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Abstract
This article reviews, compares and contrasts the stages of curriculum development which
are curriculum planning, curriculum implementation and curriculum evaluation.
Curriculum is defined as a structured set of academic documents designed to achieve the
desired learning outcomes. Other crucial phases are designing, implementing and
evaluating the curriculum in attempt to develop the curriculum. Hidden curriculum
explains the occurrence of implicit learning among learners.

Keywords: Curriculum, curriculum development, planning, implementation, evaluation

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Introduction projects and assignments assigned to

Etymologically, the word ‘curriculum’ is
derived from the Latin word “currere” which
indicates “to run or to run a course”. Hence,
curriculum can be regarded as a structured,
organized series of formal education
intended to achieve the designated learning
outcomes. In other words, curriculum is a
planned, systematic and deliberate attempt
embarked upon by the learning institutions
concerned to revise or improve the processes
and pedagogies involved in teaching and
learning processes.
The word ‘curriculum’ often denotes the
academic contents or lessons delivered in a
learning institution such as school, college
or university involving a specific subject,
course or program (Young, 2014). In reality,
there exists a broad understanding and
employment of the term ‘curriculum’.
Typically, it can be defined as the
knowledge and skills that learners are
expected to learn which usually include the
learning objectives or learning standards the
learners are expected to meet; the learning
units or lessons that educators teach; the
learners; the materials used such as books,
videos, audios, slides and presentations, as
well as other teaching tools used in a course;
and the quizzes, tests, forms of assessments,
and other assessing tools used to evaluate
student learning (Kress, 2000). For an
instance, an educator’s own curriculum
could be the specific learning materials,
lessons, assignments, and standards used to
organize and conduct a particular lesson or
course.
Additionally, curriculum also encompasses
an institution’s academic needs for learners’
graduation. The needs include the list of
courses learners have to register for and
pass, the number of credit hours to be
completed, and other miscellaneous
requirements particularly completing a
planned task-based project or a certain hours
of community service activities (Fraser &
Bosanquet, 2016).
It is deemed crucial for all educators to have
expertise in curriculum development
involving structuring, organizing, delivering
and facilitating lessons to accelerate
teaching and learning processes. Curriculum
development can be referred to as a
distinctive process involving designing and
recuperating a subject or course offered at a
school or a university. Even though the
actual process will differ for each learning
institution, the broad framework comprises
of stages of planning, implementation, and
evaluation (Bhuttah, Xiaoduan, Ullah &
Javed, 2019).
1. Curriculum Planning
Curriculum planning simply means to
consider factors that will contribute to the
success or failure of certain selected
instructional pedagogies or lessons-delivery
methods. Educators should be able to choose
the right materials by focusing on obtaining
holistic learner development and by
achieving the intended learning outcomes.
Educators; therefore, may decide to plan
their curriculum structure revolving around
a certain project or assignment, daily tasks
or lesson plans, assessments such as quizzes
or tests, selected learning units in a
classroom or a whole education program.
For an example, the common phenomenon
during the curriculum planning stage would
be the requirements placed by a certain
institution. Each institution, be it a school,
university or college, will have its own
framework, guidelines, and principles that
serve as a guide or reference for the
educators to follow as they mould their
curriculum. It is the respective educator’s
responsibility to ensure that the curriculum
planned does meet the learners’ educational
needs and that the resources used as part of
the curriculum are comprehensive, timely
and current.
During the curriculum planning phase,
educators should reflect the following six
effective teaching components as follows:
 Able to demonstrate knowledge of
content
 Able to demonstrate the knowledge
of students
 Able to select suitable instructional
strategy goals
 Able to demonstrate knowledge of
resources
 Able to design coherent instruction
 Able to assess student learning
As a whole, curriculum planning is a crucial
but demanding stage that entails for
educators to possess deep academic content
knowledge, high level of writing skills and
planning practices to ensure the knowledge
and skills in the mandated curriculum
cascade down to unit and lesson planning.
2. Curriculum Implementation
Curriculum implementation is defined in
very diverse ways by different scholars.
According to Garba (2004), curriculum
implementation is viewed as the course of
setting the curriculum into place or work to
achieve the anticipated goals that the
curriculum is designed for. On the other
hand, Ivowi (2004) observes curriculum
implementation as the procedure of putting
theory to practice or in other words; putting
a proposal into an action. Another scholar,
Afangideh (2009), illustrated the notion of
curriculum implementation as the actual
interaction or engagement of students with
the planned instructional pedagogies.
Curriculum implementation; hence, can be
regarded as how the designed or planned
lesson is molded into syllabi, work schemes
and planned or officially designed course of
study is translated by the teacher into
syllabuses, schemes of work and lessons to
be delivered to students. The curriculum
implementation is the stage that brings the
expected changes into existence and this is a
vital part of the curriculum development.
The anticipated changes can happen in
several ways. The two most apparent ways
are:
i. Slow change: This change happens
when educators incorporate slight
amendments in the course content or
schedule such as when new books
are added into the library or when
credit hours are updated or a certain
blooms taxonomy is revised in a
course unit.
ii. Swift change: This kind of change
happens when there comes a new
social or education trend that
directly influences the curriculum.
For an example, the emergence of
ICT education that demands the
incorporation of Computer Studies in
the curriculum. Secondly, the
outbreak of a disastrous pandemic
such as the COVID-19 pandemic
that urged the closures of all
educational institutions and the
universal shift to online teaching and
learning.
Akwesi and Tsivanyo (2013) pointed out
that practical application of theories that are
put into practices and that result in evident
and optimal learning experiences by
students both in and out of the classroom is
what curriculum implementation is. In other
words, when an educator is able to deliver
the instructional strategies, pedagogies and
curriculum contents in the ways that they
were designed and intended to be delivered,
curriculum implementation occurs. Some
points to note are that the capability and
efficiency of the educators to conduct the
curriculum implementation effectively
largely depends on some key factors such as
the qualification, knowledge and experience
of the educators, resources availability,
support from the educational institutions,
peer support, intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation among others.
3. Curriculum Evaluation
Curriculum evaluation is an essential phase
of curriculum development. According to
DiFlorio, Duncan, Martin and Middlemiss
(1989), only through curriculum evaluation,
a certain educational institution such as a
school, a college or a university is able to
determine how rewarding a curriculum is in
meeting its actual purpose. This will also
help to discover whether actual learning
process does happen among students.
The word ‘evaluation’ commonly concerns
the decision to make a valuable judgment
when assessing. In the education context;
therefore, this ‘evaluation’ term is used to
regard the operations involving the
curricula, instructional pedagogies or
methods, interventions used, programs or
courses offered, revisions made into the
syllabi and other crucial factors. Curriculum
evaluation aims to inspect the impact of the
implemented curriculum mainly on learners’
learning achievement in order to amend or
revise the actual official curriculum besides
reviewing the effectiveness of the teaching
and learning processes in the classrooms
during lesson deliveries.
In short, it can be concluded that curriculum
evaluation establishes the following:
i. Specific strengths and weaknesses of
an implemented curriculum
ii. Significant details for strategic
educational changes and policy
making decisions
iii. Valuable inputs to improve learning
and teaching
iv. Definite indicators for monitoring
purposes
Curriculum evaluation may occur as an
internal process or activity in an educational
institution that perhaps are in-charge of
certain departments or certain selected units.
For instances, the national Ministries
belonging to the Ministry of Education,
regional authorities, education authorities,
institutional supervisors, principals and
qualified teachers in schools and
communities as a whole.
Undeniably, curriculum evaluation is a
phase or stage that is necessary and
incorporates the important aspects the
national education system. The evident
factor is because curriculum evaluation
comprises of the fundamental for curriculum
policy making decisions, for reviews and
comments on continuous curriculum
adjustments and procedures complementing
the curriculum implementation.
Curriculum evaluation is an effort to toss
light on two questions:
1. Do the planned units, courses,
programs, projects, activities,
assignments, and learning
opportunities that are designed,
developed and delivered actually
produce the desired outcomes?
2. What are the means to improve the
curriculum delivery for learners?
To keep track of the education quality,
curriculum evaluation plays a vital role in
monitoring and reporting on the quality of
education. According to Cronbach (1963),
curriculum evaluation is used mainly to
distinguish three types of decisions as
follows:
1. Course Perfection: Curriculum
evaluation is used to decide the type
of instructional material that is to be
used, the type of methods that yield
desired results and to work on the
areas that require changes or
improvisations.
2. Decisions about Learners:
Curriculum evaluation is used to
identify learners’ needs that will help
with planning the necessary
pedagogy. For an example, creating
or designing a set of instructional
methods to help learners with
 disabilities such as autism and those
requiring special-needs education.
3. Administrative Policy: Curriculum
evaluation is also used to judge how
well an educational institution’s
system or management is. It also
helps in evaluating the efficiency of
the educators individually.
Curriculum evaluation aids in
finding out the needed improvements
that are to be taken to revise course
content, teaching pedagogies or
methods, teaching objectives and
experience, learning objectives and
experience, institutional facilities,
staff appointments, deployment and
upgrading among many others.
Curriculum evaluation also fulfils
the needs of administrators, policy
makers, authorities, regulators and
members of the society when it
comes to gaining access or
information regarding educational
trends, systems and procedures.
An important aspect of the curriculum
evaluation that contributes in understanding
and determining the quality of education
offered is student assessment. It helps to
measure how successful a certain curriculum
is through reviewing the quality of learning
among students.
Realising the extent to which learners have
achieved the desired learning outcomes that
are specified in a certain curriculum is
significant to both enhancing the teaching
quality and evaluating the curriculum.
Student assessment
The ultimate objective of curriculum
evaluation is to warrant that the
implemented curriculum is successful and
effective in endorsing enhanced quality of
teaching and learning. Student assessment;
thus, can be perceived as a prevailing
influence on how and what is taught that
serves as a key source of feedback on the
suitability of the implemented curriculum.
To fulfil the curriculum needs, student
learning assessment can be in the forms of
summative or formative depending on the
nature of the course, the objectives and the
intended learning outcomes that are to be
achieved. The types of assessments may be
different to suit various learning needs.
Some examples are intelligence tests, task-
based tests, standardised tests, IQ test,
ability tests and aptitude tests.
4. Implications of the Differences on
Teaching and Learning
As stated earlier, curriculum development
comprises of different stages such as
curriculum planning, curriculum
implementation and curriculum evaluation.
The differences in all the three phases or
stages have implications on the teaching and
learning processes and experiences. This is
because curriculum goals and purposes
affect the curriculum decisions of content
coverage and topics. Take for example the
English Language subject or course in a
school or in a university. English is taught
using the American way in some countries
whereas in some other countries, British
English is used. This difference directly
impacts some word choices or vocabulary
comprehension in textbooks, learning
materials and other documents. In Malaysia,
for instance, we have the National Schools,
Vernacular Schools, Independent Schools,
Private Schools and International Schools.
English is taught very differently with
regards to different structures and content
coverage in all these schools. In short, the
distinctiveness in the teaching and learning
is an implication due to the differences in
curriculum planning, implementation and
evaluation with accordance to the nature of
the schools.
Therefore, if all parties involved in
curriculum planning, implementation and
evaluation understand and are responsible in
carrying out what is designed, then the
teaching and learning process can have
optimal satisfaction. Improvements and
reformations can also be done to curriculum
should the need arise.
5. Hidden Curriculum
Some contents that are not learnt by students
explicitly are parked under the hidden
curriculum. It explains the implicit or
unspoken behaviours, values, norms and
procedures that are present in the
educational setting. Hidden curriculum also
includes hidden skills, knowledge,
expectations, and other invisible factors that
escalates or plummets learners’
achievements.
Hidden curriculum has am impactful
influence on a certain educational
institution’s learning culture, but its
importance is always underestimated or
underrated. When educators are conscious of
the significance and impact of hidden
curriculum, they will be able to reflect their
personal attitudes in classrooms (Jerald,
2006). Besides that, educators can use the
hidden curriculum in their lessons as an
approach or technique to send specific
message to learners through cooperative
learning, for example. Hence, if educators
fail to utilise hidden curriculum in the right
direction, we may unconsciously send
negative social messages or ideas to
learners.
Hidden curriculum is an effective way to
impact the education in schools. Therefore,
educators who work with curriculum
development should be aware of this type of
curriculum when they design and develop
the curriculum. Educators should employ
hidden curriculum in a positive manner by
providing proper awareness through their
behaviours and methods of teaching in the
classroom to the learners.
Conclusion
To conclude, curriculum planning,
implementation and designing are certainly
the most crucial aspects of curriculum
development and must be carefully designed
and executed by the relevant authorities. No
curriculum is ever perfect, that is why we
have curriculum reforms and revisions after
some years due to newly emerging
educational needs and trends that must be
considered to suit learners’ educational
needs. Educators, policy makers, school
authorities, regulators and educational
authorities should continuously work on
improving curriculum to meet the demands
of the world and to ensure a nation is at par
with other nations globally in the quality of
education. All the essential guidelines and
framework designed in accordance with the properly adhered to in order to guarantee
national educational curriculum must be long term educational success.