Public Disclosure Authorized

Public Disclosure Authorized

Education and Social Policy Department

The World Bank
September 1993
ESP DiscussionPaper Series
No. 9

The Design and Development of

Secondary Education Curriculum

Richard Cowell

Public Disclosure Authorized

Public Disclosure Authorized

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There is surprising uniformity in the content and organization of the secondary curriculum
worldwide. Despite great historical and cultural diversity among countries, patterns of curriculum
organization and content which were developed in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom and
France, have greatly influencedsecondaryeducationaroundthe world, with curriculumideasoriginating
in the United States gaininginfluenceafter World War II.
In general, the development of secondary curriculum over time has proceeded from the
philosophicaland theoreticalto the practical and specific,from an emphasison general mentaldiscipline
to an emphasis on practical skills, from private control to government control, and from a single
curriculumfor all studentsto diversitywithin the variety of curriculaoffered.
The averagesecondaryschool operates for five hours a day. For curriculumpurposesthis time
is typically divided as follows: mother tongue 28%, mathematics18%, natural science 18%, foreign
languages 13%, social sciences 13%, and electives and other subjects 10%. The objectives of the
skills,
secondarycurriculumfall roughlyinto four areas: academicInowledge,employment/occupational
personal enhancement,and citizenship/liferoles. Universityentrancerequirementsoften control many
aspectsof this curriculum.
In theory, curriculum change proceeds from an analysis of societal needs to specification of
educational objectives, specificationcurriculum organization and content based on these objectives,
creationof instructionalmaterials based on the results of this testing, and distributionof the materials.
However, in practice,curriculumdevelopmentusuallyproceedsin a muchmore randomand idiosyncratic
manner with importantroles beingplayedby individualleaders and specialinterest groups (bothpolitical
and educational),significantrecent events, fashion, and fundingsources.
The official Oegal or mandated) curriculum is the curriculum that appears in government
documents; the formal curriculum is what teachers plan and then present in classrooms; the hidden
(informalor implicit)curriculumis that which is taught withoutthe intentionof it being taught; and the
learned (receivedor attained)curriculumis that contentwhich the students actuallymaster. The first of
these receives most of the attentionof curriculumplanners, developers,and analysts;but until these four
types of curriculum are brought more closely together and are dealt with by educators, there will be
dysfunctionin curriculumdesign, developmentand assessment.
The relationshipamongwhat is taught (curriculum),how it is taught (methodology),and with
what it is taught (instructionalmaterials) is much stronger than is often service teacher training and
supervision are often weak and where teacher's guide and other teacher support materials are often
scarce, what the teacher actuallyteachesbecomesthe curriculum, and the teacher often teaches what is
in the textbook and little else.

Donor programs for secondary education have not traditionally given major emphasis to
curriculum issues. This is because success in curriculumdevelopment is not easy to measure, good
curriculumdevelopmentis expensiveof time and money, often curriculumdoes not have the 'cachet'
of other areas in education,donor aid is generallyput in place by specialistsin areas of educationother
than curriculum,and curriculumchange often has political and even religious implicationsfrom which
donor agenciesnaturallyshy away. Whencurriculumreformis includedin donor programs, results may
be less thanexpecteddue to insufficienttime, money,personnel, and technicalexpertise, and to opposing
points of view or lack of true commnitment
on the part of local educators.
The main body of this document is followedby seventeen recommendationsfor donor agency
activity in secondary curriculumdevelopment, recommendationswhich are divided into the areas of
Philosophy, Process, Content, and Personnel Training, and by a brief description of the history and
current status of secondary curriculum in Egypt, France, Great Britain, Guatemala, Japan, Kenya,
Thailand,the USSR, and the United States.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. HIGHLIGHTSOF THE HISTORYOF SECONDARYEDUCATIONCURRICULUM ....

2. DEFINING THE SECONDARYEDUCATION CURRICULUM: ORGANIZATIONAL

PARAMETERS,OBJECTIVES,AND MODELS .........................
Table 1. Durationof General SecondaryEducation ........................
Table 2. Distributionof InstructionalTime .............................

7
8
11

3. THE REFORM AND REVISIONOF CURRICULUM ........................

13

4. KEY CONCEPTUALTRADEOFFSIN ACTUALIZINGTHE CURRICULUM ....

ORGANIZATION ............................................
CONTENT.................................................
CONTROL .................................................

....

S. THE MANDATEDAND THE TAUGHT CURRICULUMS.....................

6.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY AND

CURRICULARCONTENT ......................................

19
19
21
22
24
28

7. THE INFLUENCEOF DONORAGENCIESON THE DEVELOPMENTOF SECONDARY

CURRICULUM ..............................................

31

8. RECOMMENDATIONS............................................
PHILOSOPHY...............................................
PROCESS .................................................
CONTENT .................................................
PERSONNEL/TRAINING .......................................

35
35
35
37
37

ANNEX 1: CASE STUDIES ..........................................

..................................................
EGYPT .
FRANCE ..................................................
GREAT BRlTAIN ............................................
GUATEMALA ..............................................
JAPAN .
...................................................
KENYA...................................................
THAILAND ................................................
UNION OF SOVIETSOCIALISTREPUBLICS..........................
UNITED STATES ............................................

38

ANNEX 2: BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................

65

39
41
45
48
50
52
54
56
59

1. HGHLIGHTS OF THE EISTORY OF SECONDARYEDUCATION CURRICULUM

The history of secondaryeducationcurriculumin Europe and the United States is instructive,
since, in many respects, its evolutionhas guidedpatterns of curriculardevelopmentin other parts of
the world. Yet, as we shall see later in the Case Studiesof secondaryeducationin several nations,
the process of curriculardesign and developmenthas varied widelyaccording to the extensive cultural
and geographicdiversitythat exists worldwide. The purpose of this section is to set the stage for the
conceptualand applieddiscussionthroughoutthis paper by providinga concise overviewof the
evolutionof secondaryeducationcurriculumin Europe, the United States, and developingcountries,
as well as the trends that are now emerging as the 1990sunfold.
SECONDARYEDUCATION IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES
In Europe, higher education,includingsecondaryeducation,began with training in religion
and philosophy. Its purpose was to prepare leaders, especiallyreligious leaders-and its curriculum
reflectedthis purpose. As time passed, general topicsfor more applied professionswere added as
part of secondaryand higher educationcurricula, and the curriculumwas broadenedaccordingly.
As these general topics were gradually addedto the curriculum,they remainedphilosophical
or theoreticalin orientation. They were not studied as systems of empiricaldata, and proofs and
validationof Inowledgewere theoreticalrather than experimental. The medievalTrivium (grammar,
rhetoric, and logic) and Quadrivium(arithmetic,music, geometry, and astronomy)were treated in
this way. While the Trivium and Quadriviumare associatedwith higher education,there was little
meaningfuldistinctionbetweensecondaryand teriary curriculum. Many early universitystudents
were of what is now consideredto be secondary-schoolage.
The earliest secondaryschools were based on Renaissancemodels, and the role of Latin and
Greek was paramount. In 1599, the Jesuits implementedthe first clear and completespecificationof
subjectsand content as part of the counter-reformation. This curriculumwas calledthe Ratio
SnWdiorum
(plan of studies), and it was initially implementedat the Universityof Salamancain Spain.
These early European secondaryschoolswere almost exclusivelyfor males, focusingon
intellectualtraining in its narrow sense. Their purpose was to promote logical thinking, refined forms
of expression, and improvedmemory-in short, mentaldiscipline. They paid little attentionto the
practical applicationof knowledgein vocationalsettings. Educationsought largely to create an elite
group of trained, liberally educatedmen prepared to assume leadership roles in any sphere.
The Enlightenmentof the eighteenthcentury and the industrial revolutionof the late
eighteenthand early nineteenthcenturies brought a new emphasison science and technologyand on
empirical studies in general. Moreover, formal governmentinvolvementin secondaryeducation
grew, with concomitantinvolvementin curriculum. Yet educationfor vocationalpurposes continued
to be impartedprimarilythrough apprenticeshipsystems. Secondaryschools with less prestige and a
less rigorous curriculum,such as the mittelschulein Germany, the collegemoderne in France, and the
technicalschool in England, appearedthroughoutthe century. In the United States, private

2
secondary-levelacademiesfor the elite existedthroughoutthe colonialperiod. The first public high
school in the United States was establishedin Boston in 1821.
From the nineteenthcenturyto World War II, the curriculumat the secondarylevel began to
encompassmore subjectsand becamemore specific, detailingthe content to be covered and the time
allotted for doing so. During this period, emphasison philosophy,divinity, classicallanguages, and
ancienthistory beganto wane, and was replaced with modem languagesand literature, modem
history, and scientificand technologicalsubjects. Moreover, the objectivesof secondary education
and details of curricular content began to be specifiedmore completelyand carefully. At this time,
most governmentsdecided to educatea broader segmentof their secondary-schoolage population, and
included females for the first time. Secondaryeducationbecameless elitist and more universal,
although the curriculumwas dominatedby the needs of the socially and economicallyprivileged
rather than by the needs of the masses.
A BROADER AND MORE UNIVERSALCURRICULUM
In the two decadesbefore World War II, the influenceof John Dewey and the Progressive
Movementthough targetedat the primary educationlevel, had a major influenceon secondary-level
education. The progressiveshelped increase curricularemphasison the practicalityand social
usefulnessof schoolingand on 'learning by doing.' Moreover, separate lower and junior secondary
schools were establishedto cater to the growing numberof students entering the secondarylevel.
The trend to broadenthe curriculumbegan earliest and went farthest in the United States. In
the twentieth century, it was responsiblefor introducingmany new practical and vocationalsubjects.
In the second half of the century, courses in drivers' education,family living, consumereconomics,
and mathematicsfor everyday life appeared for the first time. As students with a greater range of
ability, interests, and motivationentered the secondarylevel, "streaming"and "homogeneous
grouping' became more prevalent. Academicsecondaryschools becamemore comprehensiveand
diversified. Courses and even course sequencesin such vocationalareas as graphic design, hair care
and styling, automotiverepair, carpentry and machineshop, and home economicsbegan to appear.
The launchingof the Spumik satelliteby the Soviet Union in 1957 was a powerful impetus
behind increasing the amountof scientifictopics taught in the Western secondarycurriculum, the
rigor with which they were taught, and the care taken in their organizationand presentation. The
Western world, particularlythe United States,did not want 'to fall behind the USSR" in scientific
and technologicalachievement. Sputnik helped acceleratethe "new curriculummovement"of the
1960sand 1970s, which reoriented curricular contentaround the structure of the academicdisciplines
as defined by academicians. This "structureof the disciplines"movementbecame associated with
inquiry or discoverylearning and with inductiveas opposedto deductiveteaching methodologies.
At the same time, experimentationwith the organizationof schools and with teaching methods
became intertwinedwith curricular reform. This period saw the advent of the Leicestershire system
and other "open" educationsystems, the School Without Walls, the NuffieldFoundationsecondary
science curriculum (which gave teachers great control over what was taught), programmed
instruction, learning contracts in which studentshad partial control over their curriculum,
competency-basedsystems, systems in which educationalobjectiveswere formulatedaccording to
behavioral frameworks, and other such innovations.

In general,the trend in the post-WorldWar II periodhas beento dividestudentsinto streams,

to makea singlesecondaryschoolserve a widervarietyof interestsandabilities,to provideaccessto
a diversifiedrangeof highereducationthroughalternativecurriculaand to broadenthe curriculumto
includemoresubjects. GreatBritainis a partialexceptionto this trend, as studentstend to study only
threesubjectsfor theirA LevelExaminations.In the UnitedStatesschoolshavebegunto offer a rich
arrayof classesin a singlebuildingandto counselstudentsintocoursesappropriateto their interests
in thetwentiethcenturyas basicallyaddingto
and abilities. Somecriticssee curriculardevelopment
and wateringdowntraditionalcontentas the quantityof inowledgeincreasesandschoolsattemptto
meetthe needsof morestudents.'
SECONDARYEDUCATIONIN DEVELOPINGCOUlNlTES
Althoughthe greatuniversitiesof the Islamicworldantedatedthe Europeanuniversities
foundedin the middleages, curricularevolutionin the developingworldis primarilythe story of
primary,not secondaryor tertiary,education.Indigenoussystemsof socializationandeducationhave
alwaysexistedin all cultures,but in the developingworldthey didnot involveformalacademic
secondaryeducationto any significantextentuntilrecently.
Colonialpowersin the eighteenth,nineteenth,andearlytwentiethcenturieseducatedonly a
very smallportionof colonizedpeoples,andtheyeducatedthis portiononlyat a basiclevel. In
workers. Littleeducationwas necessaryfor this
general,their interestwas to producecomplacent
to it.
purpose;indeed,educationcouldbe seenas antithetical
Colonialeducationalpolicyfor thosefew individualseducatedbeyondthe primaryschool
personnel.Hence,the
clericaland administrative
tendedto emphasizethe productionof middle-level
an
adequatefundof
abilities,
and
curriculumstressedcorrectlanguage,arithmeticandaccounting
generalknowledge-asdistinctfrom scientific,aesthetic,or vocationalsubjects. Greatimportancewas
placedon the authorityof the teacherandof the spokenandwrittenword.
of colonialcountriesin the two decadesafterWorldWar II broughta near
The independence
universalrecognitionof the importanceof educationat all levelsfor a greatlyincreasedproportionof
ex-colonialcountrieskeptold colonialcurriculumsfor a
local populations.Afterindependence,
surprisinglylongtime-indeed,somehavebeenmaintainedintactuntilthe presentday. Whilenewly
independentcountriesstruggledwitheducationalpolicies,curriculumissuesfrequentlyweretranslated
attemptedto unifysocietieswhichwere oftenlarge,
issuesas govermments
intolanguage-of-instruction
the emphasison BahasaIndonesiain Indonesia,the "Three
heterogeneous,and multilingual-thus
LanguageFormula' in India, andEnglishin Nigeria. Socialistcountriesoftenemphasizedpolitical
doctrineandpracticalskills for rural production,as in TanzaniaandCuba.
Industrializedcountrieshavetendedto adopta moreflexibleapproachto educational
in curriculum.Whilecurricularmodelsin developing
includingexperimentation
experimentation,
countriescontinuedto comeprimarilyfrom Europeandthe UnitedStatesandto be centralizedat the
says, 'Educatorsthemselveshavebeengenerallyslow to innovateotherthan on the
'As one commentator
principlesof substitutingnewishcontentfor old andintroducinglimitedreformin order partiallyto meet the
changingneedsof an expandingand diversifyingschoolpopulation"Skilbeck(1990). However,GreatBritain,
Australia,and NewZealandare exceptionsto thisstatement.

nationallevel, examplesof local curricular developmentefforts occurred in, among other places, Omu
in Nigeria and Bakht ur-Ruda in Sudan before independence,and in Sri Lanka and Botswana in the
1970sand 1980s.
The new curricularmovementof the 1960shad certain influenceson the developingworld;
many developingcountriesadoptedthe UNESCO biologyproject, the AfricanEducation Program and
adaptationsof PSSC Physics by the EducationDevelopmentCenter (USA), and the Nuffield Science
Program, with mixed results. In the 1960s, 1970sand 1980s, several curricular developmentcells
were establishedat the nationallevel (in India, Indonesia,Kenya, Malaysia, and the Philippines).
Some developingcountrieshave experimentedwith comprehensive-typesecondaryschools (Nigeria,
Liberia, and Egypt).
EMERGING TRENDS IN SECONDARYEDUCATION CURRICULUM
As the 1990sunfold, some general trends in secondarycurriculumare discernablein both
industrializedand developingcountries. These trends are central to policy formulationin secondary
education,and manyform the crux of this paper.
*

A greater willingnessto examineand reform the curriculum2

Curricular reform based on nationalisticand political interests

A willingnessto decentralizecurricular control and reform

A retreat from vocationalcurricula as such toward making traditionaland academic

subjectsmore practical

A new emphasison values and moral/ethicaleducation

Increasedemphasison includinghigher-levelthinkingskills and an examinationof

attitudesand values in curricular designs

Increasedrecognitionof the importanceof the applicationof knowledgeto life and the

transfer of knowledgegained amongvarious disciplinesand subjects

A continuedemphasison science and technology,focusing particularly on computers

and computer education3

2Only in a few

countriesis curriculumcurrentlya 'hot topic.' Curriculumtends to be debatedprimarily among

educators, rather than among politicians or the general public. However, once curriculum revision begins,
politiciansoften do involvethemselvesheavily in the process.
3 Computereducation

is clearly one of the most importanttopics in curricular reform today, encompassingat

least four aspects: (I) teachingstudentswhat computersare and how they work, (2) teachingstudents to program
computers, (3) teachingstudentshow to apply computersto various traditionalsubjects, and (4) teaching students
about the importanceof computersand how they fit into the modem world.

5
*

Increasedattentionto current socialand political issues

Increasedemphasison ecologicaland enviromnentalconcerns

Greater considerationof internationaleducationand the interdependenceof people and

countries'

Increased study of (and teachingin) the nationalrather than the colonialor

internationallanguage,with more time devotedto learning languages in general

An increasingwillingnessto reform the examinationsystem, in turn, leading to the

rearrangementor revisionof both curricular content and teachingpractice.

surveyof howcountriesinterpretand incorporateeducational

0f the 63 countriesin UNESCO's1988-1989
aims and objectivesinto their curniculums,36 describedthe developmentof specificcurriculardesignand
education,and 43 describedspecificeffortsto increasehumancontactacro
materialsin intemational
educational
cultures. This curricularfocushas ledto an increasedemphasison localhistory,culture,and soues as a basis
for revision.
4

6
2. DEFINING THE SECONDARYEDUCATION CURRICULUM: ORGANIZATIONAL
PARAMETERS, OBJECTIVES,AND MODELS'
The classes or grade levels to encompasssecondaryeducationvary considerablyamong
countries. In a few countriesthe secondarylevel starts as low as grades 4 or 5, presumablywhen
most students have establishedtheir basic literacy and numeracy skills. In other countries, the
secondarylevel may begin as late as grades 8 or 9. However, in general, secondaryeducationmay
be said to begin whenever in an educationalsystem students (1) enter differenttypes of further
educationor (2) continue in any type of educationas opposed to leaving school permanently. That is,
secondaryeducationbegins whenevereducationis no longer for all children or is no longer the same
for all children and becomes diversifiedor is offered only to a subset of the total studentpopulation.
Universalor nonselectiveeducationis often called 'basic' education-which may actuallybe an
extension of primary educationand may be legally compulsory,even though in some countries many
children may still not attend school. This section differentiatessecondaryeducationfrom other
educationallevels by definingits parameters,objectives,and models.
DEFINING THE STRUCTURALPARAMETERS OF THE SECONDARYLEVEL
T he time parametersof secondaryeducationsometimesdepend on the labor-force needs of the
country and the training levels required by such needs. Such decisionsare often modeled after the
patterns used by an ex-colonialpower, a neighboringcountry,or a countryperceivedas an
educationalleader. Sometimescosts alone are the major determinantof the beginning of the
secondarylevel. Basic educationmay end simplywhen not enough money is available to pay for
educationfor all beyond a given grade. Alternatively,the weight of traditionmay dominatethe
placement of secondaryeducation-it is organizedas it is, simply becauseit has been that way for a
long time. This practice may be more commonthan is usuallythought, because the reassignmentof
grades to specific educationallevels usuallyrequires major changesin patterns of financing and
control, including authority in curricular development,school construction,the provision of
instructionalmaterials, and teacher training and placement.
In industrializedcountries,the age of students at each grade level can be predicted fairly
accurately. In Europe or North America, for instance, a huge percentageof ninth-gradestudents
would be in the 13-year-oldto 15-year-oldage range. However, in developingcountries, where
dropouts, repeaters, and returnees to school are more prevalentand in which school starting ages,
particularly in poor and rural areas, vary much more widely,the age ranges in any given grade may
be large. Thus, the time parametersof the secondarylevel of educationcannot universallybe defined

'1n this document,the term curriculumsimplydenotes 'that whichis taught intentionallyin secondaryschools.'
Otherusesof the term and othermeaningsare discussedin Section5, 'The Mandatedand TaughtCurriculums".
(1992)has definedcurriculumas a planof study,a set of counses,a planfor actionthatguides
Montero-Sieburth
instruction,a set of intendedor structuredlearningoutcomes,plannedand directedexperiences,and as actual
occurrencesemanatingfrom a set of objectivesstipulatedin curriculumguides... If thereis a sangleinsightthat
emerges from this diversity of definitions,it is that attemptsat redefinitionare of limited value. Obviouslythere
is no universal definition of a curriculum that will encompas all the relevant meanings and experiences."
Curriculumis essentially an Americanterm, although it is now becomingused more widely. Sylabza, course of
study, program of studies, scope and sequence, and even timetable are terms that various countries also use to
denote the content which is taught.

accordingto the age rangeof students.

Almostall countriesdivide the secondarylevel of educationinto a first, or lower, segment
and a second, or higher, segment. These segmentsmay be denoted by different names, with a
particularlyvaried set of namesfor the lower segment: middle, intermediate,lower secondary,junior
high, upper elementary,etc. In different countries, these labels may encompassdifferent grades,
student ages, curricula, and objectives,and may be related to the educationallevels above and below
them in a variety of ways. The higher or upper secondarylevel is usuallylabelled as such, or may
be termed senior high school in areas influencedby American nomenclature. It is also sometimes
referred to as the pre-universirylevel.
Whatevernamesare used, the secondarylevel typicallycomprisesa six- to seven-yearperiod.
In countrieswhere primary educationends at grade 5 or 6, there tend to be separate lower and upper
secondarylevels, each of either three or four years in duration. In countrieswhere primary or basic
educationends at or near grade 8, this primary or basic educationis usuallyfollowedby either three
or four years of secondaryeducation. Sometimes,this three- or four-year period is consideredto be
a singlesecondarylevel, and it is sometimesdivided into two years of lower secondaryand two years
of upper secondary. These two basic modelsof educationalstructure account for approximately95
percent of the structuresused worldwide. Fewer countriesimpose an educationalstructure that ends
after only ten years of primary and secondaryeducation. Countriesthat imposethirteen years of
educationhave usuallyadded an extra year to the primary level.'
The followingtable showsthe number of years of secondaryeducationin 199 different
countries:

Table 1. Durationof GeneralSecondaryEducation

Numberof Years
2
3
4
5
6
7

Number of Countries
2
2
25
32
67
63

Source: UNESCOStatisticalYearbook, 1991, pp. 2-10.

'A standard'textbook' definitionof secondaryeducationis: 'Secondary educationis the schoolingdesignedfor

studentsin the age rmngefrom 12 to 20 who are enrolledin a high schoolor academy. In public schoolsit includes
schoolsrefenredto as high schools(grades 9-12), junior high schools (grades 7-9), and junior-seniorhigh schools
(grades 7-12). Secondaryschools, for some authorities,also includemiddle schools(grades 5 to 8 or some other
combinationsincluding grades 7 and 8) and junior or communitycolleges. Private or religiously controlled
secondary schools including youths aged 12 to 18 are referred to academiesor independentschools.' (See
Encyclopediaof EducationalResearch, 1982.)

8
THE OBJECTIVES OF THE SECONDARY EDUCATION CURRICULUM
The curriculumfor the upper or higher secondarysequencein academicor general secondary
schools is determninedlargely by universityentrancerequirementsand by the final examinationsthat
traditionallymark the end of secondaryschooling. These examinationsare usually set by national
authoritiesand are frequentlykeyed to universityentrancerequirements. Thus, curricular planners at
this level usually work with few degrees of freedom, and curricularchange usually involves
substitutionsor minor adjustmentsin specific curriculartopics within well-definedcourses. This
practice contrastswith vocational/technicalschools (or vocational/technicalstreams within general or
diversifiedschools), which are often an end in and of themselves(or 'terminal") and whose curricular
change is characterizedby considerablelatitude.
In lower secondaryschools, however, the curriculumdiffers. These schools are expectedto
prepare students for the upper level, but the manner in which they do so and the content of their
standard courses is marked by adaptabilityand flexibility. Whenthe lower secondarylevel is
attachedto primary educationin a basic educationsequenceor is consideredto be terminal, the
curricular structure is highly flexible. In such cases, curriculumoften focuses on 'life skills" and
containsmany topics in practical arts and crafts, agriculture,home economics,nutrition and child
care, and simple vocationalskills (tailoring,carpentry, equipmentmaintenance,etc.).
One feature that unites both levels of secondaryeducationis a commonalityof stated
curriculumgoals and objectives. Indeed, with the diversityof educationalstructures worldwide, it is
interestingthat curricular objectivesare remarkablysimilar across both industrializedand developing
countries, and even across all primary and secondarygrades.
Curricular objectivesconsist of four main categories.
Academic
e

To prepare students for the next level of education,and for further educationin
general

To provide an intellectualfoundationfor life's activities and pursuits

To prepare liberally educatedmen and women who are life-longlearners

Employment/Occupational
*

To prepare studentsfor the world of work and for constructiveemployment

To orient students toward appropriateand productivecareer paths

To help students to integrateand use knowledgein occupationaltasks

Personal Enhancement
*

To help students enjoy learning and to enrich their lives through learning

9
*

To promote the physical and psychologicalhealth and personalhappiness of students

To encourage studentsto exploretheir interestsand to developtheir natural abilitiesto

the fullest

Citizenship/Life Roles
*

To prepare students for social roles and family life

To help students become productivecitizensand to participateappropriatelyin the

governmentalprocess

To instill in students appropriatemoral and ethicalprinciples and to inculcatepertinent

codes of behavior

However, this categorizationcan be misleading;an objectivesuch as "To help students acquire

knowledge,skills, and attitudesthat are helpful to the developmentand well-beingof society and of
the individualswithin it" clearly falls to some extent withinall four categories.
The argumentcan be made that academicobjectivesare also eventually
employmentloccupationalobjectives,since formal educationmust end for any studentat some point,
as which time he or she will enter the world of work at some level. Some educatorsfeel that an
academiccurriculum is the best preparationfor any type of occupationand for life in general (see
Box 1). Others feel that the increasingdemand for educationforces all learningto be academic in
nature, even when it is dysfunctionalto learning occupationalcompetenciesand life skills (see Box 2).
One difference worth noting is that objectivespertainingto personal growth and satisfaction
are more prevalent in industrializedcountries, while those pertainingto the acquisitionof specific
knowledgeand skills are more common in developingcountries.
CURRICULARMODELS
The extent to which Western models dominatethe secondarycurriculaof all parts of the
world is quite remarkable. The single most dominantmodel comes from Great Britain, probably
given the magnitudeof its colonialempire. For the same reason, French models are the second most
common. Both countrieswere consideredto be educationalleaders in colonialtimes, and this
reputationand traditioncontinuestoday. Germanyhas also been highly respected,particularly in the
areas of science and technologyand in tertiary education,and German modelshave been copied
widely in some areas. Finally, as the United States moved into a positionof world leadershipafter
World War II, American modelsof secondarycurricular planningwere emulatedfrequently. When
the models of past colonial overlords were rejected, they were more frequentlyreplaced with
American rather than indigenousalternatives. Russian models,themselvesheavily influencedby
Europeanpractices, have dominatedcurricular design in Eastern Europe in the 1950-1990period.
The rejection of indigenousmodels is notable. As one example,RabindranathTagore, thd
Bengalipoet, philosopher,and social critic and first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, decided
to establish schools in India based on Indian rather than Western culture. After an analysisof Indian
culture, he decided that at its heart was not language,mathematics,or other constructsused in the

10

West-but rather the dance. He foundedschools in which dance was the center of the curriculum and
other subjectswere organized around this construct. These schools becamewell known and, in fact,
exist until this day-but they have alwaysbeen consideredcuriosities and have been relegated to the
footnotesof academichistory. Not even someoneas respectedand heeded as Tagore could get such
ideas accepted as viable alternativesto Western curricula. Their total effect on Indian educationwas
and remains negligible.
Five to six hours of instructionper day is a rough average of the time spent in academic
studies at the secondarylevel. Time spent in schooltends to be greater in Europe, North America,
and Asia than in Africa, the MiddleEast, and Oceania. Variationsare, of course, great in certain
areas. An average arrangementof this time is as follows:
Table 2. Distributionof InstructionalTime
Subject Matter
Mother Tongue
Mathematics
Natural Sciences
Foreign Language(s)
Social Sciences
Electives and Other

Percentageof Time
28
18
18
13
13
10

When various streamsor tracks are offered in general secondaryeducation, as in the French
model (see the Case Studies), the variationstend to pertain more to the amount of time devoted to
each subject area than to the subjectareas coveredin the stream or track. Thus, both the humanities
and the physical science/mathtracks in France will study languagesand science, but will study quite
different amountsof each.
The American and European modelsof general secondaryeducationdiffer in two waysstudent choice and the variety of electives. European modelstend to be more prescriptive. Once a
student enters a stream or track in European systems, he or she will find that the course of study is
specified in detail, with very few options. The most common exceptionis the choice of foreign
languages. Conversely, in the United States,the student will oftenhave a wide variety of choices in
a given subject matter area, and will be required only to choose a specific number. Thus, for
instance, the social sciencesrequirementfor graduationfrom a U.S. secondary school might allow a
student to choose any two courses from a list containingU.S. history, black studies, a survey of
European history, anthropologyand world cultures, economics, geographyof the local area, personal
finance, psychology and family relations, the ancientworld, environmentalstudies, and modern world
problems.
In addition, more time is traditionallyallotted in U.S. general secondary schools for elective
courses. Students, particularly in larger schools, can often choose elective courses from a
bewildering array of subjectsin arts, crafts, and practical skills, in addition to more academic areas.

BOX 1

11

Yet even if educationhas become a criticalfactor in global cconomiccompetition,.ad..aso,m,etimes..:.'.

afocus -of the rategic concern of governments seeking-to:.restructure'.or.fimy, s.'t' t
economies,a more humanisticvision is not excluded. Uncertaintyabout the relationshipbetween
educationand employmenthas reinforced argumentsin favor of providing all young people with
a broad general educationthat couldserve as a basis or foundationfor.frther:learnin* in later lifein specialized-schoolor trainingistitutions, on the job, in the commnnlityor at home. -Altogh
the contents of such an educationmight vary among different societies, the possibility:existsof
widelyshared purposes. The consensusreached at the World Conferencefor All (-omtien, 1990)
on meetingbasic learningneeds is the most recent demonstrationof thatpossibility.'' The common
challengesfacingeducationin all societiesderivefrom the specificallyh.umancharacter'ofeducation..
-ar
tre
itself, and in some countriescurrentlyundergoing.radical oitic. ad 'economic-change
signsof a powerful reactionin favor of the 'humanization ofeucation ' The callenge X to give;
ods:..
c-oncrete-expressionto that objectivein terms of educationalstructures,.contents.and:meth.
UNESCO, World Education Repon, 1991, Paris, UNESCO, 1991, pp. 64-65.

Such courses vary from automotiverepair to photographyand from jazz dancing to driver education.
Some, such as astronomy,may be taught quite rigorouslyfor university-boundstudents. Others, such
as personal financeor current events, may be taught at a basic level for terminal-curriculumstudents.
Still others, such as English as a Second Languageor remedialmathematics,may be offered in order
to meet the special needs of one segmentof the school's students.
In the UnitedStates less academiccomponentsof the curriculumare often deliveredsemiformallythrough an extensiveprogramof extracurricularactivities and special-interestclubs. In
larger and wealthiersecondaryschools, up to twentysports teams can be organizedfor both young
men and young women; clubs can vary from chess and stamp collectingto architecture,
environmentalprotection, and ballroom dancing; school-sponsoredactivitiescan include opportunities
as diverse as wildernessexploration,jazz band, school newspaper, drama, studentgovernment, and
ethnic cooking.

12
3. THE REFORM AND REVISION OF CURRICULUM
BOX 2

The upwardpushof demandreinforcesthe built-intendencyof educat!on at any oneleiveto be

preparationfor thenext. As a corollary,thecontentbecomesmoretheoreticalandabsiractaindless
0andcognitive,or purelymenta,practical;experiencedrawnon is moreuniversalandless local;:
skills are emphasizedover aitudes and manual, social and leadership skilli. This educationis'
for most types of employment- wage and non-wage - and for playmg other roest
-dysfuctional
.neededin a developingsociety..
EducatonSector WorgPaernWorldBk

1974,

21

Statementsby educators,politicians,and other advocatesof the reform and revision of

curriculumare relatively frequent. The followingis typicalof such statements:
There is a need for regularly evaluating,reviewingand adjustingcurricula, textbooks,
methods and teaching-learningprocesses with a view to improvingthe qualityof
education, keepingpace with rapid scientificand technologicalprogress and the
resulting developmentsin knowledgeand Inow-how, and producingindividualswho
can, through self-directedlearning, orientatethemselves in changingindustrial,
agricultural and social processes, and who may themselvespromote such changesand
progress in society and take an activepart in them...
InternationalConferenceon Education,40th Session, Final Report, UNESCO,
Geneva, 1986, p. 36.
However, the proper directionfor this reform and revision can cause controversy. Boxes 3 and 4
present representativeviews in this debate, which has not changedgreatly in the past twenty years.
A curriculum is not 'good,' 'appropriate," or 'effective' in and of itself. Curriculum does
not exist in isolation. A curriculumis good, appropriate,or effectiveonly relative to its ability to
help an educationsystem meet its goals and objectives,whether those goals and objectivesare stated
or implied. To the extent that these are met, a curriculumis good; to the extent that they are not
met, a curriculum is inadequate. This section of the paper focuses on several of the catalysts behind
curricular reform, and the process through which such reform is made.
CATALYSTS FOR REFORM
The most commonlyheld theories of curriculardevelopmentmaintainthat the curriculum
reform process begins with an examinationof nationalgoals and priorities. In theory, this
examinationis usuallyprecipitatedby the perceptionof national leaders that a changedpolitical
situation requires changedgoals, that enoughtime has eiapsed since the last goal-settingexercise to

13
BOX 3
It is also generally agreed that the academic model which is still .highly regarded in so many
countries, and which, under certain social and temporal circumstances,has produced the results
expected of it, is today out of date and obsolete, not only so far as the-working classestare..concerned, but even in its utility to young people from the bourgeois class for which it..wasoriginally devised. It implacably reproduces the quirks of precing generations.. It elie.
excessivelyon theoryand memory. It gives a privilegedrole.to convendonalwritten and repetiive'
expression,to the detrimentof the spokenword, of spontaneityand creive-research,. It arbitrarily:
isolates the humanities (considered as non-scientific) fromrthe ..sciences,(considered 2asn.on-.'.
i
.-...
It d.ivides-''.
humanistic),and persistently fails to recognizethe advent of the scientifichu
or.
en
so-calIed gener educationrfom so-Wled technici educ.aion, d:splayi a.r
abstractionwhichwould appear to embodythe socialproejudis of-thearistocracyagainstpractical
applicationregarded as servile - just as Plato condemned.thefounders:,ofmechanics. It remas.
extrordinarily allergicto all prctical work.
Faure,-E., et. al., Learning To Be, Harap, 1972, p. ..-

BOX4

Reform of structures would naturally entail a concomitant reform of the content of education.
Based on a reconciliationof the pupils' interestand needs, on the one hand, and with the needs of
each country's social and economicdevelopment,-on the other, the new curricula,for secondary.
'to awakeneducationshouldbe planned from the point of view of an integratededucationdesigned
in the pupilan awarenessof the essentialunityof the differentaspectsof activiy..-The-aim of these'
. D,do
curricula should be general training rather than the transmissionoffinfBrmationi;..
admixtureof difficultiesand a motivatingpresentation.ofconcepts',they should%enabl,e'the"pupils
constandtlyto aspire to greater achievements. The content of both general and vocationaleducatio
should be linked with the developmentof the communityand be brought:into..lineWihmodern:
developmentsin production and with social advancement. There should:be a close libetween
theory and practice in the curricula. In both cases emphasisshouldbe placedon those elements:of' '
knowledgewhich are basic and have a wide range of application.
-UNESCO,-0Geneva, 1973,:
International Conference on Education, 34th Session,.Fnad:Report,
.....--.-.--..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..
25
P. 25.
. ---.....
.............................
:- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
justify a new examinationof nationalgoals, that neighboringcountries or countriesthat are presumed
to be 'leaders" are currently engagingin educationalreform, or that other reasons which often have
little or nothing to do with educationitself necessitatethe reform process.
In practice, national examinationsand reformulationsof goals almost never happen. They are
simplytoo expensive, time consuming,unwieldy, confusing, and fraught with political danger to
occur more than very occasionallyin either industrializedor developingcountries. Rather, curricular

14
reform is normally fueled by a series of more specificor more focused concerns.7 These concerns
may be associatedwith the force of individualleaders or practitioners,broader forces at the national
level, or the exigenciesof the educationalsystem itself.
IndividualLeaders and Practitioners
*

Politicians, educators, or both perceivethat the nationaleducationalpriorities and

objectivesmust be reformulatedor redirected.

Politicians,nationalleaders, or prominent and vocal special-interestgroups insist that

certain curricular changesbe made. Their reasons may be either political or
educational(but usuallythe former), but, becausethey have power and influence,
their recommendedchangesalmost invariablyoccur.

Occasionally,a very committedperson, often a prominent noneducator, adopts

curricular reform as a personalcrusade. Due to the effort and persistenceof such a
person, revisions in the curriculumare made. This scenario occurs most often in
smaller and poorer countries. As a prominentanalyst of organizationaldevelopment
once remarked, "For significantchangeto occur, you need a maniacwith a mission'
(Peters and Waterman, 1982).

In some countries-usuallybut not always in developingcountries-the turnover of

educationalleaders is great. When a new leader takes office, curricular change is a
quick and visible way to announcehis or her presence and authority.

National Forces
e

Certain subjectsor topics that are not currently in the curriculumsuddenly acquire
nationalor internationalprominence. Given their importance,they are introduced into
the curriculum-sometimeswith care and preparation,but often hastily and by decree.
Examples in the past fifteen years include ecologicaland environmentalconcerns,
computers, populationstudies, peace and conflictcontrol, urbanization, and, where
cultural mores allow, sex educationand AIDS and drug education.

Money, either from local funds or from a donor agency, suddenly becomes available.
Such money is earmarkedspecificallyfor partial or general curricular change. To
reap the availablemoney, the countrymakesthe curricular changes. In theory, of
course, the need for changeis agreed upon by national authoritiesand donor agencies
together. At times, the host countrymay not fully understandthe magnitudeor
implicationsof the curricular changebefore it agrees to the specific grant or loan or
to the reform proceduresspecifiedin such grants or loans.

A specific social need may suddenlyor graduallyoccur, which may be met partially

'Figure 1 at the end of this section shows the web of forcesthat influencethe curricular developmentprocess.

15
or wholly through curricular change. For example, millionsof mines in roads must
be clearedin rural areas of Afghanistanbefore refugeescan return to that country. A
heavy, though temporary, emphasisin curricularredesign is the inclusionof subject
matter on recognizingmines and the proceduresfor deactivatingthose mines.
*

In a more general sense, a nationalcataclysmmay occur which may disjoint society.

In the resultantsocial changes, revisions in educationand curriculumdesign may be
involved. Iraq, Liberia, and Afghanistanare current examples.

Nationalpride may motivatecurricularchange. No matter how good or how poor the

current curriculumis perceivedto be by politiciansand educators, they may feel that
they want and need a curriculumwhich is distinctivelytheir own. The curriculum
revisionprocess begins, and, ironically, after this process proves to be more
expensive,time consuming,and perplexingthan expected,traditional, often old
colonial, modelsare reverted to.

The necessityof competingin regional and globalmarkets may fuel curricularreform-usuallycouchedin terms of upgradingjob skills and labor-forcetraining. As such, it
influencesboth general and vocationalsecondaryschools. Sometimes,the need is not.
so much to competeas simplyto keep up. The race in the West to keeppace with the
USSR after it launchedthe Sputnik satellite in 1957 was mentionedearlier. When a
recent survey of the math and science achievementof studentsin SouthKorea showed
that the countrywas second to Japan in these areas, authoritiesin the country
immediatelycalledfor curricularreform. The data which prompt such decisionsare
often suspect, but the appeal is as much emotionalas rational. Presently, the
"economicprimacy' of motivationfor curricular changesof this type is due to the
worldwiderecessionand to the emergenceof Germany,Japan, and other Asian
economicpowers from which traditional economicleadersfear competition.

Educational Forces
*

In theory, the developmentof textbooksand other educationalmaterials should follow

rather than precede the statementof objectivesand the design of a curriculum,but this
does not always happen. In many countries,textbooksare writtenprimarily by wellknown and often influentialuniversityprofessors. While they are usually asked to
follow specific curricularguidelines in their writing, they often honor this request as
much in the breech as in the observance. Becausethe textbook is the main,
sometimesthe only, teachingmaterial in many developingcountries, whatever is
written therein becomesthe defacto design and content of the curriculum.

Most developingcountriesevaluate studentachievementboth infrequentlyand poorly.

As the realizationof the importanceof studentassessmentgrows and as the skills to
do so adequatelyincreases, minimallyacceptableevaluationbecomesmore available.
However, as with textbooks,evaluationcan become "the tail that wags the dog."
That is, what the evaluatorsdecide to evaluatebecomesthe defacto curriculum,
promptingteachers to provide instructiononly or primarily in this curriculum,to
ensure that their students will do well on nationalor other broad-basedexaminations.
Studentperformanceon such tests may influenceteacher promotion and reward

16
systems, the flow of money to schools, and other such areas of vital concern to
secondaryadministratorsand teachers.
*

A prominent or highly visible event occurs that calls attentionto educational situations
which imply curriculumrevision. The EducationFor All conference in 1990 in
Thailand is an exampleof such an event, althoughits focus on universal basic
educationaffectedthe primary level much more than the secondarylevel.

PROCESS OF REFORM
Whatevermay motivatea changein curriculum,the process that developingcountries use to
effect it tends to be a variant to the followingprocedure. The authority empoweredto make a
curricular change (almostalways one or more highly placed officials in a central Ministry of
Education, which in some countriesin recent years has tendedto decentralizesome curricular
decisionsto regional or provincialauthorities)calls together a committeeof educatorsto specify and
elaboratethe change. This group usuallyconsistsof officialsfrom the Ministry or other central
authority, noted scholars in relevantfields from universitiesor other institutionsof higher education,
and secondaryteachers of the relevantsubjectmatter. Normally, the Ministry officials tend to
administrativedetails, the scholars make the major decisionsabout elaboratingchanges in curricular
design and content, and the teachers "speak only when spokento'-which is not usuallyoften.
This type of committeerarely determineshow curricularchangesfit into the curriculum as a
whole, and the necessaryarticulationwith other subjectstaught at that grade level (horizontal
articulation)and with the same subjecttaught at other grade levels (vernicalarticulation)is often
missing. An approval process back through the Ministry usuallyexists, which may be substantiveor
proforma in nature-but normally the latter. The committeework usually culminatesinformational
material about the curricular changesauthorized,which is sent to relevantteachers, administrators,
and governmentoffices, as well as guidelinesfor the writers or developersof the textbooksor other
educationalmaterials necessaryto suppbrt the changes.
The content of textbooks can be crucial for definingthe curriculumas actuallytaught, since
adequateexplanationsand teacher-guidematerialsare often not providedto teachers. It is not
uncommonfor the scholars of the curriculum-revisioncommitteeto be contracted to write or revise
the texts necessaryto support the curricular change(as in Egypt and Pakistan). They can be
contracted in a variety of legal and quasi-legalways; and, when they are, it can lead to obvious
conflicts of interest. In some cases, the committeeitself or other entitieswithin the Ministry will
conduct a search for materials, usually restrictedto materialspublishedinside the country that provide
the necessary new content. If such materials are found, whetheror not they are adequate, they may
be used as such or copied directlyinto textbookswith or withoutattribution.
The luxury of trial testing new curricular designsand educationalmaterials seldom exists in
developingcountries, due to monetary, time, and technical constraints. Even if done, the results of
testing are often incompletelyor inaccuratelyfed back into revisions of the curriculum or materials.
In such countries, curricular decisionsare rarely based on what is and is not working in the schools.

17
While a full discussionof instructionalmaterialsis beyond the scope of this paper on
curriculardesign and content, it shouldbe noted that the revisionprocess in developingcountries
frequentlyculminatesin the productionof materialsthat containfactual inaccuraciesand whose
content coverageis inadequate,pedantic, and too abstract for the target students;moreover, in
countrieswhere texts are not given free of chargeby governments,the cost of the material is
sometimesbeyond the meansof poorer students. In an effort to save scarce funds, production sources
use flimsy paper, small typefaces,poor printing, small and difficultto interpretgraphics, and thin
margins, thus reducingthe motivationalnature of the materials. There are, of course, exceptionsto
this gloomypicture; and more and more countries,using both their own and donor money, are taking
major steps to improve both the quantityand qualityof textbooksand to provide supplementary
instructionalmaterialsin addition to texts (as in Indonesia,Liberia, and Egypt).
This situation in developingcountries contrastssharply with the situation in industrialized
countries, in which thriving and usuallysophisticatedtextbookindustriesexist, and teachers and other
educationalauthoritiescan choose amonga variety of attractiveand accurate texts and supplementary
materials. However, regardlessof the country,the link betweencurriculardesign and instructional
materials is always a vital one, since each helps define and direct the other.

18
4. KEY CONCEPTUAL TRADEOFFS IN ACTUALIZINGTHE CURRICULUM
Several key conceptualtrade-offsdominatemuch of secondarycurriculum thinking. Each of
these tradeoffs involveseveral inherent questionsthat must be addressed by curricular designers
before a standardcurriculumcan be established. The trade-offsare often particularly difficult in
developingcountries,where money for educationis scarce and a choice for one side of the trade-off
truly precludes most or all considerationof the other.
These conceptualtrade-offscan be dividedroughly into three categories: organition, or the
structural componentsof the curriculum;content, or the orientationof the curriculum; and control,or
the executionof the curriculum. These categoriesare not mutuallyexclusive, and several of the
concepts can be placed almost as logicallyin one category as in another.
ORGANIZATION
An InflexibleCurriculumversusStudentChoice in the CoursesTo Be Pursued. If a set, or
*
"core,' curriculumis followed,student learning can be relatively uniform, enabling specified
educationalobjectivesto be planned and deliveredcarefully. However, the interests, abilities,
and needs of students differ greatly; they do not all learn at the same speed or in the same
ways. A set, consistentlydeliveredcurriculumforces a uniformityon students which
contradictssuch diversity. How can curricularplannershonor this diversity while producing
the specificlearning outcomesrequired by a developingsociety? Should the curriculumbe
lock-stepfor all, or should studentshave many elective courses in a 'cafeteria formatwand
choices within required courses? If electivesand choice are included,how extensive should
they be, and at what grade level should they begin?
*

The Study of a Few Subjectsin Denth versus the Study of Many SubjectsMore Superficiallv.
Should secondarystudents study a few subjectsin considerabledepth or more subjects in less
depth? How much general educationis important? Is the answer the same for all students?
At what age or stage should specializedas opposedto general studies begin?

One Curricular Content for All versus Tracking and Streaming. At what stage of their
educationshould students be removed from a commoncurriculumdesignedfor everyone and
placed in specializedtracks or streams? When streaming starts, how different should the
streams be? How easy should it be for students to cross from one stream to another?

A SingleSecondarySchool Serving Many Purposes versus SeparateSecondary Schoolsfor

Each Purose. Should students with different needs, abilities, and interests who receive
assorted curriculumsin order to meet these differencesbe placed together in a single, allpurpose secondaryschool? Do the financialeconomiesrealized by this comprehensiveschool
concept outweighthe problems of attemptingto handle vast diversity in a single place? Do
students gain or lose by learning the same subjectsin the companyof others whose abilities,
interests, and motivationsare much like their own?
Learning from Reading and Listeningversus Learning from the Environment. In secondary
schools, knowledgeis traditionallyfound in books and in lecture notes. However, curricular
developers must ascertainthe locus of knowledge,and whether the school should orchestrate
opportunitiesto learn in the community. Where are the walls of the school? Should the
school use the social and physical environmentthat surrounds the school as an arena or a

19
laboratory for learning? If so, how can a curriculumbe constructedto meet this need
efficientlyand effectively?
*

FormalEducationversus NonfomnalEducation. Nonformaleducationat the secondarylevel

is growing in many parts of the world. Distanceeducationthrough televisionand radio (as in
American Samoa,Thailand, Malawi, The AllamaIqbal Open Universitysecondaryprograms
in Pakistan,and the ChineseTelevisionUniversity),communityschools (Harambeeschools in
Kenya and self-helpschoolsin Nigeria and India), correspondenceschools (MheMalawi
CorrespondenceCollege), and night schoolsall show promise of deliveringsecondary
educationto a growing numberof studentsat reduced costs. Yet curricularmodificationsare
often necessaryin these systems; and withoutface-to-facecontact, quickfeedback on the
progressof students, and reasonableclassroomsize, the standardcurriculumtends to produce
less satisfactoryresults.

IntegratedCoursesversus SeparateCourses. As the amount of knowledgeexpands, it is

difficultto fit this new knowledgeinto the present curriculum,often already overcrowded
with content. One way to resolvethis difficultyis to integratepreviouslyisolatedsubjectsor
topics within a traditionalsubject. Such integrationupsets many educators, particularly
academicallyorientedscholars and other traditionalists,who feel that time-testedcoursesand
traditionalsubject matter areas, each with its own unique way of discovering,presenting, and:
validatingknowledge,are being violatedin the cause of a dubious expediency.

The Infusion of New Materials into Old Subjectsversus EstablishingNew Subjects. When
importantnew topics or areas of study are developed(AIDS or the dynamicsof urbanization),
or when old areas acquire new relevanceand importance(populationstudies, ecology, and the
they can either be establishedas separate subjectsin the curriculumor be
environmnent),
infused into existing subjects. (See Box 5 for an exampleof the latter.) If the former is
chosen, curricula that are usually already overcrowdedwill not have room for new subjects,
lest previous knowledgeareas be threatened. Educatorsare reluctantto do so, especiallyif
their own 'pet' subject is threatened. If the later is chosen, the power and importanceof the
new subject may become lost or distortedwhen mixed with other areas. When an important
new subject is recognized,how and where is it best put into the curriculum?

20
BOX S
:- ;
.:-:-.]::Sjn.A

:- env ironme ntalprot

-:

f::SR:

and--:.0:-;t:j.
;.f;:-

In . .:thel.USSR
environmental protection is incorporated into a: number of training courses and
educationalactivities. In encouraginga scientificworld outlook (in the fieldsof biology, chemistry
:and geography), the relationshipbetween man, society and the environmentis considered, and
man's effects on nature are described. The course on the foundationsof the Soviet state and law
considers legislative acts and governmental decrees on the use of natural resources and
environmental protection. Moral and aesthetic education stresses moral aspects of man's
awareness-ofthe beautyfnature and
relationshipwith the environment,man's attitudetonils,
the necessityto conserveit, understandingof tfe humanist value of ecological problemsfor the
current and future developmentof mankind, etc.
Malkova, Z.A., and B.L. Vulfson, Internationa Yearbookof Education,UNESCOt,International
Bureauof.Education, 1988,p. 106.

CONTENT
Education for All versus High OualityEducation.! Most countries have based their academic
education on the needs of their elites, as opposed to the needs of their masses. Yet most
countries want to educate as many of their future citizensas possible. At the same time, they
want to offer high-qualityeducation. But not every student has the ability or the motivationto
absorbhigh-quality,academicallyoriented education.To what extentdoes high-qualityeducation
mean educationfor the elite only? Which will help a country more: many people given a
mediocreeducation,or a few given an excellenteducation? And does the answer to this depend
on what type of excellence is emphasized? At what age or stage should a country shift the
educationalfocus from the many to the few?
*

AcademicEducationversus VocationalEducation. Can educationever be justified if it has no

vocationalpayoff at all? Academiceducation, even in its purest form, is supposed to make its
recipients more worthwhile and productive citizens-in their jobs, as in other aspects of their
lives.9 Even if they are being prepared for the next level of education, at some point their
educationwill end and they will enter the world of work. What is the line between academicand
vocationaleducation? Is all educationvocationalin some sense? Should all students have some
vocationaleducation? If so, how much and at what stage of their educations? Few developing
countries will have the luxury of makingthe training of philosophersor purely abstract thinkers
a primary educational goal. How can both 'job preparation" objectives and "human
enhancement' objectivesbe met? Do all students need the same amount of each? How easy
should it be for students to switch between academicand vocationaleducation once they have
started in either area?

The Inclusionversus the Exclusionof Curricular Content. As knowledgegrows rapidly, it is

This issue has been well explored in Gardner (1984).

'See Box I in Section 2.

21
clear that all knowledgecannotbe includedin the secondarycurriculum(or in any curriculum).
It is utopianto believethat even the most talentedstudents can master the basics of all subjects.
Some type of specialization,often at an increasinglyearly age, is necessary. What criteria can
be used to make inclusion/exclusiondecisionsfor curricular content? Shouldthe same content
be chosen for all students? How are such choices best made?
TraditionalCurriculum versus New BasicCurriculum at the Lower SecondaryLevel. In Asia,
Latin America, and occasionallyin Africa, the lower secondary level is being attached to the
primary level to form a longerperiod of required 'basic education. This is being done without
changing the lower secondarycurriculumto fit its new purpose.' Is this wise? What should
the basiceducationcurriculumbe for studentswho are already literateand numeratebut who may
not go on to further schoolingafter their basic educationends?
*

Developing Curriculum versus Assessing Cufficulum. Accurately assessing how well a

curriculum meets its stated and implied objectivesand revising the curriculumbased on this
assessment is an integral part of the curriculum-developmentprocess. However, in most
countries, tests developed at the national level currently assess only a narrow range of the
curricular content. This narrow range is then emphasizedby the teachers to the exclusionof
other, perhapsequally important,parts of the curriculum. Test expertsare technical specialists,
and they seldom know much about teachers, students, or classrooms. Teachers and testers
seldom talk with each other, and, when they do, they seldom "talk the same language."

--

European versus Indigenous Models of Curriculum. Many educational experts in both

industrializedand developingcountries believethat European modelsof curriculumdesign and
executionare best. Thus, an explorationof indigenousoptions is usuallynot consideredto be
worthwhileor productive. In what waysand to what extent shoulddevelopingcountriesemulate
the curriculumsof developedcountries?The politicaland educationalleadersof manydeveloping
countries want to aim high and to have a curriculumjust like the supposedlybest in the world.
But will what works best in countriesnot necessarilymuch like their own also work best for
them?

CONTROL
PoliticalversusEducationalControlof Curriculum. Who shouldcontrolthe structureand content
*
of a curriculum? Politicians? Universityprofessors? Teachers? When teachers are in control,
the curriculumtends to emphasizeflexibility, focusing on the possibility of meetingindividual
needs. The content and its sequencing tends to reflect the realities of classrooms and true
possibilitiesfor learning. To be successful, teachers controllingthe curriculumimplies highly
trained teachers, a usually difficult prerequisite in developing countries. When University
professors are in control, the latest knowledgemay be includedin the curriculum,but curricula
tend to be very academic, abstract, and overloadedwith content, and the content is usually too
difficult for students at the grade level where it is placed. When politicians are in control,
nationalism,social and economicdevelopment,and the political status quo may be served, but
curriculardecisionstend not to be based on educationalexperience, learningtheory, adolescent
psychology, or other factors relevant to successfullearning.

10

See UNESCO, World EducationReport1991, page 65.

22
*

Free Educationversus Cost Recovery For EducationalServices. In countries with small upper
and middle classes (which characterizes most developing countries), the costs of secondary
schooling,even if modest,can be so high that the majorityof the populationcannot commit their
scarce family resources to sending their children to this level of education. An attractive
curriculum that is relevant and worthwhile to both parents and students can be a powerful
motivationto convincefamiliesto investthe necessaryfunds in secondaryeducation. Costs to
the governmentfor secondaryeducationare generallymuch higher than are the costs of primary
education,giventhe needfor at least minimallaboratories,libraries,supplementarymaterials and
equipment,simple sportsfacilities,and so forth at the secondarylevel. It is often both politically
and financiallydifficultto recover evenpart of these costs from poor parents. Parent-supported
self-helpschools,such as those that were successfulin Zambia in the 1980s,can help resolvethis
problem.

Goverunent Education versus Private Education. The issue of public as opposed to private
(includingreligious)schoolingis not basicallya curricularissue. However, one of the reasons
that parents may chooseprivate educationis their perceptionthat private schoolsoffer a higherquality and more relevantcurriculum. They may also choose such schools becausethey perceive
that the languageof instructionis more desirable in terms of propellingstudents into prestigious
occupationsand other attractivelife options. This is true of the EnglishMediumschools in India
and Pakistan. The languageof instructioninfluencesthe deliveredcurriculum. The 'received'
curriculum-that is, what the students actuallylearn-is slowed down when they are learning in
a second language. Languagepolicy is of course often a political issue.

23
S. THE MANDATEDAND THE TAUGHT CURRICULUMS
At least three levels or types of curriculaare relevantto this study:
1.

The official legal mandatedcurriculumthat appearsin governmentcurriculumdocuments.

2.

This mandatedor explicit curriculumas it is actuallytaught in classroomsby teachers who have

varying degreesof familiaritywith and interest in it.

3.

The hidden or implicit curriculum,defined as that which is taught withoutthe intention of its
being taught.
This section categorizesand compareseach of these types of curricula.

THE MANDATEDCURRICULUM VERSUSTHE ACTUAL CURRICULUM

Due to several factors, the curriculumwhich studentsactuallyreceivediffers markedlyfrom the
curriculum that educationalauthoritiesand official educationaldocuments maintain is taught. These
factors are:
*
*
*
*
3

e
3

An occasionallack of completenessor clarity in the statementsof what is to be taught

The absenceof officialcurricular guidelines
Nonadherenceto these guidelineswhen they are available
A lack of sufficientcontent knowledgeamongthe teachers who provide the instruction
The absenceof adequatepreservicetraining to inform teachersof the official curriculumand to
prepare them to teach it acceptably
Deficientsupervisionof teachers once they begin to teach
The absenceof incentivesfor teachersto followthe curricular guidelines.
Inadequateor skewedcoverageof the officialcurriculumin the textbooksand other instructional
materials availableto the schools

It is difficultto characterizethe differencesbetweenthese two types of curriculumin a clear and

succinct manner. In an effort to do so, the followingpairs of statementsare offered. In each pair, the
first statement presents an idea often expressed in the mandated curriculum. The second statement
1
indicateswhat actuallytends to happenin the classroomsof developingcountries."
*

O~~OFFICIALTeachingwill be active and dynamic;students will have a range of choices and

be involvedheavily in 'hands on' activity and discovery.
The teacher is (relatively)activeand the studentsare passive. Few activitiestake
AcTuAL
place, and those that do are initiatedand dominatedby the teacher. The students
receive knowledge from the teacher; they do not discover it for themselves.
Learning consists principally of memorization and of repeating what is

RelationshipBetweenInstructionalMethodologyand Curricular Content," the

'"In Section6, bThe
connectionbetweenthe first and second of these types of curriculumis discussed in detail.

24
memorized.12
*

OFFICIAL
ACTUAL

Teachers will considerthe different abilities, interests, and needs of students.

Students are treated as an undifferentiatedmass. All students in a class are
taught the samething in the same way, at the same speed and at the same time.

OFFICIAL

Whenfeasible,studentswillbe groupedfor instructionin ways appropriateto the

task at hand.
Studentsare taught as a single class in its entirety.

AcruAL
*

OFFICIAL

AcTUAL

OMCIAL

ACTUAL

OFFICIAL
AcruAL

Affective areas of values, attitudes, and feelings will be taught in addition to

instructionin cognitiveareas.
Cognitive areas are emphasizedto the exclusion of the affective. Acquiring
informationand Inowledge is emphasizedto the exclusionof learning skills or
clarifyingvalues and attitudes.
Teachingmethodswill be lively and varied. A variety of instructionalmaterials
will be used, includingaudio-visual aids, laboratories, libraries, and the latest
technology,includingcomputers. Appropriatelow-cost teacher-madeaids wil
be createdand used.
Instructionis mechanical. Teachingmethodsconsist almost entirelyof listening
to lecture presentations and to reading written material, almost invariably
textbooks.13
Instructionwill includetraining in higher-levelthinkingskills, problem solving,
and decisionmaking.
Instruction focuses almost entirely on the acquisition of information and
lmowledge. Methodsfor using this knowledgeare entirely or mostlyignored.

OFFICIAL
AcruAL

Optionswithincourse material will be provided.

Optionswithincourse material are very rarely provided.

OFFICIAL

The local environment,both physical and social, will be used to illustrate and
supplementinstruction.
The local environmentis almost never used for any purpose.

ACTUAL

OFFICLAL

A practicalemphasiswill be givento instruction,includingacademicand general

subjects.

'2 Lecturingand memorizationhave producedgood achievementresults amongstudents in Japan and

China.
"'Verbal methods have long been the main teaching techniqueused in school. The spoken word,
the textbook and other books have always been associated with the school and remain so in spite of the
technicalretooling of the teachingprocess. Accordingto certain teaching research, over 70 per cent of
informationcomesto pupils from the teacher's words.' (see Malkova,and Vulfson, 1988, citing research
in Zorina, L.J., SlovociteliaVcebnomProcesse, Moskva, Znanie, 1984, p. 2.)

25

AcruAL

Little practical emphasisis given to any subject.

OFFICIAL

Learningwill be relatedto the lives of the students. Examplesduring instruction

will be drawn from local life and typicallocal experiences.
Instructionis abstract and theoretical. Little or no connectionis made between
the subjects learned and the lives of the students. Examples are drawn from
textbooks,and are often remote from and sometimeseven incomprehensibleto
the students.

ACTUAL

OFFICIAL
ACTUAL

OFFICIAL
ACTUAL

OFFICIAL

ACTUAL

OFFICIAL
ACTUAL

OFFICIAL

AcTuAL

OFFICIAL

AcrUAL

OFFICIAL

ACTUAL

Where possible, content areas will be interrelated in order to illustrate the

connectionsand to reinforcelearning amongthem.
Contentareasare taught in isolation. Few if any attemptsare made to correlate
or connectdifferent subjects.
Attemptswill be madeto stimulatethe creativity and imaginationof students.
Teachers offer disincentivesfor expressionsof creativity and imagination.
Learningwill frequentlybe evaluatedon the basis of teacher-madetests.
Learningis seldomevaluatedwith teacher-madetests. Whenteacher-madetests
are used, they are often poorly constructed. Students frequently have only a
vague idea of their strengths and weaknesses as they progress through the
requiredmaterial.
Schools will offer a rich array of outside and extracurricular activities to
supplementand enrich the formal curriculum.
Schoolsoffer few outsideor extracurricularactivities. Those that are offeredare
seldomrelated in meaningfulways to the formal curriculum.
Teachers will plan lessons carefully and follow curricular guidelines for
instruction.
Except for a few teachers, lessons are not planned carefully,and the curricular
guidelinesfor instruction, even when they are known, are not followed strictly.
Teachers teach what they know and what they are comfortablewith.
Teachers will follow the timetablestrictly.
Double shifts, frequent absences among teachers and students, late starts and
early ends to the school day, a focus on administrativerather than educational
needs, and other factors of this sort make 'time on task' much less than is
mandated.
Teachers will cooperatewith each other in order to plan and coordinatestudent
learningand to ensure that subjects reinforce each other.
Teachers teach in isolation from each other, with little cooperation or joint
planning for any purpose.

Clearly, students frequently learn different things and in different ways than those planned by
curricular developers.

26
If the first of these two types of curriculum is described as the 'formal," 'official," 'legal,"
'intended' or 'mandated' curriculum, the second can be described as the 'actual," 'offered,"
'implemented," or explicitlytaught" curriculum.
THE HIDDENCURRICULUM
The third type of curriculum is variously called the informal, implicit, or hidden curriculum.
This curriculum can be described as "that which is taught without the intention of its being taught""
Note that this type of curriculumis not specified in the official guidelines. Indeed, it may run directly
counter to the hopes and expectationsof curricular planners. It acquires its power not through single
experiencesby students, but by its constant repetitionthroughoutall the years of secondaryeducation.
Indeed, the hidden curriculumis much the same at the primary level. Thus, the unintendedmessagesof
the hiddencurriculumare relentlessly'pounded home' to studentsover a ten- to twelve-yearperiod. The
study of this hidden curriculumwas popular during the 1970sand 1980sin the United States and, to a
lesser extent, in Europe.
As illustratedby statementsabove on actual classroompractices,the followingare some of the
"hidden curriculum" teachingsoffered to studentsas they pass through six or more years of secondary
education.
*

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

The teacher is the main and often the sole source of learning.
Learning is passive; learning means the memorizationand repetitionof information. Learning
does not involve the manipulationor use of informationor ideas.
Learning takes place in large groups insideof classrooms.
All students learn in the same way.
Learning is associatedwith separate categories;it is not interrelated.
Learning is largely unrelatedto everyday events and to local life.
Learning is verbal in nature.
Learning does not involve feelingsor judgments.
Learning does not involve creativityor imagination.
It is unimportantthat students knowhow well they are progressingas they learn.

While many more examples of the hidden curriculum could be given, these are sufficient to
illustratethe idea. By definition,they are not taken into accountin officialcurricular documents. Even
less are they consideredby noneducatorsor by donor agencies. Yet they have powerful effects on what
and how students learn.
Until these gaps among the mandated, explicitly taught, hidden, and learned curriculums are
narrowed, students, teachers, curriculardevelopers,and donoragencieswillbe makingassumptionsabout
teaching and learning that do not really hold true in actuality. To the extent that they base decisionson
these assumptions,they will frequentlynot be able to achievetheir goals.

'"7here is yet a fourth type of curriculum,which focuses not on what is Ijjgh1 in any of these three
curricula but rather on what is actually learned by students. This is usually called the "learned,"
"received," or "attained" curriculum. Obviously, it is of great importance, since the achievementof
students is the pay-off. However, a considerationof the "learned" curriculumis beyond the scope of this
paper.

27
6. THE RELATIONSHIP BErWEEN INSIRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY
AND CURRICULAR CONTENT
A much closer and more importantrelationshipexists between the curriculum(what is taught)
and instructionalmethods (how it is taught) than noneducatorsor educatorswith specialtiesin areas
other than curriculumand instructionoften realize. While curriculumand instructioncan be separate
in theory, they are closely intertwinedin practice. The importantpoint is simplythat teachers may
not Inow what it is they are supposedto teach. If they do not know what they are supposeto teach,
they may have little reason actuallyto teach this if it is easier to teach somethingwhich they know
better, for which they have instructionalmaterials,or with which they are generallymore
comfortable. 'what the teacherteachesbecomes the curriculumratherthan what is stated in official
curriculumdocuments. And since the teacher's main teachingtool is the textbook rindeed,it is often
the only teachingtool available),what the textbookcontainsbecomesthe curriculum. Thus, the
connectionbetweencurriculumand teachingis both muchcloser and muchmore importantthan is
often realized. This intimate connectionmust be consideredcarefullyby educationofficials and donor
agencies alike.
This sectiondiscussesthree factors that are critical to this relationship: curricularpolicy,
supervisionand incentives,and teacher training.
CURRICULAR POLICY DOCUMENIS
The curriculumis generallyexpressedin a policy documentpublishedby a central educational
authority. The format, content, and orientationof these documentsvary considerably. Some outline
the required content accordingto specific grade levels, and suggestthe appropriateamountof time to
be devoted to major topics in each subject. Suchdocumentsare succinct and explicit and can be very
helpfulto teachers, supervisors,and administrators. Yet, most curriculumdocumentsare lengthy,
verbose, theoretical,and abstract. They are rarely written with significantinput by teachers, but
rather are the work of Ministry of Educationofficialsand university-levelprofessors (see section 3,
'The Reform and Revisionof Curriculum"). In these documents,entire chapters are frequently
devoted to discussionsof the history and importanceof educationin the countryfor which they are
written, national aspirationsand priorities, general and specific educationalgoals and objectives,'5
the relationshipbetweenthe curriculumand the total educationalenterprise, and general directions for
teachers on how material is to be presented.
Some curriculumdocumentsalso contain lengthylists of suggestedactivities and the materials
required for these activities, and some even containsamplesof lesson plans that teachers can use.
When well done, such material can be quite helpful. However, all too often, such material is poorly
organized, overdetailed,and impracticalgiven the realities of the classroom,the availablematerials,
and the abilitiesof teachers.

'5 As the terms are used by educators, "goals" are usuallybroad and general statementsof desired
educationaleffects, while "objectives'are narrower and morepointed expressionsof specific educational
outcomesin terms of studentthoughtand behavior. The distinctionapproximatelyparallelsthe difference
between *strategy"and "tactics." Objectivesare frequentlydivided into the areas of knowledge,skills,
and affect, with "affect" pertainingroughly to values and attitudes.

28
Not only are such documentslengthy, but they are also expensiveto produce in quantity.
Thus, there may never be a sufficient numberof them to distributeto all of the teachers, supervisors,
and administratorsfor whomthey are intended. When they are distributedproperly, teachers may
look at them once or twice, become confusedand overloadedwith the large number of ideas and
directivesprovided, and generallyforget about them thereafter.
SUPERVISION AND INCENTIVES
The supervisorycorps in most countriesis not trained to guide and improvethe performance
of teachers, but rather, in one or anotherversion of the old British winspectoratew
model, to monitor
administrativeand noninstructionaldetails in order to ensure that rules are followed, attendance is
regular, equipmentis maintained,and so forth. Due to poor roads and insufficienttransportation,the
absence of financingand adequatetraining for supervisors,an insufficientnumber of supervisory
personnel, and other such factors in developingcountries,supervisiondoes not usually do its intended
job of improvingeducation. If the teacher corps is reduced in the presence of financial hardship,
schools may close or class size may become unmanageable. But if the number of supervisors is
reduced, educationalbusinesscan continuemore or less as usual.
Many secondaryteachers in developingcountries may have second and even third jobs. At
the least, they have family and communityresponsibilitiesthat consumemuch of their time away
from school. In addition, they will normallyreceive few, if any, extrinsic rewards for preparing
good lessons; and intrinsic rewards tend to work less forcefully in developingcountries. After the
first few years of teaching,most teachers feel that their experienceis now sufficientto enable them to
do their jobs adequately,and they are unmotivatedto spend their time in lesson preparation. The
result is that most teachershave little time or inclinationto attemptto improve their performance by
using elaborate curricular statementsor teacher's guides, even if they possess them. And the fact that
they will be poorly supervisedor unsupervisedacts as a further disincentiveto put effort into their
jobs. Fortunately, there are exceptionsto this gloomydescription. Unfortunately,these exceptions
are not frequent. Hencesupervisionis often one of the first areas to be reduced when money is
scarce.
TEACHER TRAINING
In developingcountries,the instructorsin institutionsthat provide preservice teacher training
often have not fully masteredthe official curriculumdocuments. And, even if they have mastered
them, the instructorsmay not themselvesunderstandthe materialthat must be presented. As with
secondaryteachers in their classrooms, financialconstraintsmay prevent the distribution of the
relevant curriculumdocumentsin adequatenumbers to preservice training institutions,the documents
may be lost or forgotten, the quality and quantityof the supervisionof their instruction are
insufficient, and motivationto present the more difficult or complexcontent may be absent. Thus,
secondary teachers may be ill prepared at the beginningto teach the required curriculum. As one
teacher once remarked to this author, 'what we teach is what we know.

29
Again, this tendency is more marked at the lower secondarylevel, where teachers may be
prepared in a variety of ways at a variety of institutionsthan at the upper secondarylevel, where the
most typical preparationis the local equivalentof a bachelor's degree (B.A. or B.Sc.) However,
even at this level, some of these problemscan occur. Again, the pattern described operates much
more powerfullyin developingcountriesthan in industrializedcountries. In the latter, teacher
training is usually planned, delivered,and supervisedmuch more carefully.
The causalitybetweencurriculumand instructionis powerful in both directions. The
curriculum-what teachers are supposedto teach, or what they think they are supposedto teach, or
what they are willingto teach-is a strong determinantof their classroombehavior and their teaching
methodology. Likewise,how they teach becomesan importantpart of the curricula-mandated,
implemented,or hidden-that studentsreceive. Thus, even though there is a clear distinctionbetween
the what and the how of teaching,in manyinstancesit is less useful to think of "curriculum' and
"instruction"as two separatebut relatedentities, and more useful to think of "curriculum/instruction"
as a single entity. The "two sides of the samecoin" image is also apt, as long as one remembersthat
there is only a single coin."
7. THE INFLUENCEOF DONOR AGENCIES ON THE DEVELOPMENT
OF SECONDARYCURRICULUM
In the past twenty-fiveyears, the aid programsof donor agenciesfor secondary education
have not focused on curriculardevelopment. Severalfactors are responsible.
*

Curriculum is a 'soft' area. It is impossibleto "measure"the curriculum itself. The purpose

of a curriculumis to help an educationalsystem meet its goals and objectives. When such
goals and objectivesare stated as subjectivelyas "to help students become effective citizens
who participateappropriatelyin the politicalprocessesof the communityand nation," or *to
help students enjoy learning and become life-longlearners," determiningwhether a
curriculumis doing its intendedjob is difficultat best. lTus, to the extent that a curriculum
is measuredat all, it is measuredin terms of increases in the scores of studentson various
achievementtests, usually nationaltests devisedby authoritieswho are far away from
classrooms and student learning. In developingcountries, nationaltests are seldomvalid or
reliable because the technicalexpertiseto constructthem well is lacking, they are
administeredand scored improperly,and budgets are not always adequatefor the tests to
reach all the students they are meant to assess. As pointed out above in Section3, the failure
of studentsto perform well on tests is seldomthe reason that a curriculumis revised.
Another way to say all this is that the successof loans and grants is measured more in terms

"'Montero-Sieburth(1992) presents a strong argument for the interrelationshipamong curriculum,

materials, and teacher behavior, arguingthat teachers create curriculumthrough their control over the
delivered curriculum and that curriculum cannot be understood apart from the context in which it is
delivered. She maintainsthat this is particularlytrue in developingcountries where teachers frequently
operate in considerableisolationfrom central and even local educationalauthorities.

30
of efficiencythan of effectiveness. Curriculumdevelopmentand reform is not easily
measurablein efficiencyterms.
A full cycle of curricular developmenttakes a long time, since it entails formulatingspecific
objectives,designingthe scope and sequenceof content, developingthe necessarymaterials to
support the scope and sequence, training teachers to use these materials,trial testing the
materials, revising materialsand teachertraining procedures on the basis of these trial tests,
and disseminatingstudentand teacher guide materialsto an entire country. Many donor
agencies are unwillingto wait for the completionthis full cycle, especiallywhen they are
unsure how to recognizesuccess once the cycle is finished. One reason for this
unpredictabilityis that necessaryresearch on curricularbackgroundand content often cannot
be identifieduntil its developmenthas begun.17
*

Frequently, investingtime and moneyin curriculardevelopmentdoes not have the political

cachet within the governmentof the donor countrythat characterizes other types of
investments. Administratorsof donor agencies may receive few rewards or incentivesfor
such investmentswhen other, more politicallypopular educationalactivitiesare competingfor
grant or loan money and for the time and effort of administrators.
Officials in donor agenciestend to be specialistsin administration,management,economics,
law, and other areas, rather than in education. Those educatorswho are on the staffs of
donor agenciestend to be specialistsin similar fields, such as educationmanagement,
educationaleconomics,and so forth, rather than in curricular design and development,
educational materialsdevelopment,preservice and in-service teacher training, the supervision
of teachers, or testing and measurement. Thus, when loans and grants are put in place,
curricula and related issues may not naturally come to the fore.

To varying degrees in different countries, curricular developmentis a political (and

occasionallyreligious)process, as well as a technicaleducationaldomain. Issues ranging

from actual or supposedthreats on nationalsovereigntyto the destructionof local folkways,
to religious purity may become involvedas curricular reform is contemplatedand tried. This
is particularly true in the various areas of social sciences and wherever moral, ethical, or
values/attitudinaltopics are considered. On the one hand, donor agencies, tend to ignore this
political/religiousaspect, since they focus on the technical aspectsof curriculumdevelopment;
on the other, they may recognize it all too well and thus choose not to become deeply
involved in the more external forces operating behind curriculumdevelopmentactivities.
When donor agenciesdo invest in curriculardevelopment,they tend to impose (directlyor
indirecdy) technicallyattractivethough often unworkabledevelopmentalmodels on recipient
countries. These models do not work well because:

"Despite well-developedtraditions in history and anthropologyin Colombia, basic knowledgeabout

certain historical periods and ethnic areas was simply not available to curriculardevelopers when they
began their work. A successfulcurriculum could not be created until some of the gaps were filled in.
A parallel situation existed in Pakistan. Until basic work in analyzing the Pashto language was
undertaken, GTZ could not make adequateprogress in developing a Pashto curriculum.

31
*

An insufficientamountof time is availableto carry them out properly. Thus, the necessary
elementsof developmentmay be compressedor omitted, and the results are unimpressive,no
matter how measured."

The technical capacityto carry out such modelsproperly does not exist in the recipient
country, and the quantityand quality of the training elementsof the loan or grant that are
designedto resolve this problem are inadequate."9

Budgetaryrequirementsfor the adequatetrial testing and eventualdisseminationof these

materialsare not sufficientlyprovidedfor.

The political will in the recipientcountrythat is necessaryto sustain the curricular

developmenteffort is insufficient.

When multipledonor inputs into curriculardevelopmentare available, as is increasingly

common,officials in the host country have difficultyin coordinatingthese inputs. They are
not usuallytrained to do so, and they seldomhave enoughtime or staff to do 'so well. Few
donor agencies are interestedin addressinguniversalcurricular reform. Rather, they tend to
concentrateon reform in grade levels or academicareas that they are familiarwith or that are
politicallyexpedient. Host country educatorsare left to providethe necessaryvertical and
horizontalarticulationand other connectingpieces, tasks for which they are often ill
equipped.

Effective curriculardevelopmentin developingcountriesoften requires experiencedand

committedlong-termtechnicalassistanceto providepatient training, to adopt culturally
sensitive stimuli, and to act as a catalystwhere appropriate. This type of technical assistance
is often expensive,and donor agenciesfrequentlydo not see it as a priority. Host countries,
particularly where loan rather than grant funds are at issue, may refuse or reduce this type of
aid.

Donor agenciesoften encouragethe import of curriculardesigns and materialsfrom

elsewhere;however, teachers and administratorsin the host country are seldom trained to
understand,implement,and evaluatethese importsadequately.

World Bank experiencein curriculardevelopmentat the secondarylevel is not unlike that of

other donor agencies. In 1974and in 1980, the Bank wrote basic policy statementson educationin
general. They both pointed to the importanceof curricular development. Of the 77 World Bank
loans to secondaryeducationstarting in 1962, 24 (31 percent) have a large enough curricular
componentto warrant using "curriculum"or "curriculumdevelopment"as a descriptor in the Bank's
document retrieval system. However, "curriculum" is used very broadly as a descriptor, and these
curricular activitiescover a very wide range of ventures-from study tours to paper for textbook

"When time is adequate,as in GTZ's analysisof the Puno language in Peru and the developmentof
a curriculumand materials for teaching this language, results can be good.
"When Barbadostrained a significantnumberof curriculumdeveloperswell, good curriculardesigns
and materials were produced.

32
publishing. While 31 percent is a relatively high percentage, it is fair to say that in few of these
loans was curricular developmenta major activity. Much of the Bank's activity in the developmentof
secondarycurriculumtook place before 1985. In a 1992 World Bank backgroundpaper, 'Review of
World Bank Fiscal 1991 EducationSectorWork," the term or idea of curriculumis not mentioned
even once in the entire document.
In the secondaryarea, the World Bank has tended to concentratemore on inputs (new
buildings, expandedaccess to schooling,the developmentof educationalmaterials, micro-teaching
laboratories,up-dated equipmentfor science teaching,distance educationsystems, curricular
developmentcenters, and other tangibleitems whosepresence is easilydescribed and measured)than
on outputs (studentachievement,teacher satisfaction,improvedtesting programs, and so forth). The
Bank has given many loans for vocational/technicaleducationand to diffuse vocationaland technical
elementsinto secondaryschools. One report estimatesthat, "of the 174 educationprojects approved
by the Board between 1963and 1978, as many as 79 projects (45.4%) included an elementof
diversification."1
The World Bank traditionallyhas made rapid judgments aboutcurriculumand its
development. The time and personnelhave seldombeen availableto make careful decisionsbased on
2" This may make the Bank's work in curriculum appear
appropriateplanning and adequateanalysis.
to be an afterthought,even when that is not the intentionat all. As one experiencededucator in the
World Bank said, "The Bank puts in the buildingblocks but doesn't provide the cement."
8. RECOMMENDATIONS
Improving curricula is one of the main vehicles for increasing the quality and effectivenessof
education. "Quality"in curriculumand teachingis defined as what is effective." 'Effective" is defined
as 'that which helps an educational system meet its stated and implied goals and objectives." These
quality needs cannot be addressed without a consideration of the curriculum and instructional
methodology.
for donor agencies as they plan and organize
This paper offers several reconmmendations
educationalloans involvingcurricular developmentat the secondarylevel. They can be broken downinto
four areas: philosophy, procedures, content and personnel/training.

2'"Diversification"was previouslydefinedas 'introducing practical andlor occupationalsubjectsinto

an otherwisecompletelyacademic program" Haddad, Conly (1987).
2"When

this writer was a member of a Bank mission to Ecuador in 1990 to arrange a loan in
education, the personnel on the mission consisted of an educational manager, an economist, a city
planner, a statistician, and the author-the only pure educator in the group. To some extent, this balance
of personnel indicateshow the Bank generally examineseducationalloans.

33
PHILOSOPHY
*

Curricula should not be consideredfinished and final products-but rather as works in

progress. As the world beyond a country changes,as the country itself and the society
within it change, as Inowledge expands and as technologicaloptions increase-so do
educationalgoals and objectivesand, consequently, curricular needs. The curricular
developmentand revisionprocess must be continuousand never ending.

A curriculardesign is an abstract entity. It cannot stand alone, except as a theoretical

document. The very powerfuland importantconnectionsamongcurricularstructure and
content, educationalmaterials, and instructionalmethodologymust be recognized and
planned for. Whenpossible, all should be consideredtogether as a whole rather than as
separatecomponents.

Curricularchangecan be very political. In additionto its technicalcomponent,it has an

emotionalcomponentwhich can be importantin recipientcountries. To donor agencies,
this emotional component may seem quite irrational and illogical. Yet it obeys a
rationalityand logicthat are real to the recipientcountry. Whenhandledinappropriately,
curriculardevelopmentplans and priorities can cause misunderstanding,ill feelings, and
arguments. No donor agencycan afford to ignorethe political/emotionalcomponentof
curriculumdevelopment.

Host governmentsusuallyprefer grant rather than loan funds to developa curriculaand

other "software" items. To the extent that curricular developmentbecomes a high
priority item for a developing country, it should be encouragedto use loan and local
moneyin additionto grant money. Doing so will help ensure that the countrybecomes
the 'owner' of the developmentalprocess and the productsthat emerge from it, as well
as ensuring that more money is availablefor what is often an underfinancedactivity.

PROCESS
*

Curriculatend to be developedas an immediateneed, sometimesin a -hurry up or even

a crisis atmosphere. Better results are obtained when the responsibleauthoritiesreview
their country's curriculumhistory and relevant planning documentsand the curriculum
and the experienceof neighboringor other appropriatecountries.

Statementsof educationalgoals and objectivesshouldbe as brief and succinctas possible-and as specific as possible. When they are available and are assigned to grade levels,
the development of instructionalmaterials can begin. It need not wait for further
planningor additionalelaborationor instructions.

Specificationsfor the curriculum must be clear, precise, and reasonably detailed.2?

When specificationsconsist of no more than a list of topicsto be covered, good curricula
can seldombe developed.

2When care was taken in developing its specifications,Zimbabwe produced an effective science
curriculum.

34
*

Teachers who are experiencedand successfulat the level for which the curriculum is
being prepared should alwaysbe meaningfullyinvolvedin developingcurricular designs
and instructionalmaterials. They can be involved most effectively in small, ad hoc
groups, rather than in large and formal committeeswithin Ministriesof Educationthat
are frequently dominatedby bureaucratsout of touch with the schools and their needs.
These small groups will facilitatedevelopingcurricula more rapidly and cost effectively.

In developingcountries,particularlythose withouta strongtraditionof tertiary education,

small-actionresearchprojectsin history, sociology,anthropology,psychology,and other
fields may be required to fill gaps in knowledgeabout local culturalpatterns, historical
periods, learning styles, and so forth. These projects should be supported by donor
agencies as integral componentsof the curricular developmentprocess. Without them,
the tendencyto fall back on Western modelsand content is strong.

Curriculum developmentand the evaluationof its effectivenessmust be linked together

in a meaningful way. The results of assessment must be fed back into curricular
revision. The bottom-lineof evaluationis the extent to which a curriculum enhances
achievementamongstudents. But costs, the satisfactionof studentsand teachers, the ease
of producing appropriatematerials, and other similar factors must also be assessed.

--

No educationalmaterialshouldbe officiallyadoptedwithout adequatetrial testing of the

material in the environmentin which it will be used. Time and money for this type of
testing must be built into all loans and grants for curricula, and donor agencies must
ensure that it takes place in proper fashion.

Coordination amongdonor agenciesin curricular issues, as in other educationalissues,

is seldomdone in a more thanproforma manner. Money and effort should be spent to
ensure meaningful and frequent coordination among donors and the adequate
disseminationof the decisionsthey reach. Obviously,this coordinationmust be done
with the cooperationof host country educationalofficials.

CONTENT
*

hbecontent of basic subjects (for example, botany and zoology, the structure of a
language, plane or solid geometry, or the geography of an area) does not changealthoughrelevantexamplesmay change. A "CurriculumClearingHouse" is required in
which curricularmodels, the contentof basic subjects,and materialsthat are appropriate
to this content are collected and made availablein major languages. This would avoid
having to reinvent.thewheel.

National curricular guidelines and materials should be provided to provincial or

appropriatelocal educationalauthorities,but with optionsfor these smaller entitiesto use
their own staff to develop the curriculum. When indicated, this development can be
more thanjust adaptationto local realities. Such local developmentshould be monitored
at the national level. Publicity and rewards should be given for success. Necessary
training at all levels should be provided (see below).

35
*

Schemesfor allottinga certainpercentageof the curricularcontentto nationalcontent and

a certain percentage(usuallymuch smaller)to local content make little sense except in_
the social studies areas. Multiplicationis multiplication,withoutgeographicalvariants.
Of course, examples can and should be drawn from the local environment in most
subjects.

PERSONNELTRAUNING
*

Curriculumdevelopersmust be trained. The necessaryquantityand quality of expertise

on curricular developmentexists only in a few developingcountries. Equally important
is the training of administrators,teachertrainers, supervisors,and assessmentpersonnel
in curricularissues.

Educatorsmust recopize appropriatecurricular alternatives, but have little experience

in obtaining the necessary information. Study tours, if long enough, if to appropriate
places, and if guided by knowledgeablelocal or foreign educators, are one vehicle for
acquiring this type of information. Technicalassistants oftenplay a role in acquiring,
synthesizing, and presenting this type of information at a level and in a format
appropriatefor host countryeducators. But they cando so effectivelyonly after they are
thoroughlyfamiliarwith local culture and educationaltradition.

36

ANNEX 1:

CASE STUDIES

The followingcase studies illustratehow some of the points made in the body of the paper are
revealed in the context of a specific country.
Nine Case Studies are presented: Egypt, France, Great Britain, Guatemala, Japan, Kenya,
Thailand, the Union of Soviet SocialistRepublics, and the United States of America. France and the
Great Britainare includedbecausethe influenceof their curricular design and contenthas beenpervasive
in their ex-colonies,and occasionallyelsewhere. The UnitedStates is includedbecause many countries
have soughtto copy elementsof the U.S. curriculumas a meansto economicandlor social development.
The USSR is included given its educational influenceon eastern Europe and on communist countries
around the world, at least until 1991. Japan is included given its present leadership in economicand
development affairs and because it represents a geographicalarea that differs from that of the other
industrializedcountriesdescribed. Egypt, Guatemala,Kenya, and Thailand are included because they
represent developingcountriesin four different parts of the world whose educationalsystems have been
relatively stable over the past two decades.
Most of the materialpresentedin the followingCase Studies is adapted from, and in some cases
quoted directlyfrom, the followingsources:
Husen, Torsten, and Neville Postlethwaite (eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Education,
Pergamon, 1985.
Malkova, Z.A., and B.L. Vulfson, InternationalYearbook of Education, Vol. 39, 1987, UNESCO,
InternationalBureauof Education, 1987.
Posdethwaite, Neville (ed.) The Encyclonedia of Comparative Education and National Systems of
Education,Pergamon, 1988.
Wickremasinghe,Walter, Handbookof WorldEducation, American CollegiateService, 1992.

37
EGYPT
In 1974the Presidentof Egypt declaredthat an overall revolutionmust take place in
education,and that the conception,structure, function, and managementof educationmust be
reviewed. The populacemust be literate and educated, benefit from progress in science and
technology,and be more productive. Educationshouldbe more flexible, more diversified, and more
relevantto societalneeds. In 1980the Ministry of Educationstated the main goals of education,
which included:
1.

Educationshouldbe for the reinforcementof democracy, equalityof opportunity, and the

country's overall development.

2.

Educationshouldstrengthenthe individual's sense of belongingto the country and-his Arab

cultural identity.

3.

Educationshouldlead to lifelong learning through self-education.

Curriculum constructionin Egypt is the result of teamwork. Committeesare formed which

include consultants,supervisors,experts,professors of education,and experiencedteachers. There is
usuallyone committeefor each subjector group of subjects. The chairpersonsof the various
committeesmeet together so that decisionscan be coordinated. When a curriculumhas been
producedby a committee,it is referred to the SupremeCouncilof Pre-UniversityEducationwhich
formally approves it for implementation. By law, curriculumcontentmay be adjustedto local
conditionsor specificevents.
The CurriculumDevelopmentCenter, foundedwith the support of a grant from USAID,
began in 1989. It was giventhe task of organizing and guiding these committeesand of preparing
textbooksand other instructionalmaterialsfor publicationand distribution.
The NationalCenter for EducationalResearch is responsiblefor collecting informationabout
curriculumand teachingmaterials and about their implementationin the field. The results of such
studies are channelledto the Councilof Undersecretariesand, if change is needed, a committeeis
formed and charged with the task. There are various ways to insure relevance and to help in the
disseminationof new programs. A large number of supervisorsand consultantsat all levels meet
regularly with teachers for guidanceand for collectinginformation. There are various training
centers, experimentalschools, and demonstrationschools, all aiming at curriculum reform and the
improvementof instructionalmethods.
Once a curriculumoutline is set, a small team similar to those described above is asked by the
Curriculum DevelopmentCenter to write textbooksembodyingthis curriculum. The textbook content
is not always identicalto the curriculumimplemented. This is due to a factors such as classroom
conditions,lack of supplementarymaterialsand equipment,and teacher quality. Contrary to
curriculuminstructions,most teaching is verbally oriented. Increasing enrollments,overcrowded
classrooms, scarcity of aids and resources, and other factors tend to lower the standards achievedby
students. Dependenceon a single approvedtextbook and on the lecture method is prevalent.

38
Critics claim that curriculumsin Egypt are geared more to subject matter than to the learner.
The teacher's role can be characterizedas that of the giver of knowledgeand the student's as that of a
passive recipient. Also, relevanceto the environmenttends to be absent.
Compulsoryeducationhas recently been extendedfrom six to nine years, including the first
three years of secondaryschool. The general curriculumat the higher secondarylevel emphasizes
compulsorycourses for all students in the first two years. Specializationstarts in the final year and is
optional. Students can specializein arts, sciences,or mathematics. Most secondaryschools also
offer a supplementaryprogramof extracurricularactivities. These cover a wide range of social,
cultural, athletic, scientificand artistic subjectsand endeavors.
Renewed emphasison job training and career developmentin Egyptian secondaryschools is
shown by the time assignedto subjects. Generaleducationsubjectsaccountfor twenty hours per
week in the first year of the secondarylevel, sixteen hours in the second year, and eleven hours in the
third year; whilevocationalsubjects, includingpractical classes, account for twenty-fourhours per
week in the first year, twenty-eighthours in the second year and thirty-threehours in the third year.

39
FRANCE
From 1880to 1970, French secondarycurriculumremainedremarkablystable. This
curriculumwas the result of a compromiseamongthree culturalmovements. These were:
1.

ClassicalHumanism
This movement,which was introducedto France by the Jesuits, grew out of classical
antiquityand the Renaissance. It was closely relatedto the AncienRegime and to the Roman
Catholicchurch. Classicalhumanismis devoted almost exclusivelyto great literature, both
classicaland French, which is consideredto be the foundationof all educationbecauseit
expressesuniversalhuman values. Classicalhumanismis highly suspiciousof anything which
is recent and contemporary. This is why it has little interest in the exact sciences, which are
continuouslyevolving.

2.

Scientism
In the seventeenthcentury, under the influenceof Descartes,scientism appeared.
Centeredon the natural sciences, it inspiredthe Encyclopedistsand the educationalprogram
of the French Revolution. In responseto the growingneeds of industrialdevelopment,
scientism gave rise in the nineteenthcentury to positivismand exerted a great influenceon the
educationalreforms of France's Third Republic. Accordingto positivism, it is direct contact
with the sciencesthat forms the mind. Positivismdistinguishesa number of sciences,
independentof one another, which convergeto form the supremescience, which is the
positivistphilosophy. This view of the sciencesas separate fields was to lead to the erection
of almost impenetrablebarriers between the different disciplinesin French education.

3.

Formalism
Formalism appearedat the end of the nineteenthcentury. Accordingto formalism, it
is not so much the content of educationwhich matters as the intellectualoperations and formal
training which it provides. Formalismborrowedfrom positivismits taste for the abstract and
its methodof proceedingfrom simple to more complexideas. The emphasisplaced on the
abstract was intendedto guaranteethe provisionof unbiased and free general education,but,
in fact, it helped lead to a division betweenschool and practical life.

In order to meet the demandscreatedby the introductionof the baccalaureateas the national
diploma, the study plan of the collegesof the Ancien Regimewas replacedby specific curriculum
programs between 1820 and 1840; In reality these were programs for examinations. The new
curriculumspecifiedthe range of topics on which candidateswere questioned. Each school level was
providedwith a specific curriculumand timetable,identicaleverywhere in France. Each year's
curriculumwas a continuationof the previous year's, movingtoward ever more complexideas and
difficultconcepts. This was the reason for the restrictive nature of programs, which left little latitude
to teachers and took very little accountof the personalities,abilities, interests and needs of
adolescentsin general or of individualpupils.

40

These programs were basicallyconcernedwith the acquisitionof Inowledge. The number of

hours accordedto a subjectdefined its importancein the curriculum. The lycee (higher secondary
school) was the classicalschool against which all other secondaryschoolsmeasured themselves. The
lycee was reserved for the children of the bourgeoisie. Its curriculum,which led to the baccalaureate,
establisheda hierarchy of subjectsin which the most abstract (such as mathematicsand grammar) and
those most concernedwith the past (such as classicallanguages)generallyenjoyedthe greatest
prestige. Physical educationand artisticsubjects were neglected.
In the century after these reforms, a few changesin the respectivestatus of different subjects
took place. Modern languagestook the place of Latin in so-called 'modernmeducationintendedfor
future middle executivesand for females, and were graduallypromotedto the level of main subjects.
Even though the structure of secondaryeducationunderwenta transformationduring the
1960sin response to the need to democratizeeducation,with obligatoryschoolingmandateduntil the
age of 16, the design of the curriculumhardly changed. This stagnationmotivatedcriticismof the
following:
(a)

the literary and verbal nature of curriculumwhich favoredpupils from the bourgeois
classes,

(b)

the remotenessof the curriculumfrom the modernworld,

(c)

the tediousnessof the curriculumwhich hampered true developmentof the mind,

encouragedpassivity, and made it impossibleto make choicesbased on the interests
and needs of the pupils, and

(d)

the apparent neutrality of the contentwhich prevented the study of values, attitudes,
and ethical issues.

In the late 1960s,the need was felt to make schoolsmore open to the concernsof daily life
and to take into account studentinterests. This resulted in the introductionof school and careers
advisory services in secondaryschools. Educationwas extendedto technology and the world of
work, and began to be concernedwith communicationamong people and of life in society.
Important changescontinued in the 1970s. The downgradingof Latin continuedand is now
taught only from the third year of secondaryschools. The developmentand extension of science
subjectsto all pupils took place. Economicand social sciences were introducedin the upper
secondary classes, and technologyas a subject appeared in the lower secondaryclasses. Mathematics
rather than Latin became the subjectto differentiatemore from less able pupils.
In France differentiationor separate streams for studentshas been practiced for over 100
years. Some of its features were borrowed by Europeanand Latin American countriesin the last
century, and it is still the model in most ex-Frenchcolonies. This system, however, has undergone
reform in the past two decades. Until the mid-1960s, first year pupils of seven year lycees were
distributed between classicaland modernsections. The forner includedLatin or Ancient Greek or
both of them, while the latter devoted more time to French and modernforeign languages. These
sections occupied different rungs on the hierarchical ladder. Classical sectionsenjoyed the highest

41

academic and social prestige. The divisioninto 'classicists' and 'modernists" was a form of social
selection. The share of workers' and farmers' children in classicalsectionswas two to three times
lower than in modernsections.
As a result of reforms carried out over the past twenty years, the secondaryschool in France
has been substantiallyrestructured. Middle schoolor the first four years of the secondarylevel are
now called "College"(grades 6-9). Generalacademicsubjectsare offered at this level, and recently
technical subjectshave been added as well. College is now followedby a three year lycee program
(grades 10-12).
The old classicaland modem sectionsof the lycee are now replacedby a new differentiated
system. A single compulsorycurriculumfor the tenth grade includesFrench, history, geographyand
law, a foreign language,mathematics,physics,natural science, and physicaltraining. Pupils are also
offered optional subjects: ancientand foreign languages,technology,specializedphysical training, and
practical subjectssuch as typewritingand manual skills. In the eleventhand twelfth grades
differentiationis more marked and provides four options:humanities,sciences, sociology-economics
and technical subjects. Each option is, in its turn, sub-dividedinto sections. For instance, the
science option has mathematicsand physics, and mathematicsand biology sections;the technical
option consistsof mechanicalengineering,electricalengineeringand electronicssections.etc.
Sectionsdiffer greatly in choice of subjects and in the time devoted to them. Under this system, the
organizationof upper secondarygrades begins to resemblethat of comparabledepartmentsin
universities.
The baccalaureatediploma is still the sine quanon of secondaryeducationand remains
necessaryfor universityentrance. At presem only 38% of French youth receivethe baccalaureate.
While this is a great improvementover the 11% who receivedit in 1960, it is still far short of the
government's goal of 80% by the year 2000. To help attainthis goal and to broadenthe base of
students who receivethis diploma, baccalaureatesare now being awardedin professionaland technical
as well as academicfields.
The chief educationalofficer in France is the Ministerof NationalEducation,who has cabinet
rank. He has the authority to appointteachers, issue directionsfor curriculum,and specify
instructionalmethods. French curriculum, which is developedwith the aim of identifyinga future
elite, usually meets exactingstandards. The Ins2ecteursGenerauxde l'Education Nationale(IGEN)
of the various subjectsare the highest authority on matters of curriculum. They design it, interpret it,
and check that it is carried out. They watch over the quality of teachers, inspect and assess them, and
advise them in their work.
Traditionally,there is a cfrriculum and a timetablefor each subject studied. The curriculum
is presented in a loosely structuredmanner which often fails to make clear the objectivespursued.
Therefore from time to time the IGEN find it necessaryto bring out instructionsexplaininghow to
interpret the curriculum,justifying the choice of topics, indicatingthe general objectivesto be
followed and the desired teachingmethods. However,as a result of the developmentof the scientific
study of educationwhich has givenrise to a demandfor rigor withineducation,these instructionsin
recent years have become more precise concerningthe objectivesto be achieved,and there have been
more of them. This is also a way of compensatingfor the shortcomingsof the pedagogical
component of teachertraining.

42
Traditionally,there is a General Inspectoratecorrespondingto each subject taught, and a
hierarchicalstructure for recruitingteachers, which is based on recognizeduniversity subjects. This
aspect of the French educationsystem explainsboth the difficultyof introducingnew subjects and
also the resistance shown as muchby teachers as by the IGEN to interdisciplinarystudies.
The monopolyof curriculumcontrol held by the IGEN has the advantageof shieldingteachers
from pressure from local interests, and of assuring the homogeneityof educationand the maintenance
of a more or less equal standardof educationthroughoutthe country. Teachers and parents remain
quite attachedto the principleof nationalprograms of study.
The French educationalsystem is highlycentralized,and only slight variations in curriculum
are allowed at the local level. The traditionalcurriculumhas had the merit of helping to maintain
national unity through all the vicissitudesof history. But now there are forces at work which are
likely to make far-reaching changesin curriculumand other aspectsof secondary education. Among
these are the rapid growth in knowledge,the realizationof plans to decentralize educationalcontrol,
the increasedsecondaryenrollment,the realizationthat students need guidance which takes greater
account of their individualdifferences, and the introductionof more rigorous scientificand didactic
considerationsinto curriculumdesign.

43
GREATBRITAIN

Curriculumstudies did not really exist as a separate field of enquiry in Great Britain in the
nineteenthcentury, but there were importantdiscussionsabout the content of the curriculum.
Educationaldebate tended to be dominatedby a combinationof two related social theories - economic
laissezfaire and the politicalphilosophyof the utilitarians. There were religiousarguments in favor
of compulsoryeducation,but these tended not to have any lasting influenceon the curriculumas a
whole, except that for manyyears religious instructionretained a high priority.
Laissez-fairedoctrine discouragedgovernmentinterferenceso that the whiddenhand" of the
market could operate to maximumadvantage. For some, educationwas an exceptionto this rule.
Utilitarianismwas based on the premisethat any governmentpolicy could only be justified in terms
of increasinghumanhappinessand diminishingpain. Utilitariansargued that the benefitsof education
could not be judged by the amountof immediategratificationproduced, but only in terms of longterm benefit to society as a whole.
The most completeaccount of the utilitarianapproachto educationwas given by James Mill
in an article on 'Education' in the 1818edition of the EDwcloDediaBritannica. The qualitieswhich
should be producedby a utilitariancurriculumwere sagacity, temperance,justice, and generosity.
Mill brought together a theory of knowledgeand a psychologicaltheory of learning. He made the
assumptionsthat the humanmind begins as a 'clean slate,' that the origin of all knowledgeis sense
experience, and that knowledgeis built up by 'association".
In the case of secondaryschools, governmentregulationsprescribed the curriculumfrom 1904
until the 1944EducationAct. This formal curriculumwas strengthenedby an examinationsystem
controlled,to some extent, by the universities.
Until the 1950's, most of the informationwhich could be classifiedas curriculumstudies was
containedin officialgovernmentreports. The theory reflected in such reports was often unclear and
out of date. The traditionof curriculumtheorytaking the form of official reports written by civil
servants continuedafter the 1944EducationAct, but in about 1960 curriculumstudies as a university
subject emerged. This developmentcame about party as a reactionto officialpolicy. In 1960, the
Minister of Educationannounceda proposal to set up a CurriculumStudy Group. This was seen by
local educationauthoritiesand teachers as a threateningmoveto bring about central control of the
curriculum.
In 1964 the governmentwas persuadedto abolish the Curriculum Study Group and replace it
by the SchoolsCouncilfor Curriculumand Examinationson which teachers would have muchgreater
representation. The typicalearly SchoolsCouncil Curriculumproject was based on the centerperiphery model with a universitysubject 'expert' at the center. Much of the academic study of
curriculumemergedout of a developmentfrom, or oppositionto, this model. Important new efforts
at both curriculumdesign and instructionalmaterialsdevelopment,such as the NuffieldScience
Project, emerged during this period.
The developmentof curriculumstudies may also have resultedin a changeof attitude by the
Departmentof Educationand Science (DES). Since the mid-1970s, there have been clear indications

44

that many civil servants and politicianswantedmore central influencein curriculumconcerns. This
resulted in two officialDES documents, Frameworkfor the School Curriculum (1980)and the School
Curriculum (1981), both of which were unconvincinglyargued and lacked a clear theoreticalbasis.
A governmentstudy of secondaryeducationtitled Aspects of SecondaraEducationin
Egnland: A Survy (1979) reported that secondaryschools did not neglect basic skills and were
anxious to respond to public and parental expectations. While the study found encouraging
developmentsin mathematicsand science, it arguedthat both subjectsneededto be related more to
the outsideworld. The study pointed to the need for a new rationalefor the secondaryschool
curriculumand a simpler curriculumstructure with fewer options.
There had been no nationallydeterminedcurriculumin the United Kingdomuntil 1987, when
the governmentproposed the introductionof a single nationalcourse of studies. Until this time,
control of the curriculumby individualschools and teachers had been the norm. However, the
examinationsboards which oversaw the general certificateof education, or its equivalent,exerted a
unifyinginfluenceon what was taught in secondaryschools.
For the first time in recent Britishhistory, the content taught in secondaryschools was
structured accordingto a national curriculumby the 1988EducationReform Act. This act introduced.
a standard course of studies for governmentschoolsthat will be phased in gradually, beginningwith
the introductionof core subjects (English,mathematics,and science)in primary schools in
September, 1989. When complete,the curriculumwill be divided into the abovethree core subjects
and the eight foundationsubjectsof history, geography, crafts, design and technology, music, art,
physical education, and modern languages. Religiouseducationwith a Christian, but nondenominational,basis is compulsory,althoughnot designatedas a core or foundationsubject. In
Wales, the Welsh language will be taught as either a core or a foundationsubject, dependingon the
native language of the students. This new curriculumwill have academicrigor, more completely
specified requirements,a clear organizationof subject matter, improvedschool discipline,and a
linking of school, further study, and working life.
This new curriculumhas been criticizedfor its rejection of integratedstudies, crossdisciplinaryapproaches, and the newer social sciences as well as for its extreme centralizedcontrol.
It is seen as more coherent, but also as more rigid.
Learning will be more structured and probably more teacherdominated. Accountabilitywill be the
watchword. The governmentwill set examinations,and assessmentof students will be earlier and
more frequent. Standardizedtesting of all state school students will take place at ages seven, eleven,
fourteen, and sixteen.
Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools will continue to be responsibleto the Secretary of State
for Education and Science for the inspectionof all schools, including independentschools. These
inspectorsinvestigateand report on all aspects of educationin schools, includingthe curriculum, and
advise the schools as well as the governmentand local educationauthoritieson the solutionof
educationalproblems. Local educationauthoritiesusuallyprovide teachers' centers where teachers
meet for curriculumdevelopmentwork and in-service training. Learning materials are providedby a
wide range of private and public enterprisesincludingpublishingfirms, teachers, and higher
educationinstitutions.

45
The Secretaryof State for Educationand Scienceis responsiblefor all aspectsof secondary
educationin England. The Secretariesof State for Wales, Scotlandand Northern Ireland have full
responsibilitiesin their respectivecountriesfor non-universityeducation. Administrationof
governmentschools is decentralized. Responsibilitiesare divided amongthe central government
departments,local educationauthoritiesand various voluntary organizations.
Governmentschools are generallyof two kinds, countryschools and voluntary schools.
Country schools are maintainedby local educationauthoritiesout of public funds. Voluntaryschools,
mostly establishedby religiousdenominations,are also maintainedfrom public funds, but the
governors of these schools contributeto capital costs. Almost one third of the U.K.'s secondary
schoolsare independent(non-maintained). However,these schools educateonly approximately7% of
the total secondaryenrollment. Someof these schools, often called 'public schools, were
established centuriesago; and many are still attendedby the nation's social and economicelite.
Compulsoryfree schoolingis providedfor students aged 5 to 16. Studentsusually enter the
secondarylevel at age 12. Some countiesstill operate *middleschools' as a stage betweenprimary
and secondaryeducation,and the private sector operatesits own system of preparatory education
prior to a 'common entrance" examination. Studentsare free to leave school at the age of 16, but
many proceed to the sixth forms of secondaryschoolsfor a further two years (grades 11 and 12) of
specializedstudy. There is also a growingtertiary sector in which some students aged 16 to 18 studyin the same institutionsas their older peers.

46

GUATEMALA
The Constitutionof 1965declaredthat the main aims of Guatemalaneducationwere:
*

Overall personalitydevelopment,

Physicaland spiritualimprovement,

The developmentof the citizen's sense of individualresponsibility,

The civic progressof the people, and

The inculcationof patriotismand respect for human rights.

The constitutionfurther stated that the family was one of the primary sources of educationand
affirmed that parents have the right to choose the educationtheir children receive.
Secondaryeducationbegan in Guatemalain 1875. In 1944, the secondarycurriculum was
standardizedinto a three year sequencewhich was the samefor both academicand primary teacher
training tracks. In 1952, this basic core curriculumwas extendedto all types of secondary education.
The content of this curriculumincludedSpanishlanguage,Englishlanguage, mathematics, social
studies, natural sciences, physicaleducation,aestheticeducation,industrial arts (for males), and home
economics(for females). Specializedstudies at the higher secondarylevel continued for two more
years in the academictrack, with students concentratingin one or more of these content areas. This
curriculumremains substantiallyunchangedto the present day.
The National EducationLaw of 1976referred to the need to base educationon scientific,
cultural, and technologicalprincipleswhich prepare studentsfor productive work, give them access to
other levels of cultural and nationallife, help them to live harmoniouslywith others, and promote
communityimprovement. The state was to create and support basic vocationaleducation centers and
make education"polytechnical.'
In 1945, the Technical Councilon Educationwas put in charge of curriculumplanning and
development. In 1956, the Divisionof Curriculumand Learning Processeswas created to perform
this function. In 1962this divisionwas transformed into the EducationalPlanning and Research
Department. A year later its functionswere absorbedby the Officeof Integral Education Planning,
which planned the educationaldevelopmentof the countryfor over twelve years. In 1976, the
Sectorial Unit of EducationalPlanning and Researchwas created with a broader range of functions
than the previous offices in charge of curriculumplanning.
Accordingto current legislation,curriculumand study plans must establishthe immediateand
longer range objectivesof teaching,and they must be periodicallyand systematicallyevaluated
through seminars and other means which the Ministryof Educationorganizes. These study plans and
curriculum, both in their technical and in their administrativeaspects,have been decentralizedand
take into account the different regions of Guatemala.

47

Accordingto the Ministry of Education,educationalprograms in the fields of science and

technologymust be oriented to the productioncapabilitiesof the countryand to the improvementof
Guatemala's socioeconomicconditionsand the people's social and culturaldevelopment.
Teachingmethodsare suggestedand supervisedby the Ministry of Educationthrough
circulars, short courses, and instructionorganizedby educationalsupervisors. Schooltexts have to be
approvedby the technical council in order to appear in the officiallists of approvedmaterials.
Teachers can, however, expandthis bibliographyas long as the selectedtitles are in line with
prevailinglegislationand the educationalpolicyoutlined by the state.

48
JAPAN
During the feudalperiod of Japanesehistory there were already popular educational
institutionsfor commoners,the so-calledwriting schools, or trakoy (literally, 'temple school"),
which by the seventeenthcentury were purely secular institutions. There were 34 terakova by the
mid-eighteenthcentury and 4,293 by the mid-nineteenthcentury. In addition to the Ie,akQYa,
most
feudal territories also had clan schools(hanko)which were mainly for students of the samurai class.
Toward the end of the feudal period western studiessuch as medicine, foreign languages (particularly
Dutch and English), and military sciencewere widespread.
In 1867, feudalismdisappearedwith the establishmentof the Meiji govermmentand Japan
became a modem state. In 1871the Code of School Educationwas promulgated. It divided Japan
into eight universitydistricts. Each district was to have one universityand 32 middle-schools. Thus
the plan called for a total of 256 secondaryschools, in addition to 53,760 elementaryschools. The
ideas of G.F. Verback and Marion M. Scott were fundamentalto Japanese schools. Scott, a
California school teacher, introducedsuch equipmentas the blackboard and the desk and brought the
idea of a timetable. After some modificationsto adapt them to the Japaneseschool system, these
novelties became widespreadin the 1870s.
A few monthsbefore the 1872 movementfor establishingnew schools was launched, the
JapaneseGovernmentdispatcheda high-levelmissionunder PrinceTomomi Iwakura to the west in
order to study foreign educationalsystems and practices. The EducationalOrdinanceof 1879 was
issued by the Ministry of Educationon the basis of a plan suggestedby Dr. David Murray, a
professor of mathematicsat Rutgers Unive-sity(USA).
In the early twentiethcentury, the school curriculumwas influencedby John Dewey, William
H. Kilpatrick, and other representativesof Americanpragmatism. Motivatedby American pedagogy,
liberal and comprehensiveeducationwas establishedin some elementaryand secondary schools
affiliated with nationaluniversities.
After the SecondWorld War, under the influenceof the American occupation,the entire
educationalsystem was reorganized,and changeswere introducedinto both the school structure and
the curriculum. Compulsoryeducationwas increasedto nine years of free public schooling, and a
further three years of upper-secondaryschool (correspondingto the American high school, but
charging fees) was adoptedthroughoutJapan, and this structure exists to the present day. For the
first time, social studies were introducedinto the curriculumin elementaryand lower-secondary
school.
In the 1990sa significantdevelopmentin Japan's curriculumrevision is the inclusionof topics
from the country's involvementin World War II. Insteadof the brief and bland treatment customary
for the past forty years, Japan is now includinga more realistic and detailed considerationof such
topics as its occupationof the Korean peninsula, its expansioninto Manchuria, the forced labor of
other Asian peoples, its prison camps, and key events of the war.
At the beginningof the 1990s,the educationalprograms in the lower secondary school (chIuakk) include subjectsin two categories: compulsoryand elective. Japanese language, social
studies, mathematics,general science, music, fine arts, health and physical education, and

49
homemaking(for females)and industrialarts (for males) are compulsory. Elective subjects include
foreign languages,music, fine arts, health and physicaleducation,and pre-vocationalsubjects. Moral _
educationand special extracurricularactivitiesare also conductedin the lower-secondaryschools.
In 1989, 94.7% of all lower secondarygraduatesentered upper secondaryschools (1gUtgakko). About 70% of these studentsstudy general coursesrequired for university entrance. All
upper secondarystudentsare requiredto follow a core curriculumbefore specialization. This
curriculumconsistsof Japaneselanguage,geography,history, citizenship,mathematics,science, art,
health, and physicaleducation. At least one hour per week of club and extracurricular activitiesis
also required.
The current curriculumfor elementaryand secondaryschool is based on the Course of Sudy
issued by the Ministry of Education, Scienceand Culture. This publicationsets the basic framework
for curriculumat each grade level includingobjectives,instructionalcontent, and standard time
allotments. The prefecturaland municipalboards of educationprepare guidelines for curriculum
developmentin the schoolsin their areas, and individualschools are required to organize their own
detailed instructionalprograms on the basis of the courses of study and the guidelines.
The coursesof study producedby the Ministry of Education,Science and Culture are
formulatedin the followingway. Upon requestof the Ministerof Education,the Curriculum
Council, the Minister's advisory body on mattersof school curriculum,prepares the basic guidelines
for revising a course of study. The guidelinesprepared by the Councilare utilized by Ministry
subject specialistsand their collaboratorsas the basis for writing the course of study for each grade
and subject matter. A course of study is revised approximatelyevery ten years. Teachers'
guidebooksfor each grade level and subject are also prepared by curriculumspecialistsin the
Ministry with the assistanceof teachers who are involvedin the deliberationsof the Curriculum
Council.
The textbooksauthorizedby the Ministryand adoptedby the local Boards of Educationfor
use in schools serve as the main instructionalmaterial in the classroom. The textbooksare developed
by commercialpublishingcompaniesand, once adopted, they are distributedfree of charge to
students in primary through lower secondaryschool, those years which form the period of
compulsoryschooling.

50
KENYA
The tremendousexpansionthat took place in Kenya's educationalsystem between 1960and
1975, and the social changesthat accompaniedthis expansion,dictated a review of the national goals
of educationin 1975. The National Committeeon EducationalObjectivesand Policies outlined the
goals for educationin Kenya for the 1980sas follows:
*

To promote nationalunity by removingsocial and economicinequalities,

To promote full developmentof students' talents,

To promote values conduciveto nationalunity,

To promote positive attitudesto work,

To promote nationaldevelopmentand equitabledistributionof incomes, and

To integrateeducationwith rural development.

The Kenya Institute of Educationis the main organizationentrusted with the task of
curriculumdevelopment. The Institute preparesnew curriculummaterials, revises existing course
content, coordinatesprograms in teacher education,and developsand promotesinnovativepractices to
improveeducationalquality.
To facilitate the process of curriculumdevelopment,the Institute has set up a system of
panels. The membershipof these panels includesteachers, educationaladministrators,teacher
educators, school inspectors,universityprofessors, trade unionists, and representativesof various
religious, political, and voluntaryorganizations. There are 65 panels with a total membershipof
approximately1,500 people. All curriculumchangesmust be consideredand approvedby the panels.
The process of revision and approvalbegins with the relevantsubject matter panel. Results of this
panel's review are passed on to the appropriatecourse panel and from there to the academicboard of
the Institute before final revisions are made and approvalis granted by the concernedDirectors of
Educationin the Ministry of Education.
Secondarycurriculumin Kenya has gone through three stages. The first stage was that of
adoption, where curriculumwas imported wholesalefrom the United Kingdom. The content of this
curriculumwas often irrelevantto the needs of the majority of Kenyan children, and textbookswere
often alien to local cultures in terms of content included and examples chosen.
The second stage wasthat of adaptation. This stage took place at two levels. The first was
low-leveladaptation, in which only the most obvious changeswere made from the previous
curriculum, such as localizationof place names or inclusionof examplesfrom the local environment.
The second was high-leveladaptation, in which more basic questionswere asked of the original
material. Among these questionswere: Does the syllabus or content coverage need changing? Is the
organizationof this content acceptablefor Kenyanschools? Is the style and presentationof the
textbooksappropriate? Are the instructionalmethods impliedin the curriculumsuitable?

51

The rapid increase in secondaryschool enrollmentin the late 1960sand 1970s, and the
problemsthis increase created, led to discontentwith the then existingsyllabus. Politiciansand
educators calledfor a revised and more relevantcurriculum. This led to the third stage of curriculum
development,the productionof programs of study which meet the needs and aspirationsof the
Kenyanpeople. This is a curriculumbased on Kenyanideology, rooted in indigenoushistory and
culture, and drawing on European curriculumdesignsand content only to the extent that they meet
Kenyan needs and are relevant to local problems.
The content areas covered in the current four year secondarycurriculumare Kiswahili,
English, mathematics,biologicalsciences,physicalsciences, geography,religious education,music or
art, social educationand ethics, physical education,and a foreign language.
In addition, Kenya has remodeledits curriculumin order to instill more practical sklcls.
There are programs and schoolsfor technical education,home economics,principles and practicesof
agriculture, businessmethods,typing and shorthand, office procedures,and accounting.
The successof the new curriculumswill dependon manyfactors, one of which is the
instructionalapproachused by the teachers. Generallyspeaking,teachingmethodsin Kenyan schools
have not changedmuch from colonialtimes. They emphasizethe teacherdominatedlecture approach.
with much copyingand memorizingby students. Some of the reasons for this are overcrowded
classrooms, under-qualifiedteachers, lack of motivationto prepare imaginativelessons, lack of
variety and creativityin instructionalmaterials,the pressure of external examinations,and the
ingrained habit of using this approach.

52
THAILAND
Educationis of particular interest to the governmentof Thailandbecause almost half of the
country's population is of school age. In 1984, 24,730,000people out of a population of 50,580,000
were in the 4 to 24 age range. Since less than half of the school age populationwas in school in
1984, increasingboth the quantity and quality of educationat all levels was stated as a national
priority.
Approximately45% of primary school graduatescurrently continue on to the lower secondary
level, and approximately54% of those studentsentering this level proceed to the upper secondary
level. Except in certain rural areas, there are enoughplaces in secondaryschoolsto meet demand.
Althoughgovermnentsecondaryeducationis free, there are hidden costs, as well as opportunity
costs, involvedin attendingsecondaryschools; and it is primarily for economicreasons that the
percentage of the secondaryage cohortattendingschool is not higher.
Traditionally,the governmenthas considerededucationas a meansto foster national unity and
provide basic competenciesin literacy and numeracynecessaryfor further schoolingand/or
employment. For the Thai individual,schoolinghas been seen as a major avenue to social mobility.
An educationalreform movementwas begun in 1974; and in 1977, with the National Education
Scheme, the goals of educationwere further broadenedto include an appreciationof the relation
betweeneducation, life, and society. In addition to the regular academicskills in the then current
curriculum,this new scheme placed special emphasison non-cognitivelearning and moral values.
to

Secondarycurriculumhas been modified in accordancewith the new school structure of six

years of primary school, three years of lower secondaryschool, and three years of higher secondary
school which was introducedin 1973. The Departmentof Normal Educationof the Ministry of
Educationhas responsibilityfor the developmentof curriculumat the secondarylevel. This
curriculummust be followedby both governmentand private schools. Secondaryeducationaims to
provide appropriateacademic and vocationalknowledgeconsistentwith the learner's age, needs,
interests, and aptitudes which ultimatelywill be beneficialto the individual's career and to society at
large. Recentlymore emphasishas been put on vocationaltraining. The government continuesto
make efforts to promote secondary educationand to guarantee equalopportunitiesfor all students.
Secondarycurriculum is divided into the followingareas: Thai language, science,
mathematics,social studies, civics and ethics, and physical activities. English is a compulsorysecond
language. Schools are allowed some freedomto adjust the curriculumcontent to local conditions.
There is a wide range of exploratorypre-vocationaland electivesubjectsavailable, depending upon
the needs of the students and the resources of the school. The use of a credit system facilitates
flexibilityin course choice. At most schoolsan active extra-curricularprogram of academic, social,
religiousand sports activities supplementsthe standardcurriculum.
The EducationalTechniques Department,with the assistanceof cooperatingagencies, is
responsiblefor the productionand improvementof learningmaterials such as lesson plans, textbooks,
supplementaryreaders, and teachers' guides. As soon as instructionalmaterials are prepared at the
national level, regional curriculum developmentteams study them and decide on the modifications
necessaryto suit a particular region.

53
To ensurethat newcurriculumsare implemented,
a numberof stepsare taken. Ihe most
importantis nationwide,short-termin-servicetrainingfor all teachersat the levelwherethe
curriculumchangeshave beenmade. Also,throughthe Free TextbookProgram,the government
publishesnewinstructionalmaterialsand distributesthemto all schools. Finally,regularsupervision
as well as specificteacherevaluationsprovidechecksto ascertainthe degreeof compliancewith
nationallydeterminedstandards.
Methodsof instructionare generallysuggestedin the syllabus,andteachersare encouragedto
keepabreastof educationalchangesandnewteachingmethods. The Ministryof Educationalsosends
outsupervisorsto workwithschoolteachersto help themimprovetheirteaching. Manyteachers,
however,still use traditionalmethodsof 'chalk andtalk."
There are variousproblemsin Thailandrelatedto secondarycurriculumandteaching
methods. Inadequateteachersupervisionresultsfromshortagesin supervisorypersonnel,appropriate
supervisortraining,andbudget. The governmentis not ableto provideenoughtextbooksand
educationalequipment.Qualifiedteachers,particularlyspecializedprevocational
teachers,are
insufficient.Andthereis a lackof readinessfor andunderstanding
of recentcurriculumchangeson
the part of manyeducational
personnel.

54
UNIONOF SOVIETSOCIALISTREPUBLICS
The first Russian studies in the field of curriculumtheory were publishedin the late
nineteenthcentury by KonstantyinUshinsky. After the socialistrevolution, the first Minister of
Culture of Soviet Russia was Lunacharskywhose 1918analysisof the curriculumof the polytechnical
work school can be consideredthe first socialist contributionto curriculum theory. In the last fifty
years, the study and developmentof curriculumtheory has been officially encouragedby the Soviet
government. It has been pursued at the Academyof PedagogicalSciences and in university
departmnents.Academicsalso carry out systematicpreparatory work for new curriculumplans and
conduct evaluationsof the curriculum's results.
The socialist revolutionof 1917transformedcurriculumin the USSR to make it conformto
the radical changesin the goals, functionsand structure of the educationalsystem. Polytechnical
work schoolswere established,in which the curriculumwas organized on psychologicalprinciples
that encouragedstudents to do creativemanual work and to integratestudy with communitylife.
John Dewey, who visited the SovietUnion in 1928, was greatly impressedby the communityrelated
work experienceswhich he observed in schools. Nevertheless,after the criticism in the 1930sof the
"pedagogicalaberrations' in both the theory and practice of education, the curriculumbecame more
scientificand systematic,with more emphasisplaced on its formal aspects. This change coincided
with the gradual extensionof compulsorygeneral and secondary schools to a wider public. The
process continued after the SecondWorld War, with the EducationAct of 1958giving new impetusto
curriculumreform. Reforn at this time instituteda commonlower secondarylevel with the same
curriculumfor all, and then a differentiationat age 15 into academic, technical/professionaland
vocationaltracks.
The rapid developmentof science, technology, and culture required a considerablerevision of
the content of general secondaryeducation. In 1964the Academyof Sciencesand the Academyof
PedagogicalSciencesof the USSRcreated a curriculumcommitteecalled the Program Commission
and made it responsiblefor definingthe content of education. The Program Commissionconsistedof
500 prominent scientists,methodsspecialists, experiencedteachers, school heads, and leaders of
public education. Proposednew curriculumorganizationand content was published for wide
discussion,and on the basis of suggestionsand recommendationsfrom scholars, educators, and
parents, the commissionfinalizedthe new curriculum. The scientificand theoreticallevels in all
subjects were raised, old textbookswere revised, and new textbookswere compiled. The
modernizationof the contentof general educationtook a decade to completeand was finishedin
1976.
In 1984the Commnunist
Party announceda plan to reform the educationsystem and improve
the quality of teachingin secondaryschools. In 1986, one year was added to primary school, lower
secondaryschool started at grade 5 and ended at grade 9, and higher secondaryschool now included
grades 10 and 11. All students were required to master Russian by the time they left secondary
school, regardlessof their region. Teacher training was increased from four to five years, more men
were encouragedto enter teaching, textbookswere revised, and more practical work and technical
subjects were introducedinto the curriculum.

55
Curriculum in the SovietUnion now consists of an official, centrally designedset of
documentswhich establishthe structure of each school subject and the time allocatedfor its study.
These documentsalso define both the general and the specificaims of each subject, outline the
objectivesto be covered each year, specify the performanceexpectedof the students, address the
basic methodologicalprinciples to be consideredin instruction,and include, directly or indirectly,
guidelinesfor recommendedteachingtechniques.
Curriculum content is now uniformthroughoutthe USSR for each grade at both the lower
secondaryand the higher secondarylevels. This standardizationguarantees an equal opportunityfor
all students to continuetheir educations,irrespectiveof where they attendedsecondaryschool. While
the state determinesthe secondarycurriculumat the nationallevel, each republic may also add its
own content for specific subjects,such as Russianas a second language or the history and geography
of its region.
The curriculumof the last decade containsa detailedand carefullystructured system of goals
and aims which regulatethe instructionalprocessesas well as the selectionof subject matter. This
system emphasizesthe developmentof the socialistpersonalityand the strong ideologicalconvictions
associated with Sovietcitizenship. The emphasisis on acquiringboth learning and work related
skills. Sovietpedagoguesattach great importanceto raisingpupils' cognitiveachievementand to their
ability to learn independently. Great attentionis paid to scientificallyconstructedlessons and to the
use of various technical aids in the learning process.
Curriculum is diversifiedeither through trackingor through the system of optional courses.
Optional courses have been introducedin grades 7 to 11, and teacher's guides have been compiled.
Studentsmay choosetheir own optional courses. Prominentscientists, methodsspecialists, and
experiencedteachers are enlisted to write the textbooksand teacher's guides in these optional subjects.
Required courses in Sovietlower secondaryschools (grades S through 9) are Russian
language and literature, mathematics,history, geography,biology, physics, chemistry, art, foreign
language, music, physical education,vocationaltraining, and the Sovietstate and its law. Not every
course, however, is studied every year. At the higher secondarylevel (grades 10 and 11) the
required courses are Russian literature, mathematics,computerprogramming,history, ethics and
family life, social science, geography, biology,physics, astronomy,chemistry, foreign language,
physical education, military training, and vocationaltraining. Again, each course is not necessarily
studied each year. There are two hours a week of optional courses in the seventhto ninth grades and
four hours a week in the tenth and eleventhgrades.
Extracurricular activitiesare importantin the Sovietsystem of education. Different clubs and
societies are organized in schools outsideof school hours. Through this means students pursue
sports, drawing, modelling,dance, singing, and technical subjects. Studentswith a talent for music
are taught to play musical instruments. Many intermediateand senior students belong to young
naturalists' or young technicians' clubs.

56
The curriculumin specializedsecondaryschools aims to insure the completionof general
secondaryeducationby those who were unable to finish secondaryschool, to give students sound
special knowledgeand skills, and to provide a broad polytechnicand professionaltraining. Technical
secondaryeducationis consideredas 'general education" in that the graduates of these schools are
entitledto enter any institutionof higher educationin the country.
With the breakup of the SovietUnion in 1991, fifteen new countries were formed, each with
different ties and allegiancesto the old USSR and to the dominantRussian Republic. While
generalizationsare difficult, early tendenciesinclude a swingto more capitalisticand less socialistic
systems in economicsand politics and the adoptionof a number of 'western' ideas and procedures.
What this will mean for social organizationand for educationis not yet clear, but it is obvious that
major changesmay be expectedas the decade of the 1990sadvances.

57
UNITEDSTATES
The earliestAmericansecondarycurriculumwas drawn largely from European antecedents,
particularly from Englishsecondaryschools and colleges. Latin, Greek, and mathematicswere
standardfare in the early Latin GrammarSchoolsin colonialNew England, and religious influence
was strong. Subjectswere not distinguishablefrom the works or sources studied, and in many cases
the curriculumconsistedsimplyof a list of booksto be read. After American independence,
particularbooks continuedto be the basis of the curriculum,and increasinglythey tended to be the
work of Americanauthors. Early in the nineteenthcentury, as the academyreplacedthe Latin
GrammarSchool as the predominantform of secondaryeducation,the curriculumbroadenedto
include a few more practical subjectssuch as surveyingand navigation. As the United Statesbecame
more urbanized, there was also a tendencytoward greater uniformity in the course of study and
correspondinglyless attentionto the individualteacheras the source of what was taught. In Chicago,
for example, between1856and 1864,the superintendentof schools divided all students in the city
into grades and establisheda distinctcurriculumfor each subject at every grade level.
As the nineteenthcenturydrew to a close, interest in curriculumintensified. By 1880 the
United StatesCommissionerof Education,WilliamTorrey Harris, had declared, *The questionof the
course of study is the most importantthe educatorcan have before him. The increasedattentionto
curriculummatters was associatedwith a recognitionthat the industrializationwhich had been going
on in the country for some time was having importantconsequencesfor such institutionsas the family
and the church. Many educationalleaders saw in such changesa needto reconstructthe course of
study in order to bring the school in line with a changingsocial order. The general goal of secondary
educationwas to unify a mobile, dispersed,immigrantpopulationthrough the teachingof American
values, practices, and language, and to prepare the young for productivelife in the new, increasingly
industrialand urban society.
'Mental discipline' was the fundamentalrationalefor the American curriculumat this time.
Coincidentalwith these social changes,or perhaps as a consequenceof them, this rationalebegan to
be less persuasive. For years the study of the classicallanguages,mathematics,and traditional
academicsubjectshad beenjustified as the way to develop good habits of thought and to strengthen
the power of reasoning,that is, to provide 'mental discipline." To a large extent that rationale served
to sustain certaintraditional subjectsagainstthe competitionof such newer subjectsas modem foreign
languages,social science, and manual training. One of the most significantof the challengesto
mentaldisciplinecame in 1890 when the psychologistand philosopherWilliam James reported a
simple experimentshowingthat memory could not be improvedthrough practice. James's experiment
was hardly conclusive,but it did initiate a series of challengesto the efficacy of mentaldisciplineas a
way to justify the continuanceof certainsubjectsin the secondarycurriculum.
At the time when this attentionto the consequencesof social change was intensifyingand
mentaldisciplinewas being challengedas a curriculumtheory, enrollmentsin Americansecondary
schoolsbegan to increasedramatically. By 1930 the numberof youth betweenthe ages of 14 and 17
attendingsecondaryschool was over 51 percent of their age group. For many educationalleaders,
these increases in the enrollmentnecessitateda correspondingchange in the curriculum. One of the
most significanteducationalevents before the turn of the century was the appointmentby the National
EducationAssociationof the Committeeof Ten in 1892, with CharlesW. Eliot, the presidentof
Harvard University, as chairman. The overall charge of the committeewas to achieveuniformityin
the secondaryschool curriculum.

58
Eliot was a mental disciplinarian,and the report of the committeereflectedthat orientation.
Eliot was also, however, a reformer; and some of the recommendationsof the committeereflected
modest changesthat he sought to institute in the curriculumof secondaryschools. The heart of the
report was a set of four coursesof study - Classical, Latin-Scientific,Modern Languages, and English
- each of which, according to the committee,representedan appropriatecurriculumfor the secondary
schools and also a basis for collegeadmission. The study of Latin and Greek was greatly reduced,
and students could be admittedto universitywith only one modem foreign language.
One of the most significantquestions that the committeeconsideredwas whetherthere ought
to be a distinctionin curriculumbetweenstudents who were preparing for college and students who
were preparing for 'life". The committeeunanimouslyendorsed Eliot's view that such a distinction
was undesirable since the school's functionto developgood habits of thoughtought to remain the
same for all students regardlessof probable destination. Much contemporarycriticism of the work of
the Committeeof Ten involvesthe charge that the committeesucceededin imposinguniversity
dominationover the high-schoolcurriculum,thereby inhibitinginnovationand change for decades to
come.
The chief critic of the committee's recommendationswas G. StanleyHall, one of the leading
psychologistsof the time, and leader of the child-studymovement. Those associatedwith this
movementbelieved that a proper course of study could be constructedaround the student's "true
nature" and that a scientificallybased curriculumcould emerge from gathering a massiveamount of
data on the student. The child-studymovementwas part of a growing challengeto the current
humanist curriculum, a challengewhich claimedthe authorityof science. Hall saw the new
populationof high-schoolstudents essentiallyas a 'vast army of incapables", makingunworkablethe
curriculumthat the Committeeof Ten had endorsed. The range of ability in schools, according to
Hall, was so vast that it required sharp differentiationin the curriculum, not only in terms of ability,
but also in terms of gender.
When the Committeeof Ten reported to the NationalEducationAssociationin 1895, the
leading spokesmanfor the traditionalhumanist curriculumwas William Torrey Harris. Unlike Eliot,
Harris was not a mentaldisciplinarian,but muchof his career as Commissionerof Educationwas
devoted to articulatinga rationalefor the traditionalcourse of study. Harris had for years advocated
a curriculumbased on what he thoughtof as "five coordinategroups of study," arithmeticand
mathematics,geography, history, grammar, and literature and art. Each of these studies, Harris felt,
was a way by which the "five windowsof the soul" could be openedand, together, they represented a
coherent expression of Western culturalheritage.
Objectionsto Harris's ideas were voicedby a group of reform-mindededucatorswho thought
of themselvesas the disciplesof the Germanphilosopher,Johann Friedrich Herbart. The National
Herbart Society served as a focal point for what they believedto be a scientificallyvalid attack on the
traditional curriculum. This attackprovided an openingwedge for various reformerswith quite
different conceptionsof what the curriculumshould be like.
In 1896, John Dewey openedthe Universityof ChicagoLaboratory School. Initially, Dewey
seemed intrigued with the Herbartian concept of culture epochs as a basis for the curriculum. The
basic idea of the culture epochs theory was that there existeda correspondencebetween the historic
stages through which the human race had passed and the individualstages in human development, and
that this correspondencecould be used as a basis for constructinga curriculum. However, Dewey

59
felt that the Herbartianemphasison the products of various historicalepochs as the materials of
instruction was misguided. It was quite common,for example,for Herbartianschools to teach myths
and fairy tales to children who were presumedto be undergoingtheir "savage" stage of development.
Dewey felt that, if there was any point to the questionof correspondence,it should involvethe
students engagingin the same sorts of social activitieswhich were characteristicof a particular
historical epoch. Thus, when students were presumedto be in a stage in their individualdevelopment
which correspondedto the agriculturalstage in human history, they would not read literary works on
the subject, but engage in those basic activitiesthat were characteristicof the agricultural way of life.
Dewey evolvedhis own theory of curriculum. Criticalto his curriculumwas what Dewey
called 'occupation," meaningthe fundamentalsocial activitiesin which the humanrace had engaged
and from which, he assumed, human intelligenceevolved. Through the concept of occupations,
Dewey hoped to coordinatethe various elementsin the curriculumaround a commoncenter and to
create a basis for building a relationshipbetweenknowledgeand human affairs- a relationshipthat
had become obscured in a technologicalsociety. It was for this reason that the students in the
Chicago LaboratorySchool engagedin such fundamentalactivitiesas growing food, cooking,building
a clubhouse,raising sheep, and weaving. By recapitulatingthe kinds of activitiesthat were
fundamentalto an earlier time, Deweywas hoping not only to restore a vital connectionbetween
intelligenceand humanpurposesbut to recapitulatethe evolutionof humanknowledgein the
curriculum. Thus, as students advancedchronologically,they proceededfrom exercisesthat were
direct and immediateto activitiesthat were more abstract and differentiated,activitiesthat more
closely resembledthe experienceof the humanrace as embodiedin the traditionaldisciplinesof
knowledge.
One of the forces for curriculumreformin the early twentiethcenturywas the group that
referred to themselvesas the scientificcurriculummakers. Led by John FranklinBobbitt and W.W.
Charters, they followedthe efficiencytechniquesof industryand the work of Frederick Winslow
Taylor, the father of the scientificmanagementmovement. From that movement,they drew
inferences to curriculumdevelopmentthat includedsuch principlesas the careful specificationof
objectivesin concreteterms, the precise measurementof studentprogresstoward the achievementof
establishedstandards, and the differentiationof the curriculumin line with the wide variation in
student abilities. Curriculumcontent was seen as preparing students for a particularsocial and
occupationalrole, and it was to be adjustedin the light of what was consideredto be the probable
destinationof the students. Part of the appealof this idea was its promiseof social improvement
leading to. social stability.
One of the major eventsof this period was the Report of the Commissionon the
Reorganizationof SecondaryEducation,called "The CardinalPrinciplesof SecondaryEducation' and
publishedin 1918. Cominga quarter of a century after the Reportof the Committeeof Ten, it
reflected the great changesin educationalthinkingthat had occurred in the interveningperiod. The
most famous feature of this report was the seven educationalgoals that coveredalmost every facet of
human life, illustratingthe notion that the curriculumshould extendbeyond the aim of intellectual
developmentinto the full range of human activity. Referring to 'profound changesin Americanlife,"
the report called for correspondinglymajor changesin the secondaryschool curriculum. These
changes were designedto be more directly utilitarianin characterthan had previouslybeen the case,
changesbelieved to be consistentwith the needs of the new diversestudentpopulationand of
democraticvalues generally. Althoughthe conventionalsubjectswere not dismissedentirely, the
basic recommendationwas that they transform themselvesso as to bear directlyon the future lives of

60
students. The Cardinal PrinciplesReport was actually a statementof the social efficiencydoctrine,
arguing for the retentionof the comprehensivehigh school against the wishes of those reformers who
saw the European system of secondaryeducationwith different types of institutionsas more
efficientlyserving the needs of a highly variablestudent population.
One reason for the success of the scientificcurriculummovementwas the active involvement
of many of its leaders in schools surveys. By the 1920s,hundreds of school systems across the
countryhad invited prominenteducatorsto review their programs of study and to make
recommendationsfor improvement. Those recommendationsalmost invariablyembodiedthe
principles of scientificcurriculummaking.
In the wake of the economicdepressionof the 1930sthere rose to prominencea new group of
educators who tried to rally Americanschool teachers under the banner of social reconstruction.
Such educationalleaders as George S. Counts and Harold Rugg foresaw the possibilitythat the
schools could be used to correct deficienciesin the Americansocial order and to build attitudesof
social cooperation. In curriculumterms, this was interpretedas a program of studies that focused
directly on major social problems,such as unemploymentand urban unrest, and on creating not only
a consciousnessof those problemson the part of the studentsbut also a certain sophisticationin
dealing with them. The idea of educationcreating a new social order attracted a large number of
educationalleaders. Perhaps the most visiblemanifestationof the social reconstructionistmovement
was the adoption by many school systemsof textbookswritten by Rugg and his associateswhich
incorporatedmost of the basic ideasof the movement. By the 1940s,however, an effort had been
mounted to remove those textbooksfrom Americanschools on the grounds that they were socialistic
in character and contrary to American ideals.
The period from 1955to 1975 was marked by considerableferment in curriculumthinking.
Innovationsincludedrenewedinterest in an integratedcurriculum, student-centeredteaching methods,
individualizedinstruction,inductiveor 'discovery' approaches,and alternativeor experimental
schools. A rapid increase in the size of the secondaryschool population and advancesin technology
gave additionalimpetus for change, especiallyin instructionalmethods. Team teaching, programmed
instruction, self-pacedstudy, student contracts, languagelaboratories, television, and computer-aided
instruction all enjoyedvarying degreesof popularity. Current social concernsmade their way into the
curriculum in the form of new content organizationor new subjects: for example, ethnic studies,
consumereducation, environmentalawareness, sex (and non-sexist)instruction, drug and alcohol
abuse topics, and family life studies. In the 1980s,however, a growing 'back to basics' movement
was evident, combinedwith increasingconcernsabout career education. These trends continue to this
day.
The control of educationis reservedby the U.S. constitutionfor the individualstates. Each
state establishes, governs and supportspublic educationwithin its boundaries. Each state has a State
Departmentof Educationwhich, typically, delegatesauthority for the operation of schools to local
school districts, which are political su,b-divisionsof the state. The number of local schoolsdistricts
per state varies greatly - from one (Hawaii)to over a thousand (Texas and California).
At the local school district level, each district has a governingboard which is elected by the
voters. This board, with powers delegatedfrom the state and operating within legal parameters set by
federal and state authorities,has ultimateresponsibilityfor the governance and operation of the public
schools in its area. This tradition of local control of the schools in deeply imbedded in U.S.

61
educationalhistory and tradition. Hiring of professionalstaff, determiningthe most appropriate
curriculumand educationalmaterials, and developingand approvingbudgets are amongthe
responsibilitiesof these local school boards. Typically,the local board hires a Superintendentof
Schoolsand appropriateprofessionalstaff to oversee all educationalactivitiesin the district.
Secondaryschools are supportedfinanciallyby federal, state, and local authorities;although
the percentagecontributedby each varies greatly amongthe fifty states. On the average, the federal
governmentcontributes6.7 %, the state government49.4%, and the local school district 43.9%.
These revenuescome from individualand corporate incometaxes and taxes on real property. Despite
the large amount contributedby the states, they seldomexercise this "power of the purse" except to
set and enforce standards and to providefor special situationsand needs.
In the U.S. there is no officialnationalcurriculum,nor has there ever been one. Each state
establishesguidelinesfor the developmentand implementationof curriculumat the school district
level. Generallythese guidelinesare minimumstandards statingthe numberof individualcourses a
student must take in givensubject matterareas in order to obtain a secondaryschool (high school)
diploma upon graduation. Traditionallythese subject matter areas includeEnglish languageand
literature, social studies, natural sciences, mathematics,foreign languages, arts, and physical
education. Many other optionalor elective coursesare also offered in almost all secondaryschools.
Subjectspecialists, school administrators,and teachers are all involvedin the process of local
curriculumdevelopmentand in the choiceof appropriateinstructionalmaterials.
In addition, this official curriculumis supplementedby an array of extracurricularactivities
which is unmatchedin quantityand quality in other countries. These activitiesinclude athletic teams,
social events, musicaland artisticgroups, scholasticcompetitions,special interest clubs, social and
political action societies, and student governmentbodies.
A number of participantsand groups are influentialin curriculumdevelopmentin the U.S.,
contributingto considerablecurricularuniformity across the nation's secondaryschools. Among
these are universityprofessors in the subjectareas and in education,public interest groups, and
commercialcompanies, especiallypublishersof textbooksand other instructionalmaterials. National
organizationsof teachers of particular subjectsor of particular levels or types of schools, as well as
nationaltesting agencies, such as the EducationalTesting Service, serve as additionalunifyingforces.
Meetinguniversity entrancerequirementsimposesfurther standardizationon the curriculum. Thus
the secondarycurriculum is not as diverse as the extremeform of local control of education,unique
to the U.S., might suggest.
Publicsecondaryeducationis free, and required through age 16. Over 70% of all people in
the appropriateage range finish the twelve year elementaryand secondarysequence. While this
sequence is typicallyorganized into six years of elementary(primary)school, three years of lower
secondary junior high school), and three years of upper secondary(senior high school), the
organizationfor each school district is determinedby its local school board, and there are many
variations. Eight years of elementaryand four years of secondaryeducationis another typical
pattern. Demographicfeatures, budget, transportationcapability,and available classroomspace may
be more importantin determiningthe organizationused than are pedagogicalor developmental
theories. However, the latter do have their influence,as shown by the important "middle school"
movementof the 1970sand 1980s. This movement,respondingto the special needs of early
adolescents,helped establish "44-4" and "54-3" grade level arrangementsin many districts.

62
Approximately10% of the U.S.'s approximately25,000 secondaryschools are private. This
figure includesmany religious schools. Private schools vary greatly in quality, size, and purpose.
They generallyhave considerableindependencein establishingcurriculumcontent, as in other areas.
However, in reality, most of them conformto typicalpublic school curriculumdesign and course
offerings.

63
ANNEX2:
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