OEI 101 : CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUTION 2.

1. INTRODUCTION

Curriculum may be equated with the ground which is covered by the student and teacher together to reach educational goals. Popularly, it is known as the “syllabus” or the “course” of the taught in a school, college or university. It is the totality of the learning experiences a student gets during an educational programme or in other words it includes all the teaching- learning activities planned by a teaching institution to achieve desired goals of an educational programme.

2. MEANING AND DEFINITION

Curriculum word is derived from the Latin language which means a course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. Oliva (1997) has explained the meaning of curriculum as the following:

• It is a course of study or a set of subjects or set of performance objectives or a program of studies.
• It is everything that goes on within the school, including extra-class activities, guidance, and interpersonal relationships.
• It is everything that is planned by the school personnel.
• It is a series of experiences undergone by learners in a school.

Cunningrow defined curriculum as a tool in the hands of the artist (teachers) to mould his material (the pupil) in accordance with his ideals (aims and objectives) in his studio (school).

3. PURPOSES OF CURRICULUM

Curriculum is an essential tool in the hands of educators to guide a course of study that serves some distinct purposes which are as follows:

• It communicates to the students in advance what they are expected to learn in the specified time duration to accomplish their educational goals.
• It introduces the criteria of examination or evaluation to the students so that they can prepare for exams accordingly.
• It describes to the teachers the course, unit and lesson objectives as well as required teaching learning methods, which assists the teachers to plan their lesson accordingly.
• It communicates to the policy makers about the competencies and expertise of a particular group of students the positions and roles they can perform.

4. TYPES OF CURRICULUM

Although, there is no universally acceptable classification of curriculum, educationists however have classified it on various basis. The available literature suggested the following classification of curriculum:

4.1. Core Curriculum

Core curriculum is a course of study, which is considered central and usually made mandatory for all students of a college or university. It is also referred to key aspects of a discipline for study in depth by all the students. For instance, in M Sc Nursing course the advance nursing practice, research and statistics, nursing administration or management is part of the core curriculum which is considered mandatory for all M Sc Nursing students irrespective of their specialty area.

4.2. Open Curriculum

5. PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM

Following are the principles of curriculum design for general as well as professional education.

5.1. Principle of Utility

It emphasizes that curriculum should equip a student with knowledge and skills so that he can solve problems and face situations confidently in real life. It should help the individual to avail his rights as a consumer & get the standard quality of service at the right price.

5.2. Principle of Flexibility

This principle takes into consideration the uniqueness of every individual student. It emphasizes that curriculum should be flexible enough to accommodate the changes in the student's diverse interest, inclinations & accordance with social requirements.

5.3. Principle of Community-Centeredness

6. FORCES & ISSUES INFLUENCING CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Forces & issues that influence nursing science curriculum are complex and ever changing. In the new millennium, there are rapid changes within the health care system which puts forth challenges before nurse educators to device relevant curriculum for nursing education to keep pace with these changes. Curriculum is never developed in a vacuum, but in contextual representation of global trends, national vital and health statistics, national health policy, national population policy, professional priorities & faculty values. The following are the determinants of the curriculum in nursing sciences:

6.1. Societal Determinants

6.1.1. Demographic Revolution

World population is growing at an unprecedented rate and has exceeded 6 billion. There will be more health problems associated with the elderly, as a result of the ageing population in the next 20–30 years. Demographic changes are also prompting mass urbanization, immigration to rich countries, shift to the age structure towards elderly and paucity of resources due to increasing population

7. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Print (1993) defines curriculum development as, “the process of planning, implementing and evaluating learning opportunities intended to produce desired changes in learners.” A curriculum development model is used to study the components of a curriculum and the relationships between these components. It is a symbolic representation of the relationships between specified curriculum development phases, steps and tasks that constitute a curriculum development process.

Curriculum development should involve decision making about the foundations and structure of a curriculum which refers to the various components of a curriculum (aims/goals/objectives, content, learning activities and evaluation). Curriculum development is a logically sequential and orderly process which includes certain steps into a predetermined sequence. These steps are as follows:

8. FOUR KEY COMPONENTS OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

The four key components of educational objectives are: Act, Content, Condition and Criteria.

For instance, list anatomical pathway related to normal conduction of impulse in heart as stated in Wood's cardiac nursing. The four key components in this example are as following:

The Act	-	To list
The Content	-	The anatomical pathways related to heart impulse conduction
The Condition	-	Normal conduction
The Criteria	-	As stated in Wood's Cardiac Nursing

Limitation of Educational Objectives

• May lead to surface learning
• Students have little understanding of why they have to learn the material other than to pass the examination.

Figure 12.3 Key Components of Educational Objectives

10. EVALUATION OF THE CURRICULUM OR LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Evaluation is a systematic process of determining the extent to which educational objectives laid down in a curriculum have been achieved.

Purpose of Evaluation

• To find out to what extent objectives of the programme have been attained.
• For certification purpose.
• To provide guidelines for decisions about a curriculum, revision modification and shift of emphasis.
• Designed to protect the society to prevent incompetent personnel from practicing nursing.

10.1. Types of Assessments

• Formative Assessment: It is an ongoing evaluation to measure the progress made by the students. The purpose is to provide feedback to students & teachers at regular intervals. Its results may form a part of the internal assessment.

  11. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT MODELS

  In the past, curriculum development in nursing has been influenced by various classical curriculum development models that reflect different curriculum development paradigms. These models contributed towards progress in nursing education.

  11.1. Linear, Prescriptive Model/Product Model/Behavioral Objective Model (Tyler 1945, Bloom 1965)

  Linear, prescriptive curriculum development models are considered as normative models as they provide a sequence of steps that should be followed in any curriculum development initiative.

  In this era of technology explosion curriculum is described as a product and education is most often seen as a technical exercise which includes setting objectives, drawing up a plan, implementing the plan and measuring the outcomes or products. It is a way of thinking about education that has grown in influence since the late 1970s with the rise of vocationalism and the concern with competencies.

12. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND ACTION RESEARCH

Action research is a stepwise approach which includes problem identification, action planning, implementation, evaluation, and reflection. The insights gained from the initial cycle are fed into planning of the second cycle, for which the action plan is modified and the research process is repeated.

Action research methodology offers a systematic approach to introduce innovations in teaching and learning. It seeks to do this by putting the teacher in the dual role of producer of educational theory as well as the user of that theory. This is both a way of producing knowledge about higher education learning and teaching as well as a powerful way of improving learning and teaching practice. No separation need be made between the design and delivery of teaching, and the process of researching these activities, thereby bringing theory and practice closer together.