2.5 Curriculum Design
2.5.1 Curriculum Design Models
2.5.1.1 Rational models
The rational model suggests a logical and sequential structure method that provides for a useful base for planning and devising curricula. The model provides a straight forward time efficient approach in meeting the curriculum task. It also emphasises the role and value of objectives. Objectives in the context of curriculum are defined by Ntoi (2007) as „an aim
which describes learners‟ behaviour‟. Stenhouse (1988) posits that they are sometimes called
„intended learning outcomes‟. Ornstein and Hunkins (1998) assert that objectives are written at three different levels. The first level of writing objectives is the program objectives. The second level of objectives addresses the course. The third level of objectives concerns the classroom objectives which can be further divided into lesson plan objectives. They also contend that the first and second levels are usually developed by the curriculum designers while the level three classroom objectives are developed by the teachers.
Ornstein and Hunkins (1998) suggest that objectives are, „observable behaviours that are expected of the learners after instruction,‟ and, are stated in terms of outcomes.
Eisner (2002) argues that:
Curriculum theory as it pertains to educational objectives has four significant limitations. First, it has not sufficiently emphasised the extent to which the prediction of educational outcomes cannot be matched with accuracy. Secondly, it has not discussed the ways in which the subject matter affects precision in stating educational objectives. Third, it has not distinguished between the logical requirements of relating means to ends in curriculum as a product and psychological conditions useful for constructing curriculum.
2.5.1.1.1 The Tyler Rationale
The Tyler Rationale (Tyler 1949) was first introduced in the late 1930s when he developed a process for thinking about the purposes for schools and how to develop the curriculum. The Tyler Rationale is developed through posing four questions which he considers fundamental to curriculum and instruction. These 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 organised?
4. How can we determine whether the purposes are being attained? (Tyler 1949) These questions address the four elements in Tyler‟s theory, namely, the elements of educational objectives, of selection of curriculum content, of organization of content and of evaluation. Educational objectives are derived out of information about the learner, about the contemporary society and opinions of the subject specialist. The objectives are then stated in
terms of learners‟ expected behaviour. The selection and organisation of the content not only provides the operational definition but also suggests implementation strategies and
procedures. The evaluation advocated in the rationale firstly recognizes the role of the teacher participation in curriculum work, and secondly rejects the assumption that curriculum
planning should always begin and progress through a particular sequence.
2.5.1.1.2 Taba’s Inverted Model
Taba‟s Inverted Model of curriculum development is different to most other models because it begins in the classroom with the teacher. Taba (1962) posits that there are eight steps, beginning with research in the community and its schools. Step two will be to analyze the data to inform teachers, enabling them to formulate the specific objectives that would be the basis of the teaching units. Step three involves selecting the content; this must be done considering Piaget‟s development hierarchy. In step four, the content must then be logically sequenced according to the cognitive level which makes continuous and accumulative learning possible. Steps five and six involve the selection and organization of the activities.
Each activity must have a definite function, set at the cognitive level of the learner. The activities must be introduced, discerned by the student and then connected by the student to the previous experiences. In stage seven the unit being taught must be continuously evaluated and revised as needed. The final analysis is done in stage eight to determine how well the content can be implemented, and whether the objectives as determined in stage one will be achieved.
The strength of rational models is its‟ nature. Its‟ logical sequential structure provides it with a useful base for planning and devising curricula. The essence of Tyler (1949) and Taba‟s (1962) models is in emphasizing the role and value of objectives. By conceptualizing and stating the objectives curriculum developers are forced in to thinking and planning in a logically rational and systematic manner. This recipe-type approach using the sequence of developing objectives, formulating content and learning activities, and finally evaluating the extent to which objectives have been achieved, provides direction and purpose to the process and reduces levels of confusion.
The weakness of this rational model to some is perhaps that an over emphasis on the
formulation measurable outcomes has sometimes placed an excessive use of time and effort on phrasing and writing particular objectives which reduces the development of other elements within the curriculum. Critics of the rational model (Kliebard, 1977; Skilbeck,
1976; Brady, 1995; Marsh, 1986) argue that its proponents do not adequately explain the sources of their objectives.