History of Curriculum Development

Curriculum Development (Foundation)
By
Muhammad Iqbal Rana
Research Scholar
Ph.D. Education
Visiting Lecturer
University of Sargodha
Bhakkar Campus
iqbalrana101@gmail.com
Cell:+92 333 8905098
2. History of Curriculum Development in
Pakistan
The history of the curriculum in Pakistan, today,
may be traced back to the period when the
Prophet (PBUH) of islam, started teaching the
principles of Islam to the people.
In order to appreciate the meaningful
development of curriculum at various stages in
Muslim history, we have started from the
development of curriculum from the early Muslim
period up to present time in Pakistan.
2.1 Development of Curriculum in
Islam
The Holy prophet (PBUH) started educating people. In
his period, instruction was given in following subject:
 Reading and writing (Arabic)
 Quranic education
 The Hadith by heart
 Learning the Quran by heart
 The Fiqha
 Mathematical calculation in respect of distribution of
property
 Basic medicine: Genealogy
 Learning foreign languages
 Art of sewing; masonary and arrow-shooting
 Horse riding
2.1 Development of Curriculum in Islam
 During the period of Hazrat Umar (RA) the curriculum included
horse-riding and preparation of armaments besides other
subjects.
 During the period of Omayyads notable progress was made in
various fields of education. During this period curriculum
included Arabic Grammar, Rhetoric, Fiqh, Hadith, Mathematics
and Medicine with other subjects.
 During the period of Abbasides (Banu Abbas) Muslim educaiton
visited new lands. Islam had spread to the whole of North
Africa, Southern Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and South
East Asiam Subt-continent. In this period many new subjects of
studies were added like astronomy and new laboratories
formed, history, geography, Math, Arithmetic, Algebra,
Geometry, Trigonometry, Philosophy and Ethics.
2.1 Development of Curriculum in Islam
During the 10th and 11th Centuries many new
important and unimportant subjects of study
appeared.
Imam Ghazali introduced reforms in the
curriculum. He divided the subject into Farz-e-Ain
and Farz-e-Kifaya.
Every Muslim was bound to learn about Farz-
e- Ain, subject like Kalima, prayers, fasting,
Nazra Quran, Fiqh, Hadith, Ilm-ul-Kalam and
other essential fundamental of Islam.
Under Farz-e-Kifaya, he introduced useful
subjects. The elective subjects were Science
of Medicine, surgery, Math, Politics, Literature,
History, Geography, tailoring, hair-cutting,
Sub- Continent
 Under the Muslim rule, changes in curriculum were
introduced from time to time to frame curriculum
according to the Islamic principles. Detail is as under:
 In 13th Century, Arabic language, Arabic grammar,
literature and elementary arithmetic and practical
skills in various arts and crafts were introduced.
 In 17th century, Dars-e-Nizamia were established
which taught Arabic grammar, Rhetoric, Fiqh,
Principles of Fiqh, Ethics, Islamic Philosophy, Ilm-ul-
Kalam, Math and Astronomy.
 During the period of Akbar Mughal Emperor morality,
arithmetic, algebra, geometry, physics, astrology,
Arabic grammar, agriculture, history, geography,
political administration, ethics, philosophy and
theology.
Sub- Continent
 During the period of British who had succeeded the
Mughals tried to destroy the Muslims identity by
closing their Madrasses. But Shah Wali Ullah was the
first Muslim thinker who tried to reinstate the Muslims
once again through education. He worked in a
Madrassah (Madrassah-i-Raheemiyya) establised by
his father. His curriculum included the Quran, Hadith,
Fiqh, Arabic & Persian language and moral education.
 Encouraged by the success of Shah Wali Ullah,
Darul-Uloom Deoband, Nadvatul Ulama Lucknow,
Madrassah Jamia Millia, Delhi were established. But
each of these has a typical curriculum model of its
own based on its own unique philosophy.
 Sir syed Ahmad Khan was the pioneer of Aligarh
Movement. He stressed on modern education on
European sciences, English and literature with
Sub-
 EastContinent
India company was established in year 1600.
 In Charter Act of 1698 of East India company that schools
should be established for the company's Indian
employees. They established few schools called Charity
Schools where curriculum was introduced on the principles
of Christian religion.
 In 1781 the first institution “Calcutta Madrassha” was
established. The curriculum was arithmetic geometry,
Quranic theology, law, logic, grammar and national
philosophy was introduced.
 In 1853 the new system of education introduced in which
English was only medium of teaching.
 In 1882 new curriculum was introduced like math, modern
English, history, geography, drawing and modern
languages at high school.
 During 1930-47 various committees set up to reorganize
educational system in sub-continent. And pure academic
course to technical and professional courses was
2.3 Development of
Curriculum
 since
After the birth of Pakistan 1947
on the world Map, the University
of Punjab was the main body who prepare curriculum for
secondary and higher secondary stage. Primary education
was the responsibility of provisional government. Group A
(Compulsory subjects) and Group B(Elective subjects) was
introduced.
 In November, 1947 the first educational conference was
held by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in which he
stressed to make Pakistan a truly Muslim state.
 During 1950-52, Punjab university commission curriculum
based on Religious Education, physical instruction, Urdu,
math, history and Geography, English, Persian, Arabic,
Bengali, French, Latin etc.
 In the light of first five year plan of education during 1955-
60 Board of secondary Education Lahore introduced five
group of secondary education level like (Humanities,
Science, Oriental, Technical and English).
2.4 Curriculum Development under various Education
Policies of Pakistan
Education Policy 1970
In this policy the following goals/guidelines of
education were developed:
Inclusion of Islamic values for national unity
and progress
Inclusion of Programs related to
scientific, vocational
Role of Education for social change
Quality Education
Providing academic freedom and
financial support for healthy and efficient
growth of educational institutions
 A Education Policy 1970

curriculum committee was made
 Teachers training institutes also involved in
curriculum
 Text book board was established
 All were responsible for elementary and
secondary school curriculum development
 At elementary level basic linguistic and numerical skills
and manual and production work related to physical and
social environment
 At secondary level science, and technical subjects and
manual arts, agriculture, industrial etc
Education Policy 1978
In this policy the national aims of education with
the principles of Islam, rich cultural heritage
and socioeconomic needs.
The whole curriculum and textbooks will be
reviewed and ensure that adequate content on
Islam and ideology
The curriculum of Deeni Madrasshs were
reviewed to make them in line with the Quran and
Suunah and also the need of modern age on the
other side.
Education Policy 1972-80
In this policy following changes were made:
Curriculum should be relevant to nation’s social
and economic needs
Learning of concept and skills and
observation, exploration, experimentation,
agro-technical education.
Addition of general and technical education
Addition of elective subjects for SSC and
HSSC
3. Foundations of Curriculum
Curriculum foundations are those forces that
influence and shape the minds of curriculum
developers and enhance the content and
structure of the subsequent curriculum. They
influence developer’s thinking about curriculum.
The curriculum developers thinks on important
foundations before designing curriculum:
Philosophy and Curriculum
Psychological Foundations
Sociological Foundations
Historical Foundations
Economic Foundations
Philosophy and Curriculum
 Philosophy is the search of wisdom and knowledge,
the studies of realities and general principles.
 It concerns with the search of internal truths.
 Philosophies foundations give understanding of
nature of educational objectives, structure or
interrelatedness of objectives, nature of curriculum
activities and the structure of curriculum plan.
 Philosophical categories have particular relevance for
curriculum development and “these categories
include:
 Ontology (the nature of reality),
 Epistemology (the nature of knowledge)
 Axiology (the nature of values)
• Psychological Foundations
 The word psychology is derived from two Greek
• words “psyche” (soul) and “logos” (study).

 Therefore, psychology is the study of human
behaviour.
 Psychological foundations give us an insight into child
development and learning and provide various

techniques of inquiry for use in the curriculum area.
Cont.
 The particular areas of information in psychology includes:
educational objectives, studies characteristics, learning

processes, teaching methods and evaluation procedures.
 Knowledge about growth and development of the
child has a great bearing as on what to teach at a

given level. The process of human growth,
development and nature of learning have special
importance for curriculum development
Sociological Foundations
 The word sociology is derived from Latin word
“socins” (society) and “logos” (study).
 Sociology is the study of social relationships, social
institutions and society.
 Sociological foundations deeply influence the
school
curriculum, its concepts, contents and organization.
 Sociological considerations engaged in the task of
curriculum development include: core values of
society, changing values of people, demands of
modernization, criterion of good family life, democratic
temper of the society, new forms of cooperation,
media explosion, population explosion, regional and
national imbalance and economic efficiency.
Historical Foundations
 These refer to those influences on the curriculum that are derived from
developments in the past. They form the basis for decision making
and systematic growth of the education system and preparation of
curriculum.
 Exploring the historical foundations of curriculum can promote a
sense of freedom and encourage educational reform.
 Discuss the educational history (of the subcontinent) before,
during, and after partition.
 Consider the multiple pathways to education as practiced in
Pakistan
 Discuss the challenges faced by Pakistan in enhancing
educational standards and quality
 Reviewing the history of education allows us to step outside of the
here and now, gaining a bigger picture and seeing ourselves within it,
realizing that the field of education must remain dynamic in order to be
effective.
 Throughout history, curricular choices have been made out of
necessity and to meet the specific needs of society at the
Economic Foundations
It focuses on:
 Job or market oriented curriculum
 Skill learning
The economical foundation of curriculum gives
importance to the vocational aspect of the curriculum.
The economic condition of a nation or a society guide the
curriculum of the country, because the stakeholder of the
education wants to employ such a curriculum which help
them to build their economy and the people have better
jobs when they finish their schooling. In this kind of
situations the curriculum become job or market oriented.
In this curriculum the curriculum developer gives
importance to skills acquisition which is the demands of
the time. Undeveloped nations try to prepare skill work
force and send it to other countries for jobs.
4. Conceptual framework of Curriculum
Development
4.1 Need
A conceptual framework provides boundaries within which facts,
concepts, theories, and propositions from three theoretical sources
interact with clarity, coherence, and consistency. From the framework
objectives are derived. The framework gives direction to the
curriculum design. Finally, the conceptual framework serves as a
background against which objectives can be tested. A conceptual
framework for curriculum encourages systematic curriculum
evaluation that will eventually allow us to more accurately describe,
explain, predict, and control the work of curriculum
Need
 Curriculum development is a complex undertaking that

involves many kinds of decisions. Decisions need to be
made about the general aims, of education and the
specific objectives of instruction. The major areas of the
curriculum along, with the specific content of each must
be selected.
 Choices must be made about the learning experiences
which would ensure the achievement of content,
understanding and other objectives. Decisions are
needed regarding how to evaluate student learning and
the effectiveness of the curriculum in achieving the
desired goals and objectives. And finally, choice must be
made regarding the over-all pattern of the curriculum.
4.2 Conceptual Model by Ralph Tyler
4. Conceptual framework of Curriculum Development
Ralph Winfred Tyler was born April 22, 1902, in Chicago,
Illinois. In 1927 Tyler received the Ph.D degree from the
University of Chicago .
The brilliance of Tyler’s model is that it was one of

the first models and it was and still is a highly
simple model consisting of four steps.
Determine the school’s purposes (objectives)
Identify educational experiences related to
purpose
Organize the experiences
Evaluate the purposes
Conceptual Model by Ralph Tyler

 Basic Principles
 Step one is determining the objectives of the school or class. In
other words, what do the students need to do in order to be
successful? Each subject has natural objectives that are
indicators of mastery. All objectives need to be consistent with the
philosophy of the school and this is often neglected in curriculum
development. For example, a school that is developing an English
curriculum may create an objective that students will write
essays. This would be one of many objectives within the
curriculum.
 Step two is developing learning experiences that help the
students to achieve step one. For example, if students need to
meet the objective of writing an essay. The learning experience
might be a demonstration by the teacher of writing an essay. The
students than might practice writing essays. The experience
(essay demonstration and writing) is consistent with the objective
Conceptual Model by Ralph Tyler

 Basic Principles
 Step three is organizing the experiences. Should the teacher
demonstrate first or should the students learn by writing immediately?
Either way could work and preference is determined by the
philosophy of the teacher and the needs of the students. The point is
that the teacher needs to determine a logical order of experiences for
the students.
 Lastly, step four is evaluation of the objectives. Now the teacher
assesses the students’ ability to write an essay. There are many ways to
do this. For example, the teacher could have the students write an
essay without assistance. If they can do this, it is evidence that the
students have achieved the objective of the lesson.
 There are variations on this model. However, the Tyler model is still
considered by many to be the strongest model for curriculum
development.
Hilda Taba Model of Curriculum Development
 The Taba Model was developed by Hilda Taba (1902 -
1967), an architect, a curriculum theorist, a curriculum
reformer, and a teacher educator. She was born in the small
village of Kooraste, Estonia. Taba believed that there has to
be a definite order in creating a curriculum.
 She advocated that teachers take an inductive approach to
curriculum development which meant starting with the
specifics and building toward a general design, rather than
the traditional deductive approach (starts with the general
design and work towards the specifics) which was rooted in
Tyler's model. Hilda Taba followed the grass-roots approach
in developing curriculum. For her, it should be the teachers
who should design the curriculum rather than the higher
authorities.
 More specifically stated, the Taba approach believes in
allowing the curriculum to be developed and/or authored by
Hilda Taba Model of Curriculum Development
Her model of developing a curriculum consisted
of seven main steps:
1) Diagnosis of needs
2) Formulation of objectives
3) Selection of content
4) Organization of content
5) Selection of learning experiences
6) Organization of learning experiences
7) Determination of what to evaluate and of the ways
and means of doing it.
Neagley and Evans Model of Curriculum Development
They encompasses the following procedure for a thoughtfully
planned curriculum:
1) Organization of the curriculum committee
2) Selection of objectives, aims and goals of instruction
3) Designation of appropriate content, learning experiences and
teachings aids
4) Choosing the best methods of instruction
5) Selection of the evaluation procedures commensurate with the
designated objectives aims and goals.
6) Trial and evaluation of these materials, learning experiences
and methods
7) Development of appropriate curriculum guides
8) The provision of procedures for continuous study, evaluation
and improvement of the curriculum
After analysis of various models of curriculum it could be
inferred that the basic elements of curriculum development
include:
1) Objectives
2) Contents
3) Methods and
4) Evaluation
The basic elements for the curriculum enable us to construct a
model for developing a curriculum which aims to answer the
following questions:
5) What is the purpose of curriculum?
6) What subject matter is to be used?
7) What learning experiences and school organization are to
be provided?
4.3 Relationship among the Elements
 The elements of curriculum are closely inter-related and
interdependent. Each element of curriculum acquires
meaning and substance in reference to the other element.
 The type of content organization adopted puts restrictions
the learning experiences which are possible. The
consideration of the nature of students and their back
grounds help determine the appropriate content and
effective learning experience but if these element are seen
as mere components or as organically interacting factors
curriculum development, their treatment, too often, becomes
mechanical.
 A good conceptual model also describes the elements and
the relationship among them and their supporting principles
4.4 A proposed conceptual framework of CD
for Pakistan
On the basis of previous models discussed, the
Pakistani framework of curriculum development is as
below:
Values must be in harmony with the physical
environment, the learner, educational objectives, the
content, learning experiences and evaluative
procedures in order to bind together the elements of
curriculum. Throughout the model, values are
transposed and appear in modified forms. As we all
know, Pakistan being a ideological state, we have
certain hard core values like virtue, truthfulness,
honesty etc, which do not undergo any change over
4.5 Process of curriculum development
The elements of curriculum constitute four stages in the
process of development:
1) Selection of objectives
2) Selection and organization of contents
3) Selection and organization of learning experiences
(methods), and
4) Evaluation
Curriculum development is not an activity which is
undertaken once and then it finished; it is rather a
continuous process. Knowledge and insight gained
from evaluation are used as a feedback for providing
a fresh starting point for further development.
4.6 Selection and Organization of Methods
 Teaching methods constitute a important part of the
teaching process. Not all students learn equally by the same
method, by the same type of activity, or by using the same
media.
 While students are stimulated to the thought by books,
others need group discussion to accomplish the same
purposes.
 Different students also need different types learning
activities of for their self-development.
 A shy person needs experience in group
participation.
 A person given to over generalization needs experience in
analyzing data and drawing accurate inferences from them.
4.6 Selection and Organization of Methods
Following are various modes of learning that can be
used in structured class situation:
1. Lecture and verbal presentation method
2. Discussion-questioning method
3. Practice and Drill method
4. Viewing, listening, answering method
5. Heuristic, problem-solving and discovery method
6. Laboratory and inquiry method
7. Role playing, simulation and Games
8. Instructional methods for unstructured situation
4.7 Bases for selecting instructional Methods
Within this wide collection of teaching methods, teachers are
faced with the problems of selecting the method or methods
which are most suited to a curriculum plan. Some important
guidelines for the selection of instructional methods are below:
 Achievement of the objectives is the first thought in planning
for teaching.
 While selecting a method of teaching the teachers should
know the theories and principles of learning.
 Consider the individual learning styles of the students
before selecting teaching method.
 According to Skinner that We need to find practices which
permit all teachers to teach well and under which all
students learn as efficiently as their talents permit.
4.8 Curriculum Evaluation
Evaluation is an essential part of the whole process
of curriculum development. It is a continuous activity
and not a tail-end-process. Evacuation and
planning are necessary processes which occur
almost simultaneously and continuously.
Planning is made on the basis of evaluation and
vice versa. However as a separate state, evaluation
has its own entity.
According to Seriven there are two forms of
curriculum evaluation, formative and summative.
Formative evaluation is occurs during the course of
curriculum development. Its aim is to contribute to
the improvement of educational program. Three
types of evidence are used at this stage for the
4.8 Curriculum Evaluation
 In summative evaluation the final effects of a curriculum are
evaluated on the basis of its stated objectives. It takes place
after the curriculum has been fully developed and put into
operation.
 Through summative evaluation, the overall effectiveness and
quality of a new curriculum improvement and adjustment are
planned and introduced in the schools.
 Summative evaluation is based on tests’ results, students
reactions to the instruction, teachers’ views concerning the
effectiveness of instruction, follow-up studies of students who
have participated in a program of instruction, parents’
reactions and such other types of evidence of varing degree
of validity.

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Curriculum Development (Foundation)

 A Education Policy 1970

• words “psyche” (soul) and “logos” (study).

development and learning and provide various

educational objectives, studies characteristics, learning

child has a great bearing as on what to teach at a

 Curriculum development is a complex undertaking that

The brilliance of Tyler’s model is that it was one of

Conceptual Model by Ralph Tyler

Conceptual Model by Ralph Tyler

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