CHAPTER 3:

CURRICULUM PLANNING: A MULTILEVEL, MULTISECTOR PROCESS

Developing the Curriculum
Eighth Edition

Peter F. Oliva
William R. Gordon II

AFTER STUDYING THIS CHAPTER YOU

SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
Describe

types of curriculum planning that are

conducted at five levels and in three sectors.

Describe

an organizational pattern for curriculum

development at the individual school level.

Describe

an organizational pattern for curriculum

development at the school district level.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-2

ILLUSTRATIONS OF CURRICULUM
DECISIONS
Examples

of curriculum decisions like the following

are being made in some school district somewhere
in the United States on a daily basis. Examples are:
A school system has revised a plan for bilingual
education.
An elementary school has decided to replace its
reading series with that of another publisher.
A school district prepares pupils to take a statemandated test.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-3

VARIATIONS AMONG SCHOOLS

Federal

and state legislation and court decisions have

brought about curricular change, but we must also
look elsewhere for other causes or partial causes of
simultaneous development of curricular plans.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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SIMULTANEOUS DEVELOPMENTS
Although

highly unlikely, similar curriculum

developments in different school systems may
unfold at the same time by pure chance.

It

is more likely that our countrys efficient systems

of transportation and communication can be
pointed to as principal reasons for concurrent
curriculum development.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-5

SIMULTANEOUS DEVELOPMENTS
It

is often difficult in an enterprise as large as

education to pinpoint the source of a particular
curriculum change, and it is not usually necessary
to do so.

What

is important to the student and practitioner in

curriculum planning is to understand that
processes for effecting change are in operation.
These processes extend beyond the classroom, the
school, even the school district.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-6

LEVELS OF PLANNING

Curriculum planning is viewed as occurring on five

levels. The five levels of planning are:
1. Classroom
2. Team/grade/department
3. Individual school
4. School district
5. State

Each level in ascending order exercises authority

over levels below it.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-7

LEVELS OF PLANNING

Classroom

planning is far more important than any

of the successive steps. At the classroom level, the
results of curriculum planning make their impact on
the learners.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-8

SECTORS OF PLANNING
In

sectors, planning takes place in regional,

national, and world sectors.

The

concept of sectors eliminates the hierarchical

and sequence problems of the step model.

Sectors

are distinguished from levels because

powers of the sectors over the five levels are
nonexistent or limited.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-9

A HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE
In

practice, responsibility for curriculum planning is

spread across the levels of classroom, school,
district, and state.
Whereas

teachers and curriculum specialists may

participate in curriculum projects at the state level,
their curriculum efforts at that level are purely
advisory. Only the state board of education, the state
department of education, or the state legislature can
mandate incorporating the projects results in the
schools programs. School systems must follow
specific state regulations and statutes after which,
allowing for state curriculum mandates, they may
then demonstrate initiative in curriculum planning.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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LIMITATIONS OF HIERARCHICAL
STRUCTURE
In

our decentralized system of education, authority

for education is reserved to the states. The
regional, national (with appropriate qualifications),
and international sectors may seek to bring about
curriculum change only through persuasion by
working through state and local levels.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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LIMITATIONS OF HIERARCHICAL
STRUCTURE
Officials

at the national level can intervene in state

and local school matters only subsequent to federal
legislation that they are empowered and required
to enforce. Additionally the dollar, distributed by
the federal government is, of course, in itself a
powerfully persuasive instrument.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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CURRICULUM EFFORTS AT THE VARIOUS

LEVELS

In order for curriculum decision making to take

place, appropriate organizational structures at
various levels are essential. The five levels are:
1. The Classroom Level
2. The Team, Grade, and Department Level
3. The School Level
4. The School District Level
5. The State Level

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-13

LEVEL 1: THE CLASSROOM

Curriculum

planning and development are complex

and demanding responsibilities of the teacher. At
this level many curricular and instructional
decisions are made, especially in selecting delivery
systems, adapting techniques to students learning
styles, diagnosing student problems, and
prescribing remediation when needed.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-14

LEVEL 2: THE TEAM, GRADE AND

DEPARTMENT
Often

teachers in a team from a given grade or

particular department are called on to make
curricular decisions. Examples of curricular
decisions at this level are:
sequencing subject matter
establishing or revising team, grade, or
departmental objectives
writing tests to be taken by students of the
team, grade, or department
planning tutorial programs for students who do
not do well on state exams

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-15

LEVEL 3: THE SCHOOL

Each

institution must provide some mechanism

whereby the curriculum is articulated and
integrated. Curriculum committees or councils exist
in many schools. Examples of decisions at the
school level are:
adding new programs for the school, including
interdisciplinary programs
evaluating the schools curriculum
planning ways to overcome curricular
deficiencies

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-16

LEVEL 4: THE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Curriculum

planning on a districtwide level is often

conducted through the district curriculum council
composed of teachers, administrators, supervisors,
laypersons, and, in some cases, students.

District-wide

committees meet to consider

problems such as these:
adding new programs for the district
abandoning district-wide programs
articulating programs between levels

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-17

LEVEL 5: THE STATE

The

state department of education develops statewide

standards of philosophy, goals, and objectives while
providing general leadership to the schools; it
interprets, enforces, and monitors legislated
regulations as well as its own regulations that hold the
force of law.

It

wields great power over the districts. In curriculum

matters it accredits and monitors school programs,
disburses state and federal-through-state moneys for
specific programs, sets specifications for amounts of
time to be devoted to specific content areas, creates
and monitors state assessments, enforces standards
for high school graduation, and judges and publicizes
academic success of its schools.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

3-18

CURRICULUM EFFORTS IN VARIOUS

SECTORS BEYOND THE STATE

Planning takes place in regional, national, and

world sectors. Sectors are distinguished from
levels because powers of the sectors over the five
levels are nonexistent or limited. The 3 sectors
are:
1. Regional
2. National
3. International

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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SECTOR 1: REGIONAL
Curriculum

specialists of a particular region of the

United States, from around the nation, or even
from a number of foreign countries may assemble
and develop curriculum materials that they will
then disseminate or try out in their own schools. In
addition, teachers, administrators and curriculum
specialists may take part on regional accreditation
teams.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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SECTOR 1: REGIONAL
Much

of the participation in which school personnel

take part in the regional sector falls into the
category of curriculum evaluation in contrast to
planning or implementation of the curriculum.
Examples are:
Commission on Elementary Schools
Commission on Secondary Schools
regional accreditation associations

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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SECTOR 2: NATIONAL
The

Department of Education with its large

bureaucracy gathers data, disseminates
information, provides consultative assistance,
sponsors and conducts research, funds projects,
and disburses money appropriated by Congress.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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SECTOR 2: NATIONAL
The

national scene is peppered with a variety of

public, private, and professional curriculum
activities, and school personnel from the state level
and below play key roles in some of these
activities. Examples are:
Professional Education Organizations
Private Foundations and Business Organizations
The National Governors Association

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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SECTOR 3: INTERNATIONAL
Development

of both awareness and understanding

of other cultures (both within and outside of our
borders) remains a high priority of our elementary
and secondary curricula.

Involvement

of American curriculum workers on

the international scene is made possible through
membership in international professional
associations, primarily those based in the United
States. Examples are:
International Reading Association
World Council for Curriculum and Instruction
International Association for the Advancement of
Curriculum Studies.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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SECTOR 3: INTERNATIONAL
Significant

efforts primarily in comparing

achievement of students in a number of countries
and in a variety of disciplines have been conducted
on the international level. Examples are:
International Association for Evaluation of
Educational Achievement (IEA)
International Assessment of Educational Progress
(IAEP)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Developments (OECD)
Programme for International Assessment (PISA).

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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A FINAL THOUGHT:
Curriculum

development is perceived as a
multilevel, multisector process and as a
collaborative effort. Forces outside the schools also
influence curriculum decision making.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e.

2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights

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