Unit 2

UNIT 2 FOUNDATIONS OF
CURRICULUM
Structure
2.1 Objectives
2.0 Introduction
2.2 Philosophical Foundations
2.2.1 Education and Philosophy
2.2.2 Philosophy and Curriculum
2.2.3 Educational Philosophies
2.3 Sociological Foundations
2.3.1 Society and Education
2.3.2 Social Change and Curriculum
2.3.3 Planning for Curricular Change
2.4 Psychological Foundations
2.4.1 Learning Theories and Curriculum
2.4.2 Basic Human Needs and Nurriculum
2.5 Trends in Curriculum Development
2.5.1 Twentieth Century Curriculum
2.5.2 Possible Future Trends
2.5.3 Curriculum for ICT in Education
2.6 Let us Sum Up
2.7 Answers to Check Your Progress
2.0 OBJECTIVES
After completing this Unit, you should be able to:
l describe various philosophies and their implications for the eld of
curriculum;
l identify philosophical issues that need to be considered in framing a
curriculum;
l describe the importance of sociology for the eld of curriculum;
l explain various social and historical trends/issues that inuence curriculum
formulation;
l describe the importance of psychology—basic behaviours and needs—in the
eld of curriculum; and
l identify particular contemporary issues that should be considered while
framing a curriculum.
Having set out our objectives, let us now involve ourselves in a discussion of the
topics under consideration.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Having read about curriculum theory, its developments, transactions and future
directions for curriculum in Unit 1, we shall now deal with the foundations of
curriculum. When we develop a curriculum, we depend primarily on ideas that 33
The Field of Curriculum stem from three major elds: philosophy, sociology (with historical overtones)
and psychology. An understanding of these elds is crucial to the study of
curriculum since they have traditionally been and still are considered its
foundations.
Philosophy involves an inquiry into the nature and meaning of life including
ideas about the nature of human beings, social values and purpose of education.
One’s perception of Philosophy largely inuences one’s view of learners and of
various learning activities. A study of sociology provides, among other things,
necessary clues about the characteristics of contemporary life and the future
in which the learners will lead the rest of their lives. These clues help to make
a curriculum socially relevant. Psychology provides an indispensable base for
identifying the types of curricular arrangement that will most benet the learner’s
growth and development.
In this Unit, we read about curriculum foundations in general which may be
applied in the context of distance education wherever needed.
2.2 PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS

Philosophy
The word “philosophy” is derived from the Greek words ‘philos (loving) and
Sophia (wisdom) and means, ‘love for wisdom/knowledge’. Philosophy means
‘fundamental belief and conviction. Every one knowingly or un-knowingly has
a philosophy of life, whether, he/she may be aware of it or not. Philosophy is a
professional activity. Ex. Socrates philosophy is a personnel attitude towards life
and the universe. Philosophy is a way of thinking, reecting and inquiry about
thing/issues before us. Philosophy is an attempt to gain a view of the whole.
Philosophy is a logical analysis of language and classication of meaning. It is a
group of problems as well as theories about the solutions of the problems.
The main divisions of the philosophy is:
Metaphysics is the record of explanations of the human mind in to the ultimate
nature of man and the world. The results of an attempt to answer the question
‘what is really real’. Metaphysics is essentially a venture of speculation.
Epistemology is nature of the knowledge or knowledge of every thing from a
particular point of view).
The tasks of philosophy
1) Speculation
2) Descriptions and analysis
3) Presentation
Based upon fundamental beliefs that arise from one’s philosophy of education
curricular decisions involve consideration of several topics and issues.
Precisely for this reason, we consider philosophy one of the major foundation
areas in curriculum. In this section, we shall explore several different
philosophies of education that inuence curricular decisions.
2.2.1 Education and Philosophy

Education and philosophy are both interrelated discipline one may agree
or disagree all the thinking processes are bound to have philosophical
roots, Identifying the nature of thought is important for an educationalist.
Philosophy of education can be considered as of both sides of the same
coin. The multiple ways of conceiving education coupled with the multiple
34
elds and approaches of philosophy make philosophy of education not easily Foundations of Curriculum
dened. Although there is overlap, philosophy of education should not be
complementary with educational theory, which is need not dened specically
by the application of philosophy to questions in education.
Epistemology (from Greek – episteme- “knowledge, science” +, “logos or
theory of knowledge) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature
and scope (limitations) of knowledge. Much of the debate in this eld has
focused on analyzing the nature of knowledge and how it relates to similar
notions such as truth, belief and justication. It also deals with the means of
production of knowledge, as well as skepticism about different knowledge
claims.
2.2.2 Philosophy and Curriculum

Studying philosophy helps us deal with our own personal systems of beliefs
and values, i.e., the way we perceive the world around us and how we dene
what is important to us. As philosophical issues have always inuenced
society and institutions of learning, a study of the philosophy of education
in terms of curriculum development is essential. In essence, a philosophy
of education inuences, and to a large extent determines, our educational
decisions and alternatives. Those who are responsible for curricular decisions,
therefore, should be clear about what they believe. If we are unclear or
confused about our own beliefs, then our curricular plans are bound to
be unclear and confusing. One important step in developing a personal
philosophy of education is to understand the various alternatives that others
have developed over the years. Here we shall look into the following four
major philosophical positions that have, hitherto, inuenced curriculum
development:
i) Idealism
ii) Realism
iii) Pragmatism
iv) Existentialism
i) Idealism
The doctrine of idealism suggests that matter is an illusion and that reality is
that which exists mentally. It emphasises moral and spiritual reality as the chief
explanation of the world and considers moral values absolute, timeless and
universal.
If we apply this view to education, what would be the implications for the role of
teachers and curriculum in education?
Obviously, teachers would act as role models of enduring values. And the
school must be highly structured and ought to advocate only those ideas that
demonstrate enduring values. The materials used for instruction, therefore, would
centre around broad ideas particularly those contained in great works of literature
and/or scriptures. Since it is based on broad ideas and concepts, idealism is not
in line with the beliefs of those who equate learning with acquisition of specic
facts from various disciplines.
ii) Realism
Proponents of realism view the world in terms of objects and matter. They
believe that human behaviour is rational when it conforms to the laws of nature
and is governed by social laws.
Applied to education, these ideas begin to reveal a second possible philosophy of
35
education.
The Field of Curriculum What kind of philosophy will that be?
‘Realists’ consider education a matter of reality rather than speculation.
The paramount responsibility of the teacher, then, is to impart to learners the
knowledge about the world they live in. What scholars of various disciplines
have discovered about the world constitutes this knowledge. However, like
the idealists, the realists too stress that education should reect permanent and
enduring values that have been handed down through generations, but only to the
extent that they do not interfere with the study of particular disciplines. Clearly,
unlike the idealists who consider classics ideal subject matter for studies, the
realists view the subject expert as the source and authority for determining the
curriculum.
iii) Pragmatism
In contrast to the traditional philosophies, i.e., idealism and realism, pragmatism
gives importance to change, processes and relativity, as it suggests that the value
of an idea lies in its actual consequences. The actual consequences are related to
those aims that focus on practical aspects in teaching and learning (Nash, 1995).
According to pragmatists, learning occurs as the person engages in transacting
with the environment. Basic to this interaction is the nature of change. In this
sense, whatever values and ideas are upheld currently would be considered
tentative since further social development must rene or change them. For
instance, at a particular period of time it was generally believed that the earth
was at which was subsequently disproved through scientic research.
To consider, therefore, what is changeless (idealism) and inherited the perceived
universe (realism) and to discard social and/or perceptual change is detrimental to
the overall development and growth of children.
You can now visualise how pragmatism would have inuenced the framing of
curriculum.
Curriculum, according to the pragmatists, should be so planned that it teaches
the learner how to think critically rather than what to think. Teaching should,
therefore, be more exploratory in nature than explanatory. Learning takes place
in an active way as learners solve problems which help them widen the horizons
of their knowledge and reconstruct their experiences in consonance with the
changing world.
What then might be the role of the teacher?
The role is not simply to disseminate information but to construct situations that
involve both direct experience with the world of the learner and opportunities to
understand these experiences.
Before we proceed further let us stop here to work out an exercise.
Check Your Progress 1
Notes: a) Space is given below for your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this Unit.
‘Idealism’ and ‘realism’ emphasize values and subject matter, respectively. What
does ‘pragmatism’ emphasize?
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
36
Foundations of Curriculum
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
Having seen three basic philosophical positions that have inuenced curriculum
development, let us now look at the fourth one.
iv) Existentialism
This doctrine emphasizes that there are no values outside human beings, and thus,
suggests that human beings should have the freedom to make choices and then be
responsible for the consequences of those choices.
According to this philosophy, learners should be put into a number of choice-
making situations, i.e., learners should be given freedom to choose what to study.
It emphasizes that education must centre on the perceptions and feelings of the
individual in order to facilitate understanding of personal reactions or responses
to life situations. Of primary concern in this process is the individual. Since
life is based upon personal meanings, the nature of education, the existentialists
would argue, should be largely determined by the learner. Individual learners
should not be forced into pre-determined programmes of study.
Whatever the learner feels he/she must learn should be respected and facilitated
by the system.
An existentialist curriculum, therefore, would consist of experiences and subjects
that lend themselves to philosophical dialogue and acts of making choices,
stressing self-expressive activities, experimentation and media that illustrate
emotions and insights. The teacher, then, takes on a non directive role. The
tender is viewed as a partner in the process of learning. As a professional, the
teacher serves as a resource facilitating the individual’s search for personal
meaning rather than imposing some predetermined values or interests on learners.
Existentialism has gained greater popularity in recent years. Today, many
educationists talk about focusing on the individual, promoting diversity in the
curriculum and emphasizing the personal needs and interests of learners. Here,
perhaps, we can recall the philosophy that underlies the open distance education
system. Learner-autonomy, which the existentialists seem to suggest, has been
and remains the prime characteristic feature of the distance mode of teaching-
learning.
Because of the explosion in knowledge and tremendous growth in information
technology, the curriculum of the past seems to be obsolete. To plug the gap
between the needs of the learner, the society and the curriculum content,
rethinking in the area of curriculum development appears to be unavoidable.
What might have been relevant in a particular situation need not necessarily
always be so. In essence, social changes demand changes in the existing pattern
of education. The inherent potentiality of the system of distance education
enables it to accommodate and cater to these changes.
37
The Field of Curriculum It should be clear from the above discussion that by and large, in operational
terms, both pragmatism and existentialism nd ample expression in open distance
education.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this Unit.
How tenable is the Existentialist view of curriculum as far as learning/teaching
at the school-level is concerned?
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
Each of the four major philosophies just described begins with a particular
view of human nature and of values and truths, and then proceeds to suggest
what such a view implies for curriculum development. Before we conclude
our discussion on the philosophical foundations of curriculum, we should
make note of a few educational philosophies in order to reinforce what has
been said so far.
2.2.3 Educational Philosophies

Although aspects of educational philosophy can be derived from the roots of
idealism, realism, pragmatism and existentialism, a common approach is to
provide a pattern of educational philosophies which derives from the major
schools of philosophy some of which have been touched upon above. Here,
we shall be looking into the following four educational philosophies for their
implications in the area of curriculum development:
i) Perennialism
ii) Progressivism
iii) Essentialism, and
iv) Reconstructionism.
Let us discuss each one of these in this very order.
i) Perennialism
It advocates the permanency of knowledge that has stood the test of time and
values that have moral and spiritual bases. The underlying idea is that education
is constant, absolute and universal. Obviously, “perennialism” in education is
born of “idealism” in general philosophy. The curriculum of the perennialist is
subject-centered. It draws heavily on dened disciplines or logically organised
bodies of content, but it emphasizes eaching/learning of languages, literature,
sciences and arts.
The teacher is viewed as an authority in a particular discipline and teaching is
38 considered an art of imparting information/knowledge and stimulating discussion.
In such a scheme of things, students are regarded immature as they lack the Foundations of Curriculum
judgement required to determine what should be studied, and also that their
interests demand little attention as far as curriculum development is concerned.
There is usually only one common curriculum for all students with little room for
elective subjects. According to this point of view putting some students through
an academic curriculum and others through a vocational curriculum is to deny the
latter genuine equality of educational opportunity.
Such views appeal to those educators who stress intellectual meritocracy.
Their emphasis is on testing students, enforcing tougher academic standards/
programmes, and on identifying and encouraging talented students.
ii) Progressivism
This emerged as a protest against perennialist thinking in education. It was
considered a contemporary reformist movement in educational, social and
political affairs during the 1920’s and 30’s.
According to progressivist thought, the skills and tools of learning include
problem solving methods and scientic inquiry. In addition, learning experiences
should include cooperative behaviour and self-discipline, both of which are
important for democratic living. The curriculum, thus, was interdisciplinary in
nature and the teacher was seen as a guide for students in their problem-solving
and scientic projects.
Although the progressive movement in education encompassed many different
theories and practices, it was united in its oppositions to the following traditional
attributes and practices:
l the authoritarian teacher;
l excessive dependence on textbook methods;
l memorization of factual data and learning by excessive drilling;
l static aims and materials that reject the notion of a changing world; and
l attempts to isolate education from individual experiences and social reality.
Although the major thrust of progressive education waned in the 1950’s with
the advent of “essentialism”, the philosophy has left its imprint on education
and educational practices of today. Contemporary progressivism is expressed
in several movements including those for a socially relevant curriculum, i.e., a
match between subjects taught and student needs which is one of the theoretical
bases of distance education.
iii) Essentialism
This philosophy, rooted partly in idealism and partly in realism, evolved
mainly as a critique of progressive thought in education. Yet, the proponents
of essentialism do not totally reject progressive methods as they do believe
that education should prepare the learner to adjust to a changing society. Thus,
in essentialism learning should consist in mastering the subject matter that
reects currently available knowledge in various disciplines. Teachers play a
highly directive role by disseminating information to students. According to
this viewpoint, the main arms of the institution (be it a school or a college) get
sidetracked, when, at the expense of cognitive needs, it attempts to pay greater
attention to the social and psychological problems of students.
In recent years, the essentialist position has been stated vociferously by critics
who claim that educational standards softened during the 1960s and early 1970s. 39
The Field of Curriculum The most notable achievements of the essentialists have been the widespread
implementation of competency based programmes, the establishment of grade-
level achievement standards, and the movement to reemphasize academic subjects
in schools/colleges. In many ways, the ideas of essentialism lie behind attacks
on the quality of education by the media and by local pressure groups, which
includes, to a good extent, attaces on distance education.
iv) Reconstructionism
It views education as a means of reconstructing society. The Reconstructionists
believe that as school/college is attended by virtually all youth, it must be used as
a means to shape the attitudes and values of each generation. As a result, when
the youth become adults they will share certain common values, and thus the
society will have reshaped itself.
As for the curriculum, it must promote new social, economic and political
education. The subject matter is to be used as a vehicle for studying social
problems which must serve as the focus of the curriculum.
The following gives you a view of the Reconstructions in the programme of
education:
l critical examination of the cultural heritage of a society as well as the entire
civilization;
l scrutiny of controversial issues;
l commitment to bring about social and constructive change;
l cultivation of a planning-in-advance attitude that considers the realities of the
world we live in; and
l enhancement of cultural renewal and internationalism.
Stemming from this view, reconstruction expands the eld of curriculum to
include intuitive, personal, mystical, linguistic, political and social systems of
theorizing. In general, the curriculum advocated by reconstructionists emphasizes
the social sciences—history, political science, economics, sociology, psychology
and philosophy—and not the pure sciences. The thrust is on developing
individual self-realization and freedom through cognitive and intellectual
activities, and thus, on liberating people from the restrictions, limitations and
controls of society. The idea is that we have had enough of discipline based
education and narrow specialization, and that we don’t need more specialists now,
we need more “good” people if we want to survive. Before we proceed further,
let us ask ourselves a question.
What insights do we gain from the discussion on the philosophical foundations of
curriculum?
Ideas about curriculum and teaching do not arise in a vacuum. As curriculum
development is heavily inuenced by philosophy, those involved in such planning
should be clear about contemporary, dominant philosophy. If we are unclear
about our philosophy of education, our curriculum plans and teaching procedures
will tend to be inconsistent and confused. This being so, we should be aware of
the fact that development and awareness of a personal philosophy of education
is a crucial professional responsibility. Further, we need to be constantly open
to new ideas and insights that may lead to a revision or renement of our
philosophies. Our position should be that no single philosophy, old or new,
should serve as the exclusive guide for making decisions about curriculum.
What we, as curriculum specialists, need to do, is to adopt an eclectic approach,
40 in which there is no emphasis on the extremes of subject matter or socio-
psychological development, excellence or quality. In essence, what we need is Foundations of Curriculum
a prudent philosophy—one that is politically and economically feasible and that
serves the needs of students and society. It is here that open distance education
comes forth with its promises for the future.
2.3 SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

Any discussion of curriculum should consider the social setting and its
inuence on curricular decisions. Social pressures inuence the characteristics
of students who experience the curriculum in the educational institutions
which are established and maintained by society. Students live in a world
larger than the college/school and learn a great deal from experiences in that
part of their lives. What a learner acquires in the college/school and outside
may be complementary or conicting to each other. The latter case gives rise
to the complaint that what is learned in college/school has little to do with the
real world. But, in the former case the college/school may be a major factor in
the improvement of society by helping young people to develop the capacity
to respond intelligently to social problems. In this way, the curriculum serves
not only the needs of the learner, but also the needs of society. For these
reasons, in developing curricular plans, we must consider the characteristics
of contemporary society as well as those that are expected to emerge in the
future. Of course, curriculum planning and course-content basically depends
on an analysis of the nature of society (Kelly, 1989).
Keeping these facts in view, we shall now discuss how society inuences the
making of curriculum.
2.3.1 Society and Education

Most of us regard education as synonymous with schooling. But, in actual
fact even a society that has no formal colleges/schools still educates its
young through ceremonies, rituals, stories, observation and emulation of
parents, elders etc. The norms of society govern inter personal relations and
produce a model personality—the attitudes, feelings and behaviour patterns
most members of a society share. It also assigns specic roles to each of
its members and expects them to conform to certain established behavioural
patterns. Sex roles—the way boys and girls, men and women are supposed
to act—provide a good example for this type of socialisation. Sex roles vary
from one culture to the other, but within a given set-up they are rather well-
dened. This leads us to conclude that besides the classroom-curriculum,
society also plays a vital role in shaping the attitudes of the young. Clearly,
global aspects of human growth and developments are accomplished partly
by the structured curriculum in use in colleges/schools and partly by society.
Does this mean that a curriculum should mirror current social forces?
A curriculum while reecting contemporary social forces should also be able
to respond to the dynamics of change. By implication, the curriculum should
not only reect society but also help to shape it.
2.3.2 Social Change and the Curriculum

Contemporary society is changing so swiftly that we have difculty coping
with it, adjusting ourselves to the present and preparing for the future.
Contrary to this fact, our colleges/schools appear to be conservative
institutions that usually lag behind the change. To make education respond to
social changes, a curriculum should be framed keeping in mind, among other
things, the following:
41
The Field of Curriculum i) Growth of technology;
ii) Structure of the family; and
iii) Cultural diversity.
What we mean by each of these is discussed below.
i) Growth of technology
Today, the young are growing up in a world that is very different from that of a
generation or two ago. Connected with this is the fact that ours is a society based
on information.
In addition to the creation of new kinds of jobs, this new information-society will
inuence all the other aspects of the workplace. At one level, such inuence will
motivate societies to use computers and other information-processing devices
to replace manual workers, at another, the locale of the workplace will also be
affected. In agricultural and industrial phases, workers have/had to be brought
to a central location where goods are/were produced. Given the availability
of communications technology, this kind of centralization will no longer be
necessary for every activity. One can simply work at home using micro-
computers. And, increased value will be placed upon persons who can network
their credentials to ll the emerging needs of the information society.
Underlying all this is a serious challenge to the ethics of work that has pervaded
our society and schools/colleges. Among the values the schools/colleges have
promoted are those related to the productive industrial worker—punctuality,
loyalty, acceptance, appearance etc. In the decentralised information-society,
workers will nd themselves largely working alone, setting exible work patterns,
working hours and servicing more than one employer. Furthermore having been
replaced by new technology, many will have difculty nding new jobs because
they lack certain skills. Thus, the combination of the growth of technology and of
the information society may lead to a serious review of the traditional ethics of
work and its place in our society. Obviously, curriculum will have to undergo a
change in order to match with and capture social changes.
ii) Structure of the family
The family has been viewed as the basis of the complex social fabric. The picture
of the family consisting of both natural parents and their children is steadily
fading, replaced by a much more complicated diversity of family structures. For
example, separation, divorce and childbirth without marriage have given rise to
the phenomenon of single parent homes. Geographical mobility is weakening the
bonds of the centrally located, extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and
other relatives. Traditionally, while men used to go out to work, women managed
the home. Now we nd increasing number of families in which both the father
and the mother work.
How does these inuence educational institutions?
The school/college as we know it today evolved in the context of the traditional
family structure. Mothers were expected to provide a stable and predictable
environment for young people.
When children had problems in school/colleges, parents could be called upon to
devote time and energy to support the values and efforts of the school/college.
Today, these expectations are no longer certain. As the structure of family has
changed, so has its role and function in relation to the school/college.
Traditionally our lives have been focussed on common social features of life
42
and even conformity. Today, however, people have begun to seek more diversity Foundations of Curriculum
in life styles, seeking new pathways and alternative routes. Among the many
institutions that are affected by the new wave of individualism and diversity
is the school/college. The reason is that schools/colleges have served as major
sources for promoting common values among youth. This new trend in life
patterns and values poses serious questions in curriculum planning.
b) Check your answer with the one provided at the end of the Unit.
Consequent upon the changing face of society, mention at least three factors that
should be thought about while framing a curriculum.
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
Besides the structure of the family, changes in sex roles are also becoming more
and more emphatic.
Symptoms of the breakdown in sex-role stereotypes are clearly visible in many
areas of life. As women assume new roles and demonstrate excellence and ability
in them, some disgust or resentment on the part of those who continue to cling
to old stereotypes cannot be avoided. The changing perception and reality of sex
roles and this opposition to such changes will also have a tremendous impact on
curriculum development.
iii) Cultural diversity
As we are moving away from “a melting-pot” society to a “salad bowl” one,
the increasing trend away from a homogeneous culture towards one of diversity/
plurality is quite conspicuous.
This shift of movement can be attributed to the following phenomena:
l diversity in values and life-styles (being different is now a socially
sanctioned idea);
l renewed interest in ethno-history (people have developed a new interest in
their own histories and personal heritage); and
l development in telecommunications (people have been reminded of their
links with cultures in other parts of the world).
Traditionally, an educational institution has been viewed as the major social
agent in the “melting-pot” process. Now it is caught in an ambiguous position
between its traditional role and the emerging trend towards diversity. The
question as to how the curriculum should portray cultural values, then gains
importance in curriculum development today.
43
The Field of Curriculum Having reviewed the social changes and pointed to their impact on curriculum
planning, we might say that the human society in general, in transition from
an industrial to post industrial phase of our history though at different stages
of advancement.
Identifying the general direction that the new phase will take is particularly
challenging since there is no historical precedent for post-industrialism. As
long as a society is dynamic, the debate over the aims of education will stir
up changes. Perhaps this is good, perhaps this is what makes society viable
and able to resist decay.
2.3.3 Planning for Curricular Change

If we look into the aims and priorities of education from the turn of this
century onwards, we can identify links in the chain of evolution which
has caused socio-educational changes. To illustrate the point, in the early
twentieth century, rigorous intellectual training was considered the ultimate
goal of education. However, in the second and the third decades of the
century, progressive educationists insisted on broadening the scope of school-
curriculum, which was purely academic, by incorporating non-academic and
vocational elements in the curriculum. This priority reappeared with emphasis
in the 1960s and the 1970s. This appears to hold good even, at the close of
twentieth century.
What do we deduce from what we have said above?
Educational aims should be exible and able to change in accordance with
changing social needs. If a major means for survival is to catch sh, lash horses
and frighten away tigers, it is natural that the school/college in this society will
have a curriculum to meet these needs. Suppose the conditions change—streams
dry up, horses and tigers disappear—should not the curriculum incorporate new
means for survival? Unquestionably, educational aims must be relevant to the
times.
What is the mechanism, then, by which we can bring in social changes so as to
make the curriculum serve the needs of society?
To ensure socially relevant curriculum, for example, the panels and commissions,
which formulate educational priorities, should comprise the following
representative groups:
i) Students: Post secondary students are mature enough to provide appropriate
inputs in developing educational aims.
ii) Parents: As parents are interested in the overall development of their
children, parental inputs are necessary.
iii) Educators: Teachers, administrators and public leaders must assume
responsibility in developing educational aims/priorities.
iv) Researchers: The role of the researcher or social scientist is important for
providing objective data concerning issues and trends.
v) Community members: Their support in the formulation of priorities should
be considered signicant as they decide matters pertaining to school/college
and scal matters, directly and indirectly.
vi) Business community: Because of its economical/political inuence and
interest in the outcomes of educational enterprise in terms of human resource
development technology and industrial output, it needs to be represented.
vii) Political ofcials: They should be enlisted because, educational policy and
44 politics, by and large, go together.
viii) Pressure groups: People show considerable impact by organising themselves Foundations of Curriculum
into groups that promote special interests. The operation of such groups is
clearly valid within the democratic process.
In this section we tried to show that social forces have always had a major
impact on curriculum development. In order to prepare students for the world of
tomorrow, the curriculum, while mirroring a society should also keep evaluating
the ever changing social trends.
b) Check your answer with the one provided at the end of this Unit.
List at least ve social factors that inuence the need for a shift in our
curriculum.
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
Let us now talk about yet another foundation area which helps formulate an
effective curriculum.
2.4 PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

By providing a basis for understanding the teaching/learning process,
educational psychology deals with how people learn. By implication, it
emphasizes the need to recognise diversity among learners. However, it is
also true that people share certain common characteristics. Among these are
basic psychological needs which are necessary for individuals to lead a full
and happy life. In this section, we shall be talking about the major learning
theories and their contribution to curriculum development. Besides, we shall
touch upon the basic psychological needs of individuals and reect on their
translation into curriculum.
We shall at this juncture remind ourselves that our main thrust will be on the
contributions made by the theories of learning for curriculum development.
Let me therefore make it clear that we are not, right now, interested in
studying the theories of learning in detail, which has already been done to
some extent in earlier courses on distance education.
2.4.1 Learning Theories and Curriculum

For the sake of convenience we have classied the major theories of learning into
the following groups:
i) behaviorist theories which deal with various aspects of stimulus-response and
reinforcement scheme; 45
The Field of Curriculum ii) cognitivist theories which view the learner in relationship with the total
environment; and
iii) phenomenology which emphasizes the affective domain of learning. Let
us take up each of them in the given order and examine its contribution to
curriculum development.
i) Behaviourism and curriculum
The behaviourist school, which represents traditional psychology, is rooted in
a corresponding philosophical speculation about the nature of learning. It has
particularly dominated psychology in the rst half of the twentieth century. After
a few decades of being in the wilderness it has recently gained currency once
again with the advent of individualized education.
Without going into the details we shall touch upon the main, and characteristic
features of the behaviourist school of thought.
Essentially, learning is considered a habit-formation and teaching is regarded as
arranging learning experiences in such a way as to promote desirable behaviour.
Further, behaviourism maintains that what is learnt in one situation can be
transferred to other situations as well.
Broadly, behaviourists advocate that:
l behaviour is likely to be inuenced by the conditions under which learning
takes place;
l attitudes to and abilities of learning can change or improve over time through
the application of proper stimuli;
l learning experiences can be designed and controlled to create desired
learning;
l selective reinforcement is essential; and
l rote learning and memorization of knowledge are unnecessary.
Having thus touched upon the crux of behaviourism, we shall now turn our
attention to its contribution to curriculum development. It provides the following
signicant guidelines.
A curriculum, according to behaviourists, should be based on the following
concerns:
i) remedial measures, acquisition of skills, considerations of basic or advanced
learning;
ii) well-dened, short-term and long-term objectives;
iii) appropriate instructional materials and media to suit the learner’s abilities;
iv) shaping behaviour through prescribed tasks, phase by phase activities, close
supervision of activities and positive reinforcement; and
v) diagnosing, assessing and reassessing the learners’ needs, objectives,
activities, tasks and instruction with a view to improving the curriculum.
We can observe manifestations of these guidelines in the theories, principles or
trends related to:
l individualized education (and to some extent, open system of education);
l instructional design and systems;
46
l teacher-training techniques such as simulation teaching, microteaching, Foundations of Curriculum
competency-performance based teacher education;
l educational technology including programmed instruction (which provides,
with modications, a base for self instructional materials in use in the
distance mode of teaching/learning).
ii) Cognitivism and curriculum
Today most psychologists explain the phenomenon of human growth and
development in cognitive, social, psychological and physical terms. They also
note that learning is primarily cognitive in nature. Growth and development
refer to changes in the structure and function of human characteristics. Most
cognitivists believe that growth and development occur in progressive stages.
One example is Piaget’s (Piaget, 1950) description of cognitive development in
terms of stages from birth to maturity.
Most curriculum specialists tend to show greater adherence to cognitivism than to
behaviourism. This might be because
l the cognitive approach leads to logical methods for organising and
interpreting learning; and
l the cognitive approach is rooted in the tradition of teaching based on subject
matter.
Even contemporary behaviourists incorporate cognitive processes in their theories
of learning. Because learning in schools/colleges emphasizes the cognitive
domain, it follows that most educationists feel that learning is synonymous with
cognitive development. As a corollary, a problem solving approach in teaching/
learning gains currency.
But, if we take an actual teaching/learning situation into consideration we tend
to realise that this learning model is incomplete and that something is lost in
its processes of actual transfer in the classroom. In reality, the teaching/learning
process boils down to the teacher talking predominantly and students mostly
responding to what is said by the teacher.
What should be of concern to the curriculum specialists?
They should be aware of the fact that a school/college should be a place where
students are not afraid of asking questions, making mistakes, taking cognitive
risks and playing with ideas. Further colleges/schools should be more humane
places where students can explore and fulll their human potentials. Obviously,
curriculum has to play a vital role to actually realise this objective.
iii) Phenomenology and curriculum
Phenomenologist’s point out that the way we look at ourselves is crucial for
understanding our behaviour and that we respond to an organisation or pattern of
stimuli and not to an isolated stimulus.
It emphasizes that learning must be explained in terms of the “wholeness” of the
problem. Here you can draw a parallel with cognitivism. But what differentiates
phenomenology from cognitivism is that the former stresses the affective and the
latter the cognitive aspects of learning.
Since each individual has specic needs and interests related to his or her
self-fulllment and self-realisations, there cannot be a generally prescribed
humanistic curriculum. Humanistic learning may enhance the mental health of the
learners, harmonise personal feelings among students and teachers, and improve
various aspects of human awareness among students, teachers, and curriculum 47
The Field of Curriculum specialists, yet its processes rely mainly on personal experiences and subjective
interpretations that leave them open to criticism. Therefore, there is a great need
to examine and understand what is relevant in humanistic curricula.
Please note that most textbook writers tend to be cognition-oriented. However,
one should propose that behaviourist components are needed for planning and
developing a sound curriculum. Further, humanistic components of teaching and
learning must also be incorporated into the curriculum. Let us say, therefore, that
each theory of learning has something signicant to contribute towards explaining
various aspects of human behaviour and learning.
b) Compare your answer with the one given at the end of this Unit.
We talked about three groups of theories of learning. Highlight what is
emphasized in each of the three.
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
2.4.2 Basic Human Needs and Curriculum

Physical well-being and health are generally recognised and frequently dealt
with through various programmes such as those on tness, nutrition and health
problems. Mental health needs such as those pertaining to acceptance, belonging,
security and status have been widely studied but little emphasized in the area of
curriculum.
In this sub-section, we shall touch upon just two points which concern the topic
under consideration:
i) Self-actualization; and
ii) Developmental tasks.
Here, we shall discuss these and draw inferences as to how each one contributes
to the enrichment of a curriculum.
i) Self-actualization
The notion of self-actualization characterises individuals’ need for self-fulllment
in life by actualizing/achieving their own potential. A curriculum should therefore
provide learning activities that allow students to identify themselves with those
things they can do well. It should also assist them to succeed in other activities
that are difcult for them. Learners are thus helped to nd personal meaning in
48 the learning experience.
Those responsible for curriculum development must pay attention to the Foundations of Curriculum
concept of self-actualization. We all recognise the importance of school/
college and community based goals for learners. Self-actualization on the
other hand includes satisfying the desire to know and understand in relation to
personal needs and interest. Moreover it has been noticed that when personal
purposes are ignored, learners seem to be less successful in meeting the set
goals. If curricular plans reect a balance between institutional and personal
needs, the impact on both may be substantially enhanced.
ii) Developmental tasks
We can dene a developmental task as a task which arises in relation to a certain
period in the life of an individual, success in which leads to his/her happiness and
to success in later tasks, while failure in it leads to unhappiness in the individual
and difculties in subsequent tasks. This fact is regarded as one of the most
specic considerations in organizing tasks. The needs of individuals are governed
by the stage of development and age they have reached, and also grow out of
their need to respond to societal expectations. The implication is that educators/
curriculum planners should understand behaviours manifested by a learner
indicating her/his readiness and need to deal with a particular developmental task.
As we facilitate the learners’ success in these needs/tasks, their overall success
can be ensured.
Further, in developing a curriculum, the development of an environment in
which learners feel genuinely secure should be ensured. When a curriculum
develops such an environment, learning takes place smoothly because
the needs of students and what has been provided by the curriculum are
complementary to each other.
In our discussion of the psychological foundations, we dealt with the contribution
made by learning theories towards curriculum and also tried to see how much
more effective a curriculum may be framed if we consider the nature of basic
human need while forming it.
2.5 TRENDS IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

To understand contemporary curricular problems and proposals, it is ideal
that we acquaint ourselves with the history of curricular thought and practice
that stretches back to antiquity. However, let us start this section with the
assumption that we rarely nd histories that focus exclusively on curriculum
and, therefore, turn to an overview of general histories of education in an
effort to get a few glimpses of the history of curriculum.
The curriculum eld may be viewed as a formal area of academic inquiry, but
as a basic human interest, its concerns are perennial. Parents and other members
of society throughout history have wondered how best to help their young ones
grow and mature. Their response to this problem constitutes an unwritten history
of informal curricular thought and action. As societies became more formal and
as institutions developed within them to meet specialised needs, schools/colleges
evolved to help students grow more efciently, to introduce them to the ways of
their society and to help them acquire an understanding of their cultural heritage.
If we recall the earlier sections, curriculum has always been and continues
to be inuenced by educational philosophers, besides societal needs. In the
ancient times, though a formal curriculum (of the shape it has obtained today)
did not exist; young people were oriented towards meeting cultural and social
demands. Depending on the inuence of educational philosophies, however,
curriculum-content for such orientations varied from one period to the other.
Tracing the historical antecedents of curriculum may give us a framework of its 49
The Field of Curriculum gradual growth. Especially in the 21st Century, other wise called the globalizing
era, Information Communication Technologies (ICT) played an important role
in imparting education with various tools, which made education seamless/
borderless. However, for our immediate purposes we shall restrict ourselves to an
overview of the twentieth century curriculum and a speculation of the possible
future trends in curriculum development.
2.5.1 Twentieth Century Curriculum

Early 20th century curriculum afrmed the shift in emphasis from sectarian
education to liberal education. Traditionally, curriculum was conned to
religion-related orientations and classics. Gradually, more and more subjects
were added to the curriculum. As the focus was on mental discipline, social
needs, student interest or capabilities were given little emphasis. Further,
during this period, compartmentalization and not interdisciplinary subject
matter was considered the norm. There was an unwillingness to recognise
the values of arts, music, physical and vocational education. This was based
on the theory that these subjects had little mental or disciplinary value. If we
pause for a moment here and think, we shall realise that even though we offer
vocational, industrial and/or technical programmes now, there is a tendency to
consider traditional academic programmes superior to them.
Gradually, demands were made for curricular changes. Industrial development
led a growing number of educators to question changes, as well as the
authenticity of the traditional curriculum and its emphasis on mental
discipline. This shift was also inuenced by the scientic movement in child
psychology (which focussed on the whole child and learning theories in the
1900’s).
The argument that classics had no greater disciplinary or mental value than
other subjects eventually appeared and meant that mental discipline (which
emphasized drill and memorization) was no longer considered conducive for
the overall growth and development of children. In essence, societal changes
and the emerging demands therefrom; the stress on psychology and science;
and the concern for social and educational reform made evident the need
for a new curriculum. Thus, the aims of education went hand in hand with
the particular type of society involved: conversely, the society that evolved
inuenced the aims of education.
Thus, the early twentieth century was a period of educational reform
characterized by the following:
i) Idea of mental discipline was replaced by utilitarian modes of thought and
scientic inquiry.
ii) Curriculum tended not to be compartmentalized but to be interdisciplinary.
iii) Curriculum tended not to be static but dynamic—changing with the changes
in society.
iv) Needs and interest of students came to be considered of primary importance.
And now curriculum is viewed as a science with principles and methodology not
just as content or subject matter.
2.5.2 Possible Future Trends

Keeping in view the prevalent political, economic and academic climate,
it is not difcult for us to visualize, (of course, only to a certain extent)
future trends and the inuence they may have on education, particularly on
curriculum development. (However, we should also confess here that such a
50 speculation is fraught with risks that normally go with it.)
Although in this Unit we have been underlining the fact that social changes Foundations of Curriculum
will have a vital role in determining a curriculum. If the present day growth
of information is any indication the information ow will increase rapidly in
the future. Clearly, the increasing ow of information negates the traditional
notion of content-mastery. Students, therefore, will need to acquire critical
thinking, and problem solving abilities rather than static and/or absolute
knowledge and skills of factual recall.
Further, in the 21st century, the need for change will accelerate. For example,
it took us more than one century to shift from an agricultural society to an
industrial one. But it took hardly two decades to shift from an industrial to an
information society. Let us discuss the issues related to ICT and education in
brief:
2.5.3 Curriculum for ICT in Education

Education Technology is a powerful teaching learning tool in education.
Introduction Interactive Communication Technologies (ICT) made education
borderless and seamless. Technology facilitated different learning designs mostly
self directed /regulated learning designs which suits learners needs, space and
pace of learning. Historically teaching learning process undergone sea changes ,
which shapes the learning to suit the learning lends to meet society, market and
with technology , ultimately enable techno-managerial teaching learning process
to suit individually and institutionally, the whole process can be understood
as paradigm shift . You have read about the paradigm shift in this programme
in MDE-411, Unit-1. Paradigm shift one of the characteristic features of
education in the changing world. You might have noticed that each paradigm
shift is subjected to another paradigm shift. For example distance education is
a paradigm shift from face to face education, again there is a paradigm shift
within the distance education by introduction of technology in teaching learning
process i.e. from distance education with print to multi media, from multi-media
to teleconferencing, from teleconferencing system to online/virtual educational
platforms’.
We have witnessing a trend where by all the models of educational approaches
are going together. i.e. Behaviourlism, Cognitive, Connectionism and
constructivism are going together, which is other wise called blended learning
approaches to education. Each learner based on his/her context, relevance, and
needs and ttest to purpose can customize his learning objectives.
ICT in curriculum is a paradigm shift in teaching and learning process, the
process initially started with aiming education to meet cultural needs of the
society i.e. cultural transmission from one generation to another generation
which is other wise called socialization process, which occurs in an environment
with the various agencies such as family, religion, culture, attitudes, customs and
traditions. The aim of education is to retain cultural ethos of the society from
one generation to another generation.
The aims of education further transformed from cultural to corporate needs of
the society. Education became more productive process rather than mere cultural
transmission. Increasing productive forces and means of production was the need
and order of the 19th centaury education. The aim of education is an instrument
to economic change by which social change made possible. This is further
changed the due to introduction of educational technology.
Educational technology is a powerful tool to impart education to many. It is
accessible, exible and provides educational equity for all. The online/virtual
educational platforms made easy to learn anywhere and anytime, otherwise
seamless or borderless education. The social networks are also being used for 51
The Field of Curriculum education and communication process. Now the experts say that e, learning is
not a religion to preach but ii is one of the powerful tools to practice. So much
one practices as much they familirise. Various platforms such as modules made
education easy and accessible which is other wise possible education as a techno-
managerial learning process to customize ones own needs.
Technology made educational process more accessible, exible and providing
education for all.The following advantages can be summed up with respect to
ICT in education.
Ø It is well said that any meaningful communication is education, if it is
written/produced in multi media it can be called open and distance education.
Ø The open and distance education become globalised and it is being
manipulated all available technologies for teaching learning. The education
in modern times becomes a new career avenues in the globalization process
with the ICT interventions. .
Ø The improvement of communication skills is treated as central goals of ICT
curriculum.
Ø The ICT in curriculum can broadly attempts to equip teachers with ICT
competencies in their teaching learning process
Ø Teachers role becoming more a facilitators/coordinators rather tan totalitarian
managers of knowledge.
Ø Language barriers and isolation can deny learners access to the wide range of
digital information and resources.
Ø Learners physically challenged or the visually impaired needs additional
support. Techno-support for teaching learning process is made easy with the
ICT support..
Ø The impact of ICI on the overall development of all personality can be
extremely signicant.
Ø The ICT curriculum broadly attempts to equip learners with ability to
negotiate a range of devices, tools, application, information and resources.
Ø The teacher led session aims to demonstrate techniques and process and
present a context to the learning. Following this, learners engage themselves
with activates, which are designed to provide adequate hands on experience.,
Ø In the formative assessment the portfolio attempts to capture all the learning
and complements the periodic summative assessment through the course.
The only limitation of E or On line learning according to Garrison in his book
Understanding of Distance Education is that the online learning is a powerful tool
to practice but we do not know how such the learning styles differ from person
to person but in case of ICTs, it is difcult to nd that how learners have learned
their styles at distance.
ICT and Curriculum

Given the dynamic nature of the eld, the curricula, emphasizing the core
educational purposes, are generic by design and focus on a broad exposure to
technologies aimed at enhancing the creativity and imagination of the learners.
Users of ICT by dening milestones and an evaluation system that allows for
teachers to assess their readiness and decide their pace through the course.
The requirements of the curricula are not to be hardware or software specic.
52 Undoing the general trend of limiting software to ofce applications, which
are not only ill suited for educational purposes but also tend to narrow down Foundations of Curriculum
the view of what computers and ICT can achieve, a wide range of software
applications specically designed for education are introduced. Use of proprietary
software would become very expensive and make the implementation unviable.
Therefore, Free and Open Source software (OER) have been suggested
throughout the curricula. The use of FOSS applications will also obviate software
piracy and enable customization to suit local needs.
The curricula underscore the need for internet connectivity of adequate band-
width, particularly for teachers as access to the internet is no more a matter of
choice. The educational potential of internet is no more a matter of choice. The
educational potential of internet resources and interactions are immense. It also
serves the essential purpose of connecting teachers and schools to each other
and contributing to bridging of divides. The teachers’ curriculum emphasizes
the involvement of teachers in the creation of e-content; it’s sharing with
peers and its critical evaluation. Taking cognizance of parallel effort likes the
National Repository of Open Education Resources, the curriculum encourages
the participation of teachers in its collaborative platform to share such evaluated
creations.
Guiding Principles
1) The curricula shall be generic, drawing upon the features of a wide range of
technological applications and focusing on educational purposes.
2) The focus of the curricula shall be on learning to compute, which includes
learning to create using a variety of hardware and software tools. ICT
literacy, dened as the knowledge and ability to wield tools and devices,
shall be an incidental outcome of this learning.
3) The curricula shall provide adequate opportunity for hands on learning and
open ended exploration of ICT applications. Sharing of learning and critical
evaluation of the learning shall be integral to the strategy.
4) A healthy ICT environment requires heightened awareness of the social,
ethical and legal aspects of its use. Software piracy and plagiarism shall be
explicity denounced and discouraged. Creation of original content, taking
pride in the creation and duly recognizing others’ contributions shall be
promoted. Safe and secure use of ICT shall also be promoted.
5) The curricula shall promote the full utilization of infrastructure and
resources, integrating it with the school’s programme. Universal access and
fostering of a sense of ownership shall be encouraged to ensure maximum
impact. Innovative ways of reaching the unreached shall be promoted.
Use different software applications to enhance one’s own learning – database
applications, analysis of data and problem solving, computing, design, graphical
and audio-visual communication; undertake research and carry out projects using
web resources; use ICT for documentation and presentation; create and participate
in web based networks for cooperative and collaborative learning; become aware
of issue of cyber security, copyright and safe use of ICT and take necessary steps
to protect oneself and ICT resources.
The Learning Strands

The learning strands seek to build capacities to handling today’s and tomorrow’s
technologies appropriate for use in education, capitalizing on technology
to master technology, managing the ICT infrastructure, using technology to
surmount barriers and to acquiring to lead technology educationally.
53
The Field of Curriculum 1) Connecting with the world
l Connecting with each other
l Creating with ICT
l Interacting with ICT
2) Possibilities in education
3) Reaching out and bridging divides
1) Connecting with the World
ICT tools enable anytime, anywhere across to information and resources.
Given the proliferation of internet connectivity, the curriculum recognizes
the fact that being connected to the internet offers tremendous benets
to teachers in terms of capabilities to access information and resources
of various kinds and to utilize them in their teaching-learning. Not only
will these add to the range of techniques that teacher use, but also make a
difference to their students learning. The ability to critically review and use
the resources will be an essential input to teachers’ professional development.
Become aware of the range of materials the web offers for the teachers’
own learning as well resources for their teaching; critical appraisal of the
information and resources; safe, productive, ethical and legal use of these
resource; and protecting oneself and others from the harmful effect of the
virtual medium is fundamental to every teacher’s learning.
Therefore, the strand introduces teachers to the internet and its resources;
using browsers and search engines; choosing appropriate sites; search and
retrieval of information and resources; different kinds of websites and
interactivity; navigating the web, bookmarks, subscriptions to services and
products; downloading information and resources; awareness of formats and
techniques; copyright and safety issues; uploading and sharing information;
and transactions through internet.
2) Possibilities in Education
ICT capabilities have led to a wide variety of educational applications.
Software applications which extend learning, immerse students in
experimentation and problem solving, make available data sets to process
and retrieve information from are commonly used in education. Online
resources – books, courses, media materials have become common.
Interactive possibilities, individual users interacting with packaged material
or groups of people interacting with each other have opened up ways in
which teaching-learning is transacted.
While the glamour and novelty of the medium attracts everyone, becoming a
discerning, critical user of ICT is very essential. Sugar coating of information
cannot constitute enriching of experience. Learning to acquire insights
into how ICT operate and impact teaching-learning, what forms of media
and information can be appropriate to learning, how educational goals can
become the arbiter of choices made in ICT, assessment and evaluation of
ICT tools, devices, information and resources are very important, if cost
effective and meaningful ICT has to be promoted. This strand therefore
forms the bridge between the aspirations of the education system and the run
away developments in ICT.
The strand involves exploration and experimentation with open education
resources (OER) – access, use and evaluation, creation and contribution
54 of educational resources; research and critical appraisal of the utility and
effectiveness of ICT devices and tools; familiarity with virtual environments Foundations of Curriculum
for self-learning and teaching-learning; familiarity with the web and its range
of resources; productivity tools and their meaningful use; tools and forums
for planning, organizing, teaching-learning, assessment and evaluation; tools
and forums for professional growth.
3) Reaching Out and Bridging Divides
ICT has become available widely, overcoming geographical and social
boundaries But this has not naturally ensured access to its benets to all.
ICT itself has evolved techniques – a DVD or a music player as examples
of portability, forums as examples of public helplines and support, public
sharing and open educational resources; a wide range of free and open
source software—auguring well for improved access.
Language barriers and professional isolation can deny students and teachers
access to the wide range of digital information and resources. Becoming
aware of, experimenting with, participation in and creation of resources
and support aimed at those denied access will help reach out and bridge the
divides. Physically challenged, particularly the visually impaired and the
auditorily impaired cannot access information as easily.
The theme will involve an exposure to building digital communities;
understanding the need for and evolving a shared agenda; creating, sharing,
and curating resources for teacher and student communities; community
radio; local language tools and local content, translators and translations;
subtitling video; disability and assistive technologies – screen readers for the
visually impaired; audio books; talking books; collaborative possibilities –
wikis, open maps, data repositories and forums.
What are the implications of these observations?
Job patterns will constantly change dramatically and so workers will be
moving frequently from one job to another. Accordingly, to keep them abreast
with each task/job that they take up, we will need to give them periodic
training. The speed of change we have been referring to suggests not only that
elds will be dynamic, but also that new ones will emerge. By implication,
education and orientation will, of necessity be a lifelong process. In essence,
unlike the past, we cannot consider our education complete just because we
have attended schools/colleges or graduated from an educational institution.
Nor will we be able to enter a job or profession and expect to remain in it for
life without regular training.
Traditionally, organizations have followed hierarchical structuring with power
and communication owing in a pattern from top to bottom. Increasingly,
however, centralized institutions are being replaced by smaller decentralized
units. Much of the impetus for this change has come from the inability of
hierarchical structures to effectively solve problems. Rigid and efcient
organizations are no longer as efcacious as uid and exible ones in
which experimentations and autonomy can thrive. Applied to education, this
kind of decentralization gives recognition to an individual’s need for self-
determination and ownership in the decision making processes.
What are the implications of the above discussion?
In the main, there will be radical changes in the socio-academic ecology of
school/college environment. Barring a few, if any, schools/colleges have so
far been functioning as bastions of autocracy with little importance given
to students’ needs and teachers’ competence. Because of the changing
societal needs and greater awareness of the need for purpose-oriented 55
The Field of Curriculum education, the needs of every individual in the school/college will have to
be recognised. In other words, there will be a change in the treatment of
students as a homogeneous entity. Rapid growth in information will result
in the emergence, every now and then, of varied curricula for purposes of
reeducation and retaining. The number of consumers will obviously be more
than the programmes available. In such a situation, the mode of the teaching/
learning process cannot be the one which is prevalent now, i.e., face-to-face.
Obviously, a viable alternative mode is distance education.
The International Centre for Distance Learning (ICDE), Milton Keynes,
UK, has been collecting information about courses offered through distance
education all over the world. In January 1997, there were 1028 institutions
and 106 countries. Some 38,974 courses distributed among 11 elds of studies
as given in Table 2.1.
It seems the trend of distance education courses is towards the development of
life skills involving critical thinking and problem solving.
Table 2.1: Distance education courses (ICDL data base)
Sl. Field of Study No. of

No. Courses
(Jan, 97)
1. Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences 8929
2. Business, Services, Management, Economics 8438
3. Education and Training 4450
4. Applied Sciences, Technology, Computers, Environment 4432
5. Medicine, Health, Social Welfare 3629
6. Pure Science and Mathematics 3431
7. Law, Law Enforcement, Regulations & Standards 1445
8. Agriculture, Fisheries 1424
9. Architecture, Building, Surveying, Planning 1168
10. Broad, Multi-subject Studies, Study skills 1117
11. Personal, Home and Family Affairs 511
TOTAL 38974

Note: a) Space is given below for your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of the unit.
We have discussed the status of 20th century curriculum and possible future
trends. Please give your opinion on them.
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
56
Foundations of Curriculum
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
2.6 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, we have explored the foundations of the curriculum and touched
upon future curricular trends. We emphasised that each one of the foundations is
important, since it contributes ideas that are crucial in framing a curriculum.
In the discussion about philosophy, it was suggested that philosophy has a
valuable place in the practical realities of school/college since one’s educational
philosophy largely determines one’s view on curriculum.
While dealing with the social foundations, both the contemporary and the future
society should be considered in developing a curriculum and kept in view.
Attention should be paid to such issues as growth of technology, family structure,
life styles and other aspects of society. At the same time, thought must be given
to how the curriculum, developed in an industrial age, may respond to the
growing diversity of the emerging post-industrial society.
The discussion of the psychological foundations has indicated that curricula can
become more effective if they are based on considerations such as basic human
needs and the ways for meeting them. Finally, trends in curriculum development
were discussed to show that over the year curriculum has been undergoing
changes under the inuence of philosophical ideas and societal changes, and that
open distance education is obviously the system for the future as it promises
to accommodate the growing changes in individual needs, communication
technology and curricular efforts to fuse them all together.
2.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Pragmatism emphasises the need to consider social changes in curriculum
development. To discard social changes and to take into account only those
values which are changeless is unwise and unrealistic. Thus, pragmatism accepts
knowledge as a process in which reality is constantly changing.
Existentialism as a philosophy has a limited possibility of application for schools/
colleges. Education in our society, and also in most other modern societies,
involves institutionalised learning and socialisation which require group
instruction, restrictions on individuals’ behaviour and bureaucratic organisation.
i) Changing roles of the family
ii) Diversity in life styles
iii) Growth of technology
i) Growth in information and technology
ii) Changing sex roles
57
The Field of Curriculum iii) Changing family structures and social roles
iv) Diversity in life styles
v) Cultural pluralism
The three types of theories which we talked about are
i) Behaviourism;
ii) Cognitivism; and
iii) Phenomenology
i) Behaviourism: It stresses conditioning of behaviour and altering the
environment to elicit selected responses from the learner.
ii) Cognitivism: It emphasises that learning is affected by the environment and
what is learnt in one situation can be transferred to another.
iii) Phenomenology: It emphasizes that human needs should be considered of
prime signicance while planning a curriculum.
Looking at the 20th century curricula it is found that, due to radical changes in
socio-academic ecology of institutions i.e., school/college environment, it is
impossible to cater to the needs of the growing population individually as per
their choice of courses through the conventional education system. Obviously,
it may be possible due to rapid growth in information and technology and
the institutions existing to run the courses through distance mode of learning
where different kinds of courses are available for the student population. As per
the ICDE information, it is seen that there is a consistent growth of distance
education programmes in all parts of the world. The trend is also seen in the life
long courses i.e. in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Business, services,
management and economics education and training, applied sciences, technology,
computer, environment, health and medicine etc.
58

Unit 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Unit 2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Unit 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

UNIT 2 FOUNDATIONS OF

2.2 PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS

2.2.1 Education and Philosophy

2.2.2 Philosophy and Curriculum

2.2.3 Educational Philosophies

2.3 SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

2.3.1 Society and Education

2.3.2 Social Change and the Curriculum

2.3.3 Planning for Curricular Change

2.4 PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

2.4.1 Learning Theories and Curriculum

2.4.2 Basic Human Needs and Curriculum

2.5 TRENDS IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

2.5.1 Twentieth Century Curriculum

2.5.2 Possible Future Trends

2.5.3 Curriculum for ICT in Education

ICT and Curriculum

The Learning Strands

Sl. Field of Study No. of

Check Your Progress 6

2.6 LET US SUM UP

2.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

You might also like