Curriculum

Curriculum
Curriculum plays an important role in the field of teacher education. Curriculum is the
planned interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources, and processes
for evaluating the attainment of educational objectives. Curriculum is used in several
meanings. There are also a number of definitions of the term, curriculum. The word
curriculum is derived from the Latin word 'currrere' which means 'run' and it signifies a 'run-
away' or a course which one runs to reach a goal Carl (1995:40) defines curriculum
development as"... an umbrella and continuous process in which structure and systematic
planning methods figure strongly from design to evaluation."For the purposes of this study,
this definition is accepted as it includes all aspects from design, dissemination, and
implementation to evaluation. 1
According to Taylor (1966) curriculum means all the learning which is planned or guided by
the school, whether it is carried in groups or individually, inside or outside the school. Kerr
(1968) says, "Curriculum means all the learning which is planned or guided by the school,
whether it is carried on in groups or individually, inside or outside the school”.2
Importance of curriculum in teacher education
A curriculum guides the instructional lessons that teachers use. A curriculum defines what the
learner will learn and can possibly guide when the learner learns the information from the
lesson. A curriculum offers teachers the ideas and strategies for assessing student progress. A
student must meet certain academic requirements in order to go to the next level. Without the
guidance of a curriculum, teachers cannot be certain that they have supplied the necessary
knowledge or the opportunity for student success at the next level, whether that the levels
involve a high school, college or career. 3
Curriculum can help students to achieve some personal control over their learning, to plan
their semester, and to manage their time effectively, and describes Active Learning. Students
often conceive of learning as the acquisition of correct information, but they may not know
1
Carl, A. (2009). Teacher empowerment through curriculum development theory into practice. Juta&Company
Ltd. Education, Inc.Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction Connecticut State Department of Education. (2006,
November 3). Guide to Curriculum Development: Purposes, practices, Procedures. In Connecticut State
Department of Education
2
Glickman, C. D., Gordon Glickman, C. D., Gordon, S. P., & Ross-Gordon, J. M. (2013). The basic guide to
supervision and instructional leadership (3rd ed., pp. 250-262). Boston: Pearson
3
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what it means to take an active role in the process, beyond rote memorization and recall,
students should be given some idea about what they should already know and what skills they
should already have before taking course so they can realistically asses their readiness, sets
the course in a Broader Context for Learning, describes Available Learning Resources.4
Curriculum development
Curriculum development is the process of creating planned syllabus, teaching, training, and
exhibition modes. It is a term used to refer to the process of instituting and putting in place
precise guidelines of instruction for the curriculum. It describes ways in which teaching and
different training organizations plan and guide learning which can be in groups or as an
individual. Curriculum development is a local, regional, or state/provincial level process that
student teachers often have difficulty comprehending.5
In their eyes, it is something undertaken by authorities (e.g., regional advisory committee

members) with years of experience in the teacher education system. The expectation of the
teacher candidates, often enough, is that they will learn how to teach and thereby become
effective at transmitting the knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with a particular
subject or program. Education practitioners with years in the profession know differently.
Successful practice in the classroom is inextricably linked to curriculum development-the
everyday decisions about both what to teach and how to teach.
Curriculum development process
Curriculum development is dynamic process it changes according to the need of the society
and the stakeholders of the education system. The curriculum development process includes
several stages such as planning, preparing, designing, developing, implementing, evaluating,
revising, and improving. Traditionally curriculum development has been seen as planning for
a sustained process of teaching and learning in a formal institutional setting. Curriculum
development is systematic and dynamic process sensitive to time and place in which
preparation, development, implementation and evaluation steps are involved.6
The challenges in curriculum development
4
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5
Fullan, M. (1991). The meaning of educational change. New York: Teacher College Press
6
Devi , N.S. (2005) .Assessment of attitude towards teaching , Edu-tracks vol. 4.no.12, India : Neelkamal
publications
There are varieties of challenges facing curriculum development, but in general they are
classified into three types, global challenges (external), internal challenges of the education
systems, and challenges specific to Region. With regard to the external challenges,
curriculum planners should response to eight critical processes: the process of globalization,
accelerated pace of scientific and technological progress, radical transformation in the work
field, increasing social inequalities, progress of democracy and human rights, multi-
culturalism, the feeling of insecurity, and moral decline. In addition, the third type of
challenges may be summarized as: universal literacy, shortage of highly skilled human
resources, reconciling traditional orientation of education with the aspiration for modernity,
privatization of schools, diversification of the economy, the need to invest more in education
research.7
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Curriculum

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Curriculum

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Curriculum

Importance of curriculum in teacher education

In their eyes, it is something undertaken by authorities (e.g., regional advisory committee

Curriculum development process

The challenges in curriculum development

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