chapter 2 curriculum decision making (complete)
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 2- CURRICULUM DECISION MAKING: ITS NATURE
& PERSONNEL (Part 1)
Professional Education 7:
Curriculum Development & Instructional Planning
Philippine Normal University College of Education
•OBJECTIVE
At the end of this chapter, students are expected to:
1. Understand the nature of curriculum decisions and the sociopolitical arenas where community & school personnel make decisions.
CURRICULUM DECISION MAKING
•NATURE OF CURRICULUM
CURRICULUM
-what is taught to students, including planned & unplanned information, skills & attitudes.
•NATURE OF CURRICULUM
Klein (1991) categorizes these in deciding what can & should be selected in giving solutions in curriculum decisions:– Content– Purposes, goals & objectives– Materials & resources– Activities & teaching strategies– Evaluation– Grouping, time & space
•NATURE OF CURRICULUM
1. CONTENT
– Comes from the disciplines or other organized bodies of knowledge & can take several forms, such as facts, concepts & generalization.
•NATURE OF CURRICULUM
2. GOALS, OBJECTIVES & PURPOSES– are labels applied to the results of students’ participation in
purposeful learning activities.
GOALS– referring to general learning outcomes
OBJECTIVES– referring to specific learning outcomes
PURPOSES– eventual outcomes of learning that result from work in a
curriculum over a period of time are commonly called “purposes of education”
•NATURE OF CURRICULUM
3. MATERIALS & RESOURCES– include “the objects, places & people
used to facilitate the learning process—the tools used with students to assist learning” (Klein, 1991, p. 3).
•NATURE OF CURRICULUM
4. ACTIVITIES & TEACHING STRATEGIES– are ways in which students become involved in
learning the curriculum
ACTIVITIES– can be passive or active, self-directed or teacher-
directed
TEACHING STRATEGIES– describe teachers’ roles within activities that help
students meet the learning outcomes
•NATURE OF CURRICULUM
5. EVALUATION– includes the procedures for determining
degrees of student learning as well as methods of analyzing & interpreting results.
Program evaluation focuses on determining how well the curriculum works.
•NATURE OF CURRICULUM
6. GROUPING ,TIME & SPACE– are all important issues in the use of curricula in classrooms
GROUPING– refers to the clustering of students for particular experiences either
by grade, by experiential background, or by ability levels TIME
– Is a limited resource whose allocations are made by groups outside, as well as inside the school setting
SPACE– refers to the design & use of school & classroom physical work &
play areas
•NATURE OF CURRICULUM
ADDITION:– Decisions also have a values dimensions– Curriculum decisions are made on the basis of
people’s values & beliefs (Goodlad & Su, 1992, Tyler, 1949)
• Values must satisfy the criteria of ideas chosen from alternatives, based on consideration s of their consequences, cherished enough to be made public, & acted upon in some way.
• Beliefs refers to ideas accepted as true, but more susceptible to change than values (Raths, Harmin, & Simon, 1978)
ARENAS OF CURRICULUM
DECISION MAKING
Curriculum decisions involve values that people express through actions at different levels of a political decision-making hierarchy encompassing national, state & local levels.
These arenas & decision categories typically affected are described here:
• National Level
The U.S. Constitution assigns the primary power for educational matters to state governments who delegate authority for certain decisions to local educational authorities, usually school districts.
Examples:a. From the late 1950s through 1970s, federal funding
pushed evaluation & brought about significant changes in program evaluation (Stufflebeam & Shinkfeild, 1985).
b. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 changed school curricula by requiring that handicapped individuals be provided educational opportunities in least-restrictive environments (Elmore & Sykes, 1992)
c. The Supreme Court decisions banning school-sponsored religious activities deleted curricular activities that had been included on a daily basis in some districts (van Geel, 1991).
•State Level
Traditionally, states have boards of education that set of policies for public schools in matters such as;
• achievement testing
• high school graduation requirements
• state subject-specific curriculum guidelines
• school evaluation & certification
• materials selection processes
• teacher certification requirements, &
• educational information management systems (Tyree, 1993).
Twenty-two states that adopt textbooks for schools generally exert their control through mandates over the – Curriculum– curriculum guides– content coverage &– testing programs
In the early 1990s, 42 states had some form of minimum competency testing that directly affected district curricula.
• Mandated state test are usually based on list of basic/required/essential skills that students are expected to master before graduation.
Gubernatorial offices & state legislatures through budgeting authority strongly influence the content and purpose of curricula.– Both agencies support or curtail certain programs
based on a variety of reasons & values.
•Local level
Decisions in all the categories are made or remade locally at either the districts, school or classroom level.
Regardless of the level, local curricula must comply with federal & state guidelines.
COMMUNITY PERSONNEL
INVOLVEMENT
Community Personnel– Include people not associated
with particular schools or districts as employees or students.• Citizens
• Parents & Guardians
•COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE
Composed of individuals & groups who influence curricula, particularly at societal & institutional levels.
Their agendas often dictate the school curricula’s
• Purposes• Goals &• Content
•EXAMPLES
1993 Poll showed that: (public surveys)
• 48% high schools should offer a wide variety of courses
• 51% high schools should concentrate on basic courses such as English, Mathematics, History & Science
• 1% did not express their opinions
(values emphasize)
In 1994 poll showed that:• At least 90% or more of the respondents believed that people in communities could agree on a set of basic values.
•COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE
Government officials & groups– It also seek to influence curriculum matters
Professional groups– Include specialists in any of several diciplines
Business & industries– Represent groups concerned about what students learn in
schools because they provide jobs & careers.
Civic groups Environmental groups Parents & guardians
•GOVERNING BOARD/SITE-BASED GROUPS
Governing boards– Composed of citizens elected to serve their local
school districts.
Management groups– Typically schedule public hearings on curriculum
matters to provide information to citizens & solicit input from them.
– Expected to influence curriculum matters locally through leadership in districts or schools.