Ralph Tyler’s instrumental approach emphasises the importance of a systematic process of curriculum design (Hoadley & Jansen, 2013; Thijs & Van den Akker, 2009a). Moreover, Thijs and Van den Akker (2009a) and Ramrathan (2017) assert that Tyler developed a systematic
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plan for curriculum development in the book ‘Basic principles of curriculum and instruction’
which he called rationale which comprises certain questions for curriculum developers. The instructional approach is influenced by four important questions for all curriculum developers, which are called the Tyler’s rationale. Tyler’s rationale is mostly used because of its simplicity and the fact that it emphasises the importance of rationale and clear curriculum goals (Hoadley
& Jansen, 2013; Thijs & Van den Akker, 2009a). Understanding the curriculum visions assists lecturers to strategise on their teaching in order to improve their teaching practice (Khoza, 2014; Ramrathan, 2017). Moreover, Khoza (2015c) and Ramrathan (2017) indicate that rationale is at the centere of teaching and learning which means that it applies to all of the curriculum concepts. This suggests that Tyler’s rationale is crucial in curriculum development as it is the motive that drives lecturers’ as they need to know why they teach their modules.
Tyler’s rationale includes the following questions: 1. Objectives: Which objectives should education aim for? 2. Learning experiences: Which learning experiences are most suitable in order to obtain these objectives? 3. Organisation: How could these learning experiences be organised effectively and 4. Evaluation: How can we determine whether the objectives have been achieved? Furthermore, the instrumental approach may be related to written strategy because it has specific steps to be followed from the first to the last stage, which suggests that curriculum developers needs to follow such steps when developing curricular. This approach also relates to the principle of the decolonisation of curriculum as knowledge is generated by following the different stages as listed above. Stakeholders’ collaboration is necessary in curriculum development.
2.6.2 Communicative approach
Collaboration has been adopted by many curriculum developers to allow for a curriculum that meets society’s needs (Bianchini et al., 2015; Bridgstock, 2016) Thus, “the communicative approach emphasises the importance of social strategies”(Thijs & Van den Akker, 2009a, p.
18). Moreover, Thijs and Van den Akker (2009a) and Bridgstock (2016) affirm that this approach starts with the more subjective perceptions and views of the designers, the target group, and other stakeholders (students, lecturers, university management parents etc.).
Furthermore, this suggests that in this approach, designing is regarded as a social process where parties involved participate in decision making, and solutions and decisions are made based on the consensus between all parties. This further suggests that curriculum design lies in the decision reached by all of the stakeholders involved in education, through collaboration. Ayers (1992) and Bianchini et al. (2015) assert that the curriculum should not be the product of
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someone else's thoughts, knowledge, experience and, imagination, thus, lecturers and other education stakeholders should partake in developing the curriculum which helps the lecturer to understand it and develop strategies for better implementation. Walker (1971) introduces a communicative approach model with the following different stages: the platform of ideas: in this first stage, designers and other stakeholders present their views and ideas while striving to reach a consensus; deliberation: designers generate possible solutions to the problem and discuss the one that is most suitable, design is the final stage where results of the deliberation meeting are transformed into a final product draft. Bianchini et al. (2015) as well as Bridgstock (2016) concur that a communicative approach to curriculum development is the preferred way to obtain most of the necessary skills from different stakeholders. The above discussion suggests that communicative a approach relates to verbal strategy, since it accommodates the needs of the society in order to develop a curriculum that directly satisfies community needs.
Addy (2012) and Berkvens et al. (2014) emphasise that educational stakeholders (parents, students, lecturers, trade and industry, trade unions, religious groups, social organisations, researchers, and politics) deciding on the content of each module would help to ensure that the right content is chosen (Berkvens et al., 2014; Quan-Baffour & Arko-Achemfuor, 2009). In line with this Ramrathan (2017) concurs with Khoza (2016b) that although the curriculum may empower students with shared skills and attitudes, most countries differ culturally and therefore, choices should be based on a dialogue centred around local skills, competences, attitudes and values. Berkvens et al. (2014) state that these involve being self-aware, communicative, creative, critical in thinking, socially and culturally reflective, media smart, and able to solve problems and collaborate. This suggests that each curriculum should also involve issues based on the local needs of the society which can be achieved through the participation of different stakeholders as indicated above. For instance, stakeholders in a country may suggest selecting knowledge that is needed in the local community before bringing in knowledge from international contexts. Consequently, this may lead lecturers to exercise verbal strategies to find their needs and preferences in terms of knowledge to include in the curriculum. Direct needs of the local users of the curriculum may contribute in development of relevant curricula.
2.6.3 Pragmatic approach
A pragmatic approach is when close users of the curricula interact to formulate certain curricular (Berkvens et al., 2014; Thijs & Van den Akker, 2009a). Furthermore, the curriculum design and evaluation process takes place interactively, in this approach if consensus is not
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reached between the users, the experts’ and designer’s vision becomes the deciding factor.
Moreover, this approach is also driven by verbal strategies because curriculum users (society) strive for the curriculum to meet their needs. Furthermore, this approach is also driven by the principle of decolonisation of physical structures as stakeholders involved in curriculum development may suggest classrooms and a learning environment that suits the curriculum users. Creativity is essential in curriculum development to integrate the different necessary skills.
2.6.4 Artistic approach
An artistic approach assures creativity of the designer to develop a unique and relevant curriculum (Berkvens et al., 2014; Thijs & Van den Akker, 2009a). This approach does not have any stages to be followed, rather the designer uses his experiences and perceptions to design the curriculum. Furthermore, the designer is an artist who works according to his own views and ideas by looking at the needs of the target group. This suggests that in this approach, curriculum design is a subjective process as he uses his own habitual tastes and preferences to design the curriculum. Eisner (1979) and Oolbekkink-Marchand, Hadar, Smith, Helleve, and Ulvik (2017) assert the importance of putting the lecturer at the centre of teaching and learning.
Moreover, this approach maintains that curriculum enactment must meet the needs of the students. For instance, in this case the lecturer is an artist who from personal experience knows what students needs and designs a curriculum that suits these needs. Both Taole (2015) and Bianchini et al. (2015) affirm that lecturers as implementers of the curriculum should have the chance to develop the curriculum based on their experiences and the student’s needs. Moreover, Oolbekkink-Marchand et al. (2017) and Bridgstock (2016) concur that scholars and researchers are not familiar with the class environment and therefore lecturers should be allowed to exercise their agency to creatively design a curriculum suitable for their students’ needs in the classroom. The artistic approach relates to habitual strategy, because lecturers, (artists) develop the curriculum based on their personal experiences and preferences. Furthermore the artistic approach may relate to the principle of decolonisation of the mind as the curriculum designer already knows what is needed in the curriculum as an artist. Developing a flexible curriculum is needed to meet the needs of the majority of students.