Chapter 1-Module 2

Lesson 4 – Foundations of Curriculum Development

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Describe the foundations of curriculum development
 Explain how each foundation influences curriculum development

Take off Activity

Curriculum development, considered to be a new discipline is anchored on a very solid
foundations. Today the significance of curriculum development is widely acknowledged. What
philosophical, historical, psychological and sociological influences inform the current school
curriculum? How do these foundations reflect the development of curriculum in the 21 st
century classrooms and learning environment? Who are the identified curricularists with these
foundations? Let us find out.

Content Focus
Foundations of Curriculum
1. Philosophical Foundations. Every educator must have a philosophy or strong belief
about education and schooling and the kind of curriculum in the classrooms. Philosophy of thr
curriculum answers questions like: What are schools for? What subjects are important? How
should students learn? What methods should be used? What outcomes should be achieved?
Why?
The various activities in school are influenced in one way or another by a philosophy. For
example, John Dewey’s philosophy of pragmatism influenced the use of “learning by doing.”
What are the philosophies that have influenced school curriculum? There are many
philosophies but we will include only those presented by Ornstein and Hunkins (2004)
A. Perennialism
 Aim: To educate the rational person; cultivate intellect
 Role: Teachers assist students to think with reason (emphasis on HOTS)
 Focus: Classical subjects, literary analysis, curriculum is enduring.
 Trends: Use of Great Books (Bible. Koran, Classics) and Liberal Arts (The Trivium
(3) and the Quadrivium (4) of the seven (7) Liberal Arts subjects
B. Essentialism
 Aim: To promote intellectual growth of learners to become competent
 Role: Teachers are sole authorities in the subject area
 Focus: Essential skills of the 3Rs
 Trends Back to basics: Excellence in education, cultural literacy
C. Progressivism
 Aim: Promote democratic social living
 Role: Teacher leads for growth and development of lifelong learners
 Focus: Interdisciplinary subjects, learner-centered Outcome-based
  Trends: Equal opportunities for all, contextualized curriculum, humanistic
education
D. Reconstructionism
 Aim: To improve and reconstruct society; education for change
 Role: Teachers act as agents of change and reforms
 Focus: Present and future educational landscape
 Trends: School curricular reforms, global education, collaboration and
convergence, standards and competencies

2. Historical Foundations
Where is curriculum development coming from? The historical foundations will
show to us the chronological development along a timeline. Reading materials would tell us
that curriculum development started when Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956) wrote the book “The
Curriculum.” From the many, the following have been selected as they are considered to have
great contributions to curriculum development.
A. Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956)
 Started the curriculum development movement
 Curriculum is science that emphasizes students’ needs
 Objectives and activities should be grouped together when tasks are clarified.
B. Weret Charters (1875-1952)
 Like Bobbit, he emphasized that curriculum is a science that emphasizes
students’ needs.
 Objectives and activities should match; subject matter or content relates to
objectives.
C. William Kilpatrick (1871-1965)
 Curricula are purposeful activities which are child-centered.
 The purpose of the curriculum is child development and growth.
 He introduced the project method where teacher and students plan activities.
 Curriculum develops social relationships and small group instruction.
D. Harold Rugg (1886-1960)
 Curriculum should develop the whole child- It is child-centered.
 With the statement of objectives and related activities, curriculum should
produce outcomes.
 Emphasized social studies and suggested that the teacher plans curriculum in
advance.
E. Hollis Caswell (1901-1989)
 Curriculum is organized around social functions of themes, organized knowledge
and learner’s interest.
 Curriculum, instruction and earning are interrelated.
 Curriculum is a set of experiences. Subject matter is developed around social
functions and learners’ interests.
F. Ralph Tyler (1902-1994)
 Curriculum is a science and an extension of school philosophy. It is based on
students’ needs and interests.
 Curriculum (what/content) is always related to instruction (the
method/strategies of teaching). Subject matter is organized I terms of KSAV
(Cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains).
 The process emphasizes problem solving. Curriculum aims to educate
generalists and not specialists.
G. Hilda Taba (1902-1967)
 She ontributed to the theoretical and pedagogical foundations of concept
development and critical thinking in social studies.
 She helped lay the foundation for diverse student population (diversity in the
classroom)
H. Peter Oliva (1992-2012)
 He described how curriculum change is a cooperative process.
 Teachers and curriculum specialists constitute the professional core of planners.
 Significant improvement is achieved through group activity.

3. Psychological Foundations
Psychology provides a basis for understanding the teaching- learning process. Questions
which could be addressed by psychological foundations of education are: How should
curriculum be organized to enhance learning? What is the optimal level of student
participation in learning the various contents of the curriculum? In this module we shall
consider three groups of learning theories: behaviorism or association theories, cognitive-
information processing theories and humanistic theories.
Let us review some theories in learning related to these cluster of theories.
A. Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
 He is the father of Classical Conditioning Theory (S-R Theory)
 The key to learning in early years of life is to train children what you want them
to become.
 S-R Theory is the foundation of learning called indoctrination.
B. Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)
 He championed the Connectionism Theory: Specific stimulus has a specific
response.
 He proposed the three laws of learning: Law of Readiness, Law of Exercise, Law
of Effect.
C. Robert Gagne (1916-2002)
 Proposed the Hierarchical Learning Theory
 Behavior is based on prerequisite condition
 Introduced tasking in the formulation of objectives.
D. Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
  Individuals undergo four stages of cognitive development from birth to maturity:
Sensorimotor stage (0-2), preoperational stage (2-7),concrete operations stage
(7-11), formal operations (11-onwards)
 Keys to learning: assimilation (incorporation of new experience),
accommodation (learning modification and adaptation), equilibration (balance
between previous and later learning)
E. Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)
 Cultural transmission and development. Children could, as a result of their
interaction with society, actually perform certain cognitive actions prior to
arriving at developmental stage.
 Learning precedes development
 Socio-cultural theory
 Keys to learning: Pedagogy creates learning processes that lead to development
and the child is an active agent in his or her educational process.
F. Howard Gardner(
 Humans have different ways of processing information and these ways are
relatively independent of one another.
 There are nine intelligences: linguistic, logico-mathematical, musical/ spatial,
bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic and existential.
G. Daniel Goleman
 Emotion contains the power to affect action. He called this Emotional Quotient
(EQ)
H. Gestalt
 Learning is explained in terms of wholesomeness of the problem.
 Human beings do not respond to isolated stimuli but to an organization or
pattern of stimuli.
 Keys to learning: Learning is complex and abstract, learners analyze the
problem, discriminate between essential and nonessential data, and perceive
relationships, learners will perceive something in relation to the whole and what
and how they perceive is related to their previous experience.
I. Abraham Maslow (1908-1979) are highly individualistic infleune their lean
 Advanced the Self-Actualization Theory and Classic Theory of Human Needs
 A child whose basic needs are not met will not be interested in acquiring
knowledge of the world.
 He put importance to human emotions based on love and trust.
 Key to learning: Produce a healthy and happy learner who can accomplish, grow
and actualize his/her human self.
J. Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
 Non-directive and therapeutic learning: he established counselling procedures
and methods for facilitating learning; children’s perceptions which are highly
individualistic influence their behavior in class.
  Key to learning: Curriculum is concerned with process, not product; personal
needs, not subject matter, psychological meaning, not cognitive scores.

Social Foundations of Curriculum

The school and society are interrelated. Society is a source of change and schools and
knowledge are agents of change. There are two famous educators who emphasized this
interrelationships
A. John Dewey (1859-1952)
 Considered two major fundamental elements—school and civil society—to be
major topics needing attention and reconstruction to encourage experimental
intelligence and plurality.
B. Alvin Toffler (1928-2016)
 Wrote the book Future Shock
 Believed that knowledge should prepare students for the future.
 Suggested that in the future, parents might have the resources to teach
prescribed curriculum from home as a result of technology (home schooling).—
We are in it now.
In summary, curriculum is anchored on educational philosophies, historical
developments, psychological explanations and societal influences.

End of Lesson Activity: To be given later.