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Curriculum Designs
Most curriculum designs can be grouped into the following three basic designs; namely, subject-centred designs, learner-centred designs and problemcentred designs (see Table 6.1). Subject-Centred Designs include 5 types of designs: academic subject designs, discipline designs, broad field designs, correlation designs and process designs. Learner-Centred Designs include 3 types of designs identified as child-centred, romantic/radical designs and humanistic designs. Problem-Centred Designs include 3 types of design identified as lifesituations design, core design and social problems design (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998). 1 Subject-Centred Designs Subject-Centred Designs are by far the most popular and widely used curriculum design. This is because knowledge and content are well accepted as integral parts of the curriculum. Since acquiring a body of content is integral in any school system, much thought has focussed on how best to present the knowledge, skills and values of subjects to learners and five approaches have been proposed: a) Academic Subject Design: The academic subject design is both the oldest and best known design to most people because it was the way many of them were educated. Is this true of you? This design is based on the belief that humans are unique because of their intellect and the quest for and acquisition of knowledge is to feed this intellect. In the 1930s, Robert Hutchins indicated that the academic subject design model for American schools should comprise; language and its uses (reading, writing, grammar, literature), mathematics, science, history and foreign languages. Has it changed today? Why is this model of curriculum design widely adopted? One reason

given is that it is much easily interpreted in textbooks and commercially available support materials. Since teaching is essentially a verbal activity (whether it be lecture, recitation, group discussion) teachers find it easier to

2 communicate the ideas and knowledge of a subject presented in verbal form in textbooks. Also, people are familiar with this format, having gone through themselves when in school. However, critics argue that this design deemphasises the learner by taking away their rights to choose the content that is most meaningful to them. Stress on subject matter fails to foster social, psychological and physical development and to some extent fosters an elite ruling class based on knowledge (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998). Do you agree? b) Discipline Design: A discipline is a specific body of knowledge that has its own methods of inquiry, has its specialised words and terminology, has a tradition, has a collection of literature and persons involved in the field as theoreticians and practitioners. Proponents of the discipline design model emphasise the teaching of the disciplines in its pure form. In other words, a student who studies biology would approach the subject as a biologist while those who study history will study it as historians. What is the rationale for teaching the disciplines? According to its proponents, the school is a mini version of the world of intellect and that the disciplines reflect that world.

SELF-TEST 5.3 1. Why is curriculum based on the academic subject design model popular even today? 2. What is the main difference between the academic subject design model and the discipline based design model? Give examples

c) Broad Fields Design: The broad fields design is also known as the interdisciplinary design. The main reason for this design arose from the concern that subjects taught were too compartimentalised and fragmented. For example, geography, geometry, literature, algebra and so forth. The suggestion was to bring together content from different subject to form one

3 logical subject. For example, economics, sociology, political science,

geography and history were combined to form the social studies. Another example is language arts (composed of literature, grammar, linguistics and spelling) and general science (composed of biology, chemistry and physics). At one time there was a subject called Man and the Environment (Alam dan Manusia) implemented in Malaysian primary schools. What do you see as some problems with this model? One is the issue of breadth versus depth. For example, in studying the social studies over one year, students are exposed to a variety of social science concepts compared to only studying economics concepts for one year. Certainly, treatment of the various social science concepts will be superficial. For sure, a year of economics will expose students to more economics concepts and principles than would a year of social studies. However, some may argue whether students need such in-depth knowledge of a particular subject. If the educational philosophy is to give students an overview of the social sciences, then the social studies might be a logical choice.
a) Academic Subjects Design b) Discipline Based Design y Separate subjects or courses ---------------------------------------------------------y Use structure of the discipline y Approach physics as a physicist y Use inquiry methods of the discipline ---------------------------------------------------------y Interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary y Eg. Integrated science, whole language ---------------------------------------------------------SubjectCentred Designs d) Correlation Design c) Broad Fields Design y Relate one subject to another with each keeping its identity y Thematic approach or Team teaching ---------------------------------------------------------y Teaching thinking processes such as critical & creative thinking, problem solving y Metacognitive training e) Process Design

a) Child-Centred Design

y Child s interest, need and experiences are emphasised y Eg. project method

---------------------------------------------------------LearnerCentred Designs c) Humanistic Design b) Radical Design y Learning is reflective and not externally imposed y Society is flawed and curriculum should emancipate the learner ---------------------------------------------------------y Stress development of self-concept of students y Uniqueness of individuals and importance of selfactualisation y Life situations design a) Life-Situations Design ProblemCentred Designs b) Core Design y Subject matter focuses on pressing social issues and solutions --------------------------------------------------------y Social functions core y Students work on problems crucial in today s society --------------------------------------------------------y Social problems and reconstructionist designs y Analyse severe problems confronting humankind c) Social Problems Design

Summary of major curriculum designs

[Source: adapted from Allan Ornstein and Francis Hunkins, Curriculum: Foundations, Principles and Issues. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1998. p.264]

d) Correlation Design: The correlation design model lies in between the academic design model and the broad fields design. If you do not want your curriculum to consist of five separate subjects and neither do you want the five different subject areas to be fused into one subject, then the correlation design model might be an alternative. For example, you may want to just fuse or correlate history with literature at the secondary school level. For example,

5 in a history lesson the class learns about the Japanese occupation of Malaysia. During the literature class, students read novels about life during that time period. However, each subject retains its own distinct identity. e) Process Design: In the discipline based design discussed earlier, students learn the methods of inquiry used by experts in the respective discipline. For example, in studying anthropology, students will learn the various ethnographic procedures used in the field. Advocates of the process design model stress the learning of general procedures and processes that are not applicable to any particular discipline. The most popular example of the process design model is the teaching of thinking skills. Various educators have suggested that students should be taught to think. Curriculum has focussed on the teaching of decision making, problem solving, critical thinking and creative thinking. Ennis (1963) identified a list critical thinking skills that should be taught, such as identification of fallacies, checking the credibility of sources and so forth. In the process design curriculum students are also taught to be aware of their thinking and to take action when necessary. The good thinker is able to monitor his or her thinking and take steps to remedy faulty thinking. The general assumption is that there are general thinking skills and processes are common regardless of the subject area. The aim of the curriculum is to enhance these process skills applicable to all disciplines. Thinking critically is not unique to geography or physics. Neither is thinking creatively the sole domain of art or literature.

SELF-TEST 1 1. What is the main difference between the broad field design model and the correlation design model? Give examples. 2. How is the teaching of thinking skills in the discipline based design model and process design model different?

2 Learner-Centred Designs While subject-centred designs are popular, there is also an emphasis on learner-centred designs. The early supporters of the child-centred curriculum were largely the progressives. Emphasis was on the development of the whole child and this was most evident in primary schools. Learner-Centred Designs include 3 types of designs identified as childcentred, romantic/radical designs and humanistic designs. a) Child-Centred Design: Proponents of the child-centred design believe that learners should actively participate in the teaching-learning process. Learning should be related closely to the daily lives of students unlike the subjectcentred design which tends to separate content from the daily lives of learner. In the child-centred design focus is on the needs and interests of learners. An early advocate of the child-centred curriculum was French philosopher JeanJacques Rousseau (1712-1778) who in his book Emile made the child the focus of the educational process. He emphasised that Living is the business that I wish to teach him. When he leaves my care he, I grant, be neither magistrate, nor soldier, nor priest: he will be, primarily, a man (cited in Michel Soetard, 1994, p.423). This did not mean children were allowed to run free. Children need to be guided by the teacher according to their level of development. Perhaps, the most well-known advocate of the child-centred design is John Dewey [Progressivism]. He argued that children are not blank slates and they bring with them four basic impulses the impulse to communicate, to compare and contrast, to inquire and to express themselves through language. In the child-centred design teaching and learning draw on the experiences of learners and the vast amount of information they bring to the classroom. Using this design teachers and students negotiate what if of interest to learners and what content is to be included in the curriculum. Teachers and students participate in planning lesson units, its purposes, the focus of the content, the learning activities to be introduced in the teaching-

7 learning situations. Hence, in meeting the needs of students, the child-centred curriculum will be constantly changing. In the child-centred model, the interests and experiences of the learner become subject-matter of the curriculum. Children are given the freedom to discover, first hand, by doing things for themselves rather that being told how to do something. The project method became a popular pedagogical strategy in the child-centred design in which children solved problematic situations calling on their knowledge and skills of science, history, art and so forth. In other words, the traditional subjects are not rejected but rather used to solve problems that are of interest to learners. b) Radical Design: In this design, the focus is the learner which is quite similar to the child-centred design. The difference being that greater emphasis is placed on the need for the curriculum to reform society [we dealt with this in Module 2 Reconstructionism]. Proponents of the radical design operate on the assumption that society is corrupt and repressive. Children should be educated towards the goal of social reform. A well-known proponent of the radical design was Paulo Freire who opposed treating students as empty vessels to be filled with knowledge by the teacher. He objected to the teacher-student dichotomy and proposed the relationship between teacher and student be reciprocal, that is, the teacher who learns and the learner who teaches . According to proponents of this curriculum design, learning is reflective and not externally imposed by those in power. The curriculum should be so designed to free the learner from indoctrination. Knowledge is not the finished product to be acquired by learners because this is indoctrination. Learning is something that results from the interaction between and among people. Learners should challenge content and allowed to give their opinions about the information given to them. Learners will value what they learn if they are allowed to construct their own knowledge. [Constructivism]. When learners create meaning, they have ownership over what they have learned resulting in genuine thought.

c) Humanistic Design: The humanistic design became popular in the 60s and 70s in response to excessive overemphasis on the disciplines during the 50s and early 60s in the United States. Proponents of the humanistic design based their arguments on the principles of humanistic psychology. A basic question asked is whether the curriculum has allowed a person to truly achieve his or her full potential. The curriculum should be designed to empower learners to be involved in the process of realising their potential. Greater emphasis was to be placed on the affective domain to permit students of feel and value. One of the proponents of the humanistic curriculum design was Carl Rogers (1902-1987) who argued that the aim of education is the facilitation of learning. To facilitate learning, the teacher accepts learners as persons, placing importance on their feelings, their opinions and caring for them. In other words, the teacher is able to view the world through the student s eyes. With such a curriculum, learners will be able to become fully functional persons, capable of intelligent choice, are critical learners and able to approach problems situations with flexibility and work cooperatively with others (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998). The humanistic curriculum design focuses on the interconnectedness of the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. The design stresses the development of positive selfconcept and interpersonal skills of learners. The humanistic curriculum requires teachers with great skills and competence in dealing with individuals. This may be difficult to obtain in all teachers. There is also a tendency to overemphasise the individual and ignore the needs of society. SELF-TEST 2 1. What is the main focus of curriculum based on the Learner-Centred Designs? 2. What is the main difference between the child-centred design model and the radical design model? 3 Problem-Centred What is the main feature of the humanistic design model? 3. Designs Besides the Subject-Centred and Learner-Centred curriculum design models, a third category called the Problem-Centred Designs is proposed. The focus of this category of models is the problems faced by society. Problem-centred designs are

9 pre-determined before the arrival of students. In other words, genuine life problems are selected and teaching-learning activities organised around these issues. The learner is placed in the social setting to address the problem. Unlike the learnercentred designs, the problems or issues discussed originate from issues that are of concern to society. It aims to prepare students with relevant knowledge and skills to fit into society when they leave school. a) Life-centred situations: In any society there are persistent life situations that are crucial to a society s successful functioning. Examples of such life situations are healthy living, use of leisure time, ethical character, racial tolerance, citizenship skills and so forth. It was argued by its advocates that it makes educational sense to organise a curriculum around such life situations. Students will see direct relevance in studying such social issues when they are related to their world. Also, having students study social or life situations will encourage them to see ways to improve society. The life situations that need to be emphasised in schools will depend on what students need before entering the world of work and assuming adult responsibilities. However, some needs and interests have already been met by the family, religious institutions and other community organisations. So, the school should address those needs not met through these institutions. This life-centred situations curriculum has been criticised because students do not learn much subject matter. However, proponents of the model state that this is not true because the design draws heavily from the traditional subject areas. The content is organised in a manner that allow students to see problems faced by society. In addressing society s pressing problems, content is drawn from different subject areas to explain and find solutions to current issues. b) Core-design: A variation of the life-centred situations design is the coredesign model. Focus is still on the pressing problems of society. The difference being that certain problems are selected to form the core. It is carefully planned before students enter school and adjusted when necessary. The core

10 problems are taught to all students in a block-time format whereby two or more periods of class time is used. A problem solving approach is adopted in analysing social problems. Students select a problem through consensus and work either individually or in groups. Data is collected, analysed, interpreted and presented in class. Findings are evaluated and discussed.

SELF-TEST 3 1. What is the main focus of curriculum based on the Problem-Centred Designs? 2. What is the main difference between the life-centred design model and the core- design model?