed by authority figures
through a memorandum
- teachers have no control or leeway over the
subjects they are teaching
- dictatorial way of imposing curricular
implementation in the classroom
• The realistic view should be between the two.
• Teachers implement personalized variations of the
prescribed curriculum, but still be guided by it.
• This is call adaptation to the curriculum or process
orientation.
• Process orientation came as a response to the need
to acknowledge different organizational concepts
and varying teachers’ needs and abilities that would
require on-site modification.
Implementation Models
1. Overcoming Resistance to Change Model (ORC)
2. Leadership-Obstacle Course Model (LOC)
3. Linkage Model
4. Organizational Development Model (OD)
5. Rand Change Agent Model
• Each model requires a multi-task approach.
• Each strategy has certain elements which conform
to the following:
a. Clarification of lines of authority
b. Involvement of affected parties in goal setting,
staff selection and evaluation
c. Specification of roles and responsibilities of
teachers
d. Training of personnel in change strategies and
conflict-resolution techniques
e. Support to affected parties
ORC
- focuses on overcoming staff resistance to change
that is present immediately before, or at the time of
the introduction of the innovation
LOC
- extends the ORC model and puts emphasis on the
gathering of data to determine the extent and nature
of the resistance in order to deal with it appropriately
Linkage Model
- involves a cycle of diagnosis, search, and retrieval,
formulation of solution, dissemination and evaluation
OD
- an information-processing change strategy that
enables the system to improve its operations and the
quality of interaction among its members to facilitate
the introduction of change
Rand Model
- based on the assumption that the success of the
implementation of a new program depends on:
a. characteristics of the proposed change
b. competencies of the teaching and administrative staff
c. support of the local community
d. school organization structure
• The choice of implementation model should depend
on factors like
a. level of resistance
b. type of desired change
c. available expertise
d. available resources
e. urgency of the situation
 Factors that Influence
Curriculum Implementation
1. Teachers
2. Learners
3. Principals or School Heads
4. Parents
5. Interest Groups
6. Resource Materials and Facilities
7. School Environment
8. Culture and Ideology
9. Assessment
Teachers
- the most important person in the curriculum
implementation process
- they influence students’ learning
- the key to getting teachers committed to an
innovation is to enhance their knowledge of the
program
- support the teacher intrinsically and extrinsically
- introduce workshops on the philosophy, content,
pedagogy, components of the program
Learners
- do not ignore the role of students as agents of
change
- even primary school children can contribute to
meaningful change
- they must be willing to participate in the program
Principals or School Heads
- the headmasters
- they should understand the need for change as well
as the steps
- they should have in-depth knowledge
- they should be accessible and willing to communicate
with others involved in the process
- they should be able to convince the parents on the
merits of the new curriculum
Parents
- organize workshops for parents focusing on the new
curriculum
- help them understand the content and philosophy of
the new curriculum
- internet and social media can also be used
Resource Materials and Facilities
- government should supply schools with adequate
resource materials, classrooms, laboratories,
workshops, libraries, and sports fields
Interest Groups
- provide schools with financial resources to purchase
required materials
- demand the inclusion of certain subjects in the
curriculum
- influence learners to reject course they consider
detrimental to the interests of the group
School Environment
- Schools located in rich socio-economic environments
and those that have adequate human and material
resources can implement the curriculum to an extent
that would be difficult or impossible for schools in
poor economic environments
Culture and Ideology
- Some communities may resist a domineering culture
or government ideology and hence affect the
implementation of the centrally planned curriculum.
Assessment
- Due to great value given to public examination
certificates by communities and schools, teachers
have tended to concentrate on subjects that
promote academic excellence and little else.
- This action by the teacher obviously can affect the
achievement of the broad goals and objectives of the
curriculum.
Implementing Curriculum
in the Classroom
• The final destination of any curriculum is the
classroom.
• As we enter the classroom, decision making becomes
the responsibility of the teachers.
• Classroom teachers will take over and make decisions
of a methodological nature.
1. What objective do I hope to accomplish as a result of
instruction?
2. What topics or content will I have to cover?
3. What teacher methods or strategies should I use to
direct learning and achieve the objectives?
4. How do I evaluate instruction to determine whether
I have successfully achieved the objective?
• Most teachers adopted an eclectic approach, they
combined one or more methods.
- End of Lesson -
Submission of Module 5 Next Meeting