Bases of Curriculum

Bases are the pillars upon which the building lies. Curriculum development
also has several bases. Curriculum development is the most important
component of educational programme. The answers of three fundamental
questions provide the awareness and basis of education. Why are education
and curriculum needed? What should be taught in education? And how we
teach?
The root of planning any curriculum depends upon the ideas of
Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology. Thus, the curriculum development has
three bases a) Philosophical bases of curriculum b) Sociological bases of
curriculum c) Psychological base of curriculum Philosophical Base of
Curriculum In order to have a curriculum, the topics issues and activities must
be selected on certain basis. This basis depends upon fundamental beliefs of
the curriculum planner. His beliefs will naturally depend upon his philosophy
of education. Thus, philosophy is considered as one of the major foundations of
curriculum.
The philosophy will provide the following information for the purpose of
curriculum planning:
1) What are beliefs about the nature of people? All people are good While they
are born, or they are ignorant when they born and so on.
2) What are the sources of truth and values that provide life? Whatever is
given in religious books is true. Everyone should develop those virtues which
are given in his religion and so on.
3) What constitute a good life?
A good life is that which has been conveyed through the prophets or the
life such our forefathers have lived or materialistic life and so on.
4) What should be learnt by the people? Teachers can take decision according
to their own interest or it will depend upon the circumstances and situations
and so on.
5) What role should be played by the school in the society? The school should
do as the parents want or the Government wants, or school should be natural
and should not play any role in framing the society.
6) What role should be played by the teacher in the learning process?
7) Teachers should dominate the scene or students should play an important
role or teacher should be a dominant partner and so on.
8) If there was one philosophy of life there would have been one philosophy of
education and one and only one answer to each question. But since there are
different philosophies of life and philosophies of education so there are different
answer to these questions.
The main philosophies of education are described below:
A) Idealism The philosophy of idealism believed that truth and values are
eternal and that human beings were engaged in discovering them. People have
already ideas within, and it was needed that they should be helped to bring out
the ideas they already have. (Plato, Rene Descastes, George Barkeley,
Immanual Kant and George Hegel advocates this philosophy). If we apply this
philosophy to education, we can have the following ideas: 1) Children are born
well and they have a tendency within themselves to remain good and to do
right.
2) Children needs help to bring but this tendency, discover spiritual goodness
and apply it to their life.
3) Education should bring out the learner to a point where the natural spirit is
recognized in relation to the supernatural power/God.
4) The school should provide such opportunities that inner goodness of the
learner is further strengthened, and he does those things which learn pleasure
of God and be forbidden from those which earn his displeasure.
5) The teachers should also present such life before the learners that it further
strengthens their inner goodness.
6) The schools should be highly structured and include only those ideas in
their programme which have religious and moral values.
7) Learning should be centered around broad ideas to help the learners to see
the relationship among various aspects of the universe.
B). Realism: Aristotle developed the philosophy of realism because he believed
that truth can be discovered by studying the world of matter or reality.
Science and Philosophy were both important because science is a method for
objective study of reality.
Discovery of truth by study, view of human being as rational animals and
notion of enduring values existing in the world provide the basis of realism.
According to this philosophy children were born ignorant. They did not know
about the reality of the world. They cannot enjoy their life unless they were
taught the reality of the world. Since human beings were considered as rational
according to this philosophy, they would be able to learn if they were taught. If
they were not taught, they will remain ignorant. In that situation they will not
be able to enjoy life.
If we apply this philosophy to education, we can have the following ideas:
1) Children are born ignorant so they need direction towards required
knowledge.
2) Children would remain ignorant if they were not provided proper guidance.
3) Children should be taught what is already about that world because it is
reality.
4) The role of teacher is very important because children will learn from the life
of the teacher as well as from his knowledge. According to this philosophy it is
the knowledge of teacher about the world which is more important for the
learner.
5) The school should develop such virtues which are real and of permanent
nature such as honesty, diligence etc.
6) The education should be preparation for a good life.
C).Pragmatism: John Dewey was the proponent of philosophy of pragmatism.
 He believed that children were neither born with goodness nor with
ignorance, but they had the physical and mental equipment which allowed
them to participate in the world around them.
He also believed that society and culture did not have any fixed values and all
ideas were temporary because they continued to be changed and refined.
Thus, truth and values were not fixed but they were the result of changing
human experience.
If we apply this philosophy to education, we can have the following ideas:
1) Children learn through interaction around them, but that learning will not
be fixed but will be changed and refined with further experience.
2) Education does not mean learning eternal truth or fixed subject matter.
3) Children will become progressively more mature in values, beliefs, and
knowledge as they will. 4) The experience though changed later are not of less
importance because they would provide grounding for the new learning.
5) Children can learn up to a certain limit at any time depending upon their
experience and their mental and physical development.
6) Education of children should emphasize learning about other people and
learning how objects fit into or work in the
environment.
 7) Later on, these children may also explore beliefs and values from their
society and time as well as from others. 8) The role of the teacher is not to
provide information but to provide direct experience and opportunities to
children to learn from experiences. The basis of learning would be child’s own
world rather than the world of adult.
D). Existentialism in the broader sense is a 20th century philosophy that is
cantered upon the analysis of existence and of the way humans find
themselves existing in the world. The notion is that humans exist first and then
everyone spends a lifetime changing their essence or nature. In simpler terms,
existentialism is a philosophy concerned with finding self and the meaning of
life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. The belief is that
people are searching to find out who and they are throughout life as they make
choices based on their experiences, beliefs, and outlook.
Existentialism is a philosophical theory or approach which emphasizes
the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent
determining their own development through acts of the will.
If we apply this philosophy to education, we can have the following ideas:
1) Child is an individual so he must seek meaning in a meaningless world.
2) Child should acquire or create his own ideas rather than depending upon
ideas of others.
3) Education must concentrate on the perceptions and feelings of the child to
help him to understand personal reactions or response to life situations.
4) Child should be encouraged to act on his ideas and beliefs so that ideas can
be applied to life.
5) Nature of education should be mainly determination.
6) School should respect the feeling of the child about what he wants to learn
and should provide facilities for it.
7) The role of the teacher is non-directive and facilitating rather than imposing.
8) Thus, is can be concluded that philosophy has a valuable place in
construction of curriculum through formulation of educational goals because
they are determined on the basis of the philosophy and themselves determine
the curriculum.
Sociological Bases of Curriculum:
In real life students live in a world which is larger than the school in
which they study. Thus, their interests and attitudes are shaped not only in
the school but by the outer world also.
 Students are an important resource of solving issues through their role
as a student of today and as adult of tomorrow.
Society maintains school to help the students to adapt and prepare for
life in the large society.
Thus, it is must for curriculum planers to consider the characteristics
of present society as well as the characteristics of future society in which they
will live most of their life.
So, it is necessary to identify those issues which they will face.
Thus, the curriculum planner should take into consideration the following
issues:
1. What knowledge, skill and attitudes are needed in students of today and
adult of tomorrow by society?
2. Is curriculum for maintaining the present values of society?
3. Should be curriculum bring out changes in values of society?
4. Should specific social problems be included in the curriculum?
(A). Family Structure: The change of family structure poses some issues
before the curriculum planner:
1. Should the school assume some responsibilities of the family which have
been traditionally associated with the latter?
2. What kind of family structure should be aimed at when it is changing so
much?
3. What should be the expectation level of the school about the role of family in
providing learning at home?
4. Who should be responsible for the development of morals and values?
Parents or school.
(B). Occupational Structure: Now a day’s occupational structure is creating
problem for curriculum planners such as:
1. What occupational fields might emerge for which some preparation should
be done in the schools?
2. What work values should be provided in the students so that they could
accept the challenge of the society while they enter from world of learning to
world of work?
3. What skills should be provided during school education so as to live as
satisfying life in future?
4. At what stage the elective courses be introduced to provide background in
general education on the one hand and proper orientation for occupational
work on the other hand?
(C). Change in Role of Women: Due to changing role of women the curriculum
planners must consider the following issues:
1. Should the curriculum be used as a means of dispel sex-role stereotypes?
2. What represents equitable sex-role portrayal in curriculum materials and
activities?
3. To what extent should young students be expected to participate in activities
that conflict with sex-role stereotypes? 4. Which aspects of curriculum plans
are based on unfair sex-role bias? 5. What changes should be made in
curriculum to prepare women for some special jobs?
(D). Communalism
1) Should the curriculum emphasize national objectives like democracy and
secularism?
2) Should the curriculum emphasize such activities which foster fraternity
among different section of the society?
3) Should communalism be attacked directly or indirectly in the school
programmes?
4) Should schools insist upon, national objectives while recruiting teachers so
such person are not recruited who do not agree with national objectives.
5) How should the school portray such cultural values which are based on
national objectives?
6) To what extent curriculum plans be revised to reflect cultural and religious
diversity?
(E).Values
1) Which values should curriculum emphasize?
2) Should life in the school reflect the diversity of society?
3) What curriculum activities should be included if the school consists of
students of different ethnicities or religion?
4) What guidance should be given to identify way to use leisure time?
Psychological Base of Curriculum
• Psychological has made great contribution for the development of school
curriculum.
• Psychological played a leading role in giving shape to schools and has been
responsible to a great extent what happens in classroom.
• The main fields of contribution have been through researchers in motivation,
learning, child growth and development.

Activity
A. Essay:
Explain the bases of curriculum.
B. Write short notes on:
1) Philosophical bases of curriculum
2) Sociological bases of curriculum
3) Psychological bases of curriculum