PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Opinion of Author
The purpose of this article is to discuss the principles of curriculum development. In addition,
if you research curriculum development and learn the importance of the principles of
curriculum development, this article is useful for you. This topic falls under the study of
pedagogy in a variety of subjects and subject knowledge and curriculum. It describes the
curriculum development process and systematically organizes what will be taught, to whom it
will be taught, and how it will be taught, and which components affect and interact with the
others.
Curriculum, to me, is at the center of whatever educational process we pursue, because
curriculum design involves many aspects of transaction and development. In addition to this,
I emphasize the personal and social needs of learners in the content. In the curriculum I
explain, there are numerous foundations of education related to the nature of knowledge, to
theories of knowledge, and to values education. The reader should have a better idea of
different types of curriculum after reading this article, and should be able to make a better
decision about how to teach.

Introduction
Today, traditional learning resources are rapidly being replaced by fast-developing
technology, which has impacted curriculum development in many ways. B.F. Skinner
considers the curriculum to be an outline of behaviouristic goals, as well as a treatment of
learners, and an arrangement of employees and procedures for implementing the approach.
Thus, the curriculum has a very broad scope. The curriculum covers all aspects of pupils
lives, including their needs and interests, a climate that is educationally conducive to them,
ways of handling their learning interests and warming them up, the procedures and
approaches they use to learn effectively, their social competence and how they fit into
society.

The term curriculum development is the most comprehensive and every planner should be
familiar with it since it includes planning, implementing, and evaluating the curriculum. The
main purpose of curriculum development is to facilitate teaching-learning in any situation. In
an educational program, core curriculum refers to subjects or subject areas that are required
for all students. So the implementation of a comprehensive curriculum, both students and
teachers should know what is expected of them, what is the beginning and the end of a
specific topic. When developing a curriculum, it should be in direct relation to the expected
learning outcomes of students.

Basic principles of curriculum planning

Curriculum designers and educators have carefully analyzed the learning contents to
determine how they should be arranged. Their planning is all about bringing the context of
the future into the present. It helps educators to become more proficient at planning curricula.
A variety of approaches to the curriculum they are being offered. Educators define
curriculum differently depending on the requirements of the learning context.
According to the different conceptions of education, the functions of the school, and the types
of school products, the definitions are different. The curriculum is defined differently by
educators, partly due to their different perceptions of what curriculum should be. An
important aspect of prudential learning policy is the provision of affordable learning
opportunities to all students. The following are a few basic principles to keep in mind when
planning a course curriculum.

1. There are many groups involved in the curriculum planning process;

2. There are many levels of curriculum planning;
3. It is a continuous process for some content to plan the curriculum;
4. Learning experiences are central to curriculum planning;
5. It involves both decisions about content and processes when planning a curriculum;
6. Curriculum planning involves making decisions about many issues and topics;

Observation and experience allow the students to follow the simple-to-complex flow, thus
ensuring a greater impact on the delivery of the lesson. The practical orientation of
curriculum is to see it as a set of performance objectives or student learning. It focuses on
specific skills or knowledge that learners are expected to possess. The curriculum is an
instructional guide used for guiding the teaching and learning of the instructional process in
order to change learner behavior in a positive and desirable direction. The curriculum
planning helps develop well-coordinated, quality teaching, learning, and assessment
programs that develop student knowledge, skills, and behaviors across disciplines as well as
interdisciplinary, physical, social, and emotional capacities. So, curriculum should be tailored
to the pupil's needs, interests, abilities, aptitudes, attitudes, and capabilities.
Need and Importance of Curriculum
Curriculum is important because of the need for education. To achieve the objectives set by
the curriculum, teachers use the curriculum as a guide to conduct teaching and learning
activities. It is natural that the curriculum will reflect educational trends. Students learn how
to develop desirable behavior patterns through a wholesome school program.

Teachers design the curriculum around the interests and needs of the students. Although, no
matter what subject matter lines are down for the solution of the problems, the core
curriculum deals with persistent and recurring problems of youth and society. The need for
curriculum development can be categorized as follows:

1. Accomplishment of educational goals;

2. Delivering whole-hearted learning influence;
3. Choosing the most appropriate planning methods;
4. Indicators of education trends;
5. Achieving appropriate knowledge;
6. Providing appropriate experiences and activities;
7. Criteria for selecting an appropriate teaching-learning guide;

After teaching and learning, the curriculum clarifies any confusion of learners and indicates
the means of evaluating whether the intended goals have been achieved. Additionally, the
school system believes that social and cultural aspects of the school education are important,
as well as cognitive development, giving importance to a second curriculum that includes
social and cultural elements rather than a formal curriculum.

Teachers will have a crucial role in implementing the new curriculum since they will be
playing a crucial role. Furthermore, their teacher competency and skills should be improved
to keep up with the new curricula. The curriculum not only ensures consistency in content
and level but also allows for individualized learning activities by constantly incorporating
learners' experiences.

Foundations of Curriculum
It is important for curriculum design to reflect each learner's perceptions, value system, and
knowledge, and to be holistic and inclusive as well. There is a variety of curricula that aims
range from the very general to the very specific. This is why it calls them aims, goals, and
objectives. NCERT has developed the National Curriculum Framework as part of India's
curriculum reforms. Philosophical, sociological, and psychological perspectives are usually
used in determining the foundations of curriculums because education seeks to achieve self-
realization and values from a philosophical perspective.

The basis of education is a learning field that derives its character and methods from a
number of academic disciplines, combinations of disciplines, and area studies. The purpose
of education, from a sociological perspective, is to perpetuate cultural heritage, create a social
order which is in accordance with cultural heritage, and meet people's needs. Consequently,
the curriculum can be described as a plan to achieve learning goals, and that plan needs to
encompass curriculum foundations. The curriculum is formed on the basis of addressing
educational issues in the context of an inter-disciplinary undertaking.

1. Philosophical foundation of curriculum;

2. Psychological foundation of curriculum; and
3. Sociological foundations of curriculum;

Curricular foundations define the external boundaries of curriculum knowledge and specify
which sources constitute valid sources of the field's theories, principles, and ideas. The
purpose of curriculum foundations is to deliver educational outcomes but both curriculum
construction and implementation are equally important. Experts should keep implementation
in mind whenever developing a curriculum. They should be aware of the conditions of the
schools and what resources and time they have available.
As a result, when constructing a curriculum, there should be consideration of children's
interests, needs, capacities, abilities, ages, and levels of intelligence. Curriculum also refers to
a formal document or plan to define the work of a school or system of schools by identifying
the content to be taught to students and the methods to be used. Moreover, a strong early
learning is the key to helping children adapt and thrive in the future because completing the
set curriculum and content is not enough to fully discover a child's capabilities.

Curriculum framework
A curriculum framework specifies the educational aims and educational needs of individual
children as well as society to determine the types of learning experiences children should
have in school. All children develop at their own pace and in their own way and they connect
their learning with previous experiences in order to construct new knowledge and
understandings. The curriculum framework caters to the previous experiences of children
with ability, with the developmentally-oriented approach. This plan should include
foundational assumptions and the basis of the experience choices. Because frameworks for
curriculum are important tools in ensuring that a curriculum system is consistent and quality.

The plan should be framed in a way that allows individuals to express themselves and
develop, and it should be functional rather than ornamental. The curriculum must include
more than just subjects that prepare students for other skills as well. Therefore, technical and
vocational education should be a part of the curriculum in order to provide practical benefits
for students. There are many more things to a curriculum than a syllabus since a syllabus
normally details the content that will be taught. On the other hand, the curriculum is dynamic
and comprises all of the learning experiences available for students. Every student in a school
should be able to access the curriculum. It means providing all students, no matter the
educational setting, with access to a wide range of knowledge, skills, and values. These
factors must be taken into account when developing a curriculum.

Principle of Curriculum Construction

Curricula have many definitions, but they are intended to be a plan of educational
experiences and activities offered by an educational institution to its learners. The school or
college is responsible for setting up the curriculum. Different types of curriculum are
available depending on the requirements of the course but the primary function of education
is to preserve learning skills and transmit cultural knowledge. Human progress relies on it,
but learning also includes traditions, attitudes, skills, conduct values, and knowledge.
However, the curriculum frames should consider this educational value and pupil
development when selecting the learning culture elements. There are certain principles that
every curriculum must follow. Following are some of the academic principles used to
determine the content of the curriculum:

1. Academic and literacy subjects should be included in the curriculum;

2. Curriculum principles should be centered around the needs of the child;
3. Curriculum coursework should be based on real-life experiences;
4. Curriculum that develops the abilities of children's creativity;
 5. Cultural values and civilization should be included in the curriculum;
6. Children should be taught social and moral qualities through their curriculum;
7. The curriculum should include topics that are relevant to both today and tomorrow;
8. The curriculum should be flexible and allow for individual differences and
adaptations;
9. A child should gain experiences from the curriculum by making it so interesting;

Curriculum construction is not a common term when it comes to education, since its use
requires a careful understanding of the mission to be employed, as well as the long-term aims
of teaching and learning. To achieve this, it will require systematic and sequential planning in
keeping with the integration of constructive principles. There are various principles to
consider in curriculum construction, based on various religions and individual conditions. To
achieve the objectives of education, all considerations should be considered. Since education
not only conserves human experiences, but it also allows an individual to discover his or her
potential.

Types of curriculum designs

Curriculum development is deeply rooted in philosophy and helps educators formulate
beliefs, arguments, and assumptions as well as make value judgments based on philosophy.
There are a few terms in the field of curriculum that are essential for us to understand. As part
of the curriculum development process, it is necessary to describe the community where
learning will occur. Different curricularists adopt various methods of organizing the
curriculum by emphasizing a particular idea or aspect as the focus.

The various supporters of curriculum approaches may focus on specific goals associated with
their own orientations, but they would all agree that the early childhood educator must be
concerned with supporting children's physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development.
As part of a supported curriculum, students are provided additional tools, resources, and
opportunities outside the classroom and curriculum design for educational institutions comes
in a variety of forms.

1. Subject centered designs;

2. Learner centered designs;
3. Problem centered designs;
 4. Integrated curriculum designs; and
5. Core curriculum designs;

It is important for teachers to design every curriculum with a specific educational purpose in
mind and, curriculum design can also serve other purposes. The instructional program should
reflect the course offerings to meet the requirements. It should include the courses of study
that encompass the course outline and provide an overview of the knowledge to be taught. It
should encompass all the experiences that are provided under the guidance of the school.

Moreover, children learn best when their preconceptions are engaged and the curriculum can
be evaluated based on how well it builds upon children's ideas. Ultimately, curriculum
planning describes what students can learn. In order to provide high-quality education, the
curriculum must provide a measurable plan and structure. Understanding why certain subjects
are taught helps students feel reassured they are on the right path to reaching their goals and
honing desired skills and may motivate them to study more.

Teacher’s involvement in curriculum development

The curriculum is the most effective method to develop students' overall abilities and teachers
are the interface between the curriculum and students. They are familiar with the different
needs of students and educational institutions. Teacher involvement in curriculum
implementation is undoubtedly the most critical component because to develop a curriculum,
teachers use their knowledge, skills, and experiences. It is better to have better teachers since
they are the most knowledgeable about teaching practice and are primarily responsible for
introducing the curriculum. Without the guidance of a curriculum, teachers cannot ensure that
they have provided the necessary knowledge or provided the opportunity for students to
succeed at a higher level. The curriculum is a document, plan, or blueprint for instructional
guidance, which is used for teaching and learning to change a learner's behavior.

Ideally, a well-planned curriculum will reflect the learning ability of the child for which it is
designed. This allows teachers to better understand how learners think. They also know what
teaching methods to apply. Consequently, teachers possess skills such as planners, designers,
managers, evaluators, researchers, decision-makers, and administrators. Their roles are
different for every step of the curriculum development process. Curriculum development
involves teachers, so teachers ought to be provided with appropriate knowledge and skills for
them to contribute effectively to the operation of curriculum development. The truth is that
no curriculum is perfect, that no finished product is infallible, or that it is free from criticism,
but to be effective it needs to be accepted by teachers, and also likely to be deemed useful
educationally.

Difference progressive of design and development curriculum

To prepare children and society at large for the future, educational systems have a
responsibility. That is why standards-based curriculums are crucial. The process of
curriculum planning involves analyzing philosophy, social forces, needs, goals, objectives,
knowledge and human development, learning process & instruction, and making decisions.

The curriculum is largely concerned with the content of the curriculum and how it is
presented so that it can be understood and implemented successfully by students and teachers.
Therefore, curriculum components can refer to how they have been arranged in order to
facilitate learning. As a result, curriculum progressive design refers to the structure of a
curriculum, whereas curriculum progressive development describes the planning,
implementation, and evaluation of a curriculum. Here is a brief explanation of both
curriculum design and curriculum development.

1. In Progressive of design
It is an approach to learning and teaching that is based on critical thinking. The goal of this
process is to make broad statements of intent into specific plans and actions. The design of a
curriculum goes far beyond the learning materials. Aligning learning strategies, materials,
and experiences to defined outcomes is the primary purpose of curriculum design. Practically,
Curriculum design is a complex process that can take many different forms. Furthermore,
curriculum design is shifting more towards a holistic view of learning environments.

All curriculums are designed with specific educational objectives in mind. After that, the
development of learning strategies that help the intended learners reach their desired
outcomes becomes essential. Taxonomies like Bloom's offer a framework for organizing
different types of learning outcomes and determining which approaches are appropriate for
each level of learning. The process of designing a curriculum is an important skill for
emerging education and learning professionals, and it will continue to be an exciting and
innovative practice for many years to come.
2. In Progressive of development
At each stage of curriculum development, teachers are required to act and reflect on the
needs. In order to create positive changes in the educational system, it is required a
systematic, purposeful, and progressive process. Every educator knows the theory and
philosophy behind the curriculum. The process of developing a curriculum is critical for
meeting the needs of learners and the creation and improvement of classroom courses are also
multi-step processes. By coordinating and composing content, textbooks, and martial jointly
and effectively, teachers can contribute to curricula development. It is important for teachers
to be involved in the curriculum development process so that it aligns with students' needs in
the classroom. Curriculum development should ideally be a process of continuous
improvement instead of one that is linear or stagnant. As such, plans for instruction should be
regularly reviewed, revised, and updated to reflect new or unforeseen circumstances.

Challenges in curriculum development

Curriculum materials including textbooks are increasingly viewed as a powerful lever for
reforming education. But when it comes to curriculum development, educators face several
challenges. In designing curriculum for learners, standards have fallen because of a lack of
academic skills. Teachers need to know what all stakeholders in education need. In order to
increase the engagement of all students, they must be prepared in an appropriate way. In
general, curriculum designs provide instructional suggestions, scripts, lesson plans, and
assessment options related to a set of learning objectives and these designs emphasize
consistency for the benefit of teachers. Likewise, implementing and maintaining a curricular
structure that meets learners' needs.

Schools are required to prepare students for these challenges, which will enhance their ability
to interact in a more diverse learning environment and collaborate in a more diverse teaching
environment. This is the most challenging event in every educator's life: the implementation
of new curricula because teachers' concerns sometimes decide what should be added or
omitted. In addition, changing a curriculum can have the opposite effect. Curriculum and
instruction are also affected by frequent changes in educational policy. During the curriculum
implementation process, the teacher is actively involved in daily classroom activities that
evaluate student progress and monitor their performance. As a result, they are responsible for
implementing the newly introduced curriculum and determining whether or not it improves
student learning. It is impossible to establish effective curriculum reforms without teachers.
Conclusion
To gain competence, a person must have a clear understanding of concepts as well as the
acquisition of skill and knowledge. The majority of learning today is functional or
informational, oriented towards socialization and vocational goals, which do not take
sustainability into account. It is the curriculum that effectively develops students' overall
abilities, and teachers are the interface between the curriculum and the students. Many
curriculums were modified by the National Policy on Education. There have been a lot of
changes in curriculum development since then, calling for a revision in education policy.

A lot of changes were made to the curriculum at various stages. There was an emphasis
placed on enriching the curricula and education process with cultural, subject material in a
variety of forms as possible. Their belief was that curriculum is a runway for achieving
educational goals. They saw it as a blueprint for educational programs. In this article, all have
mentioned that every curriculum component is based on current information, not information
from the past that has been proven false or is not useful. In order for a student to advance in
the curriculum, he or she must master certain skills and knowledge. It's important for teachers
to ensure they have covered all the requirements in their curriculum.

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Author By
Mrs. Bidyapati .K
(B.Sc : Botany, MA : Public Administration,
B.Ed : Biological Science)