📘 Models of Curriculum Development
Curriculum development is a systematic
and planned process that aims to bring about desirable changes in learners
through structured educational experiences. While curriculum experts differ in
their views and ideologies, they all agree on certain fundamental components
and questions that guide the design of a curriculum.
Three major models commonly discussed
in curriculum development are:
- 🌀 Tyler’s Curriculum Inquiry Model
- 🌿 Hilda Taba’s Grassroots Rational
Model
- 🛠️ Saylor and Alexander’s Planning
Process Model
Let’s explore these in detail:
🔷 1. Tyler’s Curriculum Inquiry Model (1949)
📖 Introduction:
Ralph Tyler is considered one of the
pioneers in the field of curriculum development. His model, described in his
classic work "Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction",
laid the foundation for many modern educational planning frameworks.
Tyler proposed that every curriculum
should be built around four fundamental questions, which guide the
entire teaching-learning process.
❓ Tyler's Four Basic Questions:
1.
🎯 What educational purposes should the
school seek to attain?
– This refers to identifying clear instructional objectives.
2.
📚 What educational experiences can be
provided to attain these purposes?
– This involves choosing meaningful learning experiences that match the
objectives.
3.
🧩 How can these learning experiences be
effectively organized?
– Here, the focus is on sequencing and structuring content in a way that
promotes learning.
4.
📊 How can we determine whether these
purposes are being attained?
– This emphasizes the role of evaluation in assessing learning outcomes.
🔁 Tyler’s Curriculum Development Process
(Flowchart Representation):
Purpose of the School
↓
Selection of Learning Experiences
↓
Organization of Learning Experiences
↓
Evaluation
🏫 Step 1: Purpose of the School
Tyler suggested that curriculum
objectives should be derived from three major sources:
- 📖 Subject Matter – The knowledge
content from various academic disciplines.
- 👨🎓 Learners – The needs, interests,
and developmental levels of students.
- 🌍 Society – The expectations,
values, and demands of the community and nation.
These broad objectives are then refined
by passing them through two screens or filters:
- 🧭 Philosophy of Education – Ensures
alignment with the school’s ideals and values.
- 🧠 Psychology of Learning – Ensures
they are developmentally appropriate and realistic.
🔸 The outcome is a set of specific
instructional objectives that guide teaching.
📘 Step 2: Selection of Educational Experiences
- The learning experiences must match
the objectives and enable learners to achieve the desired outcomes.
- These experiences can be both cognitive
(knowledge-based) and affective/psychomotor (skills and values).
- Teachers should ensure that the
experiences are engaging, varied, and meaningful to students.
🧩 Step 3: Organization of Learning Experiences
- Learning should not be a random process;
it must be logically organized.
- Tyler emphasized three principles
of organization:
- 🌀 Continuity – Repeated emphasis
on key ideas over time.
- 🔁 Sequence – Progressive
complexity from simple to advanced.
- 🔗 Integration – Interconnection of
ideas across subjects and experiences.
📈 Step 4: Evaluation
- Evaluation is the process of determining
whether the learning objectives have been achieved.
- It must involve both formative
(ongoing) and summative (final) assessments.
- Evaluation results are used to:
- ✅ Continue effective practices
- ⚠️ Modify weak areas
- ❌ Discontinue ineffective strategies
✅ Merits of Tyler’s Model
- Provides a clear, structured, and
logical framework.
- Emphasizes the importance of
objectives in planning.
- Encourages goal-oriented teaching and
learning.
- Promotes accountability through
evaluation.
❌ Demerits of Tyler’s Model
- Considered too rigid and linear
for dynamic classrooms.
- Evaluation comes after
implementation — may lead to delayed corrective action.
- Less emphasis on creativity,
spontaneity, and learner participation.
- Assumes that objectives can always be
clearly stated, which is not always true.
🌿 2. Hilda Taba’s Grassroots Rational Model
📖 Introduction:
Hilda Taba, an educational thinker,
argued that teachers, being closest to learners, should be the main
designers of curriculum. She emphasized an inductive approach,
starting from specific classroom situations to build general curriculum
designs.
Unlike Tyler’s top-down model, Taba’s
approach is more bottom-up and participative.
🪜 Seven Steps in Taba’s Model:
1.
🩺 Diagnosis of Needs
o The teacher identifies gaps in student
knowledge, interests, or skills.
o Based on real classroom experiences and local
context.
2.
🎯 Formulation of Objectives
o Specific objectives are developed from
diagnosed needs.
o These guide the rest of the curriculum
process.
3.
📖 Selection of Content
o Teachers choose content that is:
§ Relevant to objectives
§ Academically valid
§ Socially significant
4.
📚 Organization of Content
o Content is sequenced from simple to complex.
o Takes into account:
§ Student maturity
§ Prior knowledge
§ Logical flow
5.
✨ Selection of Learning Experiences
o Instructional methods are selected to help
students interact with the content.
o Encourages active participation and
engagement.
6.
🔄 Organization of Learning Activities
o Activities are structured in a way that
supports the content and objectives.
o Ensures continuity and integration in
learning.
7.
📏 Evaluation and Means of Evaluation
o Methods are devised to check whether
objectives are achieved.
o Can include tests, observations, portfolios,
etc.
✅ Merits of Taba’s Model
- Empowers teachers as curriculum
developers.
- Emphasizes learner-centeredness.
- Promotes grassroots-level planning.
- Encourages collaborative and
reflective teaching.
❌ Demerits of Taba’s Model
- Assumes that all teachers have sufficient
training and time for curriculum planning.
- May not be practical in highly
centralized education systems.
- Can be time-consuming and require
more effort.
🛠️ 3. Saylor and Alexander’s Planning Process
Model (1974)
📖 Introduction:
Galen Saylor and William Alexander
proposed a comprehensive curriculum model with an administrative perspective.
Their model emphasizes planning as a systematic and feedback-driven process,
ensuring alignment between goals, implementation, and evaluation.
🗂️ Key Features of the Model:
- Curriculum is viewed as a plan to
provide educational opportunities for learners in a specific setting
(school, region).
- It integrates external influences,
internal goals, and feedback loops to continuously improve
instruction.
🌍 External Forces Influencing the Curriculum
These are the outside influences that shape the planning and content of the curriculum. Curriculum developers must consider:
- 📜 Legal Requirements – Educational laws, acts, and policies that must be followed.
- 🔬 Educational Research Data – Insights from studies that guide what works best in teaching and learning.
- 🧑🔬 Professional Standards and Associations – Guidelines provided by teacher associations, boards, and educational experts.
- 🏛️ Government Policies and Guidelines – Central and state frameworks like NEP (National Education Policy), SCERT, NCERT, etc.
These forces help ensure that the curriculum is up-to-date, relevant, and aligned with national educational goals.
🎯 Bases of Curriculum
These are the internal foundations that guide how and why curriculum decisions are made:
- 🏙️ Society – The curriculum must reflect the cultural, economic, and moral values of the society in which the learners live.
- 👨🎓 Learners – Understanding students’ age, interest, background, and learning style is crucial.
- 📚 Knowledge – The body of subject matter, disciplines, skills, and competencies that students need to learn for success in life.
These bases ensure that the curriculum is learner-centered, socially relevant, and knowledge-rich.
🎯 Goals, Objectives, and Domains
In Saylor and Alexander’s model, goals
and objectives serve as the starting point and backbone of
curriculum development. They define what the curriculum intends to achieve
and guide all decisions related to content, teaching methods, and evaluation.
🧩 Goals vs. Objectives
- Goals are broad, general statements about desired outcomes of
education.
- Objectives are specific, measurable, and describe
what students should be able to do after instruction.
These are not formed in isolation —
they are influenced by both external forces and internal curriculum
bases.
🗃️ Four Major Domains of Educational Goals
Saylor and Alexander identified four
essential curriculum goal domains, which together ensure the holistic
development of learners:
1.
🌱 Personal Development
o Focuses on the individual’s emotional, moral,
and creative growth.
o Encourages self-awareness, aesthetic sense,
confidence, and values.
2.
🤝 Human Relations
o Aims to develop social skills and ethical
responsibility.
o Promotes cooperation, empathy, respect, and
democratic behavior.
3.
🔄 Continued Learning Skills
o Prepares learners for lifelong learning.
o Enhances critical thinking, problem-solving,
and learning-to-learn strategies.
4.
🎓 Specialized Learning
o Involves subject-specific knowledge or
vocational training.
o Tailors learning to future careers, talents,
or academic pursuits.
📈 Process of Curriculum Planning
This model follows a systematic and
cyclic process:
1.
🧭 Set Clear Goals and Objectives – Based
on learner needs, societal expectations, and research data.
2.
🏗️ Design Curriculum – Decide on content,
methods, and structure to offer meaningful learning opportunities for each
domain.
3.
👩🏫 Implement the Curriculum – Teachers
execute the plan through instructional strategies, teaching materials, and
classroom practices.
4.
📊 Evaluate the Curriculum – Check
whether learning objectives have been achieved effectively.
5.
🔄 Use Feedback for Revision –
Continuously improve the curriculum based on feedback and outcomes.
This approach allows for flexibility
and improvement over time.
✅ Merits of Saylor & Alexander's Model
- 🏢 Strong Administrative and Systemic
Approach
Offers a clear, organized method for curriculum development that schools and institutions can follow easily. - 🔁 Allows Flexibility through Feedback
and Revision
Feedback loops enable ongoing updates to curriculum based on outcomes and student needs. - 🌐 Recognizes External and Internal
Influences
Integrates both external mandates and internal learner-centric values, making the curriculum more balanced. - 📊 Encourages Data-Driven Decisions
Emphasizes using research and real-world data to make informed choices in planning and evaluation.
⚠️ Demerits of Saylor & Alexander's Model
- 🏢 Requires Strong Administrative Support
The model depends on a structured planning system with trained personnel and institutional backing. It is difficult to implement in under-resourced schools lacking infrastructure or professional curriculum teams. - 🧩 Coordination Complexity
Involves multiple stakeholders (teachers, administrators, experts, government bodies), which can lead to communication gaps, delays, or inconsistency in execution. Smooth collaboration is often difficult to maintain in large systems.
Conclusion:
Each model has its own philosophy and
method. Tyler emphasizes clarity and objectivity, Taba focuses on
teacher-driven planning, while Saylor and Alexander integrate administrative
and feedback-driven approaches. Educators can use these models individually or
in combination, depending on their educational goals, context, and resources.
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