Curriculum design and development: Health sciences

1. CURRICULUM DESIGN AND
DEVELOPMENT

2. • What is a curriculum?
• A curriculum is a description of all that takes place in an
educational institution from the first to the last day of training.
• A curriculum has been likened to a racecourse and it entails all the
activities and the events, which take place from the first event to
the very last.
• A curriculum is also the document in which all the activities,
transactions and the events of a training programme are described.
• A curriculum can also be defined as a programme of study.

3. TYPES OF CURRICULUM DESIGNS
There are three basic types of curriculum design:
• Subject-centred design
• Learner-centred design
• Problem-centred design

4. Subject-Centred Curriculum Design
• Subject-centred curriculum design, is a core curriculum,
standardized, and often revolves around what needs to be studied
and how it should be studied. It revolves around a subject or
discipline.
• For example, anatomy and physiology.
• This type of curriculum design tends to focus on the subject rather
than the learner. It disregards individual learner different learning
styles.
• The teachers are given a set list of things that need to be studied
along with specific examples of how these things should be
studied/taught.

5. Drawbacks/disadvantages:
• It is not student-centred.
• Less concerned with individual student needs
• Less concerned with individual student learning styles
• Associated with low student engagement and motivation leading to
poor performance.

6. Learner-Centred Curriculum Design
• This revolves around the learner and is meant to empower learners and
allow them to shape their education through choices.
• It takes each individual's needs, interests and goals into consideration,
that is, acknowledges that students are not uniform and should not be
subjected to a standardized curriculum.
• Instructional plans are not as rigid as they are in a subject-centred
curriculum design but flexible.
• It is differentiated and often gives students the opportunity to choose
assignments, learning experiences or activities.
• Hence, motivate students and help them stay engaged in the material
that they are learning.

7. Drawbacks/disadvantages:
• It puts a lot of pressure on the teacher to create instruction and find
materials that are conducive to each student's learning needs.
• Exerts time constraints on the teachers.
• The teachers may lack the skills or experience to implement such a
curriculum.
• It makes it difficult for teachers to balance student wants and
interests with student needs and required outcomes.

8. • Problem-Centred Curriculum Design
• Problem-centred curriculum design is also a form of student-centred
design.
• It focuses on teaching students how to look at a problem and come
up with a solution to the problem. This is considered an authentic
form of learning because students are exposed to real-life issues,
which helps them develop skills that are transferable to the real
world.
• Problem-centred curriculum design increases the relevance of the
curriculum and allows students to get creative and innovate while
learning.

9. • Drawback/disadvantage:
• It does not always take learning styles into consideration.

10. Components of the Curriculum
A Statement of Justification
Gives the justification/rationale and philosophy of the training
programme and why the programme is required.
Resources
An outline of the physical, administrative and financial requirements for
the course. It is also a description of the minimal facilities in terms of
buildings, equipment and personnel.
Entry Requirements
Description of the entry requirements for the students and methods of
selection.
Educational Goals and Objectives
Describes the goals and educational objectives of the course

11. Content
This is what will be covered in a course according to the stated objectives.
Learning Experiences
Are intended to be descriptions of the teaching and learning methods to
be employed during the educational programme.
Programme
Outlines a logical sequence of events.
Duration
Specification of how long each unit or learning block
should last.

12. Assessment
Outlines methods of continuous evaluation, final certification,
remedial activities and referral of failed candidates.
Course Descriptions
Highlights the title, unit, course objectives, course content and code
for each course taught in the programme.

13. Factors influencing curriculum
development
• Valid curriculum development requires awareness of the diversity of
the target community socially, financially and psychologically.
• The key factors that influence curriculum development are
(PESTECA):
• Political
• Economic
• Social
• Technological
• Environmental
• Child Psychology
• Academic

14. Political Factors
• Politicians or political investors can influence the numbers to be
trained and even the level of training.
• For instance, the introduction of the quota system in the Kenyan
basic education system was politically motivated with the aim that
all ethnic groups might receive equal attention.
• This, therefore, implies that an individual does not develop a
curriculum.
• It is a cooperative process in which many interested parties
contribute.
• Consultations must be made where possible from all people who
might be involved in the development of your health curriculum.

15. Economic Factors
• The cost of implementation of a curriculum can determine the type
of health worker trained by a given country.
• In developing countries, staff are often trained at a lower level of
education in skills that are usually taught to university graduates in
highly industrialised countries.
• This is because in developing countries, university education adds a
cost burden to the limited resources.
• Thus, for example, midwives in developing countries carry out life
saving measures that are left for experts in industrialised countries.

16. Social Factors
• What is taught has to reflect what is current within the
contemporary society.
• This means it has to be relevant to the needs of the local people
socially and culturally.
• For example, with the advent of AIDS, this new topic has had to be
included in the content.
• The topic bears a lot of importance to human existence and is
emphasised in all branches of health care and development.

17. • Technological factors:
• Curriculum development must be technology driven at every level.
Learning centres and classrooms increasingly provide computers as
requisite interaction for studies among students.
• Technological multimedia use influences educational goals and
learning experiences among students.

18. Child psychology factors:
• Psychologists work in educational institutions to help with
counselling for better child development and learning during
studies.
• Key areas of interest include Developmental Studies for Educators;
Aging or Infancy; Childhood or Adolescence; Lifespan
Development; and, Biological Bases of Development.

19. Academic Factors
• The teachers who teach the main subjects of a discipline often
borrow from their past experiences and merge them with the
current trends of the discipline.
• For example, you now have more nurse graduates who are prepared
in advanced nursing practices and you can introduce content that
was not included before.
• Thus, theories of nursing, trends, research and so on that were only
taught in higher nursing programmes at university level previously
are now incorporated into your curriculum.
• The new content is designed to make you a more effective
practitioner in the provision of quality health care.

20. Participants in curriculum development
• These are the people who, in one way or another, exert
influence directly or indirectly or decide what activities
should be involved, including the style of implementation
of the curriculum.
• These people fall into two categories:
• Internal and
• External participants.

21. Internal Participants in Curriculum
Development
• This group of participants is, therefore, called internal because they
are directly involved in the curriculum and so have a greater impact
on its development.
• They develop the curriculum, teach it and evaluate the curriculum
and the students.
• They include:
• Individuals (professionals)
• Professional associations
• Ministry of education
• Other relevant government ministries

22. • Boards of examinations
• Teaching and training institutions
• Teachers/trainers
• Students

23. External Participants in Curriculum
Development
• The external participants constitute the second category.
• Although are not directly involved in curriculum development, they
are either beneficiaries of the product, service or provide resources to
facilitate its implementation or may liase within the institution in
various ways.
• As such, they can easily influence decisions made by the internal
group.
• When consulted properly, these two groups ought to produce a
curriculum that enables the desired change in health care services.

24. • They provide the necessary resources for curriculum development as
well as support curriculum implementation.
• They include:
• Non-governmental organizations
• Devolved units/governments
• Industries
• Businesses
• Communities

25. Major Approaches to Curriculum
Development
• Subject-centred Approach
This is carried out by subject specialists, who determine the subdivision
of content and the methods and timing of instruction.
• Integrated Approach
This approach attempts to integrate or combine in a meaningful way,
disciplined knowledge to impact wholesome learning for student
application.
• Competency-based Approach
It aims at identifying professional competencies required and the
teaching required to achieve these competencies.

26. Disadvatages
• These approaches, as outlined by Ngatia have advantages and
disadvantages.
• The subject-centred approach, for instance, emphasizes the
acquisition of disciplined knowledge rather than its application.
• In the integrated approach, knowledge can be wholesome and
meaningful but integration can fall short of adequate vertical and
horizontal integration.
• The competency-based approach is preferred for professional
training by most curriculum developers.

27. Nursing curriculum
• The nursing curriculum is defined as the totality of the
philosophical approaches, curriculum goals, overall design,
courses, and strategies to ignite learning, delivery methods,
interactions, learning climate, evaluation methods,
curriculum policies, and resources.
• The curriculum includes all matters that affect nursing
students’ learning and progression and that are within the
authority of the school of nursing.
• This conceptualization aligns with ideas of curriculum as a
plan, experiences, process, means, strategy, and as being
visible.

28. Characteristics of a good curriculum
• Evidence-Informed,
• Context-Relevant, and
• Unified.

29. Evidence-Informed
• A curriculum that is evidence-informed is based on
systematically and purposefully gathered evidence about:
• The context in which the curriculum will be offered and
graduates will practice nursing
• Students, learning, teaching, and nursing education
• Nursing practice
• Clients and their responses to health situations.

30. Context-Relevant
• A curriculum that is context-relevant is:
• Responsive to students; current and projected societal, health,
and community situations; and current and projected
imperatives of the nursing profession
• Consistent with the mission, philosophy, and goals of the
educational institution and school of nursing
• Feasible within the realities of the school and community.

31. Unified
• A curriculum that is unified contains curricular components
that are conceptually, logically, cohesively, and visibly
related, specifically:
• Philosophical approaches, professional abilities, and curriculum
concepts are evident in the curriculum goals or outcomes.
• Level and course learning goals or competencies are derived from
the curriculum goals or outcomes.
• Course titles reflect the philosophical approaches and curriculum
concepts.
• Strategies to ignite learning and opportunities for students to
demonstrate learning are consistent with the curriculum goals or
outcomes, and philosophical and educational approaches.

32. • The language of the philosophical approaches and curriculum
concepts are used in written materials and teaching-learning
interactions.

33. Ten Steps to Competency-Based Curriculum Development
Step 1 Identification of health problems or needs.
Step 2 Identification of professional roles and functions.
Step 3 Performing task analysis on professional roles and functions.
Step 4
Development of educational goals and objectives on the basis of
professional functions and task analysis.
Step 5 Identification and selection of subject matter or content to be learnt.
Step 6 Identification of teaching and learning methods.
Step 7 Identification or selection of learning resources.
Step 8 Identification of assessment tools to determine learner performance.
Step 9 Curriculum implementation.
Step 10 Curriculum review and change.