FOUNDATION OF

CURRICULUM
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdul Rahim
Hamdan
Faculty of Education
UTM

DEFINITIONS
Curriculum - Latin word currere- racecourse
(it has different meanings to different people)
Ralph Tyler I1949) & Hilda Taba(1962)
A curriculum can be defined as a plan for action
or a written document that includes strategies
for achieving desired goals or ends
Herbert Kliebart (1972)
Proposed three curriculum metaphors:
Curriculum as a factory, curriculum as a garden
and curriculum as a journey

DEFINITIONS
David Prat (1980)
Curriculum is an organized set of formal education
and?or training intentions
J. Galen Saylor (1981)
Curriculum as a plan providing sets of learning
opportunityies for persons to educated
Jon Wiles & Joseph Bondi (2002)
Curriculum as a four step plan involving purpose
designimplementation and assessment. The goal
of the curriculum workers is to see that the intent of a
plan.. [is] carried out to the [fullest] degree possible.

DEFINITIONS
Ahmad Shalaby (2003)
Kurikulum Islam pertama Bersumberkan
Al-Quran dan Hadis telah menghasilkan
kejayaan cemerlang.
Evelyn J. Sowell (2005)
Curriculum is defined as what is taught
to learners, includes the intended and
unintended information, skills, and
attitudes where teaching takes place

Four now-classic questions for all curriculum

developers to raise as a means of building
curriculum programs by Ralph Tyler
What purposes should the school seek to attain?
How can learning experiences be selected to
help attain these?
How can learning experiences be organized

for effective instruction?

How can learning experiences be evaluated?

TYPE OF CURRICULUMS
IMPORTANCE
HIGH

S
T
R
U
C
T
U
R
E

HIGH

LOW

LOW

Mastery
Curriculum

Team-Determined
enrichment curriculum

Organic
curriculum

Student-Determined
enrichment curriculum

Curriculum
Characteristic

Planned
Balance
Relevant
Dynamics
Target group

Curriculum Development
Principle
Scope
How wide or depth the aims and content
eg: how many subjects in a programme
Continuity
relations between topics in a subject or between subject in a
programme
Orderly/sequence
principle of arrangement from easier to a difficult or from
concrete to abstract
eg: which subject should be taught first in a programme
Balance
knowledge and skills, major and minor. Curriculum should
impart a balance knowledge, skills and values for students
Articulation
continuation of studies from a degree level to a postgraduate
and doctoral programme

Curriculum Models

Integrated/holistic/coherent/unified curriculum
Outcome-based curriculum
Performance-based curriculum
Process-based curriculum
Student-centered curriculum
Problem-centered curriculum
Humanistic curriculum
Naturalistic curriculum
Discipline-centered curriculum
Thematic-based curriculum
Standards/criterion-based curriculum
Thinking curriculum, etc

Not mutually exclusive and one must be dominat/ancor

The Process in Curriculum

Development

5 stages in curriculum development

i. Situation Analysis/ sources
ii. Aims, goals and objectives
iii. Selecting and organizing content
iv. Selecting learning activities
v. Evaluation

The Process in Curriculum

Development

Situation Analysis

Evaluations

Aims/Goals/objectives

Learning activities
Content

Situation Analysis/ Sources

Empirical Sources
Philosophical Sources
Subject Matter Sources
Community
Students
Professionals
Economic
Political
Globalizations etc

Aims, goals and objectives

Aims defines the life outcomes
Goals defines the institution outcomes
Objectives defines learning outcomes
(specific and immediate outcome)

Selecting and organizing

content

Scope (how wide/depth)/knowledge

Unity/Diversity
Sequence
Significance
Utility
Interest
Human Development
Skills
values

Selecting teaching-learning
activities

Strategy
Method
Approach
Resource
Instruments/tools
etc

Evaluation

Formative
Summative
Internal
External
Scientific

Evaluations Models
CIPP
Stake
Objectives
Holistic
Illuminative

Curriculum Evaluation
Leads to
i. Curriculum Improvement
ii. Curriculum Reform
iii.Curriculum Change

Curriculum Development for

Education Reform
THE CURRICULUM
Aims, Goals, Objectives

F
O
U
N
D
A
T
I
O
N

Content Epistemologi
(The Nature of Knowledge)

Content

Society/
Culture

Learning Activities

The Individual

PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS

Evaluation

Learning Theory

F
O
U
N
D
A
T
I
O
N

Curriculum Alignment

Written Curriculum

Tested
Curriculum

Taught Curriculum

Curriculum Improvement
Phases
Development

Implementation

Planning

Evaluation

Curriculum in Higher Institution

The traditional curriculum discourses
in higher education
We may argue that higher education rests
upon two main curriculum models; the
disciplinary model, and the vocational /
professional model. While the disciplinary
model has been significant in the university
curriculum, the vocational model is
traditionally linked to the college sector and
undergraduate professional programmes.

Disciplinary curriculum
Driving force: The knowledge production itself (cognitive legitimation)

Structure

Content

Pedagogy

Aims

The disciplines
situated in
departments

Disciplinary
knowledge

Subject-based
teaching

Content-driven
aims

Subjects
offered on
foundational-,
intermediateand graduate
level

Emphasis on
cognitive
coherence

Verticalpedagogic
relations

Mastery of
conceptual
structures,
methods and
modes of
arguments

Vocational
curriculum
Driving force: The need of trained employees for human
service, information and production(social legitimation)
Structure

Content

Pedagogy

Aims

Unified
cumulative
programmes

Multidisciplinary
knowledge

Teacher-based/ Vocationalsubject-based driven aims

teaching

Regulated by
national core
curriculums

Emphasis on
the integration
of theory and
practice

Apprenticeship:
Verticalpedagogic
relations

Mastery of
specific skills
and a shared
knowledge
repertoire

The OBE designing-back

Principle
DESIGN
BACKWARD

O/cs of
the unit
Outcomes of
the lesson

DELIVER
FORWARD

/subjectt

O/cs of the
Course/
programme

Aims of the
faculty

Mission of
the
Institution

Curriculum and its Frames

in HE
Lecturer Qualification,Lecturers Assignment, Lecturer Enhancement
Lecturer Evaluation, University as a work place
Goals

Spesification
Lecturer

Selection

Test
Grading

Creation
Dissemination

Material/
Facilities

Standards/
Expectations

Evaluation
Students

Admission Criteria and Process

Peer Group Climate
Grouping Policies

Students
Progress Review
Informal social
Expectations