ECT 1

31

Curriculum Development

Chapter Three

Curriculum Development

Introduction
This chapter discusses the process of curriculum development. In particular the concept of curriculum
development is defined, the various stages of curriculum development process are described, participants and
their roles in the process, and influences to curriculum development are discussed.

The concept of curriculum development

The curriculum field is with divergence of opinions ranging from definitions of the term curriculum and related
curricular activities and processes such as curriculum development, planning, design, and improvement. For
example, the term curriculum has been defined narrowly as a course of study to be run in an institution of learning
or broadly as all the experiences a learner has under the guidance of the school (Zais,1976).
The definitions, which are many and varied, do suggest conflicting conceptions of curriculum. As a result,
curriculum activities are conceptualised and defined differently by different scholars. Curriculum development is
defined as "the planning of learning opportunities intended to bring about changes in pupils' behaviours and the
assessment of the extent to which these changes have taken place", (Ondiek, 1986,p. 16). This definition does not
specify whether in the process of planning learning opportunities for students, changes are made to the existing
curriculum or a new one is developed.
Print (1993) defines curriculum development as "the process of planning learning opportunities intended to bring
about certain desired changes in pupils, and the assessment of the extent to which these changes have laken
place", (p. xvii). The definition by Print suggests that programmes of study are provided for learners and the
purpose is to effect some desired changes in them. It is not clear from this definition whether this also involves
curriculum improvement or revision of an existing curriculum. Another question that could be asked is: what about
the undesirable and unintended changes that result from the process of schooling? The purpose of an instructional
programme is to bring about some desirable changes in terms of knowledge, skills and values in the learners. This
does not always happen and in fact,there are some unintended outcomes that are observed in the learners. This
definition does not address these outcomes.

32 A Handbook for Curriculum and Instruction

collective and intentional process or activity directed at beneficial curriculum change",aim of

improving it. This is usually one major purpose of developing an instructional programme for
learners. However, it needs to be acknowledged that curriculum development also involves
production of new programme(s) of study especially when there is total absence of curriculum to
 address issues that have emerged and current problems. This was suggested by Shiundu and
Omulando (1992) when they said "whether developing a new curriculum or changing an existing
one, the process will generally follow these stages"(p. 160).

However, in spite of different perspectives on curriculum development, it seems that there is a

consensus about the fact that curriculum development is a dynamic,systematic, and an unending
process, and it involves several stages some of which are universally adopted by curriculum
developers in different parts of the world and others are more particular to national contexts (Gay,
1991). The stages that are common include: (a) needs assessment (b) curriculum design,(c) teacher
preparation (in-servicing and orientation), (d) preparation or development of curriculum support
materials (teaching and learning resources and equipment), (e) piloting (or trying-out),(f)
curriculum revision or improvement, (g) implementation and (h)[Link] the other hand, the
more context-specific stages include policy formulation,curriculum maintenance and
institutionalisation.
Curriculum development “varies in purpose,scope and time", (Marsh and Willis, 1999,p. 159). For
example, the purpose could either be revision or alteration of an existing curriculum and this can be
achieved by re-arranging the content of the syllabus of a subject i.e. shifting some content from one
grade level to another or dropping it altogether. The other could be when an entirely different
curriculum is produced on a large scale or nationwide basis or on small scale affecting some subjects
or [Link] the curriculum development process to go on systematically, key questions should
be carefully addressed
What activities should be carried out and what stages should be followed when coming up
with a new curriculum or refining an existing one?
Who does what activity during the process?
What factors and forces influence curriculum?

The curriculum development process

Curriculum development involves various activities and several stages that have been outlined and
explained by different scholars and agencies. The Malaysian Curriculum Development Centre (CDC)
uses a cyclical model which consists of six (6) broad stages,namely;
1. Identification of needs
2. Planning
3. Development

4. Try-out

5. Implementation,and

6. Evaluation.

Shiundu and Omulando (1992, p. 160) list nine stages of curriculum development which are:
1. Situational analysis (needs assessment)

2. Formulation of objectives

3. Setting up the curriculum project

 33
Curriculum Development

4. Programme building

5. Piloting the new programme in selected schools

6. Improving the new programme

7. Implementation

8. Evaluation,and
9. Maintenance.

On the other hand, the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE), which is the curriculum development and
research centre for all levels of education bclow university, identifies ten stages of curriculum
development process and these are:
1. Policy decision/ formal request stage
2. Needs assessment

3. Conceptualisation and policy formulation

4. Formulation of curriculum design

5. Development of syllabuses

6. Development and selection of teaching and learning materials

7. Teacher preparation
8. Piloting

9. Curriculum implementation

10. Curriculum monitoring and evaluation.

Source: (K.I.E. Strategic Pian, 2007, p.14)

The KIE model is used in developing curricula for all levels of education, except university level.

[Link] decision

formal request stage. It entails considering a policy statement from the Ministry of Education that a
new curriculum needs to be developed or the existing needs revision in order to address some
needs that have either arisen or are felt. For example, in the 1990's when the HIV/AIDS epidemic
became prevalent in Kenya, there arose the need to incorporate some content highlighting the
issue and how to combat it. Thus, this has become one of the cross-cutting issues in the Kenyan
school curriculum.

On the other hand, a policy statement that may have emanated from stakeholders'discussions in workshops
or symposia and a conclusion reached that some action needs to be taken. During discussions and
 34 A Handbook for Curriculum and Instruction

deliberations, it might be discovered that the existing curriculum is not effective in addressing the current
needs of the learners or there may be lack of curriculum hence necessitating curriculum development.

[Link] assessment

Understand the concept of needs assessment as used in curriculum development, it is important to first
define the term need. A need in the curriculum field is a situation where there is a discrepancy between
“what is" and "what ought to be". That is,there is a gap between an ideal situation which is acceptable and a
current situation or observed state of the learner. Consequently,systematic investigation should be carried
out to collect data and establish learners' needs in a given area of human affairs such as health. In Kenya for
example, HIV/AIDS is a health and even survival issue as this epidemic affects people ofall ages. Results of the
needs assessment should be combined with situational analysis (i.e. study of the contexts of the curriculum)
to develop an appropriate curriculum for the learners and delineate the expected competencies of the
learners.

It is after needs assessment and intensive situation analysis that objectives are [Link] are very
important in the curriculum development process because they define the educational destination (end)
and, therefore, in their formulation,curricularists have to respond to two important questions thus,
a) what should be achieved through the school curriculum?
b) what should the learners achieve?
Objectives are essential because they:

assist curriculum planners in developing purposeful instructional programmes;

·justify the need for providing education and, therefore, solicit support for it;

guide the educational process i.e. selection of content, learning experiences,teaching

methods, and evaluation approaches;and
provide a basis for evaluation, determining the extent to which an educational or
instructional programme is useful (Shiundu and Omulando, 1992).
According to Bloom (1964), the objectives derived should be in three main domains: the

cognitive or intellectual, the psychomotor and the affective. The objectives formulated for the
curriculum should be specific, measurable, achievable,result-oriented,and time-bound (SMART).

[Link] and policy formulation

This stage involves collating the needs assessment studies and policy decision/formulation into a
report to be presented to the course panel for discussion and possible approval. The course panel
makes recommendations, which are then forwarded to the Academic Board of the Kenya Institute of
Education. The Board is chaired by the Education Secretary, Ministry of Education and the Director of
the Kenya Institute of Education is its secretary. The Board serves the important function of overseeing
curriculum development for all levels of education in Kenya except universities.

[Link] of curriculum design

In this stage, subject panels (specialists) meet to generate content guided by and considering the
competencies to be acquired by the learners (Ndire, 2007). The design will contain information about
the objectives for the new curriculum, content (subject matter), methodology to be employed in the
implementation, assessment procedures and time required to cover the content of each subject.
 35
Curriculum Decelopment

Subject syllabuses are then developed after the design has been agreed upon. Curriculum design is
discussed in the next chapter.

[Link] of syllabuses
During this stage, the subject specialists develop the syllabuses for the various subjects in the
curriculum. The subject specialists will outline the objectives of the subject,the actual content to be
covered, the sequence to be followed, the support materials required, the recommended instructional
methods to be used, and the evaluation /assessment suggestions.

6. Development and selection of teaching and learning materials

After the curriculum has been developed and the syllabuses have been prepared,accompanying
learning and teaching support materials and resources are developed,examined, validated and
approved for use in the schools by respective subject panels in order to facilitate curriculum piloting
and implementation. These materiais inciude textbooks (both pupils' books and teachers' guides),
maps, charts and models.
However,liberalisation of development of textbooks in Kenya means that the private publishers
produce textbooks and the KIE only develops curriculum support materials such as teachers guides
and teachers notes in areas where publishers show no [Link] private publishers are allowed to
deveiop curriculum surport materials and then submit them to KIE for evaluation and checking on
whether they satisfy the requirements of the curriculum based on set criteria (Ndire, 2007).

[Link] preparation
Once the curriculum and the necessary support materials have been developed,teachers have to be
prepared for the task of curriculum implementation. Teacher preparation involves orientating and
retraining them so that they have necessary

knowledge and skills,and have positive attitudes towards the new curriculum which they are
expected to adopt and use in the schools.
However,because of the large number of teachers in the country,it is not possible to they in turn train
teachers at district levels. But such trainings are not always effective and some weaknesses have been
identified. For example, training is sometimes not subject-based, thus such training may not be
effective in preparing teachers for implementation of the new curriculum.

[Link]

Piloting or trying out the new curriculum and the curriculum support materials is an important stage of the
curriculum development process. This involves using the new curriculum and thecurriculum support materials
in selected schools and colleges. This is limited implementation of the new curriculum and it is monitored and
evaluated. The information gathered on the curriculum and support materials are used to determine its
viability, effectiveness and appropriateness for learners.
Decisions as to whether to revise, improve, adjust or even shelf the new curriculum are made based on the
objective and accurate analysis of the data that has been gathered during piloting. It has been observed that
sometimes, the team carrying out piloting implements the curriculum despite the fact that the data shows that
the curriculum requires improvements or other times piloting is skipped altogether. For example,Oluoch
(2002, p. 93) argucs that "the 8:4:4 programme was tried out satisfactorily at the primary level but the try out
was virtually skipped at the secondary, technical and vocational levels due to pressure for quick
 36 A Handbook for Curriculum and Instruction

implementation of the programme". It ·appeared like the 8:4:4 System of Education in Kenya was
a·government project and,therefore,it had to be implemented even though there were several issues that
needed to be addressed before full implementation.
During the implementation of the 8:4:4 System of Education, several problems such as overloaded curriculum,
unnecessary overlaps across grades and subjects, the broad syllabuses whose coverage was difficult for
teachers, teachers' insufficient preparation to teach the new subjects, and inadequate curriculum support
materials were overlooked. These activities are necessary before full or nationwide implementation of the
curriculum is undertaken.
Although piloting is a very essential aspect of the curriculum development process, it is expensive and
time consuming (Ndire, 2007). This implies piloting may not always be done or if done then it is not
done well. The KIE used the 'phasing in-phasing out strategy' in the revised primary and secondary
school curricula (KIE strategic plan,2007,p.20). That is, the old curriculum was gradually removed or
phased out and the new one introduced in its place gradually.

[Link] implementation

Implementation is the act of putting the prescribed curriculum into practice in the schools. It is the ultimate
objective of curriculum development process because only after this has been done will the learners have the
opportunity to experience
Curriculum Development 37

the curriculum and benefit from it. Needless to say, teachers are the implementers of curriculum and
this is usually facilitated by education officers, quality assurance and standards officers (Q.A.S.O.s) and
the school system steered by the principals/ head teachers, deputy head teachers/ principals, fellow
teachers, teacher's advisory centres (T.A.C.s) among others. Several escential steps should be taken to
ensure effective implementation of the developed curriculum.
However, implementation of curriculum is complex and does not proceed in a linear fashion,and the
people involved can even have conflicting ideas about how to go about it. Because of this, there is
need to put these and other issues into [Link] implementation of curriculum,
therefore, requires a lot of planning and effort so that proper mechanisms are put in place. These
include distribution of the new syllabuses to aII schools; physical facilities such as
classrooms,laboratories,and workshops are erected; in-servicing and orienting teachers; provision of
curriculum support materials, and continuous supervision and monitoring in the schools.
Oluoch (2002, p.57) identifies nine sub-processes in curriculum implementation as:

persunding people, kepieg tie puta a r, caatting the tanchers,eduicating teacher

educators, providing necessory fiacilities and egurpment, supply of curriculum
materials,actunl presentation of the ne curriculnm,itstitution of appropriate student
nssessment procedures,and continuous support for th teachers.

When a new curriculum has been developed, it is essential that the people who will be affecled by it in
whichever way. or have some stake in it are informed so as to understand its relative merit over the previous
one. This is to ensure their support for the new curriculum and contributions are enlisted. Such people include
the teachers,educational officers from the Ministry of Education headquarters to field officers,parents,
religious leaders, politicians, professional bodies, and the general public. This will enhance the success of the
entire process and forestall any resistance,sabotage or indifference to it
10. Curriculum monitoring and evaluation

Implementation of the curriculum needs to be monitored closely to ensure it is being used in the schools
faithfully by the teachers as planned. The monitoring should focus on the objectives,content, methods of
instruction and assessment [Link] of the curriculum should be carried out after complete
implementation. It is the process of assessing the extent to which curriculum objectives have been achieved or
are being achieved. Evaluation is the fourth question that Tyler (1949) raised in his rationale, "how can we
determine whether these purposes are being attained?" (p.1).

Both formative and summative types of evaluation are carried out. Formative evaluation is an ongoing process
and should be part of the curriculum development process. it provides the curricuiu ueveiopes wiuuaia
wiucittan be uscd lo review,fine-tune or refine the curriculum as the curriculum development process
proceeds.
Summative evaluation is usually undertaken at the end of the implementation cycle to establish or otherwise of
the completed curriculum project (Ndire,2007). Data should be gathered and the feedback obtained should be
used to improve and revise the

aspects require revision or complete overhaul (Ndire,2007). The findings will therefore,policy formulation,
development and design of new syllabuses. For example, there new policy formulation because of an issue
that has arisen such as the post-election violence that affected many parts of Kenya in early 2008. As a result,a
peace education component may be incorporated into the school curriculum to address suich an issue.

Participants in curriculum development

The issue of who lakes part in the curriculum development process depends on the scale of the curriculum
development project and whether curriculum decision-making is centralised or not. In Kenya for
example,curriculum development is centralised and the Kenya Institute of Education (K.I.E.) is the national
agency that is mandated to carry out curriculum development and research.

Ideally, all stakeholders and those who are affected by the curriculum should participate in the process of
curriculum [Link] include teachers,curriculum experts,learners, parents, politicians,
professionals, opinion leaders, religious leaders and educational experts (Ndire, 2007). However, in practice,
not every person who should be involved can be involved.
The Kenya Institute of Education (K.I.E.) uses the panel system (course and subject panels) to deveiop
curriculum and curriculum support materials (K.I.E. Strategic Plan, 2007, p.5). Both panels are appointed by
the Governing Council of the Institute and are drawn from experienced subject leachers, quality assurance
and standards officers (formerly called school inspectors), representatives from Kenya National Examinations
Council (KNEC), Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and other key stakeholders (K.I.E. Strategic Plan,
2007,p.4).

The course panel

Each level of education such as primary, secondary and tertiary has a course panel of 35members
drawn from curriculum specialists at the K.I.E. and staff from the Directorate of Quality Assurance
and Standards (formerly the Inspectorate) of the Ministry of Education. The functions of the course
panel are specified as follows:
[Link] keep under constant review the existingcurriculum of the relovant level of education or
training and to make recommendations to the Academic Board;
 38 A Handbook for Curriculum and Instruction

2. to co-ordinate and guide the activities o the subject panels in their respective areas of
specialisation;and
[Link] liaise with other institutions and agencies outside the Ministry of Education engaged in
training of human resource for industrial and commercial purposes.

The subject panel

Each subject that is taught in the Kenya school syllabus or educational area has a panel of twenty
specialists. Each panel is chaired by a person appointed by the Institute's
Governing Council. A specialist of the concerned subject at [Link] as the secretary.

The functions of the Subject Panel are:

1. to initiate and guide appropriate curriculum development projects,research and evaluation

activities in the relevant subject or educational area;
2. to keep under constant review theexisting syllabus in a subject or educational area and make
necessary recommendations to the course panel;
3. to keep under constant review all examinations conducted in the country in the relevant subject
or educational area and make recommendations to the cOurse panel;and
4. to evaluate and recommend curriculum support materials for use in the schools,colleges and
other post school institutions in the relevant subject or educational area.

Curriculum development at university level

It has been mentioned that K.1.E develops curricuia for all leveis in the public schoo!system except
universities. Public umiversities develop their curricula influenced by the specific university orientation,
but basically they follow similar [Link] the faculty members in the departments engage in
research and/or needs assessment in their subject specialisations. The findings of this exercise may
indicate need for revision of an existing curriculum or development of a new curriculum in a given
discipline. This need is examined in the light of data from situation analysis within and outside the
[Link] on the information, a decision is made whether the existing curriculum is to be
reviewed or a new curriculum is to be [Link] the decision is made, the faculty members
alongside the identified stakeholders cone logether in a curriculum design workshop to review an
existing or design a new curriculum. The carriculum to be reviewed or designed will usually have the
following components: the course code, course name, course units which iranslate into number of
hours per week, course duration, when the course will be offered during the degree programme,
objectives of the course,course description, and evaluation [Link] draft curriculum is
discussed at the departmental board, chaired by the head of department, for purposes of fine-tuning
 39
Curriculum Decelopment

and ownership.
If the draft cumiculum is approved, it is taken to the school/faculty board for discussion chaired by the
dean of faculty/school. If approved, it is forwarded to the committee of deans chaired by the deputy
vice chancellor in charge of academics or academic registrar. If the draft curriculum is found viable, it is
approved for presentation and discussion at senate. Senate is the overall academic organ of the
university which is chaired by the vice chancellor,who is the Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O.) of the
university. It is after approval at senate that the curriculum may be implemented.
Curriculum development at university level does not, however, proceed as smoothly as explained. At
every stage of approval, there are intensive discussions over the draft curriculum that any issues raised
must be exhaustively addressed. This means that the curriculum is taken back to the presenting organ
to improve it before resubmission and approval.
40 A Handbook for Curriculum and Instruction

in liaison with the dean of the faculty and deputy vice chancellor (academics) make preparations for
the implementation of the curriculum. Such preparations include appropriate orientation of the
faculty members and technical staff, provision of textual materials,equipment, other support
materials, information dissemination to students,the public, and other public universities on the
launching of the new [Link] minimum period for a university degree in any public university
in Kenya takes four (4) years while other programmes such as engineering and medicine take longer
periods of time. Once the new curriculum has been in use for a minimum life-span for the degree
programme, it becomes due for review in order to keep abreast with the latest developments in the
discipline.

Influences to curriculum development

Both internal and external factors influence curriculum development. These include politics,
economics, technological and epistemological factors(Shiundu and Omulando,1992). Additionally,
current and emerging issues, and challenges influence curriculum development.

Politics

Education and curriculum decision-making are heavily influenced by [Link] finance

and control education systems and thus have a major siake in the type,quality and direction of
curriculum. In fact, on many occasions, the policy to refine the existing curriculum or develop a new
one originates from the political [Link] Ministry of Education and the curriculum
development agency (e.g. K.I.E.) act on the policy by generating an appropriate curriculum. For
example,the Kenya government formed several educational commissions and committees to look
into the then existing curriculum and made recommendations such as Ominde Commission (1964),
the National Committee on Educational Objectives and Policies (Gachathi Report, 1976) and the
Presidential Working Party on Second University (the Mackay Report, 1981). The Working Party
recommended among others, the restructuring of the education system from 7:4:2:3 to 8:4:4 with a
broad-based curriculum encompassing technical and practical subjects (Eshiwani, 1990).

Economics

The state of the national economy has a direct effect on the curriculum. Several changes to the
education system and the curriculum have been necessitated by economic problems in the
[Link] example, the introduction of the 8:4:4 System of Education was meant to address the
unemployment problem among the youth. As a result,practical and vocational suhiects were
introduced in both primary and secondary school curricula such as Home Science,Wood work, and
Agriculture. The practical subjects were supposed to prepare the youth for the challenges and
opportunities of work and thus, help them earn a living as self or paid employed youth (Oluoch,
 2002).However, "the practical subjects were made non-examinable at the primary level and virtually
dropped at the secondary level" mainly because of the limited financial resources to support these
practical subjects (Oluoch, 2002, p. 96).

These changes have practical implications on the functioning of the school curricula at both levels.
Given the fact that teachers in their work emphasise examinable subjects,and pupils are interested
in leaming oniy those subjects which will be examined at the end of the primary cycle, practical
subjects are slowly but surely getting phased out of the curriculum. The academically biased
secondary school curriculum is not relevant to the diverse and vocational needs of many students
who will be pursuing vocational courses in polytechnics and training institutes.

Knowledge explosion

Knowledge is the main sounce of curriculum content (Shiundu and Omulando,1992). Any changes
in knowledge as a result of research findings and other forms of knowledge generation will affect
curriculum decisions such as content selection,organisation and delivery methods Currently,there
is so much knowledge coming into being that curriculum development and review are taking place
at a faster pace than betore.

Culture

In many school settings in Africa and particularly in Kenya, learners from different cultural
backgrounds are brought together to learn a common curriculum. Their cultural underpinnings
come to bear on the learing they undertake at school. It is therefore important that a good acoount
is made of the cuiturai groupings that will experience and share the envisaged curriculum. It would
be useful that positive aspects of the various cultures are incorporated in the curriculum as this
enhances curriculum relevance in the face of cultural diversity.

Interest groups

interest groups indade such groups as: reiigious bodies, donor agencies, youih organisations,
protessional associations, and other community [Link] groups have interests that
they would wish to champion through school [Link] a result, they influence the general
and sometimes the specific outfit of the curricula offered at various phases and levels of education.

Technologicai zavancemeni

Development of technology affects school curricula in a number of ways. One is the introduction of
instructional programmes such as computer studies in the schools. Use of tools such as overhead
projectors,LCD projectors, calculators, and computer-based instruction are also examples of how
technology affects curriculum. In developing curricula, an awareness of the presence and
utilisation of such technology influences the generai and specifc curricula outfits.

Emerging issues

New challenges and issues that have arisen nationally and internationally affect the school
curriculum. For example the HIV/AIDS epidemic, land or ethnic clashes,terrorism, environmental
degradation and global warming among others compel curricuium pianners to incorporate them in
insiructional programmes either as separate subjects or as cross cutting issues in the school
curricula. Such incorporation
 42 A Handbook for Curriculum and Instruction

influences the final appearance of the school curricula. Currently for example,the Kenyan
government plans to introduce disaster management courses at both primary and secondary
levels.

Reflection questions
1. Assess the conceptions of curriculum development and discuss the implications of each definition for the
scope of curriculum development activities.

2. The Kenya Institute of Education (K.I.E.) sometimes develops school curriculum without carrying out
needs assessment, which is considered crucial by curriculum scholars. Discuss how this could affect the
quality and relevance of curriculum.

[Link] the importance of the following stages of curriculum development:

a. Needs assessment
b. Teacher preparation
C. Implementation

d. Monitoring and evaluation of the curriculum.

4. In your considered opinion, who should participate in curriculum development and what competencies
should the participants have?

5 Examine the factors and forces that influence curriculum development in your country. In what ways
would these influence curricula outfits?