Chapter 2- CURRICULUM DECISION MAKING: ITS NATURE

& PERSONNEL (Part 1)

Professional Education 7:

Curriculum Development & Instructional Planning

Philippine Normal University College of Education

•OBJECTIVE

At the end of this chapter, students are expected to:

1. Understand the nature of curriculum decisions and the sociopolitical arenas where community & school personnel make decisions.

CURRICULUM DECISION MAKING

•NATURE OF CURRICULUM

CURRICULUM

-what is taught to students, including planned & unplanned information, skills & attitudes.

•NATURE OF CURRICULUM

Klein (1991) categorizes these in deciding what can & should be selected in giving solutions in curriculum decisions:– Content– Purposes, goals & objectives– Materials & resources– Activities & teaching strategies– Evaluation– Grouping, time & space

•NATURE OF CURRICULUM

1. CONTENT

– Comes from the disciplines or other organized bodies of knowledge & can take several forms, such as facts, concepts & generalization.

•NATURE OF CURRICULUM

2. GOALS, OBJECTIVES & PURPOSES– are labels applied to the results of students’ participation in

purposeful learning activities.

GOALS– referring to general learning outcomes

OBJECTIVES– referring to specific learning outcomes

PURPOSES– eventual outcomes of learning that result from work in a

curriculum over a period of time are commonly called “purposes of education”

•NATURE OF CURRICULUM

3. MATERIALS & RESOURCES– include “the objects, places & people

used to facilitate the learning process—the tools used with students to assist learning” (Klein, 1991, p. 3).

•NATURE OF CURRICULUM

4. ACTIVITIES & TEACHING STRATEGIES– are ways in which students become involved in

learning the curriculum

ACTIVITIES– can be passive or active, self-directed or teacher-

directed

TEACHING STRATEGIES– describe teachers’ roles within activities that help

students meet the learning outcomes

•NATURE OF CURRICULUM

5. EVALUATION– includes the procedures for determining

degrees of student learning as well as methods of analyzing & interpreting results.

Program evaluation focuses on determining how well the curriculum works.

•NATURE OF CURRICULUM

6. GROUPING ,TIME & SPACE– are all important issues in the use of curricula in classrooms

GROUPING– refers to the clustering of students for particular experiences either

by grade, by experiential background, or by ability levels TIME

– Is a limited resource whose allocations are made by groups outside, as well as inside the school setting

SPACE– refers to the design & use of school & classroom physical work &

play areas

•NATURE OF CURRICULUM

ADDITION:– Decisions also have a values dimensions– Curriculum decisions are made on the basis of

people’s values & beliefs (Goodlad & Su, 1992, Tyler, 1949)

• Values must satisfy the criteria of ideas chosen from alternatives, based on consideration s of their consequences, cherished enough to be made public, & acted upon in some way.

• Beliefs refers to ideas accepted as true, but more susceptible to change than values (Raths, Harmin, & Simon, 1978)

ARENAS OF CURRICULUM

DECISION MAKING

Curriculum decisions involve values that people express through actions at different levels of a political decision-making hierarchy encompassing national, state & local levels.

These arenas & decision categories typically affected are described here:

• National Level

The U.S. Constitution assigns the primary power for educational matters to state governments who delegate authority for certain decisions to local educational authorities, usually school districts.

Examples:a. From the late 1950s through 1970s, federal funding

pushed evaluation & brought about significant changes in program evaluation (Stufflebeam & Shinkfeild, 1985).

b. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 changed school curricula by requiring that handicapped individuals be provided educational opportunities in least-restrictive environments (Elmore & Sykes, 1992)

c. The Supreme Court decisions banning school-sponsored religious activities deleted curricular activities that had been included on a daily basis in some districts (van Geel, 1991).

•State Level

Traditionally, states have boards of education that set of policies for public schools in matters such as;

• achievement testing

• high school graduation requirements

• state subject-specific curriculum guidelines

• school evaluation & certification

• materials selection processes

• teacher certification requirements, &

• educational information management systems (Tyree, 1993).

Twenty-two states that adopt textbooks for schools generally exert their control through mandates over the – Curriculum– curriculum guides– content coverage &– testing programs

In the early 1990s, 42 states had some form of minimum competency testing that directly affected district curricula.

• Mandated state test are usually based on list of basic/required/essential skills that students are expected to master before graduation.

Gubernatorial offices & state legislatures through budgeting authority strongly influence the content and purpose of curricula.– Both agencies support or curtail certain programs

based on a variety of reasons & values.

•Local level

Decisions in all the categories are made or remade locally at either the districts, school or classroom level.

Regardless of the level, local curricula must comply with federal & state guidelines.

COMMUNITY PERSONNEL

INVOLVEMENT

Community Personnel– Include people not associated

with particular schools or districts as employees or students.• Citizens

• Parents & Guardians

•COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE

Composed of individuals & groups who influence curricula, particularly at societal & institutional levels.

Their agendas often dictate the school curricula’s

• Purposes• Goals &• Content

•EXAMPLES

1993 Poll showed that: (public surveys)

• 48% high schools should offer a wide variety of courses

• 51% high schools should concentrate on basic courses such as English, Mathematics, History & Science

• 1% did not express their opinions

(values emphasize)

In 1994 poll showed that:• At least 90% or more of the respondents believed that people in communities could agree on a set of basic values.

•COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE

Government officials & groups– It also seek to influence curriculum matters

Professional groups– Include specialists in any of several diciplines

Business & industries– Represent groups concerned about what students learn in

schools because they provide jobs & careers.

Civic groups Environmental groups Parents & guardians

•GOVERNING BOARD/SITE-BASED GROUPS

Governing boards– Composed of citizens elected to serve their local

school districts.

Management groups– Typically schedule public hearings on curriculum

matters to provide information to citizens & solicit input from them.

– Expected to influence curriculum matters locally through leadership in districts or schools.