Curriculum Development and Curriculum Design

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Curriculum Development and Curriculum Design 1. Curriculum Development: As Simons (1998) indicated, curriculum provides the members of an educational institution with real life experiences that cultivate proper attitudes, broad understanding, sophisticated skills and socially constructive values. Thus, the curriculum becomes an integral part of the structure of the institution and meticulous care should be paid to the preparation of it. The nature of the curriculum is always active and open to changes. Therefore, it should be improved and modified when needed in accordance with modernization. Through this view, the curriculum activities must be planned by considering goals, content, learning experiences, methods, materials and evaluation. While developing curriculum, the factors “subject matter, students and society” should be given attention as well. Curriculum development basically comprises technical, humanistic and artistic processes, which are influenced by many models that are generally categorized as technical, non-technical and holistic. 1. Technical-scientific approach followers claim that this approach is a manner of curriculum planning in order to increase students’ educational performance by coordinating the components of personnel, material and equipment. Some technical-scientific model supporters like Macdonald favour “technological” rationality as opposed to “aesthetic” rationality (Macdonald, 1975). They believe that students should be given the opportunities to reach the large body of knowledge, and that, those educators with a technological consciousness will benefit optimum growth, maximum efficiency and effectiveness of the system. This kind of models have evolved together with the works of Bobbitt and Charters. Bobbitt, comparing the creation of a curriculum to construction of a railroad, emphasizes that firstly a general plan should

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