Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Understanding the Foundations of Curriculum Development

Why is there a need to understand the philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of curriculum development? Discuss and provide a link of an article that will justify or support your ideas. Put the proper citation (APA) of your resources.

47 comments:

  1. It is crucial that one should understand first the philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of curriculum development in order to make or develop a curriculum that would be applicable and relevant in today’s teaching-learning process taking into consideration the changes that the process or the curriculum itself has undertaken from past to present in order to meet the changing needs of the learners. Moreover, the ideas that each of these concepts present are still widely used and integrated in the development of every curriculum. Philosophy for example determines how one perceives things that surrounds him as well as what he/she considers as important and not -which is usually termed as one's “philosophy of life”. Thus, curriculum development is affected by the beliefs and decisions of those who are involved in the creation of a curriculum. Determining learning activities for one is influenced by one's philosophy. Psychology as a foundation of curriculum development is also essential in order to identify the types of curricular arrangement that suits the different levels of the learner's growth and development. Psychology basically deals with how people learn, and arrangement of every discipline must be in accordance to the different psychological needs of every learner. Lastly, Historical foundation (Sociology) is also important in curriculum development since: curriculum planning and course- content basically depends on an analysis of the nature of society (Kelly, 1989). Education responds to social changes, and learners are expected to apply whatever they have learned in dealing with social issues (cultural diversities) and social innovations (growth of technology), thus, a curriculum should be framed in accordance to or in relevance to the social changes. The relationship of curriculum and society is mutual and encompassing. Hence, to be relevant, the curricula should reflect and preserve the culture of society and its aspirations (Olansabe, 2009). Furthermore, history's contribution to curriculum development provided opportunities to refine methods that has been used in the past to be applied in the current trends of curriculum development.
    Link: http://vedyadhara.ignou.ac.in/wiki/images/7/75/ES-316-Unit2(block-1).pdf

    Source: Olansabe, O. C. (2009, February 20). Curriculum Development: major Foundations of Curriculum (Blogpost). Retrieved from http://olga-curriculum.blogspot.com/2009/02/major-foundations-of-curriculum.html

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    1. Hello Jenny Rose, indeed the value of the philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of curriculum development is best underscored by the claim that "the relationship of curriculum and society is mutual and encompassing..."

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    2. Hi Jen. I do agree with Ma'am Badeth. In fact, the curriculum should definitely in congruent with the trend of the society. Will we adapt a curriculum that encompasses purely traditional lecture-discussion to a society that already uses advanced technology?

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    3. :) The foundations should come together to make the curriculum a success. And I also do agree that curriculum must match the learning needs of the 21st Century learner that is why there is a need for this Curriculum to be understood by the developers.

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    4. Definitely. As I also believe that the foundations of curriculum development have a great impact with what curriculum we have. It must be established well a good teaching-learning process that will gave way in today’s educational context.

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    5. Indeed, curriculum must be developed in such a fashion that it will be responsive to the needs of every individual, thus bringing out their best potentials.

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    6. yes its good i agree because we should know
      What knowledge is of most worth ?
      before developing a curriculum we should keep in view the society, school, organization needs then situational analysis and factors affecting curriculum and then implement that curriculum

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  3. It is vital to understand the philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of curriculum development in order to establish a well-directed and relevant curriculum that considers its three most important bases – society, learner and knowledge. Society can be understood through Sociology or History, Learner can be understood by Psychology and Knowledge can be understood through Philosophy. Thus in order to plan curriculum the foundations of curriculum play a major role. Firstly, Educational Philosophy lays the strong foundation of any curriculum. It gives direction to curriculum in terms of its goals and objectives. It provides educators, teachers and curriculum makers with framework for planning, implementing and evaluating curriculum in school. It helps in answering what schools are for, what subjects are important, how students should learn and what materials and methods should be used. One’s perception of philosophy largely influences one’s view of learner and various learning activities. Hence, the schools underlying belief and values have significant bearing on curriculum content and the choice of appropriate instructional strategies and learning activities in implementing the curriculum. Next, Psychology provides an indispensable base for carefully identifying types of curricular arrangement that will most benefit the learners’ growth and development. Also, it provides basis for the teaching and learning process and unifies elements of the learning process and some of the questions which can be addressed by psychological foundations. Finally, the historical development shows the different changes in the purposes, principles and content of the curriculum. Through the historical foundation, we are able to identify useful educational systems and processes prevalent in particular periods upon which contemporary and future curricula can be modeled from.


    Source: Importance of Curriculum Foundations. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 11, 2010, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Importance-Of-Curriculum-Foundations-474124.html
    http://oer.avu.org/bitstream/handle/123456789/73/Curriculum%20Studies.pdf
    http://www.slideshare.net/annebelievable/foundations-of-curriculum
    http://olga-curriculum.blogspot.com/2009/02/major-foundations-of-curriculum.html

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    1. Hello Madel, I give an aye to the view that the philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of curriculum development are important in order to establish a well-directed and relevant curriculum that considers its three most important bases – society, learner and knowledge...

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    2. Hi ate Madel. Your right! It’s vital to understand the three foundations of curriculum development in order to establish a well-directed and relevant curriculum. Moreover, knowing the three most important bases of curriculum development (society, learner and knowledge), we could immediately go into conclusion on why do we need to understand the three foundations that were presented to us--- Sociological or Historical, Psychological, and Philosophical, respectively.

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    3. Great. While reading, I can connect the relationship of society, learner and knowledge in regards to the essence of foundations of curriculum. And thus, makes it is easy to grasp the concept why foundations of curriculum are need to understand in making a relevant curriculum.

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    4. I agree that through the historical foundation, we are able to identify useful educational systems and processes which can be used in particular periods and in which contemporary and future curricula can be based from. We can conceptualize or base from the previous educational system in creating or molding an applicable curriculum for a certain era or time.

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    5. hi Maridelle!
      After reading it, highlighting this statement in your understanding, “It provides educators, teachers and curriculum makers with framework for planning, implementing and evaluating curriculum in school. It helps in answering what schools are for, what subjects are important, how students should learn and what materials and methods should be used.” It happens I think, in the past, present and future especially on Higher Technical Education (k12) and 21st century learners is the current trends of curriculum development issues. It is to say that the aim of curriculum development in education is to produce an excellent, committed and dedicated person with ethical and religious values to serve humanity.

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    6. Hi te! It is true that the past shall be the indirect mirror of today's better events' turn out!

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  4. 13 January 2013

    Dear Ma’am and classmates, there is a need to understand the philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of curriculum development because, as in any life work, foundations provide the sense, wisdom and experience on which we can build new perspectives, discover new meanings, and innovate novel methods. Its importance is underscored in much of modern education literature today. Aquino (2007:6-7)) says among other factors, development and findings of scientific research guide curriculum innovators or workers in making curriculum decisions which lead to action that result in curriculum innovation. Palma (2007:6-7) likewise talks about the use of a “conceptual base” in curriculum development work such as that of Tyler’s Rationale - a four-step analysis of formal education or schooling, the technique of inventorying, organizing, and presenting the substance of a curriculum. Andres and Felizardo (2008:11,15) also affirm that conflicting philosophies of education have influenced curriculum principles and practices. They explain that a number of “self-evident educational truths” in the past are now seen to be rather educational myths today, such as “teachers know, children or learners don’t;” “all learners should be treated alike,” as a result different curricular emphasis and instructional practice came up. In the Philippines, they say, a similar phenomenon happened with regard to curriculum development, that is, the religious, political, economic and social influences and events that took place in the country affected and sometimes dictated the kind of curriculum developed in that particular epoch of Philippine history. Tulio (2009:n.p.,133) elucidates that the beliefs and experiences of education today rest on the history of this field of endeavor… new concepts are emerging to challenge and sometimes replace or significantly modify traditional frameworks, that if we are to educate sensibly, we must above all things do it with a sense of direction and proportion, and to have this is to have philosophy. In the same light, Bilbao, et. al (2009:14) explain that philosophy provides educators, teachers and curriculum makers with framework for planning, implementing and evaluating curriculum in schools. It helps in answering what schools are for, what subjects are important, how students should learn and what materials and methods should be used. In decision making, philosophy provides the starting point and will be used for the succeeding decision-making. These foregoing assertions clearly affirm the need to understand the philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of curriculum development. Akin to a concrete structure, foundations serve as cornerstones and building blocks of new schemes in furthering efforts by schools, the focal government agencies on education, the faculty, students, and other stakeholders of curriculum development.

    My fervent wish is for a blessed and prosperous new year to us all!

    References:

    Andres, Tomas Quintin D. and Felizardo Y. Francisco. 2008. Curriculum Development in the Philippine Setting. National Book Store.

    Aquino, Gaudencio V. 2009. Curriculum Innovation.National Book Store.

    Bilbao, Purita P., Paz I. Lucido, Tomasa C. Iringan and Rodrigo B. Javier. 2008. Curriculum Development. Quezon City: LORIMAR Publishing, Inc.

    Palma, Jesus C. 2007. Curriculum Development System. A Handbook for School Practitioners in Basic Education. National Book Store.

    Tulio, Doris D. 2009. Foundations of Education 2. Second Edition. National Book Store.

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  5. The article “Towards Constructivist Teacher Professional Development by V.J. Pitsoe and W.M. Maila published in the Journal of Social Sciences [http://thescipub.com/pdf/10.3844/jssp.2012.318.324] may help us gain insight into how approaches to teacher professional development are seen to evolve in South African schools through a rethinking of their educational framework base, and an exploration of the shift from a mechanistic world-view (modernist and behaviorist approach) to a holistic world-view (constructivist and situational or contextual approach) of teacher professional development. Adrian Jones’ “Philosophical and Socio-Cognitive Foundations for Teaching in Higher Education through Collaborative Approaches to Student Learning” [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2009.00631.x/pdf] also considers the implications to higher education of recent work on narrative theory, distributed cognition and artificial intelligence as contrasted with classic and classical foundations of education, of what teaching might become if psychological insights are associated with every realm of higher education.

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    1. Hi there Ma'am Bernadette! Two thumbs up to what you have shared! I do agree that curriculum development is greatly influenced by what happened and what is currently happening in the society and that these foundations were called as such since they are traditionally and still are the basis in 'furthering efforts'to develop the curriculum that should be adapted in education...

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    2. Hi Ma’am Badeth, indeed the foundations serve as cornerstones and building blocks of new schemes in furthering efforts by the responsible people and agencies in curriculum development. Moreover, the “teachers know, children or learners don’t” is definitely a myth because there are already students that are knowledgeable in regards with their environment or surrounding. In fact, there are things that the students know and the teachers don’t. Well, the changing society as well as the rise of advanced technology influences the major transformation.

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    3. Hi Ma'am 'Badette! Curriculum should really undergo major facelifts to accommodate trends necessary to uphold betterment in the society.

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  6. To begin, in my deepest point of view, understanding the meaning of the philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of curriculum development is very important since it always goes with the flow of education. These three major foundations of curriculum should not be misinterpreted or misunderstood, but rather must be clearly understood beyond its literal meaning through knowledge and wisdom. On one hand, philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of curriculum must goes with each other; they need each other to form the “completeness” of “excellent curriculum”. To say, they are in the corner of triangle. In fact, philosophical and psychological foundations are part of historical foundation. Then therefore, the best thing to understand these foundations of curriculum is reading and analyzing. It is not just knowing and memorizing these foundations but rather understanding it.
    In historical foundation, According to Adam Smith concerning public school and private school, the purpose of mass public education was to compensate for the "almost entire corruption and degeneracy of the great body of the people" resulting from the division of industrial labour in which people would do one or two small tasks for their whole life, dulling their intelligence. (High Skills by Phillip Brown, Andy Green, Hugh Lauder p.4) State funding of education was also viewed as necessary to ensure an acceptance of the divine authority of their superiors. (High Skills by Phillip Brown, Andy Green, Hugh Lauder p.4)
    Skills beyond the three Rs were unimportant in public schools since the vast majority of students would either take on unskilled work (e.g. in factories) or would take on apprenticeships after leaving school and learn trade-specific skills. Schools had no role in developing attitudes since these were the domain of the home and church.
    Only since the 1960s and the development of human capital theory has education been seen as an investment rather than consumption in economic terms. (High Skills by Phillip Brown, Andy Green, Hugh Lauder p.5) (which implies education pre 1960s was seen as a means of gratification, not economic necessity).
    Fast forward to today where we still have a public education essentially designed for a nineteenth century economy and society: a narrow range of skills (literacy and math) to enable office and factory workers to do their thing, with an additional focus on imparting knowledge for those few lucky enough to go to university. Teaching is largely teaching from the front or through the textbook. Children do most of their learning and all of their tests on their own. Apart from the introduction of PSHE and computers, little has changed.

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  7. Accordingly, philosophic always have had and still do have an impact on schools issues the philosophy of curriculum specialist reflect and society, their life experiences, common sense, social and economic background, education, and general belief about people. An individual philosophy evolves and continues to evolve as long as there is personal growth, development, and learning from experience. Philosophy is a description, explanation and evaluation of the world as seen from personal perspective, or through what some social scientist call “social lenses”.
    In psychological foundation, old concept and ideas are replaced with new concepts of psychology. Role of the teacher is defined. Teacher is now better aware about new methodologies of teaching, individual differences, intelligence, growth and development of learners, learner personality, their attitude and aptitude. Teacher can take guidance from learning theories for the effectiveness of his instruction.
    To conclude, understanding the mainstream programme around which to build the foundation curriculum is the main concern for individual learners. As Socrates quoted which I think the meaning of true understanding education curriculum in teacher’s concept, “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.” And, the purpose of being educated is to make difference and change, as Aristotle quoted, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” How I wish that this will happen. Now, to emphasize the fruit of curriculum is its effect in real education and in humanity.

    References:
    Allan C. Orstein. Philosophy as Basis for Curriculum Decisions.
    Chaube et. al, 1994, language in india. P. 236
    Thinkexist.com


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    1. As a teacher it is really imperative for us to better understand the etiology of every aspects concerning teaching-learning concept. If we have understood everything about an aspect, the curriculum perse we can apply it better and cautiously. For how can you really apply or go on with something if you don't even have a background of its origin.

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  8. Acquaintance with the various foundations of education—philosophical, historical, and psychological—is a prerequisite to successful curriculum development. The reason for this is discussed by Excell (2010) in his discourse on education models. He refers to these individual disciplines as approaches or “foundational lenses” by which to evaluate and create curriculum. The historical foundation provides a “sense of freedom” and causes the curriculum to be dynamic, ever-adapting to the needs of the society in which it thrives in. The psychological foundation presents various avenues to attain “educational success in its many definitions” (maximizing student motivation, increasing student satisfaction, etc.). Finally, the philosophical foundation, which Excell argues as the perspective that holds the greatest importance (and I find myself in moderate agreement), lies at the very heart of curriculum development itself as it lays the grounds for the “manner of thinking” itself and determines the roles of the other foundations.

    REFERENCE:

    Excell, T.C. (2010). Survey of Research for the Personalized Education Learning Model. Retrieved from http://www.personalizededucation.org/schools/sas/about/pdf/Learning%20Model%20Research%20w%20CMASAS%20Applications.pdf

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    1. Hi Cha. "Foundational lenses"? What a nice term. I agree with you that the philosophical foundation will determine the grounds of the "manner of thinking" itself and the roles of the other foundation. Moreover, it lies on the philosophy of the educator or teacher on how he / she will facilitate the teaching-learning process. You might agree with me if I say that we think first before we do something?

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  9. In constructing a school, the people in-charge in construction will always makes sure that the foundations are built from a sturdy material to be certain that it will not be destroyed easily by whatever calamities (storms, earthquakes, flood, etc.) that may arise.
    If I’ll relate my statement above to the development of curriculum, the curriculum per se will serve as the school. As for the foundation, the three fields (Philosophy, History or Sociology, and Psychology) that we discussed in the classroom will serve the purpose. As we all know, curriculum should cater the different needs of the learners. The diversities of the learners in terms of their characteristics, learning needs and learning styles may serve as the calamities or challenges that possibly will arise in testing the strength of the curriculum in handling the process of delivering essential knowledge that are needed by variety of students. However, before developing a curriculum, an understanding to the three fields should be gained in order to assure its sturdiness.
    Why do we need to study all those three fields at the same time? As for my answer, it is because each of them serves different purposes. As I recalled, Philosophy involves an inquiry into the nature and meaning of life including ideas about the nature of human beings, social values and purpose of education. From one of my readings, it was said there that “One’s perception of philosophy largely influences one’s view of learners and of various learning activities”. As for the Historical or Sociological, it provides the necessary clues about the characteristics of contemporary life and the future in which the learners will lead the rest of their lives. These clues will help the developers to make a curriculum that is socially relevant. And lastly, as for the Psychological Foundation, it provides an indispensable base for identifying the types of curricular arrangements that will most benefit the learner’s growth and development.
    From the things that I stated here, I therefore elicit why there is a need to understand the philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of curriculum development.

    Source:
    Finch, C.R. and Crunkilton, J. R. (1999). Curriculum Development in career and technical and Technical Education (pp. 3-22). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
    http://oak.ucc.nau.edu/mr/cte592/Module_1/Curriculum_Development_An_Overview.html
    http://vedyadhara.ignou.ac.in/wiki/images/7/75/ES-316-Unit2(block-1).pdf

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    1. I agree that through foundation we can make our works better and more functional for everybody and for those who needs the works we do.

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  10. Philosophical foundations of Curriculum
    It helps in answering what schools are for, what subjects are important, how students should learn, and what materials or methods should be used.
    The philosophy of a curriculum planner, implementor,or evaluator reflects his or her life experiences, common beliefs, social and economic background and education.
    Historical foundations of Curriculum
    Majority of scholars place the beginning of curriculum in 1918 with the publication of Franklin Bobbit's book, The Curriculum.
    Philippine education came about from various foreign influences.This can be traced from our glorious history. The American educational system has the greatest influence on our educational system.
    The historical development shows the different changes in the purposes, principles and content of the curriculum. The different changes are influenced by educational philosophy, psychology and pedagogical theories. This implies that curriculum is ever changing putting in knowledge and content from many fields of disciplines.
    Psychological Foundations of Education
    Psychology provides a basis for teaching and learning process. It unifies elements of the learning process and some of the questions which can be addressed by psychological foundations of education. How should curriculum be organized to enhance learning? What is the optimum level of students'participation in learning the various contents of the curriculum?
    Source:
    Bilbao, Purita P., et al.(2008). Curriculum Development. Quezon City:Lorimar Publishing,Inc.

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    1. Hi ma'am, a pleasant day po. I do agree with the statements that you have mentioned above. Philosophy, History and Psychology gives emphasis to the learning processes that are implemented and applied today. It guides teachers to have good strategies and techniques in teaching. It also gives us the idea that concepts in certain fields are part and defined that results to learning.

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  11. http://olga-curriculum.blogspot.com/2009/02/major-foundations-of-curriculum.html

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    1. Hi Ma’am Elaine. I strongly agree that the different changes in the curriculum are influenced by educational philosophy, psychology and pedagogical theories as well as the trend in the society. In fact, comparing the past to the present, before, the curriculum centered on imposing knowledge by reading several books wherein memorization was a must like the time of Rizal however, today, we are no longer limited to the books but also to the internet wherein we can access almost all the facts that we needed by just sitting in front of the computer. Moreover, we are no longer limited in the classroom-setting but also in outdoor activities wherein we engage ourselves to the environment as well as to the real world.

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  12. Hi there Ma'am Elaine! I do agree that curriculum development actually implies 'historical changes' in the field of curriculum making in attempt to address the learners' individual learning needs through philosophical and psychological views on education...

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  13. Developing a curriculum is like renovating a house. You have to consider so many things for it to be better and for it to succeed. In renovating a house engineers and architects need to know the foundation of the house like when it was built and how it was built so that they would know what to change, what to develop and what to retain. And also they have to agree and decide with the owner on what is good for the house and what the owner wants to have a good outcome and for the benefits of who will live in that house. That is also how developing a curriculum works; we developers of curriculum must understand the 3 foundation of Curriculum Development so that we would know what to change, enhance and what to add for the benefit of the learners and also of the schools.
    As part of Curriculum Developers I have to understand the foundation of Curriculum because I must stand to what I believe that would be good and a help for students to gain more knowledge and to help them broaden the scope of what they already know and of what they can already do. Also as a part of curriculum developers I have to learn how students behave and think so that I can consider their capacity of learning and how they want to be taught and how well they can adapt to situations and their environments in school. For the Historical foundation, developers must look on the evolution of education so that they can plan well on how to cope with the 21st century learners. And it is essential that they have to go back to the basic subjects like Reading, Writing and Mathematics before deciding on what more other subjects and the kind of difficulty level are they going to put in the curriculum that they are going to develop for today’s learners.
    As philosophical issues have always influenced society and institutions of learning, a study of the philosophy of education in terms of curriculum development is essential. In essence, a philosophy of education influences, and to a large extent determines, our educational decisions and alternatives. Those who are responsible for curricular decisions, therefore, should be clear about what they believe. If we are unclear or confused about our own beliefs, then our curricular plans are bound to be unclear and confusing. Also to understand contemporary curricular problems and proposals, it is ideal that we acquaint ourselves with the history of curricular thought and practice that stretches back to antiquity. And lastly for the foundation to be whole and complete the psychological foundation says that by providing a basis for understanding the teaching learning process, educational psychology deals with how people learn. By implication, it emphasizes the need to recognize diversity among learners. However, it is also true that people share certain common characteristics. Among these are basic psychological needs which are necessary for individuals to lead a full and happy life.

    http://vedyadhara.ignou.ac.in/wiki/images/7/75/ES-316-Unit2(block-1).pdf

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    1. Hi kristine!
      Upon reading your article, I just want to add something which is not also in my article. The re-evaluation and re-examination of the goal and purpose of education which directs individual’s future careers is something lacking or missing in the curriculum development, it was overlooked. Yes, there’s a curriculum development in its different foundation, however, I realized that they need to improve it, to consider all things in every learner’s educational situation. To understand, I am saying this because I experienced it. Instead of taking up Philosophy discipline in four years, it turned into 4 ½ years because of curricular change. At present, we cannot have our master degree unless we take first the additional 15 Philosophy units. We took up many educations subject, but we cannot take LET because we lacks any subject in Cluster III (PRC). It is another waste of time, money matters, and etc… however not to quit, but to continue. It is very obvious that those who made Ba PIS curriculum were not really from the same related field. I’m not just expressing what is within me, but rather, for us who are taking up this curriculum development to think many times especially if we will be a part of curriculum maker (CHED). What is the use of knowing all the concerns of curriculum development if it is not applied in reality of education? It is not to develop “Perfect Curricula”, but rather an “Excellent Curricula”. Thinking of it, curriculum development is the fruit of labor and thought.

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    2. "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it (Luke 14:28)?"

      It entails curriculum developers to know if it is worthy to develop and implement curriculum knowing its costs.

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  14. In order to come up with an appropriate curriculum that answers the quest in educational curricular issue, a need to understand the philosophical, psychological and historical foundations of curriculum development is essential. Knowledge on foundations of curriculum notes some important concept, situation that yields the development of curriculum. It serves an overview in answering the question what should be taught, how should it be taught, when it should be taught, to whom it should it be taught and other significant questions. But one must not limit his/herself in one principle, as there are various learners that must be considered and recognized. And teaching-learning process does not only takes place at school, thus every single moment is a learning process to an individual.
    Curriculum foundation refer to basic forces that influences and shapes the minds of curriculum developers to decide what to include in the curriculum and how to structure it. There are certain forces that provide a background of information upon which are the curriculum developers depend to make future decisions. These may include philosophical foundations which are studies of nature and value, Psychological foundation are studies of learners and the learning theory and sociological and cultural foundation which are studies of life and that is where our discussion is based.
    The sociological foundation of the school curriculum affects the development of the curriculum in the sense that there are certain factors which intervene in the curriculum development process due to cultural beliefs, societal expectations, values, norms and traditions emanating from the background of stakeholders. Society is a general body of people, communities or nations constituting civilized mankind. It is a body of processes associated with one another for common objectives. Therefore, curriculum should be designed in light of the main trends and development of society. Any curriculum worth of it’s safe should try to reflect the cultural and social needs of that particular society. Culture is simply the way people live including their intellectual, discipline, dressing and training. Therefore, curriculum developers should look into moral and artistic development of its society [Taba 1962].
    The psycho-philosophical foundations in developing curriculum embodies the following concepts: the ultimate aim or end of education, the correct sequence of importance of all these ideas in philosophy, excellences that need to be cultivated in effective education, the most important content of the curriculum, best method of instruction and how to teach those instruction in order to develop these excellences, the role of teacher in education and the nature of the student.
    Applying this psycho-philosophical statement sparks personal development with external repercussions. To formulate one with all the necessary preparations lets a teacher use an instrument by which to engage in classroom practice more purposefully, revising this instrument over time or as deemed required. In addition, teachers can grow when they share with one another their teaching philosophy statements, not to impress but to strike at the opportunity of understanding one’s and other’s beliefs on teaching more thoroughly. Apart from the personal, and perhaps more significantly, the applied teaching philosophy’s transformation of the teacher goes beyond by creating a lingering impact in both the course content and the students that undergo pedagogical process.

    Reference
    Mkandawire B. (2008) How the sociological foundations affect the development of a curriculum. Article presented at the Academy of Arts, Acting and film production seminar in Zambia. Retrieved from http://sitwe.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/how-the-sociological-foundations-of-school-curriculum-affect-the-development-of-a-curriculum/
    http://thewander-woman.com/the-impact-of-philosophy-and-psychology-in-curriculum/

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    1. Certainly, Phoebe! Without the relevant knowledge on the foundations of curriculum, it is arduous to figure out the answers to several significant questions such as what should be taught, how should it be taught, when it should be taught, to whom it should it be taught. ^^

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    2. Without knowledge, one is fighting aimlessly and armless-ly!

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  15. The major foundations of curriculum development provides the general ideas used in all aspects of education. Understanding each foundation is important in order to develop a good and effective curriculum for the students, teachers and every individual involved in the educational system. The importance of each foundation was clearly discussed during our classroom reports and lectures. Each of this contains the purpose of each aspects in curriculum development such as the four educational philosophies: Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, Reconstructionism and what it stands for. The three major theories of learning in the psychological foundation: Behaviorists Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, and Humanistic Psychology and the historical development of education from ancient to present. The foundations of curriculum development are the stepping stone and pillars for educational progress.

    The foundations will always be a source of improvement and learning for a new, effective and better curriculum. History will provide ideas on what should be improved and further enhanced, while Philosophy provides educators, teachers and educational organizations with framework for planning, implementing and evaluating curriculum and the foundation of Psychology will provide the right basis for the teaching and learning process. Each of these foundations should be well understood and utilized in order to attain the goal of providing a better education for future intellectual or educational progress.

    Source: http://olga-curriculum.blogspot.com/2009/02/major-foundations-of-curriculum.html

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    1. Hi cole! A pleasant day to you! The foundation of education are really important in education. Incorporating them relates communication to the idea of conceptualizing information for having more knowledge on the learning process. Being knowledgeable to this information helps us to participate and be involved into issues that happens in our society. Thumbs up for you!

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  17. There are three foundations of curriculum development, these are psychological, philosophical and historical aspects. Understanding of these three key items is very imperative to enable a complete grasp of how curriculum was developed. Curriculum creation roots from one or more theories and perception (philosophy), from learners' behaviors(psychology), and from past events which concerns a particular topic (history).
    Complete understanding of psychology and its influence in the curriculum will help a comprehensive and complete human learning possible. Psychology provides an indispensable base for identifying the types of curricular arrangement that will most benefit the learner's growth and development. Psychological foundation deals with contribution made by learning theories toward curriculum and through this we must see how much more effective a curriculum may be framed if we consider the nature of basic human needs.The discussion of the psychological foundations has indicated that curricula can become more effective if they are based on considerations such as basic human needs and the ways for meeting them.

    Philosophy gives ideas about human beings, social values and purpose of education. Integrating philosophy to the creation of curriculum helps us determine our educational decisions and alternatives.
    To understand contemporary curricular problems and proposals, it is ideal we acquaint ourselves with the history of curricular thought and practice that stretches back to antiquity.

    Finally, trends in curriculum development were discussed to show that over the year curriculum has been undergoing changes under the influence of philosophical ideas and societal changes, and that open distance education is obviously the system for the future as it promises to accommodate the growing changes in individual needs, communication technology and curricular efforts to fuse them all together.


    In conclusion, we give study these foundations for us to:
    -identify philosophical issues that were used or considered in framing a curriculum
    -explain various social and historical trends/issues that influence curriculum foundation
    -describe the importance of psychology-basic behaviors and needs in the field of curriculum and identify particular contemporary issues that should be considered while framing a curriculum. (http://vedyadhara.ignou.ac.in/wiki/images/7/75/ES-316-Unit2(block-1).pdf)




    source: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0006/000645/064553eo.pdf
    http://vedyadhara.ignou.ac.in/wiki/images/7/75/ES-316-Unit2(block-1).pdf

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    Replies
    1. It is interesting to know that through the trends in curriculum, we are able to anticipate and prepare for the future system of education which is the "distance education". As future mentors, it helps us envision a promising and gainful education for our students. ^^

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  18. For a typical person, his family house is his greatest investment or his greatest asset; but contemporary views on investment would say that a house is actually a liability that would shell out huge amount of money for repairs and maintenance expense, notwithstanding the fact that it also triggers more spending for fixture and furniture, and appliances—things that do not produce positive cash flows. My point here is that not everything that appears good is really good. The same is true with curriculum.

    To give an example, Japan is a country known for its affluence in terms of technology, thereby fueling its strong economy. However, behind this on-going success are students who are too much pressured (if not stressed) with the demands of the society. Suicidal rate among teens is high. Why is this so? Willis (2002) argues that historically, Japanese people were shinmin (subjects), not shimin (citizens). There was no thought given, certainly not critically, towards the concept of the independent and responsible citizen. Of course, their educational landscape helped to propagate this kind of idea.

    Bilbao, Lucido, Iringan and Javier (2008) discusses that Marsh and Willis view curriculum as all the experiences in the classroom which are planned and enacted by the teacher, and also learned by the students, thus making this subject matter extremely important. Content and methods delivering curriculum, which are mostly traditional in nature do not necessarily produce the very potentials of every individual. If we are to develop a strong and responsive society, then we have to invest with the students; and the first thing to do is to develop a curriculum that will surely (if not to have a very significant positive impact) cater individuals’ needs.

    The above pieces of information mean that it is indeed important to fully understand the philosophical, psychological, and historical foundations of curriculum development. Collating, philosophy provides educators, teachers and curriculum makers with frameworks for planning, implementing and evaluating curriculum in schools; historical foundations development shows the different changes in the purposes and content of the curriculum; and psychology unifies elements of the learning process and some of the questions which can be addressed by psychological foundations of education. (Bilbao et.al., 2008)

    Sources:

    Willis, D. B. (2002). Citizenship Challenges for Japanese Education for the 21st Century: “Pure” or “Multicultural”? Multicultural Citizenship Education in Japan. WCCES Commission 6: Special 2001 Congress Issue, Japanese Education in Transition. Retrieved from http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/iej/articles/v3n5/2willis/paper.pdf

    Bilbao, Purita P., Paz I. Lucido, Tomasa C. Iringan and Rodrigo B. Javier. 2008. Curriculum Development. Quezon City: LORIMAR Publishing, Inc.

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  19. Education is learning to be emancipated and free by understanding how society began and evolved and answers the basic existential questions of men: where do I come from? Why am I here? And where am I going. Life through education leads us to the treacherous paths of fundamental questions of life and leads us back home. But does education lead us back to the source, to God and truth or is it the very instrument utilized for our us being led astray, blind, disoriented and eventually destroyed?
    From our early consciousness we are shaped by societal norms, values, predispositions, traditions and worldviews that are predominantly hierarchic structured out of phenomena of materialistic culture which has been crystallized and hard to shatter so as to make way for an open consciousness that transcends boundaries and delights in creativity, potentiality and fluidity. Mind, along with what it can potentially perceive is alive, organic and changing and evolving into the higher spiritual realm it can attain as evident in all societies and cultures. It undergoes developmental changes hence the need to eradicate the crystallizing tendencies by analyzing these stages in history, in the philosophies and psychologies of individuals in particular those theorists who have propagated false, materialistic, and uncritical beliefs in education or knowledge must be critically analyzed why they adopted such stance, what brought about their beliefs and their philosophies. All these must undergo and be presented with the highest authority of discourse and dialogue so as to emancipate ourselves from ascribing to such perspectives which are harmful to our evolution as human beings who are journeying towards truth, spirituality and openness to infinity not regressing to a materialistic philosophical level where we do not dig deeper and take superficiality as truth in itself.
    Therefore, curriculum development should always gear itself to the vision of higher order thinking and taking knowledge as a vision of wholeness and a journey home towards higher spirituality and Godliness not simply agreeing to various materialistic definitions of life (realism/idealism, Marxism, existentialism, perennialism, social Darwinism, objectivism, liberalism, Logical Positivism) which are predominant in our education today. Sadly, this characterizes education in the modern world, simply survival, education for the market. We cannot reduce life to simplistic organism/materialistic definitions. Our curriculum should embrace the totality of complexity as echoed time and time again in Morin’s complexity paradigm, amongst other writings (1973). I definitely agree that complexity and a paradigm of embracing complexity should characterize how we formulate our curriculum with an open-minded, uncrystallized and emancipated vision of how we as human beings live and struggle in our journey back home. We are not simply educated to get to the top and enslave others but we must educate to be free, lead our fellowmen to God, see things clearly not blind leading blind but get out people from the cave into the light.

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  20. Reber, J. The Under-Examined Life: A Proposal for Critically Evaluating Teacher's and Students' Philosophies of Teaching, College Teaching, 2011 p. 102-110.

    Jones, M. Challenging the Limits of Critique in Education Through Morin's Paradigm of Complexity, Stud Philos Educ ( 2010) pp. 477-490.

    Sorensen et. al, Taking a "Hands on" Approach to Diversity in Higher Education: A Critical-Dialogic Model for Effective Intergroup Interaction, Analysis of Social Issues and Public Policy, Vol. 9,No. 1, 2009 pp. 3-35.

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  21. The basis of learning runs through the concepts of Philosophy, Psychology and History. Learning should be organized in order that students can experience success in the process of mastering the Subject Matter; the method is introduced in step-by-step manner with proper sequencing of task which is viewed by other educational psychologist as simplistic and mechanical. Philosophy provides educators, teachers and curriculum makers with framework for planning, implementing and evaluating curriculum in schools. It helps in answering what schools are for, what subjects are important, how students should learn and what materials and methods should be used. In decision making, philosophy provides the starting point and will be used for the succeeding decision making. In a historical basis, ou learn how earlier thinkers anticipated the burning issues of today. You study how public education evolved in the world. In doing so, you gain a better understanding of the political, economic, and social roots of current practices and controversies. You learn about educational practices in other cultures. And you explore fundamental questions, such as what teachers' main responsibilities are to their students. The special education system is based on a variety of foundations. In order to understand the special education system, it is important to have knowledge and understanding of the basic premises that underlie this system. Furthermore, it is important for you to gain an understanding of these concepts because they are directly related to your job as a paraprofessional. These foundations provide the framework for the roles of the various individuals who work within this system.
    Education i life itself. It is dynamic. It involves the process of interaction. It is also viewed as an experience which is gathered in our life time. As education is life, so life also is education. We learn by living and live by learning. Living and learning go together. Education has more than one dimension. In a formal sense education comes through learning but in general it involves experience, stimulation and growth. Formal education is only one way of promoting the growth, enriching experience and developing attitude. Thus various domains of human life are touched by means of education. In other words, thinking, feeling and acting are enriched by means of educational experience. Without a philosophical, psychological, and historical basis education tends to lose its direction. They provide the values, goals, and wisdom. They are a necessity in life and education. Without them, education is of no avail.

    Sources:

    Bhattacharya, S.(2002). Foundations of Education. New Delhi:Nice Printing Press. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?

    www.slideshare.net/rowenativoli/philosophical-foundation-of-educ

    www.iseek.org/education/fieldofstudy?id=221200

    paraelink.org/general/c1_units.html

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