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LECTURE 5: THE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

5.1 Introduction
Curriculum development is the process of creating teaching and learning materials for use by
teachers and learners. It is that process of constructing and implementing curricula. The word
process implies that there are a series of steps to be followed in designing the curriculum.

5.2 Lecture Objectives

5.2.1 Discuss the history, structure and functions of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum -
Development
5.2.2 Describe phases of curriculum development process
5.2.3 Discuss factors that affect Curriculum Development

5.2.1 The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD)

5.2.1 .1 Introduction
The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) is a SAGA (Semi-autonomous
Government Agency) within the ministry of education. It is charged with the responsibility of
designing curricula in Kenya except for universities.

5.2.1.2 History
The KICD traces its origin in 1968 when the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) was established
by the Education ACT Cap 211of the Laws of Kenya. But the origin of the KICD dates as far
back as 1957 when the English Special Centre (ESC) was set up in Nairobi for the purpose of
coordinating and advising the Ministry of Education on the teaching of English. This was
followed in 1961 by the Science Centre (SC) with the aim of promoting the standards science
teaching in the country. In 1965, a Mathematics Centre (MS) was also set up to develop and
implement the then New Mathematics Curriculum for Schools.

These three centers were amalgamated in January 1966 to form the Curriculum Development
and Research Centre (CDRC). The CDRC was also to incorporate all other subjects.

Also evolving at that period was a center for teacher education programmes, known as the
Kenya Institute of Education (KIE). KIE was established in April 1964 as a direct result of the
Conference of Institutes of Education, which was held in Mombasa, Kenya, in January 1964.
The then University of East Africa, in conjunction with the ministries of education of Kenya,
Uganda and Tanzania, and other interested bodies, sponsored the conference. At this time, KIE
was based at Kenyatta College (now university).

Another addition to KIE was the Education Media Service (EMS) which had started in 1963 as
a School Broadcasting Unit. In 1965, the unit was taken over by the Ministry of Education and
in 1976, it was moved to KIE and became the Education Media Service with expanded
responsibilities of the production of multimedia learning resources.
In 2013, the KIE was transformed into The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development
(KICD). The KICD was established by the Government of Kenya on the 14th of January 2013
under an Act of Parliament No. 4 of 2013.

5.2.1.3 Structure

The KICD is under the management of a council. This council is composed of 12 members and
it is headed by a chairperson. The composition of the council is as follows:

Chairperson (appointed by the president subject to approval by parliament)

Principal Secretary (MoE)
TSC: 2 members – the CEO and another member
National Treasury representative
Basic Education representative
Public Universities representative
Non-governmental Organizations Representative
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) representative
Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA)
Kenya Primary School Heads Association (KEPSHA)
KICD CEO/Secretary to the Council

The CEO is in charge of day-to-day running of the KICD. The CEO does this under the help of
the following section heads.
 COUNCIL

DIRECTOR/CEO

FINANCE, MEDIA AND EXTENSION

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
ADMINISTRATION AND SERVICES
AND RESEARCH
HUMAN RESOURCE

SPECIAL RESEARCH,
PROGRAMMES BASIC MONITORING ELECTRONIC
EDUCAT’L
AND FIELD EDUCATION TVET AND & EMERGING
RESOURCES
SERVICES EVALUATION MEDIA

FINANCE HUMAN INTER-

ADMNIS- NACE- CORPO- PLAN- PROCUR-
AND RESOU-
TRATION CE RATE NING
NAL EMENT
ACCOUNTS RCES
COMM’N AUDIT

5.2.1.4 Functions of KICD

The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development is mandated to perform the following
functions:
1. Advises the Government on matters pertaining to curriculum development
2. Evaluate, vet and approve, for application in Kenya, any local and foreign curricula and
curriculum support materials in relation to the levels of education and training”
referred to in bullet (4)
3. Implement the policies relating to curriculum development in basic and tertiary
education and training;
4. Develop, review and approve programs, curricula and curriculum support materials
that meet international standards for
i. Early childhood care, development and education;
ii. Pre-primary education;
iii. Primary education;
iv. Secondary education;
v. Adult, continuing and non-formal education;
vi. Teacher education and training;
 vii. Special needs education; and
viii. Technical and vocational education and training.
5. Initiate and conduct research to inform curriculum policies, review and development.
6. Collect document and catalogue information on curricula, curriculum support
materials and innovations to create a data bank and disseminate the information to
educational institutions, learners and other relevant organizations
7. Print, publish and disseminate information relating to curricula for basic and tertiary
education and training
8. Collaborate with other individuals and institutions in organizing and conducting
professional development programs for teachers, teacher trainers, quality assurance
and standards officers and other officers involved in education and training on
curriculum programs and materials
9. Develop disseminate and transmit programs and curriculum support materials through
mass media, electronic learning, distance learning and any other mode of delivering
education and training programs and materials
10. Promote equity and access to quality curricula and curriculum support materials
11. Promote appropriate utilization of technology to enhance innovations and achievement
of a knowledge-based economy
12. Offer consultancy services in basic and tertiary education and training
13. Incorporate national values, talent development and leadership values in curriculum
development
14. Receive, consider, develop and review curriculum proposals

5.2.2.1 Phases of Curriculum Development Process

The following are the stages that are followed in developing the curriculum.

1. Situational Analysis/ Needs assessment/ Information gathering

This is mainly undertaken to establish the learning and training needs in the society. The
curriculum developer carefully assesses the society in which the curriculum is going to be
implemented. Needs assessment should reveal the need for change, the context in which the
proposed changes should take place and their feasibility. The existing curriculum should be
critically examined to determine how well it meets the needs of the learner and the society.
This can be done through:
 Content analysis
 Leaner assessment tests
 Classroom observation

Several factors must be considered in needs assessment so that the curriculum developed is
relevant. These are: internal factors and external factors

a) Internal factors
They are derived from either the school or education system. They include:

i. Learner’s attitudes
 ii.
Learner’s abilities, values, needs and interests
iii.
Teacher’s values, attitudes, attitudes, skills knowledge and experiences
iv.Material resources which include school buildings, equipment and learning
materials
v. Structural problems and shortcomings in the existing curriculum
b) External factors
They are those that are extrinsic to the immediate school situation or education system.
They include:

i. Expectations and job requirements by parents and employers

ii. Changes and trends in the society
iii. Community values and perceptions of child-adult relationships
iv. The civic life (the obligations that are expected of an individual in the society)

In needs assessment, the driving force for the curriculum developer is to gather relevant
information which will enable him/her identify certain curricula tasks and problems in the
society with a view to finding solutions to them.

After the data is collected, reports are written and distributed to the bodies concerned with
policy formulation so that they can identify:

 Content to be learned
 Learning experiences
 Teaching methodologies and resources needed

2. Formulation of Objectives/ Statement of Objectives

An educational objective is a statement in specific and measurable terms that describes what
the learner will be able to do as a result of instruction. They describe outcomes after a certain a
certain instructional process. They direct attention to the student and the types of behaviour
they should exhibit after instruction.

Decisions about objectives of the intended curriculum (sources of curriculum objectives) are
determined by:
- Source (i) The study of nature, needs and problems of contemporary society
- Source (ii) The study of the needs, interests and problems of the learners themselves.
- Source (iii) Suggestions from subject specialists and the nature of subject matter
- Source (iv) The nature of social values (philosophy)
- Source (v) The nature of learning theories (psychology)

These objectives are viewed from a variety of angles:

 National goals of education
 School level objectives e. g. primary, secondary, etc
 Class level, e. g. Form 1, Form 2, etc
 Subject level, e. g. Physics, biology, etc
 Unit level, i.e., the chapters
  Lesson level. At this stage, specific objectives are expected

3. Setting up of the Curriculum Project

At the third stage, the curriculum designers develop the curriculum project. This includes
making a decision on the kinds and amounts of resources that would be needed to complete
the curriculum project. Such a decision would include a statement of the estimate of how
much money would be needed and the personnel and the time they would be needed. The
statement would also include transport and meeting facilities.

4. Programme Building
This stage in curriculum development process involves making preparations for the
introduction of the new curriculum being planned. It involves:
- Training of teachers
- Determining organizing and stating the necessary learning activities
- Developing teaching materials/aids including books, charts, maps, etc
- Specification of methods of teaching. These will depend on the objectives and level of the
learner and to some extent the nature of the subject matter to be taught
- Determining and stating the methods or techniques that would be used in assessing the
progress and achievement of the learners

5. Piloting/try-out
This involves trialing or testing of the new curriculum, support materials, teaching strategies
and learning activities in order to establish the strengths and weaknesses in the new
curriculum so that the identified weaknesses are corrected before full-scale implementation.

Try-out is conducted in few sampled pilot schools. During the piloting stage, formative
evaluation is conducted by curriculum specialists in order to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of the curriculum. Piloting enables developers to:
 Assess the relevance and suitability of the programme
 Make a decision on whether the programme should be adopted, modified or rejected
altogether
 Assess the effectiveness of the selected instructional resources
 Determine the curriculum implementation procedures
 Identify the required personnel

6. Improving of the New Programme

Results of the piloting will reveal strengths and weaknesses in the new curriculum. These will
be corrected before full-scale implementation of the new curriculum. Curriculum
improvement ensures that learners are not exposed to a curriculum with defects.

7. Curriculum implementation
After necessary changes are made on the new programme, it is implemented. Curriculum
implementation involves introducing the new curriculum to all the target institutions. Thus,
the new curriculum materials are systematically distributed to reach its beneficiaries – the
learners. Teachers are actively involved in delivering the new curriculum to the learners
through teaching.

8. Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring ensures that the curriculum is implemented as planned and feedback obtained on
how to improve the implementation process. Monitoring also involves observing such aspects
as level of learning achieved, administrative procedures, as well the teaching and learning
programmes.

Curriculum evaluation is the process of gathering and preparing needed information for
making decisions on the curriculum. The focus of evaluation is on the gathering and using of
information to detect problems and modify the curriculum project. Curriculum evaluation has
three main purposes
i. It enables one to determine the state of the curriculum project
ii. It enables one to take corrective action if necessary
iii. To continue with the project as it is if there is no adjustment required

There are two types of curriculum evaluation:

i. Formative
Formative evaluation refers to the evaluation which guides and promotes an
ongoing curriculum project. It is carried out during the implementation stage of the
curriculum development process.
ii. Summative
This evaluation is carried out at the end of large-scale implementation of the
curriculum project. It gives judgement as to the value or worth of the programme at
the end of an education cycle.

9. Curriculum Maintenance
Curriculum maintenance refers to activities and procedures that allow the programme to
continue operating. It involves several tactics whose prime purpose is to monitor all
curriculum elements and the roles of the personnel supporting the new programme. This is
done because the curriculum is people-oriented.

This stage attends to actions and reactions of students, teachers, parents, administrators and
others in response to the on-going programme.

In maintaining the programme, the curriculum leaders strive to stabilize it and keep
operational the content; experiences and environments. Maintenance requires a steady flow of
accurate data or information in order to assess the programme’s performance. It involves
managing the curriculum and its support systems.

The major curriculum elements that require monitoring include: objectives, content,
environments, educational personnel, school organization, students, school community,
parents and the programme’s budget in order to ensure that they relate positively throughout
the curriculum development process to ensure positive results. The following principles are
basic in curriculum maintenance.
i. Monitors must understand the total curriculum process that occurred and the place of
maintenance in the whole process.
ii. A firm co-operation network must be established among all the staff concerned with
the curriculum.
iii. The communication network needs to identify data from students’ and teachers’
behaviour and performance to be communicated to those administering and
implementing the programme.
iv. There should be an established communication network to allow for the quick detection
of programme deficiencies and rapid relay of such information to the relevant people.
v. The monitoring process itself needs to be re-examined from time to time for relevance
and effectives and eventually make the necessary re-adjustments.
vi. The procedures used in monitoring must be in line with the overall educational or
school philosophy, initially determined during curriculum conceptualization.

5.2.2.2 Challenges faced by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD)

There are two main curriculum development approaches adopted in curriculum development.
These are centralized and decentralized curriculum development approaches.

The centralized approach involved one curriculum planning and development agency that
develops the curriculum for all the intended schools. This approach is adopted by those
countries that desire to promote national unity of its citizens. The decentralized approach is a
practice whereby each region state, county or school is expected to develop its own curriculum
depending on its uniqueness. Kenya has adopted the curriculum development approach in
curriculum development work.

As a centralized curriculum system, KICD faces the following challenges:

i. The materials developed may not respond to the needs and interests of all learners
and schools. For example, schools in urban areas are advantaged in terms of the
languages and availability of resources.
ii. Development of syllabuses at KICD is done through a panel system that teachers take
too long to familiarize to. At the same time, the syllabuses take long to respond to
rapid changes in the industrial sector.
iii. Syllabuses of some areas such as those for gifted and talented learners, and those
with common disorders have not yet been prepared.
iv. Several syllabuses exist for the same level. For example, at ECDE the Montessori
version as well as the primary syllabus is used
v. Some curriculum developers are not skilled in some areas such as ICT, yet they are
expected to integrate the same into the curriculum.
vi. Qualified and experienced persons who have that potential to be good curriculum
developers are not eager to join the institute. Those who do, leave after a short while
to join other bodies that offer better terms of service.
vii. Some of the field officers may have limited knowledge of the curricula. This hinders
their full participation in the curriculum development process.
 viii. Curriculum implementation faces shortage of physical facilities and inadequate
curriculum support materials in areas of learning such as mother tongue, SNE, etc

5.2.2.3 Factors that affect Curriculum Development

The work of curriculum developers is affected by the following factors:

1. Political Factors
Politics affect curriculum development in numerous ways. This begins with the decision that is
made to change the curriculum. This is purely a political decision as parents, teachers,
institution administrators, learners and curriculum developers have no say on when to change
the curriculum or the structure of the new curriculum to adopt. Secondly, funding for the
curriculum development work depends on government funding. For example, politics affect
curriculum development from defining goals, interpreting curricular materials to approving
examination systems. Further, funding of the institutions where the new curriculum relies on
the government. This funding is needed for hiring personnel, building and maintaining
facilities and equipment.

2. Social Factors
The society has its own expectations about the aims and objectives that should be considered
when designing the curriculum. It also has a perception of what the product of the school
system should look like. It is therefore necessary for curriculum designers to take in to account
these societal considerations. For example, in Kenya the teaching of sex education has not been
affected because of the resistance from religious groups. Social diversity including religion,
culture and social groupings is also a social factor that affects curriculum development. This is
because these characteristics influence the types of topics and methods for passing
information. Developing relevant curriculum takes into account society's expectations,
accommodating group traditions and promoting equality.

3. Economic Factors
Nations financing education expect an economic return from educated students who
contribute to the country's economy. The developed curriculum should thus transmit to the
learners’ conventional skills (knowledge, skills, attitudes and values) that give the learners
global competition abilities.

4. Technological Development
The level of technology in a country can influence content of the curriculum, and how the
curriculum will be taught and evaluated. For example, the computer technology of the 21st
century influences curriculum development at every level of learning. For instance, in Kenya,
the curriculum provides for computer studies among learners. Also, multimedia use influences
educational goals and learning experiences among students.

5. Environmental consideration
Environmental issues affect curriculum development. World awareness and action toward
reversing and ending pollution continues to affect curriculum development. For example,
curriculum content today includes topics on recycling and healthy environmental practices.
6. Child Psychology
The ability to learn a particular concept, or perform an academic activity, is to a large extent
greatly influenced by developmental psychology of learners. And therefore, when curriculum
developers are developing a curriculum, they have to consider psychology of learning. They
will consider teaching psychology issues like cognitive changes as the learners grow older as
well learners with special needs.

5.4 Summary
In this lecture we have discussed the curriculum development process and roles of
KICD in curriculum development.

5.5 Further Activity – Assignment 2

Visit the Machakos university library website and write come up with other two models of
curriculum development.
5.6 Self-Test Questions
1. Explain the two models of curriculum development
2. Identify the challenges faced by KICD when developing a school curriculum