OSIAS COLLEGES INC.

F. Tanedo St., San Nicolas, Tarlac City

Tel. No. 045-982-02-45

SUBJECT: Curriculum Development and Innovations

MODULE: 3
TOPIC: Understanding Curriculum.
- Curriculum Foundation
- Curriculum Conceptions
- Elements of Curriculum
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the discussion, the students are expected to:
1. Discuss the different curriculum foundations
2. Identify and discuss the curriculum conceptions, and
3. Analyze and describe the elements of curriculum
LESSON PROPER
Read
According to Cunningham, “Curriculum is a tool in the hands of the artist (teacher) to
mould his material (learners) according to his ideas (aims & objectives) in his studio (school).
Curriculum Foundations
Curriculum development scholars like Tyler (1949), Taba (1962) aand others
identified three categories of sources for curriculum foundation (1) studies of learners and
learning theory(psychology); (2) studies of life (sociology and anthropology); and (3) studies of
the nature and value of knowledge (philosophy).
Psychology as a discipline deals with understanding human behaviour which is
important in curriculum development. According to Print (1993) psychology can provide
information in five important areas; (1) Educational objectives; (2) Student characteristics; (3)
Learning processes; (4) Teaching methods, and (5) Evaluation procedures.
Studies about sociology and anthropology respectively affect all curriculum processes.
Sowell (1996) pointed out that knowledge about the society and its culture is important in
selecting the content of the curriculum
Philosophy as a foundation helps curriculum workers in understanding the nature of
knowledge and what subjects or topics are worthwhile. This is very important in making
decisions about the contents of the curriculum.
Curriculum Conceptions
1.Academic Rationalist Conception – considered as the oldest among the curriculum
conceptions. It stresses the importance of different bodies of knowledge known as disciplines or
subject areas as the focus of the curriculum.
2. Cognitive Process Conception – seeks to develop a repertoire of cognitive skills that
are applicable to a wide range of intellectual problems. The subject matters are instruments or
tools for developing these cognitive skills that are lasting in the lives of individuals.
3. Humanistic Conception – stresses the idea that curriculum or education is an
instrument for developing the full potential of individuals. It seeks to help individuals discover
and develop their unique identities. It stresses that curriculum should focus on the needs and
interest of individuals.
4. Social Reconstructionist Conception – views the school or schooling as an agency
for social change. Hence, it stresses that curriculum should respond to the different needs, issues,
problems and demands of the society.
5. Technological Conception – is preoccupied with the development of means to
achieve curriculum or educational goals. It views schooling as a complex system that can be
analyse into its constituent components.
6. Eclectic Conception – is where curriculum workers find themselves aligning their
ideas with two or more curriculum conceptions. Hence, this reiterates the realities in curriculum
development that each of curriculum conceptions is to be considered and is influential to a
certain extent in designing the curriculum.
Elements of Curriculum
Please click this link and peruse the contents of the presentation.
https://www.academia.edu/8861681/the_elements_of_curriculum
Reflect
1. Assess a philosophy of a particular curriculum then evaluate on what curriculum
conception it is oriented to.
2. What are the relationship of the elements of curriculum?
3. How the evaluation instruments measure the success of the curriculum?
Respond
Accomplish the activity sheet provided for this lesson.
 OSIAS COLLEGES INC.
F. Tanedo St. San Nicolas, Tarlac City
Tel. No. 045-982-02-45

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

Name: __________________________ Date: ____________________

Degree/Program: _________________ Score/Rating: _____________
Faculty: _____________________________

1. Cite a philosophy of a particular curriculum. Examine what curriculum conception it

is oriented to. Write your analysis below.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________
2. Provide examples of curriculum content and learning experiences. Analyze their
relationships.
Content Learning Experiences

3. The following questions. are asked on how the evaluation instruments measure the
success of the curriculum.
a. What curriculum competencies and performance standards are evaluated?
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
b. What forms of evaluation tools are used?
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
c. How often does the school evaluate the curriculum?
d. What decisions and actions are made after getting the results of the curriculum
evaluation?