Chapter Three: Effective curriculum design for dynamic curriculum

development
3.1. Introduction
The dynamic of any curriculum (at whatever level) is determined to a large extent by the quality
of its design. Curriculum developers must also understand precisely what curriculum design
comprises, what the criteria are, how it can develop and what its nature is. The intention of this
chapter is not only to show the curriculum developer how one may possibly go to work but also
to offer a broad perspective on the nature of curriculum design. This knowledge base is in fact
essential in empowering teachers.

3.2. Clarification of the concept: The interdisciplinary nature of ‘curriculum design’

‘Curriculum design’ as a phase within curriculum development relates both to the creation of a
new curriculum and to the re-planning of an existing one after a more complete evaluation has
been made. Aspects such as method, team approach and responsible decision making should
figure prominently within this phase. Barrow (1984: 7) links up with this in contending that
curriculum design has largely to do with curriculum decisions. Decisions are taken, into alia,
with regard to the content which must be included, how it should be presented and how it should
be evaluated. There are therefore various opinions and points of view as to what should be
included in this design.

Various other aspects thus deserve thorough consideration during this design phase. Decision
making therefore comes strongly to the fore as the following contributory factors in particular are
taken into account:
- Criteria for curriculum development
- Procedure for curriculum
development
- Educational and teaching objectives
- Child knowledge
- Subject knowledge
- Necessary didactic and subject
didactic knowledge and skills.

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These aspects show clearly that curriculum design is in reality a multidisciplinary affair which
should be addressed by a large team of curriculum experts, subject specialists, subject
didacticians, educational psychologists and those in teaching practice who have an interest.
Curriculum design is, therefore, that planning phase during which various decisions are taken
which must be based on accountable criteria. It has a multidisciplinary character and may also
take place at various levels. The nature and extent of decision making will also vary depending
on the level at which the curriculum development is done. There are also a number of variables
which the curriculum developers must take into account, once again depending on the level at
which they are moving.

Barrow (1984: 40-41) offers a perspective which should be fully taken into account by every
curriculum developer. He avers that there is not necessarily only one single correct method of
designing with its own fixed rules which is necessarily also valid for other situations without
referring to the most basic question: ‘What is education and teaching about?’

Curriculum design is therefore not a fixed recipe consisting of components and set rules, but a
process characterized by flexibility and pliability within which the specific variables exercise a
strong influence.

3.3. Orientations in respect of curriculum development

The process of curriculum development may also be influenced by developers’ particular
orientation with regard to a curriculum. A particular orientation may determine the character of
the final curriculum. The three orientations which will be illustrated here are those of
transmission, transaction and transformation. This does not mean that curriculum is mapped into
little ‘packages’ by focusing on these orientations, but rather that it tries to promote an
understanding of these different orientations/views and of what curriculum development might
possibly mean. This could help one to understand the process of curriculum development and
also what the underlying values, assumptions and motivations are, as these impact on the
curriculum.

Orientations

Education takes place within a broader or narrower (local) community, and the norms and values
of the latter often influence the curriculum. Community and school are inseparably bound in that

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the relevant values may eventually determine how the curriculum appears. There are also many
other influences which may determine the curriculum, for example an academic preparedness,
technological development, claims for relevance, human attitudes and philosophies of life.

The question then quite rightly, arises as to what must be instructed, how the curriculum must
appear and what must happen after the presentation of a particular curriculum. From this, two
attitudes can be deduced: a process one and a product one. This attitude can be described as a
person's orientation with regard to the curriculum. Normally there is a dominant orientation, as it
is seldom either one or the other. It is therefore very necessary for every ‘curriculator’ to be
aware of his or her relevant orientation. This is not stereotyping, as educators normally move
along a continuum and do not concentrate on only one orientation.

Various curriculum works touch on this aspect of orientations, and show that there are usually
three which may be regarded as representative:
 In transmission, the content is the most important. There is a strong product alignment,
and learner participation or involvement is of lesser importance. The curriculum is
therefore ‘something which is done to learners’.
 In the case of transaction orientation, because the teacher is adapted to both the
curriculum and the learner, there is a greater interaction between the learner and the
teacher.
 Transformation requires that the learner and the curriculum must totally integrate with a
view to giving meaning to the latter, and it is characterized by strong humanistic and
social adaptation, as well as a high level of involvement by both the teacher and the
learner.

3.4. Levels on which curriculum design may take place

It is clear that the nature and extent of curriculum design will differ, depending on the level on
which one moves. The nature of the activities undertaken by a curriculum developer involved on
national level with a curriculum committee will differ from that of the subject teacher circulating
for specific learners at a micro-level. There are differing views as to what the various levels are.
The following is only one such view:

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Table 2: One view of the various levels of curriculum design

Level Description

Macro National Level

Meso Provincial, departmental or district level

Micro School level

The use of the terms ‘macro’, ‘meso’ and ‘micro’ is problematic in that these are relative and that
all three may be just as applicable within a particular school. Preference is therefore given to the
following levels, sectors or areas (Carl, 1986: 157-158):

- A community's philosophy of life and thus its views on education

- Government level and education legislation

- School-phase and school-type planning

- Syllabus/learning programme development

- School curricula

- More complete or comprehensive subject curriculum development

- Instructional-teaching/micro-curriculum development in the classroom

At each of the above-mentioned levels, aspects of curriculum design are applicable. For example,
while in school-phase planning, the broad curriculum (for a total school population and country)
is considered, the subject teacher his or her classroom will be more involved with micro-
curriculum development (objectives, goals, content, media, methods and evaluation for a specific
learner or group of learners). This curriculum development often takes place simultaneously,
although the subject teacher will be particularly involved with syllabus development, school
curriculum development, more complete subject curriculum development and micro-curriculum
development.

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Oliva (1988: 55-60) largely confirms this view in setting out a specific hierarchical presentation
of the levels, pointing out that teacher involvement normally becomes less the further one moves
away from the classroom. His presentation is shown below:

Figure 1: Levels of curriculum design

World → Country → Region → Province → District community → Specific school →

Classroom

The fact that teachers are involved to a lesser extent on broader levels in curriculum development
(e.g. syllabus design) does not at all mean that curriculum design in the classroom is of less
importance or value. On the contrary, it is right there that the curriculum is implemented and its
success determined.

There is in fact an interdependency and interaction between the various levels which determines
the success of curriculum development. Curriculum design can therefore take place during the
design of the broad curriculum, but it is filled in further during syllabus design and development
by curriculum committees for a particular grade, which in turn leads to further design actions
when the subject teacher designs a subject curriculum and/or a micro-curriculum. Teacher
involvement is the heart of really successful curriculum development, and for this reason
opportunities must be utilised to the full. It is, however, not proof of an inadequate teacher if the
person is not involved at higher levels, as not everyone gets these opportunities. A teacher may
be a first-class curriculum developer even though there is only a certain measure of involvement
at classroom and school level. One should, however, strive to be more widely involved, for
example, at least at the level of syllabus development.

An interesting contribution to the debate with regard to various levels is that of Oliva 1988: 57-
58) who states that the expression ‘sectors of planning’ is receiving more and more approval.
The problem of hierarchical classification (which sometimes wrongly characterises the
involvement taking place at teaching level as of less importance) is eliminated and it is stated
that curriculum design takes place in specific sectors, without giving any ranking, for example
class, subject group, school, school district, province, region, country or world.

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It is clear that there are different opinions as to the various levels on which curriculum design,
and the phases of curriculum development following thereon, take place. Curriculum developers
must rather decide what they themselves understand by this and curricula accordingly. One must
guard against curriculum agents being so caught up in a debate on semantics that curriculum
development is eventually prejudiced. Curriculum design can therefore, according to Oliva
(1988: 100), comprise a multilevel and/or multi-sector process.

3.5. The process of curriculum design

When describing the process of curriculum design, it must be viewed against the background of
the above-mentioned levels on which curriculum design must take place. The extent will differ at
every level or in every area or sector, but for the sake of completeness the description is given of
what is normally understood by the whole process.

3.5.1 Curriculum design and the development level of the child

One of the most basic points of departure is that any curriculum must take account of the
development level of the child. Particularly in the choice of objectives, outcomes and particular
teaching content, learners' development needs must be considered, as well as the manner in
which children learn. Such a curriculum design must have not only the children's intellectual
development in mind but also the development of their full potential. From this it appears that
the learners' needs should be a cardinal consideration. For this reason the quality of the method
aspect is vital to eventual successful implementation and application.

The design must be based on a valid frame of reference, as it must help the child on the way to
adulthood. The educational objectives may fulfill this cardinal function. Carl (1986: 33) states
that the following considerations may, inter alia, contribute to a higher quality of curriculum
design:
- The design must consider not only subject content but also the methods and skills
necessary for the learning process (e.g. reference skills and study methods). The learners
should also be exercised in communication skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening
and non-verbal communication).
- The design should make provision for the needs, abilities and skills of all learners, as
potential differs from learner to learner.

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 - The design should create learning experiences which may also develop a skill in the use
of free time.
- The design should correlate to a high degree with the values of the broad community and
country.

3.5.2 Criteria for curriculum design

The phase of curriculum design is one of ongoing decision making as a result of the planning and
action aspects in this process. This decision-making process is influenced by criteria which will
eventually determine what the product (i.e. the design) will look like (Walters, 1978: 90).

Walters (1978: 91-92) states that there should be clarity as to the sources which serve as
guidelines in forming criteria. He states that existing curricula, curriculum literature and
interviews with curriculum developers may make a significant contribution in this regard.

For the purpose of this module it is important to point to criteria which may lead to more relevant
and accountable curricula, and to greater teacher empowerment and involvement. To this end
some general criteria for the curriculum may be set:

 The interdisciplinary nature of curriculum design must be acknowledged

 There must be a child-directedness, which takes the child’s level of development into
account
 Planning must be purposeful
 Method must be an important characteristic of the design
 There must be relevance with regard to practice orientation and needs
 Comprehensiveness must be a characteristic of the design
 Didactic demands must be taken into account
 The demands of subject sciences must be taken into account
 Note must be taken of educational administrative demands
 The demands and needs of the broad community must be considered
 Effective evaluation must be an inseparable part of curriculum design

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  There should be a balance with regard to the attention received by the cognitive,affective
and psychomotor domains with a view to contributing to the development of the child's
full potential.
a. In the cognitive domain, six levels have been identified, each in turn with its own further
individual division. The six levels which run hierarchically are:
Level 1: Knowledge
Level 2: Understanding
Level 3: Application
Level 4: Analysis
Level 5: Synthesis
Level 6: Evaluation
b. In the affective domain there are four levels:
Level 1: Receipt
- Consciousness
- Preparedness to give attention
- Controlled or selective attention
Level 2: Response
- Consent to give attention
- Preparedness to respond
- Satisfaction
Level 3: Value determination
- Acceptance of a value
- Preferences
- Dedication
Level 4: Characterisation
- Stable value system
- Characterisation (part of behaviour)
c. In the psychomotor domain there are the following levels:
Level 1: Cognitive
- Knowledge acquired
Level 2: Absorption of recording
Level 3: Automation
- No effective or cognitive intervention (does it all automatically)
The fact of the matter is that curriculum design requires thorough and well-thought-through
planning and decision making with a view to establishing a comprehensive curriculum. For
effective curriculum design, it is desirable to have a thorough knowledge of relevant curriculum
models, the various components, the relevant criteria, the subject, and also the child. Redesign
should take place on an ongoing basis in connection with evaluation processes and for this

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reason it should also be flexible. Effective curriculum design may lead to effective curriculum
dissemination and implementation.

3.5.3 Models for curriculum design

In the literature dealing with curriculum matters, a variety of models are encountered which arise
from curriculum developers’ methods of approach. The method of approach is, however, not the
only source of variety in curriculum models, as writers' personal points of view, community
needs and composition, the influence of other writers and even the nature of a particular
educational system have often led to the design of a particular model.

Some models are more complex while others are simpler in nature. Some agree with others, are a
refinement of already existing models or are distinctive original designs according to particular
requirements. There is value in utilizing a model is as it may give direction and purpose to the
whole process of curriculum development. Curriculum developers can therefore take note of
particular models and determine to what extent they comply with their requirements. The view of
this book is that models should not be prescriptive, but rather provide a conceptual framework
for planning, which should be flexible and contextualized.

Marsh (2009: 24-25) also argues the issue of utilizing models or conceptualizations as tools for
curriculum planning. He states that this can provide useful perspectives on some curriculum
issues, but not the whole context or picture. There are critics against the use of procedural and
descriptive models, as it is argued they are too prescriptive.

There are a few components or elements, such as those set out below, which seem to be in
common among most of the curriculum models mentioned:

 Situation analysis/contextual evaluation/initial evaluation

 Objectives and goals
 Selection and classification of content
 Selection of methods, techniques and media
 Selection and classification of learning experiences
 Planning and implementation of the instructional-learning situation
 Evaluation of learners

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A few of the problems which come to the fore when studying such curriculum models and the
various components thereof are that they are either not comprehensive or not discriminatory
enough, cannot be utilized on all curriculum levels, or cannot be applied in every particular
educational system and community.

In summary it appears that there are differing rationales for the choice and design of a particular
curriculum model. Whatever model is used in the planning action, it appears essential to plan any
curriculum design systematically and thoroughly, as the later successful dissemination,
implementation and evaluation of the curriculum depend thereon to a great degree.

Oliva (1988: 177) puts it clearly that curriculum leaders must take note of the available models,
must be able to test them and must decide on/develop one which is understandable and workable
for their various groups. Curriculum development can then progress methodologically and
purposefully. This is clearly an important aspect in the process of teacher empowerment.

3.6. Types of Curriculum

1. Overt curriculum (explicit, formal, intended, written).
2. Curriculum in-use: taught by each teacher.
3. Learned curriculum: those things that students actually take out of classroom,
those concepts and contents that are truly learned and remembered.
4. Core-curriculum: courses that are required of students to take. The compulsory
subjects that must be covered for completion of a course.
5. Extra curriculum: the planned experiences outside of the specific educational
session. It is done mostly outside the classroom but not directly related to studies.
E.g. sports, rally drives...
6. Co-curriculum: Is that which is not taught in class but helps one to develop a
good understanding in particular subject area. E.g: debates, conferences, fields
trips.
7. Hidden curriculum: that which is implied by the very structured and nature of
the schools, much of what resolves around daily or established routines. It
includes that which is not explicitly taught, but is part of what mold the school
environment.

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8. Societal curriculum: massive, on-going, informal curriculum of family, peer
groups, neighbourhoods, churches, organizations, mass media and other
socializing forces that educate all of us throughout our lives.
9. Phantom curriculum: the messages prevalent in and though exposure to any
type of media. These components and messages play a major role in culturing
students into generational subcultures.
10. Concomitant curriculum: that which is taught or emphasized at home or those
experiences that are part of family`s experiences, or related experiences
sanctioned by the family: lessons on values, ethics or morals, molded behaviours
or social experiences based on family`s preferences.
11. Internal curriculum: processes, content, knowledge combined with the
experiences and realities of the learner to create new knowledge while educators
should be aware of this curriculum, they have little control over the internal
curriculum since it is unique to each student.
12. Electronic curriculum: those lessons learned through searching the Internet for
information or through using the e-forms of communication.
13. Null curriculum: what is not taught somehow, somewhere. Some people are
empowered to make conscious decisions as to what is to be included and what is
to be excluded from the overt (formal) curriculum, since it is physically
impossible to teach everything in schools, many topics and subject areas must be
intentionally excluded from the written curriculum.

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