Curriculum Domains
Lesson Objectives
By the end of the presentation, students should be able to:
• Define the concept “ curriculum domains”.
• Analyze the differences of each of the nine curriculum spheres to which the
curriculum domains are grouped: Curriculum philosophy, Curriculum theory,
Curriculum research, Curriculum history, Curriculum development, Curriculum
design, Curriculum evaluation, Curriculum Policy and Curriculum as a field of
study.
• Describe the roles of the following curriculum experts:
- designer,
- developer and
- implementer.
• Discuss the following approaches to curriculum design and development:
behavioral approach, managerial approach, systems approach, academic
Curriculum Domains
• Curriculum Domains defined: The concept ‘Curriculum domains’ refers to
the internal boundaries – the accepted knowledge within the field of a
curriculum.
• These domains are grouped into nine curriculum spheres as explained
below:
a) Curriculum Philosophy deals with various viewpoints/ways of thinking as
it concerns curricula decisions.
b) Curriculum Theory involves decisions about the use of a curriculum , its
development, its design and its evaluation.
c) Curriculum Research looks at curriculum as a new innovation with its
problems that require new answers.
d) Curriculum history deals with where curriculum is derived from.
Curriculum Domains cont’d
e) Curriculum development refers to the process of enacting a curriculum and
all its components.
f) Curriculum design refers to the way we conceptualize the curriculum
and arrange its major components ( subject matter or content, instructional-
methods, and materials, learner experiences or activities)to provide
direction and guidance as we develop curriculum.
g) Curriculum evaluation looks into ways and means of valuing and
measuring effectiveness of a curriculum and its curriculum components.
h) Curriculum Planning
I) Curriculum policy deals with curriculum as a policy (legally binding)
decision-making issue.
J) Curriculum as a field of study looks at curriculum as a discipline of
knowledge worthy study.
Roles of Curriculum Experts: Designer,
Developer & Implementer
An effective curriculum is one that has been comprehensively
designed, developed and implemented by experts. It is therefore
imperative to look into the roles of these engineers of curriculum
before we analyze the procedures themselves.
1) Roles of the Curriculum Designer
• Conducts skills gap by analyzing schools against essential needs of a
society.
• Design detailed educational curriculum, including themes, topics
and number of hours required per lesson.
• Create engaging training course content (videos, quizzes and
activities)
• Set learning Objectives for each course or subject areas.
• Determine evaluation criteria of a curriculum.
• Organize physical and digital resources for instructors and learners.
• Provide subject manuals and guidelines on how to use teaching
and learning materials.
• Follow up on learners’ and teachers’ progress after completion of
subject and collect feedback for future curriculum
improvement procedures.
• Keep track of curriculum improvement procedural training costs
• Research and recommend modern educational methods ( e.g.
gamification, experimentation, field visits, discovery learning,
research projects, workshop projects)
2) Roles of a Curriculum Implementer (CI):
a) Students
• A curriculum implementer is any individual who is involved in operationizing
(putting curriculum into practice) a curriculum.
• Curriculum implementers include; students teachers, administrators, consultants,
state employees, university professors, parents, lay citizens, and political officials
interested in education.
• He above groups of people play different roles at different times depending on
their skills in the implementation process as discussed below:
a) Students
- Claim some ownership of the new curriculum.
- Greet the implemented curriculum with interest and enthusiasm if involved in the
development stages or resist the change.
- Helps to dictate valuable approaches for organizing their own learning inside and
outside of school.
b) Teachers
• Modify and fine-tune the curricula design for learners’ digest/use.
• Make sense of new curricula slated for implementation.
• Sets the conditions necessary to implement and maintain the
curriculum.
• Adhere to the proposed innovation
• Translate curriculum into easy learnable units
• Put their own spin on the curriculum by bringing their own
knowledge, experiences and dispositions hence modifying it to fit
them and their learners’ needs and interests.
c) Supervisors
• Provide direction and guidance and makes sure teachers
have the skills to carry out the implementation.
• Schedule more supervisor-teacher conferences and more in-
service training for such staff members to deliver the new
curriculum.
• Classroom observation , demonstration teaching, supervisor-
teacher conferences, staff-development meetings, and grant
funding.
• If supervisors are effective , teachers are likely to commit to,
and feel comfortable with, the new program being
implemented.
d) Principals
• Determine organizational climate and support the people
involved in change.
• Foster enthusiasm for the new program
• Create an atmosphere in which good working relationship
exist among teachers and between teachers and support
staff, program changes are more likely to be implemented.
• Speak and act for teachers, students and the community .
Principals must listen to what these individuals have to say.
• Principals must facilitate meaningful action among all parties
involved in curriculum implementation.
e) Curriculum Directors
• Help teachers and principals gain he
pedagogic and curricular knowledge
requisites for curriculum
implementation.
• Have the latest research and
theorizing skills about innovation to
communicate their knowledge to
the school’s staff.
f) Curriculum Consultants
• Provide guidance, analysis & critique
without presence in the locality on a
daily or weekly basis.
• Establish peer support systems, peer-
coaching, & networks for working with
internal facilitators.
• They also can guide teachers to
information hat helps them become
comfortable with, and knowledgeable
about the innovation.
g) Parents & Community Members
• They are responsible for the creation,
implementation and maintenance of the curricula
since they form/or a r a part of the industry base
and so understand the problems they face in the
communities.
• Students are from the very communities hence
their values , attitudes and belief systems are
shaped by the parents & community and
promoted or discouraged by the same.
• They determine the null curricula i.e. what should
not be aught to learners.
3. Roles of Curriculum Developers (CDs)
• A curriculum developer is also called an Instruction coordinator. These
are highly trained education professionals who focused on creating
the curriculum guidelines and teaching standards used in schools.
• The CDs’ primary responsibility is:
- Developing and organizing use of the new curriculum in the
classroom to facilitate students’ mastery of key concepts, skills,
abilities, attitudes and values.
- They usually specialize in certain grade level or content area e.g.
mathematics developer cannot handle Chichewa curriculum unless re-
trained in the new subject.
- Unlike teachers, curriculum developers will generally work year-round
without following school calendars.
Prominent Roles Played by Curriculum Developers
• Develop grade appropriate instructional materials
• Coordinate curriculum implementation with students
• Evaluate effectiveness of a curriculum at optimizing
learning
• Observe teachers’ instruction delivery
• Review students’ assessment
• Review educational materials
• Recommend textbooks
• Create new pedagogical strategies
Prominent Roles Played by Curriculum Developers
cont’d
• Interview school staff
• Collaborate with head teachers
• Mentor teachers
• Orchestrate teacher training workshops to prepare
educators to effectively carry out curriculum changes in
their classroom.
• Assist classroom teachers in adopting new curricula an
strategies for instructing their pupils.
• Suggest innovative ways for teachers to incorporate
technology seamlessly into the delivery of their curriculum.
