Major of Foundations of

Curriculum
Chapter 2
 Four Major Foundations for
Curriculum Planning

I. Philosophical
II. Psychological
III. Historical
IV. Sociological
PHILOSOPHICAL
FOUNDATIONS OF
CURRICULUM
Philosophical Foundations
 Drawn upon to develop a framework of
values and beliefs related to goals, the
selection and use knowledge and means
and methods and other dimensions of
education.
 Provides educators, especially curriculum
workers, with a framework or
frameworks for organizing schools and
classrooms.
Philosophical Foundations
 It helps us to handle our own personal
system of beliefs and values, that is, the
way and manner that we perceive the
world around us and how we actually
define what is important us.
Philosophy and Curriculum
 Philosophy is the starting point in any
curriculum decision making and is the basis for
all subsequent decisions regarding curriculum.
 Philosophy helps us answer general
questions such as:
◦ “What are schools for?”
◦ “What subjects are of value?”
◦ “How should students learn the content?”
Four Philosophies that have
influenced curriculum
development:

 Perennialism
 Essentialism
 Progressivism
 Reconstructionism
Perennialism
 Perennial means “everlasting” like a perennial
flower that blooms year after a year.
 The oldest and most conservative
educational philosophy has its roots in the
philosophy of Plato and Aristotle.
 Two modern day proponents of perennialism
are Robert Hutchins and Mortimer Adler.
 Perennialists believed that humans are
rational and the aim of education is “to
improve man as man”.
Perennialism
 According to Martin and Loomis (2007),
perennialism focuses on the universal truth,
and considers that these truths are always
valid.
 This philosophy assumes the curriculum as
content or the subject matter, and
curriculum das planned activities based upon
fundamental social values, norms and
practices.
The Perennialist Curriculum
 The study of philosophy is a crucial part of
the perennialist curriculum.
 At a much later time, Mortimer Adler
(1982) in his book the Paideia Proposal,
recommended a single elementary and
secondary curriculum for all students.
 Perrenialists were not keen on allowing
students to take electives (except second
language) such as vocational and life-
adjustment subjects.
The Perennialist Curriculum
 The perennialists criticized the vast amount
of disjointed factual information that
educators have required students to absorb.
 Since enormous amount of scientific
knowledge has been produced, teaching
should focus on the processes by which
scientific truths have been discovered.
 At the secondary and university level,
perennialists were against reliance on
textbooks and lectures in communicating
ideas.
The Perennialist Curriculum
 Universities should not only prepare
students for specific careers but to pursue
knowledge for its own sake.
 School should teach religious values or
ethics.
Essentialism
 Comes from the word “essential” which means
the main things or the basics.
 An educational philosophy was originally
popularized in the 1930’s by William Bagley
and later in the 1950s by Arthur Bestor and
Admiral Rickover.
 Grounded in a conservative philosophy that
argues that schools should not try to radically
reshape society.
 Martin and Loomis (2007) state that
essentialism focuses on teaching of the essential
component of academic and moral knowledge.
Essentialist Curriculum
 The basics of the essentialist curriculum are
mathematics, natural science, history, foreign
language and literature.
 Elementary students receive instruction in
skills such as writing, reading and
measurement.
 Essentialist programs are academically
rigorous, for both slow and fast learners.
 It advocates a longer school day, a longer
academic year and more challenging
textbooks.
Essentialist Curriculum
 Teaching is teacher-centered and teachers
decide what is most important for students
to learn with little emphasis on student
interests because it will divert time and
attention from learning academic subjects.
 In an essentialist classroom, students are
taught to be “culturally literate”, that is, to
possess a working knowledge about the
people, events, ideas and institutions that
have shaped society.
Essentialist Curriculum
 Discipline is necessary for systematic learing
in a school situation.
 Teachers need to be mature and well-
educated, know their subjects well and able
to transmit their knowledge to students.
Progressivism
 A philosophical belief that argues that
education must be based on the fact that
humans are by nature social and learn best in
real-life activities with other people. (Martin
and Loomis, 2007)
 The person most responsible for
progressivism was John Dewey (1859-
1952). According to him, the role of
education is to transmit society’s identity by
preparing young people for adult life.
Progressivism
 Progressive curriculum focuses on the
freedom of students to develop naturally,
students’ interest as the center point of
teaching, teacher’s role as a facilitator (not a
dictator of tasks), multi-dimensional
development of a child, and school
community cooperation.
 Determined by the teachers and students
based upon mutual agreement and
understanding (Martin and Loomis, 2007).
Progressive Curriculum
 Progressivists emphasize the study of the
natural and social sciences.
 Teachers should plan lessons that arouse
curiosity and push students towards higher
order thinking and knowledge construction.
 Students are encouraged to interact with
one another and develop social virtues such
as cooperation and tolerance for different
points of view.
Progressive Curriculum
 Teachers should not be confined to focusing
on one discrete discipline at a time but
should introduce lessons that combine
several different subjects.
 Students are to be exposed to a more
democratic curriculum that recognizes
accomplishments of all citizens regardless of
race, cultural background or gender.
 By including instruction in industrial arts and
home economics, progressivists strive to
make schooling both interesting and useful.
Progressive Curriculum
 Teachers should not be confined to focusing
on one discrete discipline at a time but
should introduce lessons that combine
several different subjects.
 Students are to be exposed to a more
democratic curriculum that recognizes
accomplishments of all citizens regardless of
race, cultural background or gender.
 By including instruction in industrial arts and
home economics, progressivists strive to
make schooling both interesting and useful.
Reconstructionism
 A philosophy uniquely popular in the U.S.
during the 1930s through the 1960s. It was
largely the brainchild of Theodore Brameld
from Columbia Teachers College.
 A philosophy that believes in the rebuilding
of social and cultural infrastructures.
 George Counts (1932) who in a speech titled
Dare the School Build a New Social Order
suggested that schools become the agent of
social change and social reform.
Reconstructionism
 Focuses on social ills and intends to change the
social structures in order to mitigate
contemporary social problems.
 This curriculum should focus on social
problems that hunger, violence, terrorism,
racism, sexism, environmental degradation,
weapons of mass destruction, suppressions,
oppression and many more depending upon
complexities of students cognitive, social and
affective domains of learning.
 This philosophy considers curriculum as an
agenda for social reconstruction.
Reconstructionist Curriculum
 It was not enough for students to just
analyze, interpret and evaluate social
problems.
 The curriculum is to be based on social and
economic issues as well as social service.
 There are many injustices in society and
inequalities in terms of race, gender and
socioeconomic status.
Reconstructionist Curriculum
 The curriculum should be constantly
changing to meet the changes in society.
 Teachers are considered the prime agents of
social change, cultural renewal and
internationalism.
 In general, the curriculum emphasized the
social sciences (such as history, political
science, economics, sociology, religions,
ethics, poetry, and philosophy), rather than
the sciences.
Perennialism. The essential principles of education are timeless and
recurrent. Knowledge that has endured through time and space should
constitute the foundation of education. Based on the philosophy of
perennialism, since the distinguishing characteristics of humans is the
ability to reason, education should focus on developing rationality.
Proponent Robert M. Hutchins
Aims of Education Develop power of thought and internalize truths that are
universal and constant.
Develop learners into rational and intuitive beings.
Curriculum Subject-centered.
Great ideas or universal principles.
Methods of Teaching Methods of disciplining the mind through reading and
discussion.
Role of Teachers Known masters of the disciplines.
Disciplines students intellectually through a study of
literature.
Role of School Produces individuals to become intellectually elite.
Essentialism. The basic idea is that there are certain essentials that all
men ought to know. Individuals should be able to distinguish between
the essentials and the non-essential in one’s existence. Educational aims
are directed to more distant goals, not to the needs and requirements
of the here and now world.
Proponent William C. Bagley
Aims of Education Develop individuals to perform justly, skillfully and
magnanimously.
Promote the intellectual growth of the individual learners.
Curriculum Emphasis on the essential skills (3R’s) and essential subjects
(English, Science, History, Math and Foreign Languages)
Methods of Teaching Deductive method.
Recitation, assignments or homework, etc.
Role of Teachers Provides stimulating activities for learning.
Prepares well-organized lessons.
Master of his/her discipline.
Role of School Ensures mastery of essential skills.
Prepares students for real life situations.
Progressivism. This philosophy believes that improvement and reform
in the human condition are both possible and desirable. It emphasizes
that human beings are capable of improving and perfecting their
environment.
Proponent John Dewey and Johann Heirich Pestalozzi
Aims of Education Provide the students the necessary skills to be able to
interact with their ever changing environment.
Develop the whole person who will become a responsible
member of the society.
Curriculum Activity and experience-centered.
Child-centered.
Emphasizes on life experiences.
Methods of Teaching Problem solving/reflective strategies.
Cooperative learning strategies
Socialized groups and situations, etc.
Role of Teachers Serves as facilitators, advisers, guides, counselors, group
leaders consultants
Role of School Set up a democratic classroom environment.
Provide atmosphere for group thinking.
Reconstructionism. This philosophy emphasizes that man, to a significant degree,
plans and controls his society, that in a democratic society this should be done in
the public interest, and that the school has a significant part to play in the process.
Proponent George S. Count
Aims of Education Improve and reconstruct society
Develop awareness of societal needs and problems.
Educate for change and social reform
Curriculum National/international/global issues.
Societal needs and problems.
Social change.
Methods of Teaching Problem solving method
Democratic discussion
Brainstorming
Conceptual approach
Role of Teachers Agent of change and reform
Lead the young in designing programs for social, educational, political and
economic change.
Encourage students to solve problems
Encourage community-based projects
Role of School To adapt approaches that seek a variety of methods to make education
more responsive to human/social needs
Primary agent of social change
Venue for airing opinions/ideas
PSYCHOLOGICAL
FOUNDATIONS OF
CURRICULUM
Psychological Foundations
 Contains ideas about child growth,
development and learning on which the
program may be based.
 Psychology is derived from the Greek word
psyche, which means soul. It is a discipline
devoted to the study of behavior, mind and
thought.
 It provides the basis for understanding how
students learn and understand a body of
knowledge.
Psychological Foundations
 Ralph Tyler, a well-known scholar in
curriculum development proposed in the
1960s that anything that is to be taught in
the classroom should be subjected to a
psychology ”screen” to establish whether
they are congruent with how humans learn.
 Cognitivism
Behaviorism - Wertheimer
- Pavlov - Kohler
- Skinner - Miller
- Thorndike - Craik
- Bandura - Tulving
- Ausubel

CURRICULUM

Constructivism
- Bruner Humanism
- Piaget - Maslow
- Vygotsky - Rogers
- vonGlaserfe - Combs
Behaviorism
 Behaviorism, also known as behavioral
psychology, is a theory of learning based on
the idea that all behaviors are acquired
through conditioning. Conditioning occurs
through interaction with the environment.
Ian Pavlov (1849 – 1936)
Ian Pavlov (1849 – 1936)
 Introduced the theory of classical
conditioning through a series of experiments
with dogs.
 He showed that an organism can associate a
particular stimulus (S) with a particular
response (R). (based on the Law of
Association by Aristotle)
 Learning is the result of an association
formed between a stimulus and a response.
Edward Thorndike (1874 – 1949)
Edward Thorndike (1874 – 1949)
 Proposed Three Laws which he called:
1. Law of Effect: If a response is followed by a
pleasurable or rewarding experience, the
response will be strengthened and become
habitual
2. Law of Exercise: Connections between
stimulus and response is strengthened with
practice and weakened when practice is
discontinued.
3. Law of Readiness: Certain behaviors are more
likely to be learned than others because the
nervous system of the organism is ready to
make the connection leading to a satisfying state
of affairs.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1900 - 1980)
Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1900 - 1980)

 Developed the theory of operant

conditioning – the idea that behavior is
determined by its consequences, be they
reinforcement or punishments, which make it
more or less likely that the behavior will
occur again,
Classical Conditioning vs Operant
Conditioning

 In Classical Conditioning, the organism is

not able to change the environment. In
Operant Conditioning, the organism has
the choice to act or not to act because its
response is determined by the stimulus or
the food given.
Albert Bandura (1925 – Present)
Albert Bandura (1925 – Present)
 Developed the Social Learning Theory that
emphasized the importance of observing and
modelling the behaviors, attitudes and
emotional reactions of others.
 Learning would be slow process if people
had to rely solely on their own efforts to do
anything. Fortunately, a substantial amount of
human behavior is learned by observing
others.
Behaviorism in the Classroom
 Use a system of rewards to encourage
certain behaviors and learning.
 When learning factual material provides
immediate and frequent feedback for
complex and difficult concepts.
 Provide practice, drill and review activities
to enhance mastery of facts.
 Break down complex task into smaller
and manageable sub skills
Behaviorism in the Classroom
 Sequence material to enhance
understanding eg. teach simple concepts
first before proceeding to more difficult
and abstract concept.
 Model the behavior students are to
imitate and repeat demonstrations when
necessary
 Reinforce when students demonstrate the
modelled behavior
Behaviorism in the Classroom
 State the learning outcomes desired for
the benefit of both teachers and students.
 Establish a contract with students on the
work to be done and what rewards will
be given.