Historical Foundations of Curriculum

Philippine education came from various foreign influences. This can be traced back to our glorious history. Of all foreign educational systems, American educational system has the greatest influence on our educational system.

Curriculum Theorists (views on curriculum from historical perspective)1. Franklin Bobbit (1876 – 1956) – Bobbit presented curriculum as a science that emphasizes on students’

need. Curriculum prepares students for adult life. To Bobbit, objectives with corresponding activities should be grouped and sequenced. This can only be done if instructional activities and tasks are clarified.

2. Werret Charters (1875 – 1952) – Like Bobbit, to Charters curriculum is a science. It gives emphasis on students’ needs. The listing of objectives and matching these with corresponding activities ensures that the content of subject matter is related to objectives. The subject matter and the activities are planned by the teacher.

3. William Kilpatrick (1871 – 1965) – Curricula are purposeful activities which are child-centered. The purpose of the curriculum is child development and growth.

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The project method was introduced by Kilpatrick where teacher and student plan the activities. The curriculum develops social relationships and small group instruction.

4. Harold Rugg (1886 – 1960) – To Rugg, curriculum should develop the whole child. It is child centered. With the statement of objectives and related learning activities, curriculum should produce outcomes. Harold Rugg emphasized social studies and teacher plans curriculum in advance.

5. Hollis Caswell (1901 – 1989) – Sees curriculum as organized around social functions of themes, organized knowledge and learner’s interest. Caswell believes that curriculum is a set of experiences. Subject Matter is developed around social functions and learners’ interest.

6. Ralph Tyler (1902 – 1994) – As one of the hallmarks of curriculum, Tyler believes that curriculum is a science and an extension of school’s philosophy. It is based on students’ needs and interest.To Tyler, curriculum is always related to instruction. Subject matter is organized in terms of knowledge, skills and values. The process emphasizes problem solving. The curriculum aims to educate generalists and NOT specialists.

REFERENCE: Bilbao P. et al, Curriculum Development, 2008

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The Curriculum: Meaning, Nature and Criteria

DEFINITIONS OF CURRICULUMCurriculum is:

from the Latin root currere, which means to run; the course of the race. the sum of all learning content, experiences and resources that are purposely selected, organized and

implemented by the school in pursuit of its peculiar mandate as a distinct institution of learning and human development.

De la Cruz (1982), curriculum involves the general aims, which the schools are to pursue and about which

the more specific objectives of instruction are attained. The major areas of subjects of the curriculum must be selected as well as the specific content to be covered in each.

Garcia (1973), the term curriculum is “the collection of learning experiences proposed as a result of deliberation for student attainment.”

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Grayson (1977), the term “curriculum” is taken to mean the organized set of content and activities that a school uses as basis for educating students. The planning of a curriculum should begin with an analysis of technical manpower needs and identification of education-occupation linkages.

Krug (1957), defines curriculum as “the instrumentality by which schools seek to translate man’s hopes for education into concrete reality. It consists of the means of instruction used by the school to provide opportunities for student learning experiences leading to desired learning outcomes.”

Alice Miel (1946), the curriculum is the result of interaction of complex factors, including the physical environment and the desires, beliefs, knowledge, attitude and skills of the persons served by and serving the school.

Palma (1982), defines curriculum as the basic infrastructure of a school’s educational program. He said without curriculum, the school is exactly in the same situation as a contractor who embarks on a construction project without a master blueprint and bill of specifications and proceeds to do the job with no better guidance.

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CRITERIA OF A GOOD CURRICULUM1. The curriculum is continuously evolving.2. The curriculum is based on the needs of the people.3. The curriculum is democratically conceived.4. The curriculum is the result of long-term effort.5. The curriculum is a complex of details.

REFERENCE:Bauzon Priciliano, Foundations of Curriculum Development and Management

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HISTORICAL COMPARISON OF EDUCATIONAL GOALS AND CONTENTS

Period Goals of Education Content of EducationAncient Human satisfaction through work; religious

security; compliance with traditionTraining in responsibilities necessary to satisfy basic family needs, food, shelter, religion, tribal traditions, and ceremonials.

Asiatic Preservation of traditional duties; protection and preservation of caste and class system; development of nationalist ideas; development of militaristic spirit; training for war; study of the virtues of the citizen

Vocational duties and responsibilities; Religious training; intellectual training for the ruling classes; training for religious leadership; military sports, skills, and tactics

Jewish Religiousness and holy righteousness; vocational and professional training

Study of Jewish or Mosaic law; reading history, music, handwriting, and mathematics

Greek Development of aesthetic appreciation and ability, understanding of basic philosophy; civic understanding; creative personality; development of the intellect or the aim of “wisdom”; importance of training in courage, bravery, and physical skills

Reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, philosophy, music, physical education, art, history and law

Roman Training skilled warriors; development of courage, Reading, writing, arithmetic, history, military science, Page | 6

bravery, and the intellect; importance of nationalism; civic and vocational training

grammar, music and law

Christian Morality and religious development; temperance; brotherhood of men; purity of soul, conversion to faith, and service to God; entrance to heaven and life after death

Morals and religion; literature; grammar; and philosophy

Medieval Moral discipline; renunciation of worldly things; spiritual growth; chastity; poverty; obedience; surrender of family, political, and social relationship

The trivium; grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic; the quadrivium; arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music; in addition, reading of written composition, church law and canons

Later Middle Ages

Training of a livelihood; vocational education, preparation of individuals to develop and carry on trade, manufacturing and commerce

Arithmetic; reading; bookkeeping; handwriting; law

Contemporary Period

Education and training for social and personal responsibility

Sciences, humanities; vocational and technical education

REFERENCE:Bauzon Priciliano, Foundations of Curriculum Development and Management

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The History of Curriculum Development

One Room SchoolhousesIt was easier to come to consensus on ‘what’ should be taught. However, it may have been more difficult to align the curriculum, because one teacher was responsible for the entire curriculum.

The Committee of Ten (1892)In 1892, The National Education Association appointed a Committee of Ten to establish a standard curriculum. This committee was composed mostly of educators and was chaired by Charles Eliot, the president of Harvard University. The Committee of Ten recommended eight years of elementary education and four years of secondary education. The committee defined four different curricula as appropriate for high school.

John Franklin Bobbitt (1912-1940’s)He wrote the following books: The elimination of waste in education (1912); The curriculum (1918); and How to make a curriculum (1924). Ralph W. Tyler was one of Bobbitt’s students at the University of Chicago.

Edward Thorndike (1910)

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Thorndike wrote that “psychology makes ideas of educational aims clearer. Psychology contributes to a better understanding of the aims of education by defining them, making them clearer; by limiting them, showing us what can be done and what cannot; and by suggesting new features that should be made parts of them. When one says that the aim of education is culture, or discipline, or efficiency, or happiness, or utility, or knowledge, or skill, or the perfection of all one's powers, or development, one's statements and probably one's thoughts, need definition.”

“Alignment is a very old concept in education. Much of the theory behind it was developed by Thorndike (1913) in his creation of the “identical theory of the transfer of training.” – Quote from Deciding What to Teach and Test, by Fenwick W. English

The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education (1918)The Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education was instrumental in starting a standard of forming goals before reforming schools. At this point in history, changes were needed because of increased enrollment in secondary schools. The seven Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education are: Health, Command of Fundamental Processes, Worthy Home Membership, Vocation, Civic Education, Worthy Use of Leisure, and Ethical Character. American schools engaged in an unprecedented amount of curriculum experimentation.

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John Dewey (1897-1940’s)The following references include some of Dewey’s most popular works on education:

My Pedagogic Creed (1897) The School and Society (1900) Child and the Curriculum (1902) Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education (1916) How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process (1933) Experience and Education (1938)

Ralph W. Tyler (1949)

In 1949, Tyler wrote Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. He submitted that four fundamental questions must be answered in developing any curriculum and plan of instruction. The four questions are:

1. What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?

Benjamin Bloom (1956)

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In 1956, Benjamin Bloom wrote Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. Bloom and a group of educational psychologists identified six levels within the cognitive domain, from the simple recall or recognition of facts, as the lowest level, through increasingly more complex and abstract mental levels, to the highest order which is classified as evaluation. While educators frequently refer to his work as “Bloom’s Taxonomy, he never used this term.

Fenwick W. English (1970’s-1980’s)Fenwick English was the first educator to introduce the concept of curriculum mapping. In the mid-1970’s, English developed the Curriculum Audit. This process is currently used in schools around the world by English at Phi Delta Kappa (PDK).

The following standards comprise the Curriculum Audit: Governance and control (policy); Direction and learner expectation; Connectivity and consistency (alignment of programs); Assessment and feedback (use of data to drive decisions); and Productivity and efficiency.

Madeline Hunter (1976-1990’s)

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Hunter is known as the Creator of “The Seven Step Lesson Plan,” although this is a term Hunter never used. The Seven Step Lesson Plan theory originated from an article written in 1976 by Madeline Hunter and Doug Russell, titled Planning for Effective Instruction Lesson Design. Hunter also wrote a chapter in the 1984 ASCD Yearbook, Knowing, teaching and supervising. In Using what we know about teaching, edited by P. L. Hosford.

Publication of A Nation at Risk (1983)“If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. We have even squandered the gains in student achievement made in the wake of the Sputnik challenge. Moreover, we have dismantled essential support systems which helped make those gains possible. We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament.”

Howard Gardner (1983)Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) publishes

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Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989)This was the first set of national standards. Other content areas followed this example/model.

The National Council on Education Standards and Testing (NCEST) was established at the urging of Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander (1993)

Goals 2000: Educate America Act (1994)President Bill Clinton signed the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, creating a special council to certify national and state content and performance standards, opportunity-to-learn standards, and state assessments.

Heidi Hayes Jacobs (1997)Curriculum Mapping

Richard DuFour (1998)Professional Learning Communities

Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (1998)

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Understanding by Design

Carol Ann Tomlinson (1999)The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners

No Child Left Behind Act (2000)The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is revised and signed into law by President George W. Bush. Re-christened the No Child Left Behind (NCLB).The legislation calls for extensive implementation of state educational standards addressing national criteria tied to federal funding.

H. Lynn Erickson (2002)Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction

REFERENCE:www.k12curriculumdevelopment.com

JOURNEY IN BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULAR REFORMS: 1946 – 2011 Page | 14

Grade Level 1946 - 1956 1957 - 1972 1973 - 1988 1989 - 2001 2002 - 2011 2012 - 2013

Year IV Grade 10

General Education Curriculum

2 – 2 Plan◦ College PrepCurriculum◦ VocationalCurriculum

Revised Secondary Education Program

◦ Effectiveness offered

New Secondary Education Curriculum

(NSEC)

2002 Basic Education Curriculum

2010 Secondary Education Curriculum Roll-out

implementation of Grade 1 and Grade 7 of the

K to 12 C

Year III Grade 9

Year II Grade 8

Year I Grade 7

Grade 6 1987 - 1982 1983 - 2001 2002 - 2011 2012

Grade 5Revised

Elementary Education Curriculum

New Elementary

School Curriculum

(NESC)

2002 Basic Education

Curriculum R.A. 10157 Kindergarten Education Act

Grade 4

Grade 3

Grade 2

Grade 1

Kindergarten 2011 Kindergarten

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