Short notes on Concept and Principles of Curriculum for UGC NET Paper 2 : Education

This article provides you with notes on Concepts, Principles and Strategies of Curriculum Development for UGC NET Paper 2 in Education.

Meaning of Curriculum

The term curriculum has been derived from the Latin word ‘Currere’
Currere means a ‘race course’ or a runway on which one runs to reach a goal

The curriculum is the instructional and the educative programme following which the pupils achieve their goals, ideals and aspirations in life.

It is a curriculum through which the general aims of a school education receive concrete expression.

Traditional concept

The traditional curriculum was subject-centred, while the modern curriculum was child and life-centred.

Modern Concept:

Modern education is the combination of two dynamic processes
The one is the process of individual development
The other is the process of socialisation, i.e. adjustment to the social environment.

Definition of Curriculum:

Various writers in different ways:

Cunningham
A curriculum is a tool in the hands of the artist (teacher) to mould his material (pupils) according to his ideas (aims and objectives) in his studio (school)
Morroe
The curriculum includes all those activities which the school utilises to attain the aims of education
Froebel
The curriculum is an epitome of the rounded whole of the knowledge and experience of the human race
Crow and Crow
The curriculum includes all the learners’ experiences in or outside school that are included in a programme that has been devised to help them:
- Developmentally
- Emotionally
- Socially
- spiritually and
- morally

Principle of Curriculum Construction:

Aims of education and objectivity:

The curriculum should take into consideration the aims and objectives of education.

Child-centric principle

The curriculum should be framed according to the child's actual needs, interests, and capacities.

Principles of civic and social needs:

Modern education aims to develop the child's individuality and the development of society.

Principle of conservation:

The curriculum should serve two-fold functions- preserving past experiences and transmitting experiences.

Principles of creativeness

Education conserves the past experiences of humanity and helps an individual develop his innate potentialities.

Principle of forward-looking:

Education must prepare the child for shouldering future responsibilities.

Principle of preparation for living:

The children should know the various activities of the environment around them and how these activities enable people to meet their basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, recreation, health and education.

Principle of integration and correlation:

Subjects should be arranged logically and psychologically by the child’s developing interests.

Principle of learning ability:

Every item should be learnt. An item should not only be learnable, but it should also have utility.

Principle of individual difference:

The curriculum should be based on the psychology of individual differences, which can meet the complexities of a modern democratic society.

Principle of social relevancy and utility:

Subjects should not be determined based on their disciplinary value but on their intrinsic value, social relevancy and utility.

Principle for utilisation of leisure:

A variety of subjects such as games and sports, fine arts, and subjects of aesthetic value are to be introduced in the school programme to utilise leisure.

Principle of variety and flexibility:

The curriculum should include such activities and experiences, which may facilitate his normal development.

Principle of time:

Each subject's relative significance and importance in the curriculum have to be judged and determined in light of the time available in the timetable.

Modern trends in curriculum construction:

Digital Diversity
Need-based Curriculums
Modular Curriculum with credit base system
Online coerces
21st-century skills

21st-century skills :

Collaboration
critical thinking
effective communication
multitasking
stress management,
empathy is a must for all the personnel.

International Understanding

Globalisation has converted the world into a global village, and for this, international understanding must be taught through curriculum.

Constructivism

Constructivist approach believes that learners should be given the freedom to construct their knowledge.
Spoon feeding must be avoided.

Remember: Specific questions related to curriculum studies include the following:

What should be taught in schools?
Why should it be taught? To whom should it be taught?
What does it mean to be an educated person?

Curriculum studies is a field of research and knowledge that deals with questions found at the point of intersection between an area of activity or knowledge and education, teaching, learning and socialisation.

Conclusion

Educators should learn to work together with their students and with other experts in creating content and can tailor it to exactly what they need