Foundations of Curriculum PDF

## UNIT 02: FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM ### 2.1 PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge. It is the study of realities and general principles. It concerns with the research of internal truths. Philosophy provides systematic procedure for clarifying issues and prob...

## UNIT 02: FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM ### 2.1 PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge. It is the study of realities and general principles. It concerns with the research of internal truths. Philosophy provides systematic procedure for clarifying issues and problems and making decisions on-critical points of curriculum development. Philosophical work can aid curriculum development in many ways, but it is particularly useful in helping us to understand: - Nature of educational objectives; - The structure or inter-relationship of the objectives; and - Nature of curriculum activities. Defined literally, philosophy is "pursuit of rational thinking and sound judgment". Aristippus wrote, "Philosophy is the ability to feel at ease in any society." Kabir, Huyaun stated, "Philosophy seeks to give knowledge of the whole". ### Philosophy and Curriculum Every society is held together by a common faith or "Philosophy", which serves its members as a guide for living a good life. It is, therefore, quite natural for the adults of the society to pass on this philosophy or "knowledge of good" to their children. In primitive societies knowledge of the good life was passed on informally, from father to son and from mother to daughter. But in developing and developed societies, schools are established to induct the young into the ways of living that adults consider well. Thus the curriculum of the schools, whatever else it may do, is first and foremost designed to win the hearts and minds of the young to those principles and ideals that will direct them to wise decisions, i.e. decisions whose consequences lead to the concepts of good life. Indeed, the curriculum is so thoroughly permeated with the cultural aspects of philosophy of life that a certain philosopher of education was prompted to write, "what a man really believes is frequently more clearly revealed in what he teaches to his students than in what he professes in his public statements (Thut 1957). ### Philosophical Categories There are three philosophical categories that have particular relevance for curriculum development: 1. **ONTOLOGY** (The Nature of Reality) 2. **ESPISTEMOLOGY** (The Nature of the Knowledge) 3. **AXIOLOGY** (The Nature of Value) #### Ontology Ontology is concerned with the nature of reality, and by asking the question "what is real". A number of queries become clear. While this question may appear simple at the first glance, it deserves greater consideration. Different societies, for example, perceive reality in quite different ways, as do individuals, who constitute these societies. In primitive societies, it was accepted as real that the earth was flat, yet today we would regard this as nonsense. Similarly, one society may regard the use of chemical fertilizers as essential, while another may consider biological wastes more useful than the chemicals. Thus what is real to a society is very important and must be taken account while constructing curriculum. Indeed, some curriculum developers see their role as a vehicle for change. Thus a new social studies curriculum may depict "Kelly Gang" as a symbol of working-class resistance to authoritative oppression and so re-create reality for a new generation of school students. Thus, some recent curriculum developments like multiculturalism, gender equality and environmental education, etc. have sought to achieve just that. #### Epistemology The philosophical problem that deals with the nature of knowledge and of knowing is called epistemology. For Waller and Evers (1988), "epistemology is the study of the nature, scope and applicability of knowledge". In curriculum what we advocate becomes the basis for student learning. We are actually concerned with the nature of knowledge, its basis, how we know and what we know. When studying epistemology, we ask: - What is, true? - How do we know the truth? - How do we know what we know? These are obviously vital questions for curriculum developers to consider, particularly in a society, which purportedly values truth and seeks to pass the truth to subsequent generations. Ultimately our position becomes a statement of faith, a stand on those questions which we believe, and are prepared to accept, as true. As such we rely heavily upon our fundamental ontological beliefs (what is real?). In this way the close relationship between epistemology and ontology is consolidated. Thus in any curriculum development activity, but particularly in relation to schools the epistemological stance taken by those developers involved is of vital importance. Will they include the accepted truth? What does that constitute? To what degree is there a consensus accepting that truth, or, is that "consensus" a fallacy too? And so the epistemological questions continue. At the very least, curriculum developers should be aware of epistemology and be prepared to pose the fundamental questions involved in such a study. #### Axiology Axiology is that aspect of philosophy that is concerned with the nature of value. Axiology questions are a fundamental feature of our life in that the resulting decisions have a profound effect upon our behaviour. Questions such as: - What is good? and - What is attributable to humans? etc. are both fundamental to our very existence and constantly present in our daily lives. Thus the axiological considerations are important in one's development of a curriculum for future generations. Zais (1975) contends that axiological questions are usually divided into two main categories: - **Ethics** - **Aesthetics** ##### **Ethics** Is concerned with concepts of good and bad, right and wrong as they apply to human behaviour. When constructing the curricula, developers should be aware of both their own ethical positions and the ethical basis (hopefully not biases) that they are integrating into the curriculum. Thus, developers will select objectives and contents that in their minds are more ethical both in terms of knowledge and process. Robert Zais summarized the situation succinctly "Education, after all, is a process of deliberately influencing. Children and youth in such a way that they become what they would not otherwise become. And the curriculum is the master plan by which this purpose is accomplished. At this point it is important to raise these issues and questions in the minds of curriculum developers. There is increasing evidence in recent years that saver elements of Pakistani society want a greater and more purposeful input of ethical aspects into school curricula. ##### **Aesthetics** Is concerned with such values and issues as beauty and enjoyment of human experience. Aesthetics questions: What is beautiful? What aspects of senses produce enjoyment? And what aesthetic experiences yield "higher order" enjoyment? The issues involving aesthetics produce particular difficulties curriculum developers because individuals answer the above questions in very different ways. What is beautiful to one person may be ugly to another, particularly if they come from different cultures. And what produces aesthetic enjoyment to one individual, may produce hay fever in another'! The sensory pleasure associated with a bottle of quality cold drink may be difficult for the patient/individual who suffers from allergies. In answer to these questions, curricula developers in the part have opted for a more conservative, accepted vie of what is beautiful and what is enjoyment. In more recent times this position has weakened and we have witnessed the emergence of more "popular" aesthetics within the school curriculum. ### 2.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS The word psychology is derived from two Greek words "psyche" means' soul and "logos" means study. Psychology is the scientific study of human behaviour. #### Role of Psychology in Curriculum Development Psychology attempts to describe, explain and predict human behavior. Psychology gives us an insight into the child's development and learning and provides various techniques of inquiry for use in the curriculum area. The contribution of psychological basis to curriculum is significant and is growing. As this is a relatively young discipline, the scope for applying its concepts, principles, processes and values to curriculum development is gradually increasing.. #### Psychological Sources The purpose of psychology is the study of human behaviour. The psychologists are concerned with: - Describing - Explaining - Predicting - Evaluating (investigating) the behaviour of human being, curriculum developers, therefore, can draw upon psychology, particularly educational psychology, for at least five areas of information: 1. Educational objectives 2. Student characteristics 3. Learning process 4. Teaching methods 5. Evaluation procedures The study of psychology does not provide a source of contents in a school curriculum (other than for a few subjects on psychological studies) Let us briefly examine the psychological sources that the curriculum developers can employ ##### **Educational objectives** Knowledge of the psychology of learning helps the curriculum developers to devise and phrase appropriate goals and objectives. The curriculum developers can determine whether goals and objectives are suitable for various developmental levels and ages of learners and that whether they are attainable or not. Subsequently, the formulation of curriculum goals and objectives has profound influence upon the selection of contents for the curriculum. ##### **Student/Learner Characteristics** An understanding of the nature of learners particularly of individual differences and personalities will assist the curriculum developers to make more choices in curriculum decision-making. The study of personality can tell us whether different personalities respond to learning experiences in different ways. Indeed, this is something the experienced teacher has long known and some teachers have endeavoured to accommodate these differences within their classrooms. Similarly, an understanding of individual differences is most useful to the curriculum developers. An effective curriculum is able to accommodate differences in student skills and abilities. ##### **Learning Processes** Perhaps the greatest contribution that psychology makes to curriculum is an understanding of how people learn. The curriculum developers, who have a sound grasp of learning and learning theory, are in a commanding position to devise an appropriate curriculum for learners. In particular, an understanding of learning is essential to the effective selection of appropriate learning/teaching strategies. Whether or not one supports a theory of operant conditioning such as that of B.F. Skinner, some forms of Gestalt theory (K. Lewin), Jean Piaget's approach to growth and development, or some other form of explaining how learning occurs, the final outcome speaks how the curriculum is shaped. Indeed, one of the difficulties encountered by curriculum developers is the vast array of theories, paradigms and algorithms that support to explain the process of learning. ##### **Teaching Methods** Psychology makes a significant contribution to both the selection of learning experiences and the way teaching is conducted in the classroom. In the school curriculum an understanding of psychology is essential to the curriculum developers in devising appropriate learning experiences and conditions for learning. In selecting learning experiences, the curriculum developers should take an account of: - Learning theories - Individual differences amongst students - Motivational strategies - Personality - Cognitive and affective development - Teaching style - Group dynamics - Teaching methodology and - Learning styles This extensive list of psychological factors suggests that the curriculum developers can make substantial use of psychological sources while selecting learning/teaching experiences. ##### **Evaluation procedures** Psychology can also provide curriculum developers with directions for undertaking the evaluation of students and teachers, performance. Educational psychologists have developed a vast array of techniques for measuring the degree of students learning, students' attitudes towards learning/ teaching and so forth as well as the extent of teacher's effectiveness. Educational psychologists, as well as other educators have been concerned with such evaluation issues as: - Norm-referenced assessment or criterion referenced assessment, - The role of formative evaluation - Appropriate instruments to measure students' perform - Determination of teacher's effectiveness These aspects of psychology indicate the range of influence that psychology has upon the development of curriculum. ### Human Growth and Development Knowledge about the growth and development of the child has a great bearing on what to teach at a given level. Learning outcomes have to be determined with reference to the characteristic thought forms at the various age levels, with a view to orienting curriculum to child/learners needs and capacities. We must consider the functioning of intelligence and development of capacities. The processes of human development and nature of learning have special significance for curriculum development. The relationship between psychological foundations and the curriculum are given below: - Curriculum to be child-centered, must take into account the psychological make-up the learners i.e. nervous system has a great bearing on the curriculum development for different age groups. - Learning experiences should be provided according to the mental development of the learner. On this account, learners are divided into ability grouping. - The effectiveness of the curriculum depends on the interests of the learners. So the curriculum planning, must take into account the interests of the learners. Human growth and development are very important elements in curriculum development. Curriculum decisions are not to be made arbitrarily but on the factors determining individual's growth and development. A fixed and rigid curriculum is hardly suitable as it fails to accommodate the needs of slow learners, late starters as well fast learner. School curriculum on the whole, should aim at enabling the learners to acquire knowledge, develop concepts and inculcate skills, attitudes, values and habits conductive to the all-round development of their personality and commensurate with the social, cultural, economic and environmental realities at national and international levels. ### 2.3 SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS Curriculum must take into account the sociological considerations otherwise it will remain bookish and divorced from life. A curriculum that ignores sociological foundations does not serve any purpose. It results in waste of time, energy and resources. It will produce individuals, who cannot play their role effectively as enlightened members of a society. A sound curriculum must be based on the needs and aspirations of a society. An unrelated curriculum may lead to individuals, who can neither find employment nor engage themselves in fruitful occupations and consequently remain dissatisfied, maladjusted and frustrated. #### Etymological Meaning of Sociology Sociology as defined in dictionaries is "the science or study of society." The term was coined by COMTE (1830) linking the Latin "socius" (originally a people, tribe or city allied to Rome, but later a society) to the Greek "logos" (study). The term spread rapidly and is now used in virtually all languages to denote any real rigorous, reasoned study of society. #### Definitions of Sociology "Sociology is the systematic study of the groups and societies, human beings build and the way these alliances affects our behaviour". "Sociology is the study of social life and social causes and consequences of human behaviour". "Social life" encompasses ali interpersonal relationships. The "causes and consequences of human behaviour" encompasses how these relationships, groups, and organizations are inter-related and how they influence personal and interpersonal behaviour. "Sociology is the study of social relationships, social institutions and society". #### Role of Sociology in Curriculum development According to sociologists, schools are social institutions specially set up for the preservation of culture and transmission of culture by society. School seeks to discharge this function through the curriculum. The curriculum, therefore, includes learning experiences based on the ways of life, kinds of knowledge, attitudes and beliefs that are considered important by the society. Some kinds of selection are needed; as all the aspects of culture cannot be included in the curriculum planning thus becomes a way for the selection of various elements. These are various sociological foundations like cultural, economic and political that deeply influence the school curriculum, its conception, content and organization. Among the most important sociological considerations that should guide those engaged in the task of curriculum development, may be listed as below: - Changing values of the people - Core values of society - Demands of modernization - Criterion of a good family life - Media explosion - New forms of cooperation - Population explosion - Regional and national imbalances - Economic efficiency - Education for fellowship and leadership creative and purposeful activities #### Curriculum for Modernizing the Society The curriculum for modernizing the society stressed the following: - Restructuring contents of the various subjects in the light of modern development in science and technology. - Adopting new methods of teaching. - Encouraging activities for awakening curiosity and developmental interests, attitudes and values and the building up of such essential skills as independent study and capacity to think and judge for oneself. #### Culture Culture defines an accepted way of life. One implication of this statement, of course, is that the "accepted" way of life is the preferred way that is the "accepted" way of life has more" value" then other alternative ways. We can see that culture is a "value loaded" enterprise, so to speak. It provides the members of society with the "good" and the "bad", the "beautiful" and the "uglies," the "should" and the "should not". #### Society and Culture A society is a collection of individuals, who have organized themselves into a distinct group. To be a society, however, a distinct group and not just a collection of individuals, the members of the group must perceive themselves as "having things in common", which enable them to "belong". These "things in common" are the stuff of which culture is made. Culture, then, may roughly be viewed as a kind of social cement that consists of the characteristics, habits, ideals, attitudes, beliefs and ways of thinking of a particular group of people. Even from these sketchy definitions, it is clear that while society and culture is certainly not the same thing, "without a culture there could be no society, and without a society there could be no culture". #### Complexity of the Concept "Culture" Culture is a highly complex concept that requires a great deal of considerations and study then we are able to allow here; it is similar to such concepts as "democracy", "morality" and "love", which have a multiplicity of meanings. In relatively broad term we might say that culture defines an accepted way of life. It includes a vast array of easily observed facets of living such as material products, political and social organizations, characteristic vocations, modes of dress, fads, foods, games, music, child bearing and rearing practices, and religious and patriotic rituals. #### The Structure of Culture A structural framework was proposed for the purpose of facilitating the study of curriculum. This theoretical model was based upon a classification of the total curricular phenomenon into a complex of eight internal factors, which are: - Epistemology - Society/Culture - The individual - Learning theory - Aims - Contents - Learning activities - Evaluation In much the same way, the study of culture will be facilitated if we are able to proceed upon the basis of a hypothetical structural framework. One useful framework, proposed by Ralph Linton (1936), is presented here because of its simplicity and its congruence with the theoretical constituents of society and culture that we have been developing. Linton has proposed that all elements of culture can be classified into three principal categories: - The universals - The specialties - The alternatives ##### The universals The universals comprise those values, beliefs and customs that are generally held by the entire adult population. For example, in a wide variety of instances, behaviour in such areas as language, food, religion and economics tends rather circumscribed in our society. ##### The specialties The second category identified by Linton, includes those elements of the culture to be found only within sub-groups of the society. Among the most common of these are the vocational subgroups: in our society certain behaviour is expected of professors, for example, that be quite different from those expected of businessmen. Thus, professors are expected to be shabbily dressed: thinkers leftist in their politics, absentminded, and impractical in worldly affairs; businessmen, by contrast, tend to be viewed as smartly dressed doers, conservative in their politics, mentally alert, well organized, efficient, and practical. ##### The Alternatives The alternatives are those beliefs and practices that violate culturally accepted norms (universals and specialties) in their attempt to fulfill a need, solve a problem, or simply to allow a more congruent perception of reality. Alternatives are like specialties; however, all members of the society may not share them. Unlike specialties, however, any sub-group may not share them. A simple, tangible example of an alternative might be the introduction of pizza in place of the traditional food as an afternoon (lunch) or dinner. Since curriculum workers and teachers are in the business of intervening in the lives of young people for the purpose of making them something that they would not otherwise become,, it is necessary not only that they have full and conscious knowledge of cultural universals and specialties, but that they evaluate and compare them with all manners of alternatives. Current practice, however, consists mainly of accepting cultural directives and transmitting them through curriculum as efficient as possible. This procedure, of course, constitutes little more than mindless indoctrination. To educate, on the other hand, calls for a curriculum that promotes the illumination, examination, and evaluation of cultural universal and specialties in the light of projected desirable alternatives. As we shall see in the following sections, breaking out of the cultural trap is a long, demanding process requiring substantial quantities of both wisdom and courage. #### Values Based Curriculum: Like the concept of "culture", value is a misleading complex idea/opinion. Following types of experiences and activities may be planned for developing desirable values among pupils: - Exemplary behaviour of teachers - Value formation through various types of co-curricular i.e., student participation in school management, social programmes, labour weeks, visits to hospitals, etc. - Lectures or discourses - Creation of an environment of psychological safety and security for the students in the school - Value oriented content in various subjects studied in school #### Classification of Values Values have been classified in a number of ways and their meanings also vary. ##### Instrumental Value A subject is said to have instrumental value when it is pursued, not for its own sake, but for some ends beyond itself. Instrumental values preparatory or introductory, practical or utilitarian, socializing and conventional values. ##### Preparatory Value A subject is said to have a preparatory valve when it prepares the way for other studies. Arithmetic prepares the way for Algebra. ##### Introductory Value Since a particular study introduces us to a number of subjects, it has an introductory value. It is identical with the preparatory value. To illustrate we may select physical Geography which introduces us to a little of Botany, Zoology, physics and Chemistry. ##### Practical or Utilitarian Value These values lie in a study of subject whose pursuit is individually and directly useful as it satisfies many wants and needs. The subject is individually and directly practical when the knowledge of the subject is applied directly by the person himself. A person may use his knowledge of hygiene to avoid smallpox. The same knowledge can, however, be used though other agencies, through society, for example. A subject is said to possess a socializing value when it creates socially desirable habits and reactions, or when it enables us to understand society in its complexities. The socializing value includes moral values too. These moral values refer to certain moral habits that society wants individuals to develop through education. ##### Conventional Value Conventional values implies to a value, which is customarily described and desirable in a subject. Certain subjects may be studied because their knowledge is expected of people of a certain class. Their knowledge is, indeed, for proper social enjoyment. In the time of Locke, a gentleman was expected to learn Latin, Greek and German because they were necessary in that social set up. ##### Intrinsic Value Dewey has described these as the appreciative studies. The resulting experiences in these subjects are worthwhile on their account. The values that occur from their studies are in the form of pleasures or intellectual joys. ##### Liberalizing and Sentimental Values The liberalizing values consist of the pleasure that accompanies intellectual insight. The sentimental value, on the other hand, refers to pleasure that emerges when our feelings are exercised. The aesthetics, the comics, the social and the moral situations may arouse our feelings. Drama, literature, music, painting, sculpture and religion have, in varying degrees, these values. ##### Essential Values These values involve the basic nature of man himself and include elementary physical skills, basic social skills, ability to use symbols such language and numbers. ##### Personal Values These values make a person good for himself. ##### Social Values These values are good for the society and form the basis of relationship of an individual with other people in society. ##### Institutional Values These include values established by institutions. ##### Global Values These values are determined completely outside the schools. Values may differ from place to place and time to time but values like truth and love remain constant. #### Influences of Society and Culture on Curriculum The social and cultural influences that affect curriculum developers are evident in both conscious and unconscious ways and their impact is certainly profound. Education manifests through the curriculum and reflects society and culture, that reflection is a result of curriculum developers being an integral part of that society and culture in both of the above ways. In this way the curriculum more "reflects" society and than society leads to change. Indirectly society and culture influence curriculum developers simply because they are members of a particular society, cultural values, attitudes and beliefs are acquired by individuals unaware of that process, yet, once acquired these cultural traits become consolidated and affect our social behaviour. And when the process of curriculum development takes place, the cultural traits within developers influence the very selection of objectives, contents, methods and evaluation that constitute the curriculum they are devising. Take, for example, a group of primary school teachers, who decide to enhance the literacy component of an existing curriculum on completion one could analyze the result to determine why they undertook the task, what objectives were formulated, what content was employed, how it was taught and how it was evaluated. In many instances, when probed deeply enough, the teachers would be unaware of the basis of their decisions. If story reading were a component of the revised curriculum, what proportion would be oral reading? Why? And how would that be assessed? What stories were selected for students? Why? These are typical of the questions that should be asked of curriculum developers when they construct curricula, and which reveal indirect influences of society and culture. Alternatively, curriculum developers may be well aware of social and cultural influences and have the deliberate intention in mind (or not) of reproducing aspects of that culture in the curriculum. #### Culturally induced bias and the Curriculum One particular aspect of the social and cultural influences on the curriculum, which deserves specific attention, is that of culturally induced bias. As societies perpetuate themselves through implementing values in the young through institutions such as schools, it is distinctly probable that some of these values will be culturally biased. Indeed, these values may be so effectively integrated within schools and society that they are perceived not as biased but as accepted components of the very fabric of society. It can be argued that until recently the perception of the traditional occupational role for women was that of child rearing and domestic duties. A small range of their typical occupations such as nursing, teaching, secretarial duties and so forth were also condoned with society. But to imagine, even before 30 years, women lawyers, engineers, politicians, pilots, judges and senior business executives would have been almost unthinkable. Today the former view is perceived largely as ludicrous. But to achieve this change in values and attitudes many barriers have had to be surmounted, not the least being pervasively held sex-stereotyped beliefs. These beliefs were so tightly woven into the fabric of society that they were perceived as natural and essential. In changing these stereotypes, the school curriculum was seen as an important vehicle in promoting and consolidating the new values and attitudes. In fact, it can be seen that social and cultural forces have a profound effect upon the curriculum in both direct and indirect ways. Curriculum developers whether at systemic, local or school level within educational enterprise, should not forget that they are a product of their culture and that every decision that they make will be culturally related, Lastly, curriculum developers serve the function of translating traditional ideas, assumptions, values, knowledge and attitudes into curriculum objectives, content, learning activities and evaluation. Of these curriculum elements, sociological sources have their greatest impact on content. Thus it' is not possible to talk about a culture free curriculum.