1. Philippine Normal University
College of Education
Chapter 2- CURRICULUM
DECISION MAKING: ITS NATURE
& PERSONNEL (Part 1)
Professional Education 7:
Curriculum Development & Instructional
Planning

2. •OBJECTIVE
 At the end of this chapter, students
are expected to:
1. Understand the nature of curriculum
decisions and the sociopolitical
arenas where community & school
personnel make decisions.

3. CURRICULUM
DECISION
MAKING

4. •NATURE OF CURRICULUM
CURRICULUM
-what is taught to students,
including planned & unplanned
information, skills & attitudes.

5. •NATURE OF CURRICULUM
 Klein (1991) categorizes these in deciding
what can & should be selected in giving
solutions in curriculum decisions:
– Content
– Purposes, goals & objectives
– Materials & resources
– Activities & teaching strategies
– Evaluation
– Grouping, time & space

6. •NATURE OF CURRICULUM
1. CONTENT
– Comes from the disciplines or other
organized bodies of knowledge &
can take several forms, such as
facts, concepts & generalization.

7. •NATURE OF CURRICULUM
2. GOALS, OBJECTIVES & PURPOSES
– are labels applied to the results of students’ participation in
purposeful learning activities.
 GOALS
– referring to general learning outcomes
 OBJECTIVES
– referring to specific learning outcomes
 PURPOSES
– eventual outcomes of learning that result from work in a
curriculum over a period of time are commonly called
“purposes of education”

8. •NATURE OF CURRICULUM
3. MATERIALS & RESOURCES
– include “the objects, places & people
used to facilitate the learning process—
the tools used with students to assist
learning” (Klein, 1991, p. 3).

9. •NATURE OF CURRICULUM
4. ACTIVITIES & TEACHING STRATEGIES
– are ways in which students become involved in
learning the curriculum
 ACTIVITIES
– can be passive or active, self-directed or teacher-
directed
 TEACHING STRATEGIES
– describe teachers’ roles within activities that help
students meet the learning outcomes

10. •NATURE OF CURRICULUM
5. EVALUATION
– includes the procedures for determining
degrees of student learning as well as
methods of analyzing & interpreting results.
Program evaluation focuses on determining
how well the curriculum works.

11. •NATURE OF CURRICULUM
6. GROUPING ,TIME & SPACE
– are all important issues in the use of curricula in classrooms
 GROUPING
– refers to the clustering of students for particular experiences either
by grade, by experiential background, or by ability levels
 TIME
– Is a limited resource whose allocations are made by groups
outside, as well as inside the school setting
 SPACE
– refers to the design & use of school & classroom physical work &
play areas

12. •NATURE OF CURRICULUM
 ADDITION:
– Decisions also have a values dimensions
– Curriculum decisions are made on the basis of
people’s values & beliefs (Goodlad & Su, 1992, Tyler,
1949)
• Values must satisfy the criteria of ideas chosen from
alternatives, based on consideration s of their consequences,
cherished enough to be made public, & acted upon in some
way.
• Beliefs refers to ideas accepted as true, but more susceptible
to change than values (Raths, Harmin, & Simon, 1978)

13. ARENAS OF
CURRICULUM
DECISION MAKING

14.  Curriculum decisions involve values
that people express through actions at
different levels of a political decision-
making hierarchy encompassing
national, state & local levels.
 These arenas & decision categories
typically affected are described here:

15. • National Level
 The U.S. Constitution assigns the
primary power for educational matters
to state governments who delegate
authority for certain decisions to local
educational authorities, usually school
districts.

16. Examples:
a. From the late 1950s through 1970s, federal funding
pushed evaluation & brought about significant
changes in program evaluation (Stufflebeam &
Shinkfeild, 1985).
b. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act in
1975 changed school curricula by requiring that
handicapped individuals be provided educational
opportunities in least-restrictive environments
(Elmore & Sykes, 1992)
c. The Supreme Court decisions banning school-
sponsored religious activities deleted curricular
activities that had been included on a daily basis in
some districts (van Geel, 1991).

17. •State Level
 Traditionally, states have boards of
education that set of policies for public
schools in matters such as;
• achievement testing
• high school graduation requirements
• state subject-specific curriculum guidelines
• school evaluation & certification
• materials selection processes
• teacher certification requirements, &
• educational information management systems
(Tyree, 1993).

18.  Twenty-two states that adopt textbooks for schools
generally exert their control through mandates over
the
– Curriculum
– curriculum guides
– content coverage &
– testing programs
 In the early 1990s, 42 states had some form of
minimum competency testing that directly affected
district curricula.
• Mandated state test are usually based on list
of basic/required/essential skills that students
are expected to master before graduation.
 Gubernatorial offices & state legislatures through
budgeting authority strongly influence the content
and purpose of curricula.
– Both agencies support or curtail certain programs
based on a variety of reasons & values.

19. •Local level
 Decisions in all the categories are
made or remade locally at either the
districts, school or classroom level.
 Regardless of the level, local curricula
must comply with federal & state
guidelines.

20. COMMUNITY
PERSONNEL
INVOLVEMENT

21. Community Personnel
– Include people not associated
with particular schools or
districts as employees or
students.
• Citizens
• Parents & Guardians

22. •COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE
 Composed of individuals & groups
who influence curricula, particularly
at societal & institutional levels.
 Their agendas often dictate the school
curricula’s
• Purposes
• Goals &
• Content

23. •EXAMPLES
 1993 Poll showed that: (public surveys)
• 48% high schools should offer a wide variety of
courses
• 51% high schools should concentrate on basic
courses such as English, Mathematics, History &
Science
• 1% did not express their opinions

24. (values emphasize)
In 1994 poll showed that:
• At least 90% or more of the
respondents believed that people in
communities could agree on a set
of basic values.

25. •COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE
 Government officials & groups
– It also seek to influence curriculum matters
 Professional groups
– Include specialists in any of several diciplines
 Business & industries
– Represent groups concerned about what students learn
in schools because they provide jobs & careers.
 Civic groups
 Environmental groups
 Parents & guardians

26. •GOVERNING BOARD/SITE-
BASED GROUPS
 Governing boards
– Composed of citizens elected to serve their
local school districts.
 Management groups
– Typically schedule public hearings on
curriculum matters to provide information to
citizens & solicit input from them.
– Expected to influence curriculum matters
locally through leadership in districts or
schools.