Theories of Curriculum Development

 

Theories of curriculum development are devoted to examining and shaping the curriculum from the time of its inception based upon some educational ideas. How the development of curriculum has taken place and upon which based on conditions. There is a gradual shift in the ideas of curriculum development as there is a shift in educational ideas. Latest now see how the curriculum development has progressed in a century starting from 1890 to 1989.
In this century the whole curriculum developmental Idea divide into many theories- those are

1. Academic Scientism (1890-1916)
2. Progressive Functionalism (1917-1940)
3. Developmental Conformational theory (1941-1956)
4. Romantic Radicalism (1968-1974)
5. Privatistic Conservatism (1975-1989)

1. Academic scientism (1890-1916)

There is a set purpose. These set purposes need to achieve by well-organized constructed knowledge within a fixed time. So here are the knowledge and information that are given a definite shape and purpose is set along with a fixed time frame. One of the main theorists under this is Hilda Taba. She was the first proponent of this theory. According to him, the curriculum should be authored by the teacher. The teacher will prepare it with a set purpose and clearly systematically defined an organized body of knowledge that has to be acquired within a certain time frame.

2. Progressive Functionalism (1917-1940)

In this theory the emphasis was given upon the scientific method applied to child development. The educational efficiency was met through a series of the learning experience. John Dewey is one of the main proponents of this theory. According to him, a child learns through experience. How a child perceives the world- is given more importance. In this theory, maximum freedom was given to an individual without any chaos. This importance is given to the formal curriculum and more importance was given to acceleration of individual's interest and learning through experience. Hence it can be said it is a scientific process.

3. Developmental Conformational Theory (1941-1956)

In this theory the developmental milestone is achieved through an appropriate task. The development would take place through analog work. Tyler is one of the main proponents of this theory.

According to him,

·         Who will give the curriculum?

·         What will be the purpose of the curriculum?

·         How to select the experience?

·         How to organize the experience?

These questions systematically address and bring the development in the educational process.

The second proponent of this theory was Hollis Caswell. According to him, curriculum development should address the involvement of the teachers and their development. The curriculum should be child-centered- in which self-knowledge and ability of the learners should be in focus. This will help the learners to know and identify their role in society.
This theory also teacher creates the environment to stimulate the child for self-exploration and learning. Hear the emotion and intellect are not treated or seen separately rather both are emphasized simultaneously. The development should be given in all these aspects- emotional, intellectual, spiritual, physical, aesthetic, etc. When education is providing this holistic development then only a balanced person in all things could be developed.

4. Romantic Radicalism (1968-1974)

In this theory, they give a holistic approach to youth-driven counter-culture. Therefore two things are being discussed here:  Youth and Counter-Culture; i.e. the opposite situation for a counter situation of whatever is going on. The opposite cultural development of whatever the present situation is. The focus here is that the youth can change things. Change is the focus here. But those changes do not come through rebellion or Revolution but it is self-driven. The youth channelize themselves to those paths where they can construct a Counter-Culture of whatever the present situation is. Moreover, in this theory experimentation started with child schooling, like alternative schools, open classrooms, and elective programs. It means an alternative has been searched for schools or institutions,  and the students were asked to make the choice for how they want to learn. Do they prefer formal schools and classrooms or open classrooms? In the concept of distance education, students can learn according to their pace, preference, and convenience. It emphasized self-learning. It showed how we can study by ourselves in informal settings. So it becomes very easy. Therefore it is known as Romantic Radicalism where there is no opposition or revolt but just an establishment of counter-culture. The two main proponents of this theory were Carl Rogers and John Hill. Carl Rogers said that the response to the students should be very empathetic. Therefore, according to this theory, students should get the scope of becoming more emotionally mature. John Hill also said that the teacher needs to provide a stimulating environment and experiences over curriculum goals and objectives. The teacher should create a prompting environment in which our aims and goals can be achieved. Therefore the job of the teacher here is to facilitate and to be a provider of experience and environment so that the students can achieve the curricular goals. In this theory, Emphasis was given to the relationship between individuals, society, and nature. the relationship of the individual with society and with nature is the point of emphasis in the curriculum. The relationship between society and individuals should be empathetic. Both should try to be complementary to each other. An individual would try to uplift the society for the betterment which the society needs; again which is only possible by establishing harmony with nature. Therefore harmony was emphasized in this theory. Another main focus was freedom for self-study.

5. Privatistic Conservatism (1975-1989)

This theory was advocated for the need to experience peace, stability, and traditional values. We can only achieve peace when traditional values are emphasized on and this will bring a kind of stability in the society and hence peace. Again it emphasizes increasing critical thinking, accountability, and multiculturalism to compete in the global market. If we don't know about multiple cultures and are not well-versed in them, we cannot compete in the global market. Therefore this cross-cultural and multicultural thing needs to be adopted and inculcated in every individual. The main theorists of this theory were Benjamin Bloom and John Godland. The main focus of Privatistic Conservatism what's that the schools have to become vision-oriented. Schools must have a vision and they should promote reasoning over mastery. The reasoning should be developed more than mastery or perfection. If there is mastery it should be logical or rational. Logic is of the utmost importance here. How one justifies anything is more important rather than knowing something at its deepest level. Everything has to be rationalized. Therefore here comes the point of rational thinking, critical thinking. The ability of critical thinking, adaptability to multiculturalism are the requirement for competing globally.

 

If we see the developmental theory we developed it in nearly a hundred years with the ideas proposed by different theorists and philosophers. At first, we see it starts from the ideas of Taba, we do it systematically from his ideas with set purposes. Then comes John Dewey who is a child-centered proponent and who advocates child-centered strategies and how we emphasize experiences in that theory. Then comes Developmental Conformational Theory where the emphasis is on development for how and which type of development it should be. If we do everything systematically then we can set up a developmental milestone. If we see the development it should be holistic in which intellectual, physical, spiritual, emotional, and aesthetic experience should be included, then only a balanced individual will be created. The fourth one is Romantic Radicalism in which self-study has been emphasized and alternative methods of schooling have been searched for; i.e. if it is at all possible to have education without going to school through alternative schooling and open classrooms/schools. The fifth one is Privatistic Conservatism in which reasoning over mastery has been stressed upon. Reasoning is the supreme thing, if there is reasoning then mastery would follow. Mastery cannot be brought in the first place to be followed by reasoning! Everything has to be very rational. So in this way, the theory goes for hundred years, and therefore it can be said that the way curriculum used to be in its initial stages has advanced enough to reach here. There have been a lot of contributions of different theorists for curriculum development. The present form of the curriculum has been inspired by the ideas of these different theorists. In this way, curriculum theory is being developed.