1.

PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS
Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge. It is the study of realities
and general principles. It concerns with the research of internal truths.
Philosophy provides systematic procedure for clarifying issues and problems and
making decisions on critical points of curriculum development.
Philosophical work can aid curriculum development in many ways but it is
particularly useful in helping us to understand:-
 Nature of educational objectives:
 The structure or inter-relationship of the objectives:
 and Nature of curriculum activities.
Defined literally, philosophy is “pursuit of rational thinking and sound
judgment”. “Aristippus (435-359 BC) wrote, “Philosophy is the ability to feel at ease in
any society.” Kabir, Huyaun (1902-1969) stated, “'Philosophy seeks to give knowledge
of the whole”.

1.1. Philosophy and Curriculum

Every society is held together by a common faith or “Philosophy”, which serves
its members as a guide for living a good life. It is, therefore quite natural for the adults of
the society to pass on this philosophy or “knowledge of good” to their children. In
primitive societies knowledge of the good life was passed of informally, from father to
son and from mother to daughter. But in developing and developed societies, schools are
established to induct the young into the ways of living that adults consider well. Thus the
curriculum of the schools, whatever else it may do, is first and foremost designed to win
the hearts and minds of the young to those principles and ideals that will direct them to
wise decisions; i.e. decisions whose consequences lead to the concepts of good life.
Indeed, the curriculum is so thoroughly permeated with the cultural aspects of philosophy
of life that a certain philosopher of education was prompted to write, “what a man really,
believes is frequently more clearly revealed in what he teaches to his students than in
what he professes in his public statements (Thut 1957).

1.2. Philosophical Categories

There are three philosophical categories that have particular relevance for
curriculum development.
(1) ONTOLOGY (The Nature of Reality)
(2) ESPISTEMOLOGY (The Nature of the Knowledge)
(3) AXIOLOGY (The Nature of Value)

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1.2.1. Ontology
Ontology is concerned with the nature of reality, and by asking the question
“what is real”? A number of queries become clear. While this question may appear
simple at the first glance, it deserves greater consideration. Different societies, for
example, perceive reality in quite different ways, as do the individuals', who constitute
these societies. In primitive societies, it was accepted as real that the earth was flat, yet
today we would regard this as nonsense. Similarly, one society may regard the use of
chemical fertilizers as essential, while another may consider biological wastes more
useful than the chemicals.
Thus what is real to a society is very important and must be taken into account
while constructing curriculum. Indeed, some curriculum developers see, their role as a
vehicle for change: Thus a new social studies curriculum may depict “Kelly Gang” as a
symbol of working-class resistance to authoritative oppression and so re-create reality for
a new generation of school students. Thus, some recent curriculum developments like
multiculturalism gender equality and environmental education, etc. have sought to
achieve just that.

1.2-2. Epistemology
The philosophical problem that deals with the nature of knowledge and of
knowing is called epistemology. For Waller and Evers (1988), “epistemology is the study
of the nature, scope and applicability of knowledge'“. In curriculum, what we advocate
becomes the basis for student learning. We are actually concerned with the nature of
knowledge, its basis, how we know and what we know.
When studying epistemology, we ask:
What is true?
How do we know the truth?'
How do we know what we know?
These are obviously vital questions for curriculum developers to consider,
particularly in a society, which purportedly values truth and seeks to pass the truth to
subsequent generations.
Ultimately our position becomes a statement of faith, a stand on those questions,
which we believe, and are prepared to accept, as true. As such we rely heavily upon our
fundamental ontological beliefs (what is real?)
In this way the close relationship between epistemology and ontology .is
consolidated.
Thus in any curriculum development activity, but particularly in relation to
schools, the epistemological stance taken by those developers involved is of vital
importance. Will they include the accepted truth? What does that constitute? To what
degree is there a consensus accepting that truth, or is that “consensus” a fallacy too?

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 And so the epistemological questions continue. At the very least curriculum
developers should be aware of epistemology and be prepared to pose the fundamental
questions involved in such a study.

1.2.3. Axiology
Axiology is that aspect of philosophy that is concerned with the nature of value.
Axiology questions are a fundamental feature of our life in that the resulting decisions
have a profound effect upon our behaviour. Questions such as:
what is good? and
what is attributable to humans? etc.

are both fundamental to our very existence and constantly present in our daily lives.
Thus the axiological considerations are important in one's development of a curriculum
for future generations.
Zais (1976) contends that axiological questions are usually divided into two main
categories.
(a) Ethics
(b) Aesthetics

(a) Ethics:
Is concerned with concepts of good and bad. right and wrong as they apply to
human behaviour. When constructing the curricula, developers should be aware of both
their own ethical positions and the ethical basis (hopefully not biases) that they are
integrating into the curriculum. Thus, developers will select objectives and contents that
in their minds are more ethical both in terms of knowledge and process.
Robert Zais summarized the situation succinctly” Education, after all, is a
process of deliberately influencing. Children and youth in such a way that they become
what they would not otherwise become. And the curriculum is the master plan by which
this purpose is accomplished. At this point it is important to raise these issues and
questions in the minds of curriculum developers. There is increasing evidence in recent
years that saver elements of Pakistani society want a greater and more purposeful input of
ethical aspects into school curricula.

(b) Aesthetics:
Is concerned with such values and issues as beauty and enjoyment of human
experience. Aesthetics questions: What is beautiful? What aspects of the senses produce
enjoyment? And what aesthetic experiences yield “higher order” enjoyment?

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 The issues involving aesthetics produce particular difficulties for curriculum
developers because individuals answer the above questions in very different ways. What
is beautiful to one person may be ugly to another, particularly if they come from different
cultures. And what produces aesthetic enjoyment to one individual, may produce hay
fever in another'! The sensory pleasure associated with a bottle of quality cold drink may
be difficult for the patient/individual who suffers from allergies.
In answer to these questions, curricula developers in the part have opted for a
more conservative, accepted view of what is beautiful and what is enjoyment. In more
recent times, this position has weakened and we have witnessed the emergence of more
“popular” aesthetics within the school curriculum.
For the curriculum developers the value of philosophical considerations is
abundantly clear. Ontology, epistemology and axiology provide a useful structure for
examining one's own philosophical position as well as how philosophical stances affect
the development of curricula. In these considerations, one might pose some typical
philosophical questions that are useful to curriculum developer. The questions are:
 On what grounds should contents be selected or rejected?
 How different is instruction from conditioning?
 Are there distinct forms of knowledge?
 How can specific curricula be justified?
 How should content be structured within a curriculum?
 Should a curriculum be differentiated for different students?
 What is fact?
 To what degree should “new” reality be included within the curriculum?

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 2. PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
The word psychology is derived from two Greek words “psyche” means soul and
“logos” means study. Psychology is the scientific study: of human behaviour.

2.1. Role of Psychology in Curriculum Development

Psychology attempts to describe, explain and predict human behaviour.
Psychology gives us an insight into the child's development and learning and provides
various techniques of inquiry for use in the curriculum area.
The contribution of psychological basis to curriculum is significant and is
growing. As this is a relatively young discipline, the scope for applying its concepts,
principles, processes and values to curriculum development is gradually increasing.

2.2. Psychological Sources

The purpose of psychology is the study of human behaviour. The psychologists
are concerned with:
Describing
Explaining
Predicting

Evaluating (investigating) the behaviour of human being, curriculum developers,

therefore, can draw upon psychology, particularly educational psychology, for at least
five areas of information.
(1) Educational objectives
(2) Student characteristics
(3) Learning process
(4) Teaching methods
(5) Evaluation procedures
The study of psychology does not provide a source of contents a school
curriculum (other than for a few subjects on psychological studies).
Let us briefly examine the psychological sources that the curriculum developers
can employ.

2.2.1. Educational objectives

Knowledge of the psychology of learning helps the curriculum developers to
devise and phrase appropriate goals and objectives. The curriculum developers can
determine whether goals and objectives are suitable for various developmental levels and

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ages of learners and that whether they are attainable or not. Subsequently, the formulation
of curriculum goals and objectives has profound influence upon the selection of contents
for the curriculum.

2.2.2. Student/Learner Characteristics

An understanding of the nature of learners particularly of individual differences
and personalities will assist, the curriculum developers to-make more choices in
curriculum decision-making. The study of personality can tell us whether different
personalities respond to learning experiences in different ways, Indeed, this is something
the experienced teacher has long known and some teachers have, endeavoured to
accommodate these differences within their classrooms. Similarly, an understanding of
individual differences is most useful to the curriculum developers, An effective
curriculum is able to accommodate .differences in student skills and abilities.

2.2.3. Learning Processes

Perhaps the greatest contribution that psychology makes to curriculum is an
understanding of how people learn. The curriculum developers, who have a sound grasp
of learning and learning theory, are in a commanding position to devise an appropriate
curriculum for learners. In particular, an understanding of learning is essential to the
effective selection of appropriate learning/teaching strategies.
Whether or not one supports a theory- of operant conditioning such as that of
B.F. Skinner, some forms of Gestalt theory (K. Lewin). Jean Piaget's approach to growth
and development, or some other form of explaining how learning occurs, the final
outcome speaks how the curriculum is shaped. Indeed, one of the difficulties encountered
by curriculum developers is the vast array of theories, paradigms and algorithms that
support to explain the process of learning.

2.2.4. Teaching Methods

Psychology makes a significant contribution to both the selection of learning
experiences and the way teaching is conducted in the classroom. In the school curriculum
an understanding of psychology is essential to the curriculum developers in devising
appropriate learning experiences and conditions for learning, In selecting learning
experiences, the curriculum developers should take an account of: -
 Learning theories
 Individual differences amongst students
 Motivational strategies
 Personality
 Cognitive and affective development
 Teaching style

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  Group dynamics
 Teaching methodology and
 Learning styles
This extensive list of psychological factors suggests that, the curriculum
developers can make substantial use of psychological sources while selecting
learning/teaching experiences.

2.2.5. Evaluation Procedures

Psychology can also provide curriculum developers with directions for
undertaking the evaluation of students and teacher’s performance. Educational
psychologists have developed a vast array of techniques for measuring the degree of
students learning, students' attitudes towards learning/ teaching and so forth, as well as
the extent of teacher's effectiveness.
Educational psychologists, as well as other educators, have been concerned with
such evaluation issues as:
 Norm-referenced assessment or criterion referenced assessment
 The role of formative evaluation
 Appropriate instruments to measure students' performance.
 Determination of teacher's effectiveness.
These aspects of psychology indicate the range of influence that psychology has
upon the development of curriculum.

2.2.6. Human Growth and Development

Knowledge about the growth and development of the child has a great bearing on
what to teach at a given level. Learning outcomes have to be determined with reference to
the characteristic thought forms at the various age-levels, with a view to orienting
curriculum to child/learners needs and capacities. We must consider the functioning of
intelligence and development of capacities. The processes of human development and
nature of learning have special significance for curriculum development.
The relationship between psychological foundations and the curriculum are given
below:
 Curriculum to be child-centered, must take into account the
psychological make-up the learners i.e. nervous system, has a great
bearing on the curriculum development for different age groups.
 Learning experiences should be provided according to the: mental
development of the learner. On this account, learners are divided into
ability grouping.
 The effectiveness of the curriculum depends on the interests of the
learners. So the curriculum planning, must take into account the interests

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 of the learners.

Human growth and development are very important elements in curriculum

development. Curriculum decisions are not to be made arbitrarily but on the factors
determining individual's growth and development. A fixed and rigid curriculum is hardly
suitable as it fails to accommodate the needs of slow learners, late starters as well fast
learner.
School curriculum on the whole, should aim at enabling the learners to acquire
knowledge, develop concepts and inculcate skills, attitudes, values and habits conductive
to the all-round development of their personality and commensurate with the social,
cultural, economic and environmental realities at national and international levels.

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 3. SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
Curriculum must take into account the sociological considerations otherwise it
will remain bookish and divorced from life. A curriculum that ignores sociological
foundations does not serve any purpose. It results in waste of time, energy and resources.
It will produce individuals, who cannot play their role effectively as enlightened
members of a society.,
A sound curriculum must be based on the needs and aspirations of a society. An
unrelated curriculum may lead to individuals, who can neither find employment nor
engage themselves in fruitful occupations and consequently remain dissatisfied,
maladjusted and frustrated.

3.1. Etymological Meaning of Sociology

Sociology as defined in dictionaries is “the science or study of society”,
The term was coined by COMTE (1830) linking the Latin “socius” (originally a
people, tribe or city allied to Rome, but later a society) to the Greek “logos” (study). The
term spread rapidly and is now used in virtually all languages to denote any real rigorous,
reasoned study of society.

3.2. Definitions of Sociology

“Sociology is the systematic study of the groups and societies, human beings
build and the way these alliances effects our behaviour”.
“Sociology is the study of social life and social causes and consequences of
human behaviour”.
“Social life” encompasses all interpersonal relationships. The “causes and
consequences of human behaviour encompasses how these relationships,' groups, and
organizations are inter-related and how they influence personal and interpersonal
behaviour.
“Sociology is the study of social relationships, social institutions and society”.

3.3. Role of Sociology in Curriculum Development

According to sociologists, schools are social institutions especially set up for the
preservation of culture and transmission of culture by society. School seeks to discharge
this function through the curriculum. The curriculum, therefore, includes learning
experiences based on the ways of life, kinds of knowledge, attitudes and beliefs that are
considered important by the society. Some kinds of selection are needed, as all the
aspects of culture cannot be included in the curriculum planning thus becomes a way for
the selection of various elements.

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 There are various sociological foundations like cultural, economic and political
that deeply influence the school curriculum, its conception, content and organization.
Among the most important sociological considerations that should guide those
engaged in the task of curriculum development, may be listed as below:
 Core values of society
 Changing values of the people
 Demands of modernization
 Criterion of a good family life
 New forms of cooperation
 Media explosion
 Population explosion
 Regional and national imbalances
 Economic efficiency
 Education for fellowship and leadership creative and purposeful
activities

3.4. Curriculum for Modernizing the Society

The curriculum for modernizing the society stressed the following:
 Restructuring contents of the various subjects in the light of modern
development in science and technology.
 Adopting new methods of teaching.
 Encouraging activities for awakening curiosity and developmental
interests, attitudes and values and the building up of such essential skills
as independent study and capacity to think and judge for oneself.

3.4.1. Culture
Culture defines an accepted way of life. One implication of this statement, of
course, is that the “accepted” way of life is the preferred way that is the “accepted” way
of life has more “value” then other alternative ways.
We can see that culture is a “value loaded” enterprise, so to speak. It provides the
members of society with the “goods” and the “bads”, the “beautifuls” and the “uglies,”
the “shoulds” and the “should nots”.

3.4.2. Society and Culture

A society is a collection of individuals, who have organized themselves into a
distinct group, to be a society, however, a distinct group and not just a collection of
individuals, the members of the group must perceive themselves as “having things in
common”, which enable them to “belong”. These “things in common” are the stuff of
which culture is made. Culture, then, may roughly be viewed as a kind of social cement

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that consists of the characteristics, habits, ideals, attitudes, beliefs and ways of thinking of
a particular group of people. Even from these sketchy definitions, it is clear that while
society and culture is certainly not the same thing, “without a culture there could be no
society, and without a society there could be no culture”.
(Smith, Stanley, and Shores 1957)

3.4.3. Complexity of the Concept “Culture”

Culture is a highly complex concept that requires a great deal of considerations
and study then we are able to allow here; it is similar to such concepts as “democracy”
“morality” and “ love”, which have a multiplicity of meanings.
In relatively broad term we might say that culture defines an accepted way of
life. It includes a vast array of easily observed facets of living such as material products,
political and social organizations, characteristic vocations, modes of dress, fads, foods,
games, music, child bearing and rearing practices, and religious and patriotic rituals. .

3.4.4. The Structure of Culture

A structural framework was proposed for the purpose of facilitating the Study of
curriculum. This theoretical model was based upon a classification of the total curricular
phenomenon into a complex of eight internal factors, which are:
 Epistemology
 Society/Culture
 The individual
 Learning theory
 Aims
 Contents
 Learning activities
 Evaluation
In much the same way, the study of culture will be facilitated if we are able to
proceed upon the basis of a hypothetical structural framework. One useful framework,
proposed by Ralph Linton (1936), is presented here because of its simplicity and its
congruence with the theoretical constituents of society and culture that we have been
developing.
Linton has proposed that all elements of culture can be classified into three
principal categories.
 The universals
 The specialties
 The alternatives

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The Universals
The universals comprise those values, beliefs and customs that are generally held
by the entire adult population. For example, in a wide variety of instances, behayiour in
such areas as language, food, religion and economics tends rather circumscribed in our
society.

The Specialties
The second category identified by Linton, includes those elements of the culture
to be found only within sub-groups of the society. Among the most common of these are
the vocational subgroups; in our society certain behaviour is expected of professors, for
example, that be quite different from those expected of businessmen. Thus, pr6fessors are
expected to be shabbily dressed: thinkers leftist in their politics, absentminded, and
impractical in worldly affairs; businessmen, by contrast, tend to be viewed as smartly
dressed doers, conservative in their politics, mentally alert, well organized, efficient, and
practical. .

The Alternatives
The alternatives are those beliefs and practices that violate culturally accepted
norms (universals and specialties) in their attempt to fulfill a need, solve a problem, or
simply to allow a more congruent perception of reality. Alternatives are like specialties;
however, all members of the society may not share them. Unlike specialties, however,
any sub-group may not share them. A simple, tangible example of an alternative might be
the introduction of pizza in place of the traditional food as an afternoon (lunch) or dinner.
Since curriculum workers and teachers are in the business of intervening: in the
lives of young people for the purpose of making them something that they would not
otherwise become, it is necessary not only that they have full and conscious knowledge
of cultural universals and specialties, but that they evaluate and compare them with all
manners of alternatives. Current practice, however, consists mainly of accepting cultural
directives and transmitting them through curriculum as efficient as possible. This
procedure, of course, constitutes little more than mindless indoctrination. To educate, on
the other hand, calls for a curriculum, that promotes the illumination, examination, and
evaluation of cultural universal and specialties in the light of projected desirable
alternatives. As we shall see in the following sections, breaking out of the cultural trap is
a long, demanding process requiring substantial quantities of both wisdom and courage.

3.5. Values Based Curriculum:

Like the concept of “culture”, value is a misleading complex idea/opinion.
Following types of experiences and activities may be planned for developing
desirable values among pupils:

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  Exemplary behaviour of teachers.
 Value formation through various types of co-curricular activities i.e.,
student participation in school management, social service programmes,
labour Weeks, visits to hospitals, etc.
 Lectures or discourses.
 Creation of an environment of psychological safety and security for the
students in the school.
 Value oriented content in various subjects studied in school.

Classification of Values
Values have been classified in a number of ways and their meanings also vary:

Instrumental Value
A subject is said to have instrumental value when it is pursued, not for its own
sake, but for some ends beyond itself. Instrumental values include preparatory or
introductory, practical or utilitarian, socializing and conventional values.

Preparatory Value
A subject is said to have a preparatory value when it prepares the way for other
studies. Arithmetic prepares the way for Algebra.

Introductory Value
Since a particular study introduces us to a number of subjects, it has an
introductory value. It is identical with the preparatory value. To illustrate we may select
physical Geography which introduces us to a little of Botany, Zoology, Physics and
Chemistry.

Practical or Utilitarian Value

These values lie in a study of subject whose pursuit is individually and directly
useful as it satisfies many wants and needs. The subject is individually and directly
practical when the knowledge of the subject is applied directly by the person himself. A
person may use his knowledge of hygiene to avoid smallpox. The same knowledge can,
however, be used through other agencies, through society, for example. A subject is said
to possess a socializing value when it creates socially desirable habits and reactions, or
when it enables us to understand society in its complexities. The socializing value
includes moral values too. These moral values refer to certain moral habits that society
wants individuals to develop through education.

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Conventional Value
Conventional values implies to a value, which is customarily described and
desirable in a subject. Certain subjects may be studied because their knowledge is
expected of people of a certain class. Their knowledge is indeed, for proper social
enjoyment. In the time of Locke, a gentleman was expected to learn Latin, Greek and
German because they were necessary in that social set up.

Intrinsic Value
Dewey has described these as the appreciative studies. The resulting experiences
in these subjects are worthwhile on their account. The values that occur from their studies
are in the form of pleasures or intellectual joys.

Liberalizing and Sentimental Values

The liberalizing values consist of the pleasure that accompanies intellectual
insight. The sentimental value, on the other hand, refers to pleasure that emerges when
our feelings are exercised. The aesthetics, the comics, the social and the moral situations
may arouse our feelings. Drama, literature, music, painting, sculpture and religion have,
in varying degrees, these values.

Essential Values
These values involve the basic nature of man himself and include elementary
physical skills, basic social skills, ability to use symbols such as language and numbers.

Personal Values
These values make a person good for himself.

Social Values
These values are good for the society and form the basis of relationship of an
individual with other people in society.

Institutional Values
These include values established by institutions.

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Global Values
These values are determined completely outside the schools.
Values may differ from place to place and time to time but values like truth and
love remain constant.

3.6. Influences of Society and Culture on Curriculum

The social and cultural influences that affect curriculum developers are evident in
both conscious and unconscious ways and their impact is certainly profound. Education
manifests through the curriculum and reflects society and culture, that reflection is a
result of curriculum developers being an integral part “of that society and culture in both
of the above ways. In this way the curriculum more “reflects” society and than society
leads to change.
Indirectly society and culture influence curriculum developers simply because
they are members of a particular society, cultural values, attitudes and beliefs are
acquired by individuals unaware of that process, yet, once acquired, these cultural traits
become consolidated and affect our social behaviour. And when the process of
curriculum development takes place, the cultural traits within developers influence the
very selection of objectives, contents, methods and evaluation that constitute the
curriculum they are devising.
Take, for example, a group of primary school teachers, who decide to, enhance
the literacy component of an existing curriculum on completion one could analyze the
result to determine why they undertook the task, what objectives were formulated, what
content was employed, how it was taught and how it was evaluated. In many instances,
when probed deeply enough, the teachers would be unaware of the basis of their
decisions, if story reading were a component of the revised curriculum, what proportion
would be of oral reading? Why? And how would that be assessed? What stories were
selected for students? Why? These are typical of the questions that should be asked of
curriculum developers when they construct curricula, and which reveal indirect
influences of society and culture.
Alternatively, curriculum developers may be well aware of social and cultural
influences and have the deliberate intention in mind (or not) of reproducing aspects of
that culture m the curriculum.

3.7. Culturally Induced Bias and the Curriculum

One particular aspect of the social and cultural influences on the curriculum,
which deserves specific attention, is that of culturally induced bias. As societies
perpetuate themselves through implementing values in the young through institutions
such as schools, it is distinctly probable that some of these values will be culturally
biased. Indeed, these values may be so effectively integrated within schools and society

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that they are perceived not as biased but as accepted components of the very fabric of
society.
It can be argued that until recently the perception of the traditional occupational
role for women was that, of child rearing and domestic duties. A small range of their
typical occupations such as nursing, teaching, secretarial duties and so forth were also
condoned with society. But to imagine, even before 30 years, women lawyers, engineers,
politicians, pilots, judges and senior business executives would have been almost
unthinkable.
Today the former view is perceived largely as ludicrous. But to achieve this
change in values and attitudes many barriers have had to be surmounted, not the least
being pervasively held sex-stereotyped beliefs. These beliefs were so tightly woven into
the fabric of society that they were perceived as natural and essential. In changing these
stereotypes, the school curriculum was seen as an important vehicle in promoting and
consolidating the new values and attitudes.
In fact, it can be seen that social and cultural forces have a profound effect upon
the curriculum in both direct and indirect ways. Curriculum developers whether at
systemic, local or school level within educational enterprise, should not forget that they
are a product of their culture and that every decision that they make will be culturally
related.
Lastly, curriculum developers serve the function of translating traditional ideas,
assumptions, values, knowledge and attitudes into curriculum objectives, contents,
learning activities and evaluation. Of these curriculum elements sociological sources
have their greatest impact on contents.
Thus it is not possible to talk about a culture free curriculum.

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 4. SUMMARY
The word curriculum comes from the Latin work “currere” which means. “to
run”, it is a runway, a course on which one runs to reach a goal.
Curriculum foundations are those forces that influence and shape the minds of
curriculum developers and enhance the content and structure of the subsequent
curriculum. They influence developer's thinking about curriculum.
Three foundations of curriculum are: philosophical foundations, psychological
foundations and sociological foundations.
Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge, the study of realities and
general principles. It concerns with the search of internal truths. Philosophies foundations
give understanding of nature of educational objectives, structure or interrelatedness of
objectives, nature of curriculum activities and the structure of curriculum plan.
Philosophical categories have particular relevance for curriculum development
and “these categories include: Ontology (the nature of reality). Epistemology (the nature
of knowledge) and Axiology (the nature of value).
The word psychology is derived from two Greek words “psyche” (soul) and
“logos” (study). Therefore, psychology is the study of Human behaviour. Psychological
foundations give us an insight into child development and learning and provide various
techniques of inquiry for use in the curriculum area.
The particular areas of information in psychology includes; educational
objectives, studies characteristics, learning processes, teaching methods and evaluation
procedures. .
Knowledge about growth and development of the child has a great bearing as on
what to teach at a given level. The process of human growth, development and nature of
learning have special significance for curriculum development.
The word sociology is derived from Latin word “socins” (society) and “logos”
(study). Sociology is the systematic study of social relationships, social institutions and
society. Sociological foundations deeply influence the school curriculum, its concepts,
content and organization.
Sociological considerations engaged in the task of curriculum development
include: core values of society, changing values of people, demands of modernisation,
criterion of a good family life, democratic temper of the society, new forms of
cooperation, media explosion, population explosion, regional and national imbalance and
economic efficiency.
Curriculum for modernising society includes restructured contents of various
subjects in the light of modern development in science and technology, adopting new
teaching methods and encouraging activities for awakening curiosity, developmental
interests, attitudes, values and essential skills.

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 Culture is a “value loaded” enterprise. It provides the members of the society
with the “goods” and the “bads”, the “beautifuls” and the “uglies”, the “shoulds” and the
“should nots”.
Society and culture are certainly not the same things while, “without a culture
there could be no society and without society there could be no culture”.
Litton has proposed that all elements of culture can be classified into three
principal categories: universals, specialties and alternatives.
Society and culture influence curriculum developer because they are members of
a particular society. When the process of curriculum development takes place, the
cultural traits influence developers in selection of objective, content, methods and
evaluation procedure.
In fact, it can be seen that social and cultural forces have a profound effects upon
curriculum.

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 5. SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
Q. No.1: Define Curriculum?
Q. No.2: Define curriculum foundations?
Q. No.3 : Enlist three terms in which curriculum foundation can be identified. '
Q. No.4: What is the role of curriculum foundations in curriculum development?
Q.No.5: What is the relationship of philosophy and curriculum?
Q.No.6: Write components of philosophical foundations, which give
understanding in curriculum development?
Q. No.7: Enlist philosophical categories that have particular relevance for
curriculum development?
Q. No.8: Differentiate between the old and new concepts of psychology?
Q. No.9: What is the role of psychology in curriculum development?
Q. No.10: How is the growth and development related to psychological foundations
of curriculum?
Q. No.11: How does sociology affect curriculum development?
Q. No.12: Enlist the types of values needed for curriculum?
Q. No.13: How does culture and society influence curriculum?
Q.No.14: What are the culturally induced biases and how do they affect
curriculum?

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 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Print. M. Curriculum Development and Design. 1988. Allen and Unwin ltd..
Australia.
2. Shahid. S.M., Curriculum Development and Instruction (Urdu). 2001, Majeed
Book Depot. Urdu Bazar, Lahore.
3. Shahid. S.M.. Curriculum Development (Urdu) 2000 Majeed Book Depot, Urdu
Bazar. Lahore.
4. Shahid. S.M. Curriculum Development (Urdu), Majeed Book Depot. Urdu Bazar.
Lahore.
5. Taba, H. Curriculum Development; Theory and Practice. 1962. Harcourt Brace
World, America.
6. Wilies. J. & Bondi. J., Curriculum Development; A Guide to Practice, 1993,
McMillan Company. New York.
7. Zais. R.S. Curriculum Principles and Foundations. Crowell, America.
8. Allen, C Dantel, 2007 The Foundation of Education Cougage Learning
Published.
9. John, W & Joseph, C. 2010 Curriculum Development: A guide to practice Printer
Hall, New Jersey.
10. Arend, E. C. 2009 Teacher Empowerment Through Curriculum Development.
Juta & Company, South Africa.

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