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UNIT 2: FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM

2.0. Intended Learning Objectives:

a. Analyze the various philosophical and psychological foundations that affect the
development of the curriculum ;
b. Synthesize the historical events highlighting the salient features of the curriculum
offered in the different eras and its effect on the societal condition of the Philip-
pines ; and
c. Compose a reflective essay on the effect of the curriculum in various era .

2.1. Introduction:
After knowing the preliminaries of curriculum development, it is also important for you to
know where the curriculum is founded given that the dynamic changes of the curriculum occur
due to many considerations.
Along the process of the development of the curriculum, makers and developers cannot
deny the fact that there are rich philosophical, psychological, sociological, and historical founda-
tions because it continually develops. Along the process of development, each movement has its
foundation that makes it relevant through out the time and this development gives avenue for
learning to take effect from one generation to next.
And so, as you journey towards these foundations of curriculum, you must put a clear line
of difference between that those of the teaching profession and of the curriculum development.
There might be similarities but what the curriculum highlights is on how did it help the evolu-
tion of curriculum happen and how do curriculum experts address the dynamism that is inside
the curriculum.

2.2. Topics:

Make a poster that describes your own philosophy of education.

2.3.1. Philosophical Foundation:

Curriculum development is centered on philosophy. It aids educators in the formulation of

beliefs, arguments, and assumptions, as well as the formulation of value judgments. Philosophy
cultivates a broad perspective and aids in determining why schools exist, what courses are im-
portant, how students should learn, and what resources and methods should be employed. In
making decisions concerning education in its entirety, philosophy serves as a starting point
(Button, 2018).

But how does philosophy then help the teachers in achieving a certain goal in the learning
process? Alvior (2015) mentions that Philosophy can help teachers is achieving the following:
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1. Define the mission of the school;

2. Determine the most important subjects to teach;
3. Create the type of learning experience you want your pupils to have;
4. provide methods or ways for pupils to gain the appropriate information, skills, and
attitude;
5. Create the educational materials;
6. Determine the tactics and strategies that will be employed; and
7. Identify how teachers will assess students.

Having these ideas in mind, let us then try to look what were the philosophical ideas that
greatly flourished in the development of the curriculum. Below is the summary of the philo-
sophical thoughts and how did it contribute in the development of the curriculum.

Table 1. Summary of Educational Philosophies and their implication in the classroom

For you to better understand the various educational Phi-

losophies you can visit the link below or scan the QR Code.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wYVrPPpzrQ
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Direction: Look at the illustrations below and identify what type of educational phi-
losophy is present.

2.3.2. Psychological Foundations (Srien et al., 2021)

Psychology has an impact on the curriculum. Psychology is a branch of science that stud-
ies the teaching and learning process. It also aims to determine how a curriculum will be orga-
nized in order to maximize students' learning and the quantity of knowledge they may absorb
while learning the various curriculum elements.

Some learning psychology theories that served as major basis for curriculum creation are
as follows:

1. Behaviorism (Pavlov, Skinner, Thorndike)

Behaviorism dominated education in the twentieth century. The importance of sub-

ject matter competence is emphasized. As a result, learning is organized in a sequential manner.
Drills and repetition are frequently used.

As a result, many educational psychologists dismissed it as regular and mechanical. De-

spite the fact that many people are suspicious of this notion, we cannot ignore the impact it has
had on our educational system.

2. Cognitivism (Ausubel, Tolman, Kohler, Gestalt)

Cognitive theorists study how people process information, monitor their thinking,
and manage it. Cognitive psychologists focus on the following basic questions:

⇒ How do students store and process information?

⇒ How do they gather information and draw conclusions?
⇒ What is the maximum amount of information they can take in?

They foster the development of problem-solving and thinking skills, as well as reflective
thinking, creative thinking, intuitive thinking, discovery learning, and other concepts, through
their beliefs.
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3. Humanism (Anderson and Maslow)

Humanism is based on the theories of Gestalt, Abraham Maslow, and Carl Rogers. This
group of psychologists is interested in human potential development.

The curriculum, according to this approach, is focused on the process rather than the out-
come; it focuses on personal needs rather than subject content; and it clarifies psychological mean-
ings and contextual contexts. In brief, humanism-based curriculum approaches assert that stu-
dents are human beings who are influenced by their biology, culture, and environment. They
aren't machines or animals in the traditional sense.

Curriculum creators must build a more advanced, more complete curriculum that enhanc-
es human potential along these lines. Teachers not only educate the intellect, but also the hearts of
their students.
For you to better understand the Humanist Principle you
can visit the link below or scan the QR Code.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl9AHJ1O8b4

4. Sociology and Curriculum (Bandura)

The sociological theory is one of the fundamental foundations of curriculum development,

emphasizing the impact of society on education. Because it occurs within the sociological frame-
work, it is based on the concept that there is a mutual and encompassing relationship between so-
ciety and curriculum. Though schools are official organizations that educate people, other units of
society, such as families and friends, and communities, can teach or affect how people think.

Many changes are tough to live with and adjust to in a dynamic culture. However, schools
are designed to confront and comprehend developments not only in one's own country, but also
around the world.

As a result, schools must remain relevant by developing more innovative and multidisci-
plinary curricula. A curriculum that can accommodate the diversity of global learners, the expan-
sion of knowledge via the internet, and UN-recommended or mandated educational changes and
legislation.

Direction: From the theories identified above, choose 1 theory that best describe your con-
cept of a curriculum inside the classroom? (You can consider other theories that you can
find.)

2.3.3. Sociological Foundations

Curriculum influences social change, and curriculum influences social factors. A country
like Pakistan may teach Islamic literature as part of its school curriculum, while a secular country
like India is unable to do so. As a result, curriculum planners must consider social aspects and
how they might be used to plan for and enhance social responsibility. As curriculum planners, we
must consider current societal characteristics as well as anticipated future social characteristics
(Sherawat, 2018).
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1. Society, Education and Schooling (Sherawat, 2018):

John Dewey described school as a small civilization. We can't disregard learners' social
environments because it has an impact on their interests, wants, desires, attitude, values, and
belief system. Individuals who make up society are the sum of their parts. Education is the pro-
cess of preparing the next generation to fit into the system where it is appropriate and to reform
it when necessary. Schooling is only a small part of education. There are three types of educa-
tion: formal, informal, and non-formal. Education is a process that lasts a lifetime. Even in the
absence of a formal education system, youth are educated through informal and socially struc-
tured means. If you look at yourself from the time you were a child, you will notice that there
are many things you learned via interaction with other members of society that were never ex-
plicitly taught to you. For example, how a person should dress is never technically taught, but
we develop a dressing style based on the society we live in. Socially acceptable views are also
developed through education. A good curriculum should not only focus on the current social
situation, but also address how learners should prepare themselves to deal with shifting social
forces.

2. Major Ideas of Sociology

The school exists in the framework of society. The school has an impact on society,
and society has an impact on the school. As a result, in a sociological perspective, the school cur-
riculum can be founded on the following concerns:

a. The country's educational goals

b. The development of social feelings and qualities
c. The development of a socially efficient individual
d. The improvement of vocational efficiency
e. The transmission of social heritage
f. The dissemination of more and more knowledge
g. The development of a constructive and creative outlook of the individual
h. Education for social service, social efficiency, emotional integration, and an under-
standing of the human condition

3. Sociological Theories

A. Structural-Functionalism (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020)

Structural functionalism is a school of thought in sociology and other social sciences

that holds that each of the institutions, relationships, roles, and norms that make up a society
has a purpose and that each is necessary for the others' and society's continuous existence. Social
change is viewed as an adaptive response to some strain within the social system in structural
functionalism. When one part of an integrated social system changes, it creates a tension with
the other parts of the system, which is addressed by the other parts' adaptive change.

Source: h ps://study.com/cimages/videopreview/structural-func!onal-theory-in-sociology-defini!on-examples--quiz-thumb_113974.jpg
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The French so- cial scien-
tist Émile Durkheim, who claimed that portions of society are interdependent and that this inter-
dependence imposes structure on the behavior of institutions and their members, is credited with
coining the term "social structure." The interrelationships between the sections of society, accord-
ing to Durkheim, lead to social unity—an integrated system with its own living features, external
to individuals but driving their behavior. Mechanical solidarity, a sentimental attraction of social
units or groups that perform the same or similar functions, such as preindustrial self-sufficient
farmers, or organic solidarity, an interdependence based on differentiated functions and speciali-
zation, as seen in a factory, the military, government, or other co-operatives, as pointed out by
Durkheim. Similar contrasts were made by other thinkers during Durkheim's time, notably Hen-
ry Maine and Ferdinand Tönnies.

When American sociologist Talcott Parsons enunciated the "functional prerequisites" that
any social system must meet in order to survive, structural functionalism was slightly modified:
developing routinized interpersonal arrangements (structures), defining relationships with the
external environment, establishing boundaries, and recruiting and controlling members. Parsons
classed such structures based on their purposes, along with Robert K. Merton and others. This
approach, known as structural-functional analysis (also known as systems theory), was used so
widely that it became synonymous with the scientific study of social organization for certain soci-
ologists.

However, in the 1960s, new challenges to the functionalist assumption that a society's sur-
vival was dependent on institutional practices brought structural functionalism's dominance to
an end. Some saw this concept, along with the idea that the stratification system chose the most
talented and meritorious people to meet society's requirements, as a conservative ideology that
legitimized the status quo and so obstructed social transformation. It also overlooked the individ-
ual's potential in society. In response to such criticisms of structural functionalism, some sociolo-
gists created a “conflict sociology,” which claimed that dominant institutions oppress weaker
groups and that conflict exists throughout society, including the family, economics, polity, and
education. With the social instability of the civil rights movement and the antiwar movement in
the 1960s and 1970s, this neo-Marxist perspective gained prominence in the United States, inspir-
ing many younger sociologists.

Other criticisms of structural functionalism have included that it is based on faulty analo-
gies between societies and biological organisms, that it is tautological, teleological, or excessively
abstract, that its conception of social change as an adaptive response is inadequate, and that it
lacks an empirical confirmation methodology.

B. Symbolic-Interactionism (Libretexts, 2021)

Symbolic interactionism is a theoretical approach to comprehending the human-

society relationship. Symbolic interactionism's primary premise is that human behavior and in-
teraction can only be understood through the interchange of meaningful communication or sym-
bols. Humans are depicted as behaving rather than being acted upon in this method. The follow-
ing are the fundamental principles of symbolic interactionism:

a. Humans act in response to objects based on the meanings they hold for them.
b. These connotations emerge as a result of social interaction.
c. Individual channels of action are brought together to form social action.
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This approach contrasts with the rigid behaviorism of psychological theories that predom-
inated at the time it was developed (the 1920s and 1930s). Humans are distinguished from infra-
human (lower animals) according to symbolic interactionism because infrahuman merely re-
spond to their environment (i.e., a stimulus elicits a response or stimulus response), whereas hu-
mans can halt that process (i.e., stimulus cognitive response). Furthermore, infrahuman are inca-
pable of imagining alternative responses to gestures. Humans, on the other hand, can. This view
does not imply that humans never answer in a rigid stimulus-response manner, but rather that
humans have the ability to respond in a variety of ways, which they do most of the time.

This viewpoint is likewise based on phenomenological thinking. The objective world has
no significance for humans, according to symbolic interactionism; only subjectively determined
objects have meaning. There is no single objective "reality"; only (perhaps numerous, potentially
contradictory) perceptions of a situation exist. Meanings are not given to humans and learned by
habit; rather, meanings can be changed by humans' creative talents, and individuals can affect
the numerous meanings that make up their society. As a result, human society is a social product.

Below is the comparison of the two (2) theories:

Source: h ps://pediaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Difference-Between-Func!onalism-and-Symbolic-Interac!onism-Comparison-Summary.jpg

For you to better understand the various Social Theories you

can visit the link below or scan the QR Code.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InPsADWMkR0
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2.3.4. Historical Founda- tions
(Alcoriza et al., 2021)

1. Historical Development of Curriculum

A. Pre-Hispanic Period
Focus of the Curriculum: Customs, Traditions, Practical Knowledge
⇒ Informal
⇒ Use of baybayin
Source: h ps://cdn.shopify.com/s/
⇒ Teachers were the babaylan and katalonan (shamans, spiritual healers) files/1/0051/1718/2001/files/
Bay-
⇒ Boys were taught hunting and other means of livelihood, while girls bayin_2_NARRA_STUDIO_large.jpg?

were taught how to manage the household

B. Spanish Period
Focus of the Curriculum: Religion
⇒ Formal education was introduced – private then public school
systems.
⇒ The first Christian school was founded by the Augustinians in
Cebu in 1565.
Source: h p://images.summitmedia-digital.com/
esquiremagph/images/2020/06/17/old-school-photos- ⇒ Teachers were the friars.
main-image1.jpg
⇒ Although King Philip II’s Law of the Indies (Leyes de Indians)
mandated that the friars ought to teach the Spanish language, factors such as cultural diversity
and topography forced the friars to learn the native language of the community instead
⇒ Schools established during the period were: Colegio de Santa Potenciana, Colegio de Manila, Co-
legio de San Ildefonso (thought to be University of San Carlos-Cebu) Colegio de San Juan (San
Jose Seminary-Manila), Colegio de Niños Huerfanos de San Juan de Letran (Colegio de San Juan
de Letran), and Colegio de Santa Isabel (Santa Isabel College-Manila)
⇒ The Education Reform Act of 1863 established the first public school system.

C. American Period Source: h ps://

reneekarunungan.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/
Focus of the Curriculum: Democracy american-teacher.jpg

⇒ English was used as medium of instruction

⇒ From age seven, children were registered and enrolled at the near-
est public schools.
⇒ American soldiers were the first teachers and were later relieved by
the Thomasites.
⇒ Schools established during the period were the Philippine Normal
College (Philippine Normal University-Manila), University of the
Philippines, National University, University of Manila, Philippine
Women’s University, and Far Eastern University.
⇒ Free public-school education was guaranteed by the Commonwealth Republic.

For you to better understand the history of the educational

system of the Philippines, you can visit the link below or
scan the QR Code.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYDz-vK98zg
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2.3 REFERENCES
Alcoriza, J., Esmane, K., Etcobanez, M. A., Hernandez, P. J., Padilla, E. J., Reyes, E., Sagun, M. L. J., Terogo, I. J., Ur-
gena, J. N., & Ymbong, R. R. (2021). Met-Lept Reviewer: The Better Normal Edition. NRS Enterprise.

Button, L. J. (2018). Introduction. Curriculum Essentials A Journey. Retrieved September 20, 2021, from https://
oer.pressbooks.pub/curriculumessentials/front-matter/introduction/.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020, June 17). Structural functionalism. Encyclopædia Britannica. Re-
trieved September 21, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/structural-
functionalism#:~:text=Structural%20functionalism%2C%20in%20sociology%20and,of%20society%20as%
20a%20whole.

Libretexts. (2021, February 20). 1.3D: The SYMBOLIC Interactionist Perspective. Social Sci LibreTexts. Retrieved Sep-
tember 21, 2021, from https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/
Book%3A_Sociology_(Boundless)/01%3A_Sociology/1.03%
3A_Theoretical_Perspectives_in_Sociology/1.3D%3A_The_Symbolic_Interactionist_Perspective.

Sherawat, Y. (2018). Sociological Foundations of Curriculum Development. Owgel. Retrieved September 21, 2021, from
https://www.owlgen.in/what-athe-sociological-foundations-of-curriculum-development/.

Srien, H., Alvior, M., Christine, Raheem, A., George, Amalhayah, Chelah, James, T., Zahidullah, Dada, C., Roxton,
T., Anonymous, Alvior, Winnie, Mart, Isaac, Usman, M., Mathsary, joyces, M., … Meh. (2021, June 11). 4 ma-
jor foundations of curriculum and their importance in education. Research-based Articles. Retrieved September 20,
2021, from https://simplyeducate.me/2015/01/09/foundations-of-curriculum/.

2.4 Acknowledgment
The images, tables, figures and information contained in this module
were taken from the references cited above.