CURRICULUM FOUNDATION

There are three major foundations of curriculum and their

importances in education are as follows:

❑Philosophical
Foundations

❑Psychological
Foundations

❑Socio-Cultural
 Philosophical Foundations
Philosophy lays the strong foundation of any curriculum. A
curriculum planner or specialist, implementer or the teacher,
school heads & evaluator anchors his/her decision-making
process on a sound philosophy.

Curriculum decisions involve a wide range of considerations that

anchor on several issues in education. These issues include the
purpose of learning, sources of the subject matter, the nature of
teaching/learning process & characteristics of the leaner, among
others. These decisions are based or anchored on certain fundamental
beliefs that spring from one’s philosophy of education.
The following four educational philosophies relate to
curriculum:

Perennialism:
The focus in the curriculum is classical subjects, literary analysis
and considers curriculum as constant.
Essentialism:
The essential skills of the 3 R's and essential subjects of English,
Science, History, Math and Foreign Language is the focus of the
curriculum.
Progressivism:
The curriculum is focused on students' interest, human problems
and affairs. The subjects are interdisciplinary, integrative and
interactive.
Reconstructionism:
The focus of the curriculum is on present and future trends and
issues of national and international interests.
 Educational
Philosophical Base Education Aims Knowledge Focus Educational Roles Curriculum Focus
Philosophy
Focus on past and Teacher helps students
Educate the rational
Idealism permanent studies, think rationally. Classical subjects
Perennialism person.
Realism mastery of facts, and Explicit teaching of Constant curriculum
Cultivate the intellect.
timeless knowledge. traditional values.
Essential skills (three Rs –
Promote the Essential skills and
Teacher is an authority in reading, writing, and
intellectual growth of academic subjects
Idealism his or her subject field. arithmetic)
Essentialism the individual. Mastery of concepts and
Realism Explicit teaching of Essential subjects
Educate the principles of subject
traditional values. (English, science, history,
competent person. matter
math)

Based on students’ interests.

Knowledge leads to Involves the application of
Teacher is a guide for
Promote democratic, growth and development. human problems and affairs.
Progressivism Pragmatism problem-solving and
social living. Focus on active and Interdisciplinary subject
scientific inquiry.
relevant learning. matter; activities
and projects.

Teacher serves as an
Emphasis on social sciences
Improve and agent of change and
Skills and subjects needed and social research methods.
reconstruct society. reform.
Reconstructivism Pragmatism to identify and solve probl Examination of social,
Education is for change Helps students become
ems of society. economic, and political
and social reform. aware of problems
problems.
confronting humankind.
 Psychological Foundations
Curriculum is influenced by psychology. Psychology provides
information about the teaching and learning process. It also
seeks answers as to how a curriculum be organized in order
to
achieve students’ learning at the optimum level, and as to
what amount of information they can absorb in
learning the various contents of the curriculum. Psychology
provides basis for the teaching and learning process. It
unifies elements of the learning process and some of the
sum of questions which can be addressed by psychological
foundation
 Psychological Foundations
Psychology in general and educational psychology in particular
contributes to appropriate decision making in curriculum regarding
selection and organization of appropriate objectives, learning
experiences and methods of evaluation as well as decisions regarding
the scope of the curriculum. According to Ornstein and Hunkins
(1998) psychology serves as the impetus for many curriculum
decisions. Psychological influences of curriculum can best be
understood through theories of learning. These theories of learning are
classified into three broad categories as follows: Behavioral learning,
cognitive and developmental learning and humanistic learning
theories.
 The following three are psychological theories in learning that influenced curriculum
development:
Behaviorists Psychology
consider that learning should be organized in order that students can experience
success in the process of mastering the subject matter, and thus, method of teaching
should be introduced in a step by step manner with proper sequencing of task.
Cognitive Psychology:
focus their attention on how individuals process information and how they monitor
and manage thinking. For the cognitive theorists, learning constitutes a logical
method for organizing and interpreting learning. Learning is rooted in the tradition of
subject matter where teachers use a lot of problem and thinking skills in teaching
learning. These are exemplified by practices like reflective thinking, creative thinking,
intuitive thinking, discovery learning, etc.
Humanistic Psychology:
concerned with how learners can develop their human potential. Based on Gestalt
psychology where learning can be explained in terms of the wholeness of the
problem and where the environment is changing and the learner is continuously
reorganizing his/her perceptions. Curriculum is concerned with the process not the
 Socio-Cultural Foundations
Schools exists within the social context. Societal culture
affects and shapes schools and their curricula. The
relationship of curriculum and society is mutual and
encompassing. Hence, to be relevant, the curricula should
reflect and preserve the culture of society and its
aspirations. At the same time, society should also imbibe
the changes brought about by the formal institutions called
schools. However, it is also imperative that a country must
have maintained a curriculum that reflects and preserves its
culture and aspirations for national identity. No matter how
far people go, it is the country’s responsibility to ensure that
the school serves its purpose of educating the citizenry.