DEFINITION

Curriculum is a tool in the hands of the artist to mould his material according to his ideals in his
studio (Cunningham)

Curriculum is the sum total of student activities which the school sponsors for the purpose of
achieving its objectives (Albert & Albert)

Curriculum is defined as all the directed learning experience of children and youth under the
influence of the school ( American Association of the School administration( 1953)

Curriculum as any schematic and systematic arrangement of materials o f instructions

extending over a considerable period of time and planned for a clearly differentiated group of
students. ( National league of Nursing)

TYPES OF CURRICULUM

OFFICIAL CURRICULUM

It include the stated curriculum frame work with philosophy and mission recognized list of out
comes, competencies and objectives for the programme and individual courses , course outline
and syllabi.

LEGITIMATE CURRICULUM

It is the one agreed on by the faculty either implicitly or explicitly. These written documents are
distributed to other faculty members students, curriculum committee members and according
agencies to document what is taught.

OPERATIONAL CURRICULUM

it is the curriculum which actually taught by the teacher and how its importance is
communicated to student. This curriculum include knowledge, skill and attitude emphasized by
faculty in the class room and clinical settings.

ILLEGITIMATE CURRICULUM

Is known and actively taught by faculty yet not evaluated because descriptors of the behaviors
are lacking. Such behaviors include caring compassion power and its use.
HIDDEN CURRICULUM

Consist of values and believes taught through verbal or non verbal communication by faculty.
Faculty may be unaware of what is taught through their expressions, priorities and interactions
with students, but students are very aware of the hidden agendas which may have a more
lasting impact that the written curriculum. The hidden curriculum includes the way interact
with students the teaching methods used and the priorities set

NULL CURRICULUM

Represent content and behavior that are not taught. Faculty need to recognize what is not
being taught and focus on the reason for ignoring that content, behavior areas. Eg: include
content skill faculty think are teaching but are not such as critical thinking. As faculty review
curriculum n all components and relationship need to be evaluated.

STUDENT CENTERED CURRICULUM

Programme has the students view. In this student should want something, perceive something
do something and get satisfaction form the resulting experience. It is related to pupil interest
learners have to be active the programme is flexible democratic and community.

CORRELATED CURRICULUM

Two or more subjects often exist in a school side by side with no apparent connection. In some
cases these points are natural for eg: mathematical formula for solving problem in physics and
chemistry.

INTEGRATED OR FUSED CURRICULUM

It means blended together. A pouring together of subjects and students might provide a
stronger base of learning. For eg: post basic nursing programme all the subject which basic
students learned in four years will be studied within 2 years as they had a preliminary training
in diploma course and post basic nursing will become stronger base of learning.

TRADITIONAL CURRICULUM

The traditional curriculum which has been in vogue for a sufficiently long time is conceived in
terms of subjects. It is nothing but a statement of the subjects of study with indications of their
extend and time limit. Each subject is a separated entity and its nature and score is clearly
defined. All stress is on the intellectual attainment of the child rather than on the values of
studies for personal and social development.
ACTIVITY CURRICULUM

Thinkers like Rousseau, Montessori, Dewey and Gandhi realized that education which does not
influence the child conduct is not worth the time, money and energy invested on it. Comenius
suggested that whatever has to be learnt it must be learnt by doing.

Rousseau said students must be made him busy in his work shop, where his hand works to
profit his mind. This all lead to the development of activity curriculum.

According to John Dewey “activity curriculum is a continuous stream of child activities,

unbroken by systematic subjects and springing from the interest and personally felt needs of
the child.

Activity should not conceived as physical activity alone. Rather it should include the activities of
head, hand and heart.

Banchara Branford has give three fold division of activities .according to this division the school
activities should pertain to the study of arts and craft, natural science and language, literature
and fine arts.

EXPERIENCE CURRICULUM.

A curriculum which give rich and varied experience of knowledge skill attitude and appreciation
is called the experience curriculum. No activity can be separated from experience. An educative
and meaningful activity must end in a gainful experience. In words of John Dewey experience is
a matter of the interaction of organism with its environment, and environment that is human as
well as physical that include the material of tradition and institution as well as local
surrounding.

UNDIFFERENTIATED CURRICULUM

It means a curriculum which does not aim at the specialized study of various subjects.
Specialization should not come at the higher secondary and the college level. At the primary
and junior secondary school stages, we should have undifferentiated or fused curriculum which
lays stress on the formation of worth while habits, skill and virtues. Development of fuller and
all round personality in possible only through integrated experience and the only means of
bringing about this integration is the unification of subjects and activities. It contain a certain
essential for all children without any consideration of their sex aptitude.

BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM

With a view to bring about an all round development of the child , the curriculum of basic
education has been constructed around three integrally related centers.
Physical environment

Social environment

Craft

All subjects and activities are co ordinate with these centers in order to give much needed unity
to school curriculum

Basic education as conceived and explained by Mahatma Gandhi is essentially an education for
life and what is more an education through life.

LIFE CENTERED CURRICULUM

In this curriculum all the important principle of constructing curriculum is kept in mind and then
selected activity and subjects for various grades of pupil, the result will be a balanced
curriculum. Such curriculum will include all the aspects of human activity and human
development and will cater to the need of both individual and the society. It will transmit the
cultural heritage, explain the present and help in planning the future and will in this way enable
the child to adjust himself properly to the modern complex and fast changing world.

CORE CURRICULUM

The curriculum core ideas is based on the fundamental psychological principle such learning
involves changes in behavior brought about through experience. Thus emphasis learning
activities that will bring about change in behavior. It is organized around types of problem of
personal and social concern common to all students in democracy and emphasize problem.
Successful implementation of core curriculum requires a wide range of co operative planning by
teachers and by student teacher planning.

MODELS OF CURRICULUM

A model is a representation of something and curriculum model are usually represented in

graphic forms that is writing and diagrams

PRODUCT MODEL OR BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES MODEL

This model is ascribed to Ralph Taylor. The emphasis on this model is on the achievement of
objectives by the student. It is an out put model. Tyler stressed the important of stating
objectives in terms of student behaviors.
PROCESS MODEL OF CURRICULUM

One of the major critics of the behavioral objectives model was the late Lawrence Stenhouse
who formulated an alternative approach known as process model. It is an input model. It
emphasis is on learning experience. The process of education . it says that much of the learning
is not observable. Teaching is geared to encourage unpredictable out comes evaluation is done
by critical appraisal of the students work using the criteria intrinsic to the discipline concerned
it includes self assessment of the students.

CULTURE ANALYSIS MODEL

The model has been developed by Denis Lawton as a reaction against what he sees as the
danger of the behavioral objectives model. As the name implies this model propose a
curriculum as the whole way of life of a society and the purpose of education is to make
available to the next generation what we repard as the most important aspect of culture.

Lawton offer a five stage model for this analysis

Stage1 cultural invariants- this examines all the aspects that human societies have in common
such as economic and model aspects believes and other system

Stage 2 cultural variables – involves analyzing the difference between cultures in each of the
system

Stage 3 selection from the culture – this stage consist of comparing the cultural analysis of the
system with the existing school curriculum

Stage 4 psychological questions and theories – this stage is not in direct continuity with the
previous stages, but is seen as an important consideration for any curriculum development

Stage 5 curriculum organization – in this final stage the curriculum can now be planned on the
basis of the cultural analysis carried out in the previous stage, bearing in mind the important
psychological questions and theories that influence learning and instructions.

BEATTIES 4 FOLD MODEL CURRICULUM

One recent approach to curriculum planning is this model

1 the curriculum as a map of key subjects: this approach consist of mapping out the integrating
them by means of themes such as human science.
2 the curriculum as a schedule of basic skills: this approach emphasis the explicit specification
of basic skills of nursing , these skills being called for recent empirical research into nursing
practice.

3 the curriculum as a portfolio of meaningful personal experience

This approach puts the student a the center of things by organizing the curriculum around their
interest and experience. This is done by using a variety of experimental technique such as
action research critical incidents role play and the like. There will always be a degree of tension
between the unpredictability consequent upon student opportunity to cover key areas.

4 the curriculum as an agenda of important cultural issues

This approach avoids giving detailed subject matter focusing instead on controversial issues and
political dilemmas in nursing and health care. These issues are chosen because they are open to
debate and have no right answer there by stimulating discussion and enquiry eg. Nurse power
vs. patient power.
LEVELS OF CURRICULUM PLANNING

There are 3 levels of curriculum planning identified in relation to the level of remoteness from
the act of learning itself by Good Land (1961)

 Societal curriculum
 Institutional curriculum
 Instructional curriculum

SOCIETAL CURRICULUM

This is the curriculum planned for a specific population of students by experts outside the
educational institution and who are legally appointed. In nursing education the societal level
curriculum is planned by different stuatuary bodies like INC, NATIONAL LEAGUE OF NURSING
etc

Giving adequated consideration to societal curriculum will help in achieving the much needed
uniformity and standardistion of nursing education.

INSTITUTINAL CURRICULUM

This is the curriculum which is prepared by the faculty of the institure for a particular group of
students for a definite period of time. Institutional curriculum synonymous with actual type of
curriculum.

INSTRUCTIONAL CURRICULUM

As the name indicated that is the curriculum prepared by individual teacher at the instructional
level.
PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Aggarwal describes curriculum as a tool in the hands of the teachers for giving training to
students in the art of living together in the community.

Aggarwal suggest the following principles for developing fruitful curriculum

 The conservative principle: this means that the; present past and the future needs of
the community should be taken into consideration. The past is a great guide for the
present as it helps us to decide what has been useful to those who have lived before
and what will be useful to those who are living now, so the function of the school is to
preserve and transmit, the traditions , knowledge ,experience and way of life to the
present generation. But one thing we must keep in mind is that only those subjects and
activiities which are required by the present generation should be considered.
 The forward looking people : children of today are the citizens of tomorrow. Therefore
their education should be such as it enables them to be progressive minded persons.
Education should give them a foundation of knowledge that will enable them to adjust
with the environment.
 The creative principle : in the curriculum those activities should be included which
enable the child to exercise his creative and constructive powers.
 Principle of totality form : the total learning experience and total learning opportunity
may have to be well planned as a whole curriculum and the teaching learning activity
needed for the entire period of time has to be considered while developing curriculum.
 The activity people : the curriculum should be developed in terms of activity and
experience rather than knowledge to be acquired and facts to be stored. Growth and
learning takes place only where there is activity. Experience rather than instruction is
required to meet the need of the various stage of growth.
 Principle of preparation for life: curriculum must be include those activities which enable
the child to fulfill his responsibilities when he becomes an adult.
 Principle of connecting to life : the curriculum which is planned and developed for a
particular educational programme should provide worth while life edperience , imn
other words subjects in curriculum should be linked with some of the actual life
situation
 Child centered curriculum: while developing the curriculum importance must be given to
the students age , their educational level , needs and individual difference. The
curriculum should be student oriented one rather than teacher oriented. It should be
adapted to the grade of the students and to the mental and physical development. The
experience provided should be within the levele of students
 Principle of integration and correlation: while developing curriculum there must be
continuity of subjects each years curriculum should be built on what has done in the
previous years and at the same time should serve as basis for subsequent learning. The
wholeness may have to be achieved through the principle of correlation and integration.
 Principle of comprehensiveness and Balance : while developing curriculum it should be
framed in such a way as every aspect of life, life economic relationship, social activities,
occupation is given importance
 Principle of loyalties: the curriculum should be planned in such a manner that it teahes a
true sense of loyalty to the family, the school, the country and the international
community at large.
 Principle of variety and flexibility: while constructing the curriculum variety should be
provided in terms of learning and teaching activities. Curriculum should not be too rigid
so that appropriate modification cab be done a and when needed.
 Principle of connecting to community need : the life style of the people cultural back
ground aspiration of the people and need of community should be considered while
constructing the curriculum
 Principle of connecting with social life: sociology has to be given due recognition so that
students can be prepared in such a way that they will be able to lead a well adjusted life
in a democratic society.
 Training for leisure: there should be some provisions for the co curricular activities,
relaxation, library utilization according to choice. While developing curriculum the whole
allotted time should not be fixed exclusively for learning and teaching activity.
 Principle of core or common subjects : there are certain broad areas of knowledge skill
and appreciation with which all the children must be conversant and these should find
place in the curriculum.
 Principle of all round development of body mind and spirit: all kinds of experience should
be provided to the student’s so that they may develop their all powers.
 Principle of democracy, secularism and socialism: curriculum should be such as it rains
the child to imbibe ideals and values of democratic secular and socialist state.
 Principle of dignity of labor: curriculum should make provision for socially useful
productive work. Curriculum should help the student to develop a positive attitude
towards all kind of jobs.
 Principle of character building : curriculum should provide those activities and
experience which promote human and social values. Well planned co curricular
activities will help the student to develop these values.

FACTORS INFLUENCING CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

 There are 6 factors which influence curriculum development

1. Philosophy
2. Educational psychology
3. Society
4. Knowledge
5. Life activities
6. Student

1 philosophy of nursing education

It is the vital factor in curriculum, it forms the basis for the final selection of the aims and
objectives of the curriculum.

The major purpose of education is to bring out change in behavior of the student. The type of
change brought about is influenced by philosophy of education

2 educational psychology

Educational psychology is the science which provides us with the data on problem of learning
through experimentation. It provides us with the data form which the principle of learning are
developed. Educational aims and objectives are the educational ends. They are the result to be
achieved through learning. If these aims and objectives are not in conformity with the
conditional intrinsic in learning they are worth little as educational goals.

3 society and curriculum

The study of nature of the society of which she is a part and of the health needs of society serve
as an important guide in the selection of educational objectives and the development of
curriculum in nursing. Nursing is one of the social institution concerned with the health that is a
fundamental need of all people so consequentyly cannot be separated from the society.

The social need of man is further met through the institution of the school and the instrument
used in the school to meet this need is the curriculum. The relationship between society and
education is a two way process that is that each influence the others.

The factors that influence curriculum change in society are :

  Social change

Urban industrial culture brought about many problems of cultural adjustments . many of these
adjustments leads to health problems and therefore have implication for nursing education.

 Technologic change:

Technological influence are assisting the nurse to save the life of the patient in a more reliable
manner, but it had taken away the human component in nursing.

Faster and relatively cheaper means of transportation have increased the mobility of the
population and therefore the contacts with people of different customs and values. Such
continuous movement creates the need for readjustment of interpersonal relationship. These
have created many problems.

Scientific discoveries can be shared through out the world in relatively short period of time. This
contributes to human comfort and health but added to many new health problems.

 Health needs

To know the social changes in our society and their influence on health the nurse education
need to know society’s health need and resources. Such information helps to determine the
number and kind of preparation that nurse need to meet society’s health needs.

 Student

Since the modern education is student centered, nursing education has to address the needs of
the students in a more humanitarian way without neglecting the patients right . provision for
guidance and counseling in the curriculum help them to solve many of their problem related to
personal and professional life. Curriculum should also give importance for high tech high touch
method so that student can maintain the human component of nursing without undermining
the advantage of the technologies advancement in patient care.

Curriculum should also prepare the student to lead a balanced life in the future by fulfilling
other roles in addition to that of a professional nurse. Such as a family member,a responsible
citizen , curriculum has to prepare the student as a good human being who possess the
qualities of a professional nurse. Thus nursing curriculum aims the total development of
students.

 Life activities
The term life activities include the nursing and the personal activities in which the students will
engage as a nurse and as a person. These are categorized as professional,family ,civic or
community , leisure , spiritual. The effective preparation of life activities involves the growth of
the students individual capacities and in social participation.

Professional activities include all those activities which nurses must do in the performance of
their functions as nurse. There fore analysis of all the activities carried on by nurses in nursing
practice provide important data which are essential to curriculum development in nursing.
Since the purpose of curriculum in the school or college of nursing is the preparation of a nurse
who can carry out those activities necessary to fulfill their functions as prpfessional nurse in a
democratic society.

 Knowledge

Knowledge can be classified broadly as descriptive and normative.

Descriptive knowledge consist of statement about things that can be perceived directly or in
principles. It include facts, laws rules theories principles etc. and states that things are this way
or that they act in this way.

Normative knowledge consist of rules , the norms , the standerds and the like of which
individual make moral or aesthetic choices.

The utilization of knowledge from other discipline and synthesizing the knowledge into a body
of knowledge to solve particular problems have long been done in professional fields.

It has been suggested that knowledge and ways of acquiring it in the curriculum be selected in
relation to two roles – the onlooker role and participant role.

Onlooker would be the person who needs a sufficient back ground knowledge to understand
the principles from a particular field of enquiry. Participant would be the scholar in the
individual discipline who needs much more mastery in the field in question and of its modes of
inquiry so that he could carry on study in the field.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
STEPS

There are five steps in curriculum development are:

Step 1 – formulating the statement of philosophy of the school or college or university

Step 2 – establishment of purpose and objectives of the school or college or university

Step 3 – selection of learning experience to achieve the purpose and objectives

Step 4 – evaluation of the total programme

PHASE 1 formulating the statement of philosophy

Educational objectives are the statement of those desired changes in behavior as a result of
specific teaching learning activity

Data required for formulating objectives

 Philosophical statement of the institute

 Social and health needs of the society
 Needs of the students
 Resources available in the society
 Entry criteria or level of students
 Specification of position held by the student on the completion of the programme like
staff nurse nursing tutor etc
 Minimum requirement in terms of clinical or other facilities prescribed by the statuatroy
bodies like nursing council, universities etc.
 Future trends in nursing
 Criteria’s to be fulfilled in order to appear for internationally reputed qualifying
examination like CGFNS,MOH etc

CRITERIAS FOR THE SELECTION AND STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

 Objectives have to stated in terms of desired changes in behavior and the area of
subject matter through which behavior is to operate
 Objectives must be most helping in the selection of learning experience and guiding
teaching activity
 The desired changes must agree with the educational objectives
 The objectives for the specific subjects should have a direct contribution to the
attainment of the overall objectives of the curriculum
 The objectives should be able to meet the social needs and social change
  Objectives should contribute to the continuous and total development of students
 Objectives selected should serve as a motivating factor for teachers as well as students
 Objectives should be easily accepted and understood by the teacher and the learner
 Objectives have to be stated by making it possible to maintain continuity sequence
correlation and integration of learning activity
 Objectives should be co operatively planned and developed by all teachers and by the
teacher and student whenever and wherever possible
 Objectives should be worked in such a way that each statement contain only one single
objectives
 While developing and formulating the objectives the scheme of evaluation may have to
be planned and developed.

STEPS IN PLANNING EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

According to Ralph Tylor there are nine essential tasks

1. Identify the needs of the learner

2. Identify the needs of the society
3. Study the suggestions of the expert
4. Formulate the philosophy
5. State the objectives inferred or gathered from various sources in a proper way
6. Formulate a theory of learning
7. Screen the objectives through educational philosophy
8. Define the objectives clearly in terms of content
9. State the educational objectives in terms of behavioral outcome or change.

PHASE 2 SELECTION OF LEARNING EXPERIENCE

It is defined as deliberately planned experience in selected situations where student actively

participate, interact and which result in desirable change in behavior.

Thus selection of learning situation together with corresponding learning activities comprise the
learning experience

Principle to be followed in the selection of learning experience

 All the learning needs should be in relation to the selected objectives

 Learning activities should be in relation to those real life situation where the students
are expected to practice after being qualified
 Selection should be in a matter that there is effective integration between theory and
practice
 Reactions sought must be within the range of possibility for the students concerned
 Learning experience should be selected in such a way that learner are constantly
motivated.
 Learning experience should be planned organized in such a way that the students get
meaning out of each experience and students should see the relationship between past
and present experience and focus on the future needs
 Learning is enhanced by utilizing a wide variety of teaching learning method
 Students will learn effectively If experience are satisfactory to them
 Learning experience should consider the students ability to undergo the desired changes
in behavior
 Learning experience should not be beyond the particular stage of development of
students
 Learning experience selected should be according to the needs of the students and
every students should be given similar learning experience.
 Learning experience selected should provide same or equal chances for all students

CLASSIFICATION OF LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Direct learning experience : it is the first hand experience with various objects or symbols
some of them are:

setting up apparatus for experiments

observing samples or specimens

performing nursing procedures

indirect learning experience

this is not the first hand experience eg: describing the steps of surgical procedures, listening
to oral descriptions of the procedure.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD LEARNING EXPERIENCE

  Allow the students learn by doing
 Should create motivation and interest
 Learning experience should be challenging to students
 Should satisfy the needs of the time
 Should bring out multiple outcome in students
 Help to acquire needed knowledge skill and attitude.

CRITERIA FOR THE SELECTION OF LEARNING EXPERIENCE

 I t should be consistent with the philosophy of the institute and lead to the achievement
of the institute and lead to the achievement of the objectives of the programme
 Should be varied and flexible
 Should provide sufficient opportunity for self activity
 Should provide opportunity for independent thinking and decision making self discipline
and sound judgments
 It should be adapted to need of the student
 Should be arranged in a manner that provide continuity correlation and integration of
theory and practice and clinical learning experience
 Should be planned co operatively by teacher and the student
 Learning experience are selected and arranged to give appropriate emphasis and weight
age according to the relative importance of the various learning experience and content.

ORGANISATION OF LEARNING EXPERIENCE

According to Tylor the primary aim of organization of learning experience in curriculum is to

bring and related various experience together to produce the maximum cumulative effect in
order to give a unified view of the whole.

Continuity, sequence and integration has to be followed while organizing the learning
experience.

Continuity is achieved through building each experience one after another

Sequence refers to building of learning experience one over the other more deeply and broadly

Integration is relating the learning experience in such a way that the learner gets a unified view
of whole learning.

ELEMENTS OF ORGANISING THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

  Grouping learning under subject heading : the practice of grouping learning experience
under subject heading is the most preferred method of organizing the learning
experience.
 Preparation of master plan for curriculum : this will give a clear picture how in which
year and in what stage is the subjects matter going to be taught and the relevant
clinical experience to be offered. The master plan should spell out the hours of planned
instructions and required hour of clinical experience per week as per month of the year.
 Placement of learning experience in the total curriculum : the learning experience
should be so organize that they continuously reinforce each other and broaden and
deepen the understanding and skills of the learner.
 Preparation of correlation chart : preparation of correlation chart will help to identify
the extend of correlation achieved in the total curriculum in relating to the difference
courses of study and the various subjects and the clinical experience offered in the
programme.
 Organization of clinical experience clinical experience is the vital element in the
curriculum of any nursing educations programme. The skill in carrying out the
procedure will develop only through the length and quality of clinical experience.
 Teaching system : teaching can be organized in different ways like complete blocks ,
partial block and study day system

ORGANISING OF CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

Preparing a clinical rotation plan will help in providing clinical experience to the students in an
effective manner. Clinical rotation plan is a statement which explains the order of the clinical
posting of various groups of nursing students belonging to different classes in relevant clinical
areas and community health setting.

EVALUATION OF THE CURRICULUM

Curriculum evaluation involves an assessment of the philosophy of the institution programme

goals of the institution nursing content taught in each course course objectives teaching
learning method course evaluation method and the relationship of non nursing course to the
overall plan of the study.

In the curriculum evaluation the evaluation of five M,s are done they are
Men – whether curriculum has been organized and implemented properly by the faculty
members and other personal involved

Money – whether money meant for curriculum development is utilized properly

Material – evaluation of text books literature and the like used for the development and
implementation of the curriculum

Method – whether teaching learning method which are planned in the curriculum are
appropriate

Minute – whether adequate time is given for theory and practical in each course like medical
surgical nursing, mental health nursing etc.

CONCLUSION

If the teacher in the school of nursing is to function intelligently in the development of the
curriculum , whether it be individually in planning and teaching her own classes or
cooperatively in curriculum committees, she need to understand the principles and practices
involved factors influencing curriculum development and the various steps involved in
curriculum development.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Neeraja. K.P. Text Book of Nursing Education ; Jypee publishers pp 143-147

Basavanthappa.B.T; Nursing education Jaypee publishers PP 124- 126

Loretta E Heidgerken , Teaching and Learning in schools of nursing 3rd edition Konark Publisher
pp 240- 245

Sankaranarayanan B.SIndhu B Learning teaching nusing Brainfill publisher pp67- 80

Judith A Halsted Teaching in Nursng a guide for faculty 2nd edition evolve publisher PP 102-107

Journal of nursing education june 2009 vol 48 no:6

Journal of nursing education jan 2009 vol 48 no: 1

Journal of nursing education feb 2009 vol 48 no:2