Answer to Question #205048 in English for DUDU

Question

The meaning attached to the concept “curriculum” will influence the development of a curriculum in a specific context and time frame. Analyse how the approaches to curriculum development presented by Tyler, Stenhouse and Freire were used in the development, interpretation and implementation of Curriculum 2005, both its revisions and the amended NCS, referred to as the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in South Africa.

Answer 1

The curriculum reflects their views, perception, values, and knowledge. Experts should consider a holistic perspective to consider a curriculum approach to education, including the curriculum foundations: an individual's perspective of philosophy, history, psychology, and social concerns. The curriculum describes a course of studies that students will pursue in an educational institution. Informal education, the curriculum encompasses the set of courses, coursework, and content offered at the educational institution. Furthermore, a curriculum can be defined as a “plan or program of all experiences which the learner encounters under the direction of a school.

The three concepts of knowledge, social pedagogy, and personal growth are explicitly described within the objectives or instrumental approach. Tyler insisted that there be a balance between these three concepts and that the subject discipline, society, and the student be considered together when educational objectives are formulated. With a systematic design approach based upon an in-depth analysis, measurable objectives are developed for the development approach. These objectives are the reference criteria used in the design approach or planning by objectives. Tyler himself regarded the ultimate objective of schooling as learning, and thus, curriculum development should be performed so that effective learning is achieved. The Tyler model follows the linear technical production view where subject experts develop the curriculum, and thus, specialists also make educational decisions within the field. Thus, curriculum development was designed based on the ultimate end requirements or goals before focusing on the means to which education specialists would achieve this objective. Three characteristics are considered in this model, namely: planning, implementation, and evaluation. Within this instrumental model, the educational objectives are first planned, and the purpose for the school is established, after which the instructional strategy is considered. These objectives are formulated from systematic research studies of the learners, everyday life in society, and advice and data from subject experts. The principles used to select curriculum content should be aligned with the achievement of the objective and the effectiveness and efficiency of the teaching method.

The advantage to the model is in its simplistic approach. Educators are given a simplified version of the complex design approach and can design the curriculum rationally, logically, and goal-directed. The shortfall is that there is little room for adaptability for the implementers of the curriculum to adjust the process to meet the needs of the learners or for the curriculum to be modified by the curriculum designers once more experience has been harnessed from the curriculum's implementation. Furthermore, the technical approach is solely rational based upon facts and empirical data from research. Education also encompasses the individual, personal views, and opinions; socio-political characteristics are also important components in curriculum design. In a South African context, the Tylerian model was used to develop specific outcomes or learning objectives. Teachers should teach these outcomes, the sequence, and the teaching method. The difference is that assessment is not only formal but informal and continuous throughout the learning process.

Stenhouse, in contrast the Tyler, thought of curriculum development as an ongoing process that teachers could change in the process of its implementation where and if needed. He believed that teachers ought to be actively involved in the curriculum design and that while teaching occurs, the educator should still research and evaluate the curriculum and modify the curriculum plan in the course of its implementation. Stenhouse felt it justified to make adaptations to the curriculum, especially from information gathered the course develops and from what occurs in the practice of the curriculum. Therefore, the crux of the process approach is the concept of the quality of the educational process and the values that define it. Stenhouse felt that the Tylerian model had benefits but lacked certain specific aspects crucial to curriculum design. These included the inclination to reduce content to an instrumental role and belief that the educational process is oversimplified. From these two aspects, Stenhouse felt that the problem in education lied not in the form of content in the curriculum but rather in the terms and conditions in which learners were required to access the content.

The biggest advantage to this model is that continual professional development and the role of the teacher as a researcher are emphasized. The model allows teachers to improve their teaching strategies and adapt to meet the learner's needs to develop a grounded and sophisticated knowledge of the subject taught. In a South African context, the Stenhouse model was used in curriculum reform. The new curriculum is learner-centered, open to modification, empowers the learner to take responsibility for their learning, and the learning topics are relevant. Context involves the concept of inclusive education. The new approach to curriculum design also sees the active role of the learner in the planning process.

Paolo Freire worked with out-of-school learners. From this experience, he introduced the political or power-relationship view in curriculum development. He insisted that the curriculum designers consider itself can never be unbiased or value-neutral. Thus it was important to study the hidden characteristics of the curriculum since education can promote or oppress the learners. He believed in the concept of liberation through education. He favored leaving behind context-free objectives, competitive and external assessment, dualistic models that distance the teacher and learner, meaning and context learning, and environment and approaches of linear progress via value-neutral transference and communication. Freire highlighted communication amongst all the stakeholders in the educational process as an essential component. It is seen as a cooperative activity and enriches the sense of community and develops social capital to impact the world.

In contrast to Tyler's model, decision-making in this model is performed in a dialogic approach which included communication with the learners. It involves two steps; the first involves the teacher assisting people in creating themes that encompass their view of the world around them. The second step includes professional teachers or experts and other volunteers to develop further and perfect the curriculum content and outcomes. The principles used to facilitate the teaching of the curriculum involve an interactive and dialogic approach with learners where critical reflection is encouraged. Assessment is based upon reflection on all the participants and to evaluate whether students achieved learner empowerment. The learners should reflect on the value of learning and see its importance for their success in life. The largest positive impact that this curriculum model has is its place in the empowerment of the learner in the world, providing a world view, political empowerment where there is a liberating approach to education where critical reflection is considered important. In a South African context, this approach became useful as it mainly involves the empowerment of our citizens to have a place and purpose for education in their lives and better their future through access to all too basic education, which is a constitutional right.