PDE 704: PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

By Dr (Mrs) Ogbemudia, Magdalene Efeoma, 07036368583

Notes in “[ ]” are personal

01-Feb-25
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
Curriculum has been defined by many people from their personal perception and views.

Definition and Meaning of Curriculum

Curriculum can be defined as a manual of educational activities which are implemented in schools
to enable learners acquire skills and competence. It can also be defined as educational experience
offered by the learners in the school settings, which includes the subject and all the learning
experiences which bring about changes in the behavior of the learners. These learning experiences
include planned and unplanned experiences of the child in the school.

Wasagu (2000) defines curriculum as the total spectrum (a complete range of different contents) of
resources, materials, topics, methods of teaching, through which educational objectives can be
achieved. Brubacher (1969) defines curriculum as the ground which pupils/students and teachers
cover in order to reach the goal of education. These include the total experiences which involve
curricular and non-curricular activities.

Changes in definition over time

The definition of curriculum changes from time to time due to the changes in the society, social
conditions, concept of knowledge, need of the society, need of the learners and indeed, education.
Therefore, people’s definition of curriculum is a matter of their own perceptions

Wheeler (1969) defines curriculum as the planned experiences offered to the learner under the
guidance of school. Fafunwa (1974) defines curriculum as the whole of the educative process, that
is, the total environment in which education takes place. This includes the child, the teacher, the
subject, the contents, the physical and psychological environments.

Hass (1980) defines curriculum as all the experiences that individual learner has in a programme of
education whose purpose is to achieve broad goals and related specific objectives which is planned in
terms of the framework of theory and research of past and present professional practices.

15-Feb-25
HISTORY OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
The term curriculum was derived from a Latin word “a race course” which means a course in which
students pursue or engage in to achieve a target (Results), which can be described in terms of high
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grades, passes, certificates or other forms of academic awards. In the 20 th century, the school was
limited to studying courses or subjects which do not help in solving societal problems. Curriculum
as a field of study started in 1918 due to the need to solve technical and practical school problems.

Franklin Bobbit wrote an assay in 1913 in which he drew an analogy or relationship between
curriculum making and industrial processes due to the need to solve technical and practical school
problems. He published this first work on curriculum in 1918 which gave birth to curriculum.
Today, curriculum is a field of study in education which people can specialize in (Specialists in
Educational Curriculum).

Curriculum Development
Curriculum Development is the curriculum planning process which involves selecting and
organizing the components of teach and learning situations that results in broad and specific
curriculum plan. Curriculum development is also the creation of resource units, unit plan, course
outline and other curriculum guides that teachers and learners use to facilitate the learning process.
Curriculum development refers also to the process of implementing the theoretical plan to attain
educational goals (since education is expected to preserve and reform the society so as to meet the
needs of the individual members of the society).

Beane and Allesi (1986) define curriculum development as the nature of the learner’s day-to-day
life in school.

Functions of Curriculum
1. It determines educational direction by meeting the needs of learners and the society in which
they live and serve.
2. It determines the principles and procedure which will help educators (teachers) in selecting
and arranging instructional programmes e.g. course contents, textbooks, etc.
3. It determines the application of the chosen principles (Simple – Complex, Known –
Unknown, Concrete – Abstract based on the mental abilities of the learners)
4. It helps give appropriate and meaningful instructions to learners.
5. It helps determent the next step to be taken after evaluating the worth of the curriculum
planners and designers to take appropriate decisions when designing the curriculum so as to
improve the learner’s academic performance.

Characteristics of Curriculum Development

1. Purposeful aims and objectives
2. Functionality

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3. Flexibility
4. Relevance
5. Evaluation
1. Purposeful aims and objectives: The aims and objectives of a curriculum must be clearly
and precisely stated in line with the societal values and needs of the learners. Thus, in setting the
aims and objectives of the curriculum, consideration must be given to age of the learners, needs and
interests.

2. Functionality: Curriculum planners must insure that the curriculum is functional

(workable), practicable and feasible.

- Functional: It must be functional in the sense that it is stated in clear and understandable
terms. This means it is successfully implemented based on available economic and human
resources.

- Feasible: It must be acceptable by the members of the society and there must be a balance
between theory and practice.

3. Flexibility: The curriculum must be capable of adapting to the changing needs of the
learners and the society. It should create an avenue for growth and development for the
attainment of pre-stated objectives.

4. Relevance: The curriculum must be beneficial to the learners and the society in which they
live. It should be organised in the form that it would facilitate learning, socialise learners
and promote transfer of knowledge.

5. Evaluation: This is the process of assessing the students appropriately so as to ascertain if

the subject matter is understood by the learners or pre-stated objectives of the lesson have
been achieved. This will provide feedbacks to teachers and curriculum planners, which will
help them in making necessary adjustments in teaching methods and to make further
decisions as regards curriculum development

Major Concepts and Types of Curriculum

Curriculum organising and curriculum design1 are used interchangeably by curriculum experts.
Curriculum organisation is the arrangement of the selected contents and learning experiences of the

1
Curriculum organising and curriculum design mean the same thing

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children in such a way that they reinforce each other, for easy assimilation or understanding so as to
achieve the learning objectives.

Types of Curriculum
There are different types of curriculum designs at different times based on the role of education,
nature of the learners, the learning process as well as the need of the society. Hence, the types of
curriculum include:
1) Subject-centred curriculum
2) Activities/experience-centred curriculum
3) Child-centred curriculum
4) Broad-field curriculum
5) Hidden curriculum
6) Core curriculum.

1. Subject-Centred Curriculum2
It is based on the collection and arrangement of school subject such as English Language,
Mathematics, Chemistry, etc. This type of curriculum is designed to enable the student to have a
mastery of the subject matter. Hence this form of curriculum emphasises the subject matter through
the educational objectives that will be achieved. The subjects are taught in details and are
subdivided into sections such as the English Language Curriculum where we have Composition,
Grammar, Lexis and Structure, Dictation and spellings, etc.

In subject-centred curriculum, the topics and sub-topics are arranged in sequence to enable the
student to learn from simple to complex, known to unknown, based on the intellectual ability of the
learner. Subject-centred curriculum is convenient to teachers since they are trained as specialists in
subject areas. Thus teachers can easily plan, organise and teach the subject as it is based on their
areas of specialisation.

2. Activities/Experience-Centred Curriculum
This is regarded as problem-solving and learner-centred curriculum. It is based on learners’ needs,
interest and motivation. The activities must be purposeful, stimulating and rewarding to the
learners. It must be based on problem-solving activities which can instigate children to think and
discover things for themselves, while the teacher provides advice, direct, guide or help them.
Hence the teacher plays the role of a supervisor while the learners play the role of the production
workers.

2
It is based on the subject.

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22-Feb-25

3. Child-Centred Curriculum
This is learner-centred and focuses on the needs, wants and the interest of the learner. Curriculum
planners must be careful when exploring the needs, wants and interests of children in curriculum
matters to enable them to do what is needful in line with the needs and values of the society in
which the children live.

4. Broad-field Curriculum
This type of curriculum is based on inter-disciplinary subjects. Here the subject matters of closely
related subjects are integrated to enable the students to see the relationship between different
subjects. Such subjects are Integrated Science, Basic Science and Social Studies, etc. The major
advantage of this curriculum is that it facilitates the integration of subject matters (course contents).
One of the shortcomings of the broad-field curriculum is that teachers teaching broad-field subjects
such as Inter. Sc., Basic Sc or Social Studies are not specifically trained for broad-field curriculum.
They tend to emphasise or concentrate on their respective subject areas instead of doing justice to
the integrated subject.

4. Hidden Curriculum
This refers to the unofficial or unwritten curricula of the school that are not addressed in the regular
school curriculum but they influence what and how children learn. The school as a social agent has
rules and regulations that govern the students and as the students interact with one another they
learn good morals, tolerance, mode of dressing, good expressions, etc. from one another. They
learn as a group to assume leadership roles and members of the group learn to follow their leaders
for the success of the group. Hence, because these learnings are incorporated in the features of the
school rather than the curriculum, they are referred to as hidden curriculum.

5. Core Curriculum
This is used to describe general courses recommended for all students by the school authority in
educational institution, e.g. GST. The advantage of the core curriculum is that it helps the students
solve real life problems that are meaningful to them. It is also designed to develop and unify
studies based on the common needs of the learners and organise them without restriction by subject
matter. Example of core courses are GST, General Education, Basic studies, etc.

ASSIGNMENT: 1) (a) what do you understand by the term unit of instruction? (b) List the components of unit of
instruction. 2) Differentiate between Brain-storming and problem-solving teaching methods. 3) List and discuss 4
stages of curriculum development process. To be typed if the hand writing is not readable. Submission date:
22/03/2025

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22-Mar-25

FOUNDATION OF CURRICULUM
Curriculum is a child of three fields:
(1) Philosophy (2) Sociology (3) Psychology
1) Philosophy comes from two Greek words, namely:
1. Philo; meaning love, and
2. Sophia; meaning Wisdom
Philosophy, therefore is love for wisdom. There are different schools of thought in Philosophy:

1 IDEALISM
This school of thought is of the view that children are naturally endowed with good qualities to do
what is good and right. Hence these ideas of good and right should be applied in education. The
purpose of education should be to put learners on the right path which will enable them to live a
satisfying life based on this innate or inherent. The school curriculum should be planned and
organized to help students manifest the goodness in them.

2. REALISM
This school of thought is of the view that the child is an ignorant and a rational person. It is the
responsibility of the responsibility of the teacher to expose the child to meaningful knowledge
which helps the child overcome ignorance. The teacher should direct learning methods because the
ignorant child cannot understand indirect learning techniques. In the same vein, if reasoning and
intellect are necessary to overcome ignorance, then diligence and honesty must be learned by the
child because they are valued in the real world.

3. PRAGMATISM
This school of thought is of the view that the children are mentally and physically equipped, which
will enable them to participate in their environment. Whatever value and ideas that people believe
in are regarded as tentative because their interaction with the environment will refine or change
them. Children should not be taught fixed body of knowledge such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry
and Mathematics, rather, children should be exposed to experience that will promote their
interaction with the environment. This will help the children live a satisfying life and ensure their
enjoyment of their future lives.

4. EXISTENTIALISM
This school of thought is of the view that children exist and as they grow, they develop their
personal ideas and values that are not necessarily connected to socially organized pattern of life.

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Individuals are free to develop their own values and patterns of behavior but they are responsible
for their actions. Thus, education should be based on the perceptions and feelings of the individual
which will facilitate their understanding of personal responses to life’s situation. Teachers here
serve as facilitators of meaningful learning rather than imposing a set of skills on the on the
learners.

The Existentialism is found to have a limitation to real life of the school. That is, it does not apply
to the real life educational system because our educational system is based on a common goal for
every child. This is because the school is a social institution that maintains a common goal for all
the learners.

4. ESSENTIALISM
This school of thought is of the view that education should prepare the children to adjust to the
present conditions of their society. Teachers here play directive role and disseminate information to
learners. Standards are set for students in order for them to master enough knowledge. Example of
such standard is 6 years in Primary school, 6 years in secondary school and at least 4 years in the
university and they also follow a gracing system such as A, B, C, D, E, F and skills which prepare
them for adulthood. The essentialists emphasise that nothing succeeds as hard work. Thus,
curriculum must include vocational and special subjects since learners are prepared for adulthood.

4. RECONSTRUCTIONISM
This school of thought is of the view that education should be activity-oriented, child-centred and
focused on social welfare of the people and the application of systematic planning technique. The
school should be a reflection of the society, which means that the values of the society should be
reflected in the school. The curriculum should be made up of subject matter from various fields –
Social Science, Sciences, Humanities, etc. – which will serve as a vehicle for solving social
problems.

SOCIOLOGY AS A FOUNDATION OF CURRICULUM

When a child is born into a family, the family becomes the first agent of socialization to the child.
As the child grows and starts school, the school becomes another agent of socialization. Other
agents of socialization include the mass media – TV, Journals, Magazines, Newspapers, etc. – the
church, the mosque, the community where he lives, all these agents of socialization influence the
child’s interest, perception, attitude, and prepare the child for the larger society. Curriculum
developers should consider the child’s interest, needs, attitude, and the characteristics of the society

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in which the child live as well as prepare the child for his/her future life in the society. Curriculum
planners should put the following into consideration when planning the curriculum:
1. Technology
2. Family structure [such as monogamy, polygamy, polyandry, etc.]
3. Working in the information society
4. Changing sex roles
5. Cultural diversity and pluralism
6. Changing life styles and values.

PSYCHOLOGY AS A FOUNDATION OF CURRICULUM

Curriculum planners must concentrate in meeting the basic needs of the children. Conducive
learning environment should be provided. For effective learning to take place in the children, the
activity or difficulty level of the subject matter should be within the ability and understanding of the
children. Some of the basic human needs to be put into consideration while developing the
curriculum are:
1. The need for love, belongingness, affection and security.
2. The need for new experiences
3. The need for praise and recognition
4. The need for responsibility
5. The need for achievement
6. The need for self-actualization

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

03-May-25
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Curriculum development process is the curriculum planning process which involves selecting and
organizing the components of the teaching and learning situation that results in a broad and specific
curriculum plan.

Stages of Curriculum Development

There are four stages of curriculum development and these stages are interrelated or interdependent
in the process of curriculum development. The stages are:
1. Selection of aims and objectives
2. Content (that is the subject matter)

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3. Organization of learning experience

4. Evaluation

1. Selection of aims and objectives

Instruction objectives refer to the specific and immediate outcomes of a particular teaching-learning
situation. In curriculum development the intended learning outcomes of students are stated in clear
terms using action verbs or measurable terms such as list, state, describe, differentiate, explain,
discuss, etc. Do not use the word "know" because "know" is not measurable.

Purpose of instruction objectives

1. To clarify for teachers and students what is to be accomplished.
2. They serve as a guide for selection of meaningful contents, activities and Resources.
3. They provide guidance for measuring learners’ progress (that is, they enable the teachers to
ask appropriate questions in line with instruction objectives).

Factors to consider when selecting instruction objective

1. Values of the society: the values of the society in which the learners live should be put into
consideration which will help the learners become effective and functional members of the
society in which they live.
2. Learners' previous knowledge
3. Teacher's area of specialization
4. Relevance of the instruction to the school's philosophy of education
5. The consistency of the objectives with the theories of learning.

2. Contents
This refers to the important facts, principles, concepts, and topics that the students learn which must
be associated with the pre-stated stated objectives.

Factors to consider for selection of appropriate contents

1. Relevance
2. Up-to-dateness
3. Comprehensiveness
4. Deep-rootedness (in the culture of the people)

1. Relevance: The contents of the teaching must be relevant to the learners and the society in
which they live and must be in line with the instruction. Contents' difficulty level must be

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commensurate with the learners' intellectual ability. The contents of learning must be
adequate to give the learners they required knowledge to achieve the desired objective.

2. Up-to-dateness: The contents of the learning must be up-to-date, that is, it must be current.
This will make the lesson meaningful.

3. Comprehensiveness: ensure that the contents of the learning is comprehensive. The level of
difficulty of the lesson should be within the intellectual ability of the learners.

4. Deep-rootedness: the content of learning should be rooted in the culture of the society so
that the learning will be meaningful and make the child useful to the society in which he
lives.

3. Organization of learning experience

The learning activities should be well organized to effect the designed changes in the learners. The
instructional method should be appropriate, and the quality and quantity of learning activities at a
given time must be commensurate with the intellectual ability of the learners so as to promote or
facilitate students’ understanding and mastery of the subject matter.

Criteria for organization of learning experiences

17-May-25
CRITERIA FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF LEARNING EXPERIENCES
1. Continuity: this means that a single learning experience should facilitate another learning.
Example, the learning of counting of numbers will promote or enhance or facilitate the learning of
addition of numbers.

2. Sequence: this means learning from a lower level to a higher level e.g. from simple to
complex, from known to unknown, and from concrete to abstract.

3. Integration: this means that the learning in one subject area should facilitate the learning in
another subject area. This means that there must be a transfer of learning or transfer of knowledge
e.g. learning in mathematics should facilitate learning in physics, the knowledge of addition in
mathematics facilitates learning in basic science like listing of soft objects and hard objects. It
involves the utilization of curriculum element from one subject area to another subject area of the
curriculum.

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4. Evaluation: this is the process of ascertaining the extent to which learners accomplish the
instructional objectives of the lesson, which will help the teacher determine if the learners
understood the contents of the learning.

Functions of Evaluation in Curriculum Development

1. Evaluation helps to ascertain the total educational outcome: that is to determine the
changes that have been produced as a result of the implementation of the curriculum and their
effects on the total educational system.

2. It saves as a diagnostic function: that is, it helps to assess the weakness and strength of the
educational program based on the educational achievement or performance of the learners in the
educational program.

3. It gives information on the variation in achievement of individual learners. Hence, the

evaluation instrument should be closely related to the educational objectives of the program.

4. It helps to ascertain the effectiveness of the teaching method applied by the teacher in the
teaching-learning process. This will make the teacher to vary the teaching methods in order to meet
the learning needs of the individual learner/student.

5. It helps to provide reports of learners’ academic performance to their parents. Hence, the
assessment instruments should be objective, valid and reliable which will make the result of the
evaluation acceptable and generalized.

DEFINITION AND MEANING OF INSTRUCTION: STRUCTURE OF CURRICULUM

AND INSTRUCTION

Meaning of instruction: this is defined as the process of imparting knowledge or information to

learners. It is a teacher-initiated activity, designed to facilitate learning in the students. The teacher
plans instruction in order to provide quality and comprehensive teaching to the learners.

Planning instruction
This is the stage of making adequate preparation necessary for providing proper teaching activities
for learners.
Instruction can be organized in three phases, thus:
1. Introductory activity
2. Developmental activity
3. Culminating activity

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1. Introductory activity
Introductory activities are intended to introduce learners to a particular topic. They are meant to
arouse learners' interests and curiosity in the teaching-learning process. It can be based on learners'
previous knowledge or on the previous lesson thoughts especially when they are related. During
introductory activities, teachers should bear in mind the predetermined objectives of the lesson
[introductory activity is also known as the set induction].

2. Developmental activities
This involves the detailed explanation of the contents of the study focusing on the objectives to be
accomplished. The teacher must present the topic/lesson to be taught using appropriate
teaching/instructional method. Such instructional methods include discussion, field trip, lecture,
Project, etc.

3. Culminating activities
These are the activities used to ascertain if the objectives of the lesson have been achieved or to
determine whether learning has actually taken place. Culminating activities can take the form of
question and answer between the teacher and the learners, summary, project, report, unit evaluation.
It is used to determine the quality and quantity of instruction.

31-May-25
STRUCTURE OF CURRICULUM
This involves step by step process of the curriculum which begins with the analysis of the learning
situation in which the learners find themselves such as:
1. Formation of objectives [which are stated in the curriculum]
2. Selection of appropriate instructional materials/tools relevant to the subject matter. E.g. a chat
containing parts of the body. [Do not deviate]
3. The application of suitable instrument of evaluation to determine the success of the learners'
academic performance. [E.g. Test, Project, etc.] Thus, the essence of curriculum planning is to
provide quality experiences to the learners. Without the curriculum, the school system would be
useless. Curriculum is comprehensively planned to make learning meaningful.

Curriculum instruction
This follows a definite planning state. Before instruction can take place, the teacher must be
acquainted with the syllabus, he should be able to draw his own scheme of work from the
curriculum from which he will draw out the unit of instructions (topics) and from the unit of
instructions he will form his lesson notes.

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Illustration
Curriculum syllabus  scheme of work  unit of instructions  lesson notes.

The syllabus
This is the collection of outline of what pupils/students should study in a given year or specific
period of teaching i.e. in a session. It is a brief outline of what should be covered in a course of
study e.g. WAEC syllabus. The syllables is the aspect of the curriculum that lists subjects to be
taught in a given program. This guides the teacher on the extent of work involved in a particular
class. It gives detailed instructions on what to be taught in each class such as the topic, instructional
method, teacher activity, students’ activities and instructional aids for the effective learning of the
students.
N/B: syllabus covers all the subjects.

Scheme of work
This is a subdivision of the entire school syllabus into specific portions e.g. weekly, monthly and
termly. It is a plan of academic work in sequential order which will enable the teacher to know how
many lessons or topics to be taught in a term. The scheme of work serves as a guide to the teacher
in planning the lesson, and facilitates the provision of appropriate learning experiences to the
learners. Hence, scheme of work is drawn to suit the ability, interest, needs and rate of learning of
the learners.

ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER WHEN DRAWING OR WRITING THE SCHEME OF

WORK
1. The syllabus: as a teacher, you consider how broad the syllabus is.
2. The pupils' age, average ability (i.e. their mental ability) and of group motivation in the class.
3. The school calendar e.g. how long is the term, etc.
Logicality of topics and...
This has to do with the Logical sequence of the topics.

Unit of instruction
A unit of instruction is the breaking down of termly work into smaller portions which are regarded
as units or topics. It is also referred to as the projected plans which includes students and teachers
activities to be performed in order to realize the predetermined objectives of the unit of instruction.
Each unit of instruction is drawn from the scheme of work by the teacher of each subject to
facilitate learning in the learners. Having units of instructions helps in covering the curriculum in

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manageable units, which helps the teacher to present the lesson in and in interesting way to learners
in the teaching-learning process.

Lesson Plan/Notes
The lesson plan is the core of a successful lesson. It is the stage where the scheme of work or unit of
instruction is interpreted for the period of 30 - 40 minutes. It is the final stage in the implementation
of curriculum. A lesson plan is referred to as a well thought-out, orderly and sequential arrangement
of lessons on paper. It is a guideline through which teachers teach their lessons. A lesson plan is the
final major stage of preparation before a teacher is ready to go into the classroom for the actual
active teaching. When lesson plan is transcribed into a lesson notes it becomes a lesson notes.
Hence from lesson plan you get the lesson notes. Therefore, the lesson note is regarded as a guide to
the teacher in executing the plan of teaching the students.
** look up components of a lesson notes/plan**

Characteristics of a poor lesson note

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