Curriculum Foundations: Philosophical, and More

Major Foundations of Curriculum

• Curriculum development relies on four major foundations: philosophical, psychological, historical, and social.

Philosophical Foundations of Curriculum

• Philosophy provides a framework for educators, teachers, and curriculum makers to plan, implement, and evaluate curricula.
• Philosophy aids in determining the purpose of schools, the importance of subjects, effective learning methods, and appropriate materials.
• In decision-making, philosophy serves as the initial point and guides subsequent decisions.
• A curriculum planner's philosophy reflects life experiences, common beliefs, socioeconomic background, and education.
• Ralph Tyler's framework identifies philosophy as one of five criteria for selecting educational purposes.
• School purposes are determined by learners studies, suggestions from subject specialist, contemporary life lessons, philosophy use and psychology of learning.

Four Educational Philosophies

• Perennialism aims to educate the rational person and cultivate intellect.
• Teachers help students think with reason.
• Emphasizes classical subjects, literary analysis, and a constant curriculum.
• Advocates using great books and returning to liberal arts.
• Essentialism seeks to promote intellectual growth and educate competent individuals.
• Positions teachers as the sole authority in their subject area or field.
• Focuses on essential skills (the 3 R's) and subjects like English, Science, History, Math, and Foreign Language.
• Stresses excellence in education, a back-to-basics approach, and cultural literacy.
• Progressivism aims to promote democratic and social living.
• Views knowledge as a driver for lifelong learning and development through active engagement.
• Integrates subjects to focus on student interests, human problems, and real-world affairs.
• Supports school reforms, relevant curriculum, contextualization, and humanistic education.
• Reconstructionism seeks to improve and reconstruct society, with education serving as a change agent.
• Teachers act as agents of change and reform through educational projects and research.
• Addresses present and future trends, as well as national and international issues.
• Promotes equality of educational opportunities and access to global education.

Psychological Foundations of Curriculum

• Psychology provides a basis for teaching and learning.
• Psychology unifies learning process elements and addresses questions related to education's psychological foundations.
• Three major groups of learning theories exist: Behaviorist Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, and Humanistic Psychology.

Behaviorist Psychology

• Learning is organized in a way that students experience success.
• The method uses a step-by-step manner of proper task sequencing, that is viewed as simplistic and mechanical by educational psychologists.

Cognitive Psychology

• Learning is a logical method for organizing and interpreting information.
• Learning is rooted in subject matter and is similar to cognitive development theory.
• Teachers use problem-solving and thinking skills such as reflective, creative, intuitive, and discovery learning.

Humanistic Psychology

• Focuses on how learners develop human potential.
• Emphasizes the process, personal needs, psychological meaning, and environmental situations over products or subject matter.
• Application of psychological foundations aids curriculum makers in nurturing advanced, comprehensive, and complete human learning.

Mental Check - Up on Philosophical Foundation

• Perennialism
• Teaches concepts focusing on knowledge and its meanings.
• Essentialism
• Believes that children should learn traditional basic subjects thoroughly.
• Progressivism
• Focuses curriculum on students' interests, human problems and affairs using interdisciplinary subjects that are integrative and interactive
• Reconstructionism
• It focuses the curriculum on present and future trends and issues of national and international interests.

Mental Check - Up

• Essentialism focuses on developing the 3 R's.
• Discovery approach/method is an example of Perennialism.
• Reconstructionism supports child-centered education.
• Learning-by-doing is an example of Progressivism.

Mental Check - Up on Psychological Foundation

• Cognitive approach
• Focuses attention on how individuals process information, monitoring and managing thinking.
• Behaviorist approach
• Learning is structured for students to experience success in mastering subject matter through step-by-step teaching with task sequencing.
• Humanistic approach
• Focuses on the process, personal needs, psychological meaning, and environmental situations, neglecting subjects or finished works.

Curriculum Theorists

• Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956) viewed curriculum as a science emphasizing preparation for adult life
• Werret Charters (1875-1952) considered curriculum as a science based on students’ needs, with teachers planning activities.
• William Kilpatrick (1871-1965) saw curriculum as purposeful, child-centered activities, focused on child development and growth.
• Harold Rugg (1886-1960) believed curriculum should develop the whole child, emphasizing social studies, with teachers planning lessons in advance.
• Hollis Caswell (1901-1989) saw curriculum organized around social functions, themes, organized knowledge, and learner's interests.
• Ralph Tyler (1902-1994) believed curriculum is a science and an extension of school's philosophy.

Historical Foundations of Curriculum

• The historical development of the curriculum shows changes in purpose, principles, and content.
• The changes are as a result of the influence of educational philosophy, psychology and pedagogical theories.
• The curriculum is ever changing, thus inputting knowledge and content from many fields of discipline

Social Foundations of Education

• Schools exist within a social context where societal culture affects and shapes schools and their curricula.
• Schools are among the many institutions that educate society.
• The home, family, and community educate people, whereas Schools are formal institutions addressing complex societies and the world.
• Dynamic society brings rapid changes that schools help to understand.
• Schools should address diversity, advancing knowledge, reforms, and education for all.
• The relationship between curriculum and society is mutual and encompassing, so curricula must reflect and preserve culture and aspirations.
• Society adopts changes brought by formal institutions such as schools.