LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN PEDAGOGICAL INSTITUTE

CURRICULAR DESIGN

AUTHORS:
Dr. Fátima Addine Fernández
Dr. C. Margarita González González
Dr. C. Luis C. Batista
Dr. C. Ramón Pla López
Dr. C. Roelbis Laffita Frómeta
Dr. C. María Elena Castillo Martínez
M. Cs. Gerardo Quintero Pupo
M. Cs. José Benito García
M. Cs. Mercedes Silveiro Gómez
M. Cs. Micaela Fuxá Lavastida
M. Cs. SiXto Jiménez Vielsa

CUBA 2003
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Introduction

Dear reader:
The text we present constitutes the expression of a process of reflection and work by a group
colleagues have been working for some time regarding the theory and practice of design
curricular, therefore gathers the feelings of teachers from different levels of education and specialties
but what has identified a common element for us:
We have found wonder in the everyday act of educating, seeking that our educational process
become increasingly efficient and become the foundation for achieving sustainable development of the
humanity, which is undoubtedly our greatest aspiration.
Many of the elements addressed in the material stem from the enrichment that the experiences of
the teachers and students we have interacted with systematically, contributing ideas and criteria, but
which are susceptible to change, therefore we recommend that when using it, you take into account the following
recommendations
1- Do not fully agree with all the ideas expressed by the authors, think that their ideas
they can enrich it through their experience.
2- Reflect on each proposal, solve the problems presented here, in order to see the
relationship between what is proposed here, in order to see the relationship between what is given in theory and what
that you can implement in practice. Do not be afraid to disagree, it will help you to take on a
attitude of change.
3- Try to imagine, fantasize, think, and propose scientific hypotheses regarding teaching that
imparts and the way in which it designs, executes, and evaluates the curriculum, so that it can create its
his own theory. If he feels motivated and satisfied with his work, it would be the best sign that he has
He has been reflecting on his own curriculum practice.
4- Try to observe, listen, and relate others' opinions to your own, acknowledge that others
think differently, that is not a sign of antagonism, on the contrary, it contributes to development
of his own theory.
5- Please note that the purpose of the information we provide in this material is not for you to
gather bibliographic information, it's so that while you read, you think and consider that you will be able to
to engage in a productive dialogue with their colleagues based on their own references.
6- Break with stereotypes and adopt a dialectical attitude towards change. Through that path without place to
doubts you will come out winning, and although we do not offer you Aladdin's lamp so that you can
fulfill your wishes, at least we offer you the hope of sustaining your dreams of paying,
with their teaching performance the path to achieving a better world.

The authors.
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THE ORIGINS OF THE CURRICULAR ISSUE.

The study of the foundations and theoretical trends about the curriculum is a phenomenon
relatively recent in the field of education. The school as a social institution has evolved
evolving alongside society, therefore its transformation is not simply the expression of the
the evolution of an educational system that tends to be more developed is also a consequence of
the need for the school to adapt to new social needs.

It is from the birth of Capitalism that the foundations of the current educational system are created and of the
school institution. In the very foundations that come from Comenius, regarding school organization, there is
present the analysis of the study plans, but regardless of these antecedentes the
the conceptualization of this problematic is clearly outlined in the context of pedagogy of the
industrial society. At that time, under circumstances different from those that gave rise to it, the concept
the curriculum was arbitrarily extended by some authors (W. Rogan, J. Eggleston, among others),
to the organization of the content.

These criteria that equate the curriculum with study plans and programs made it difficult to
analysis of the conceptual foundations and the political and social issues that explain the genesis
of the curricular conception.

A more acceptable interpretation can be found in the analyses of Hilda Taba and Ronall C. Doll.
(North Americans) who attribute the process of improving the curriculum and Theory
Curricular to the pressure that comes with the drastic changes in technology and culture, that is,
in close relation to the industrialization process of American society.

The role played by Franklin Bobbit is recognized for developing the first systematic treatise on
relationship with this theme in 'The curriculum' (1918) and 'How to Make the Curriculum' (1924), also
Charter in 1923 wrote "Curriculum Construction" which can be considered pioneering. Despite
all these essays that circulated in the 1920s, after World War II when they appeared
the first formulations with a greater level of depth.

Among the main texts that initiate this new stage of the theoretical analysis development of this
sphere are 'Basic Principles of Curriculum' (1949) by Tyler and subsequently 'Development of

It is evident that American pedagogy had a great influence on the development of the theory.
curricular, society that in its process of industrialization had to modify internal structures
from their schools and review their pedagogical practices to build a model based on new
In this sense, it can be concluded that curricular theory is beginning to consolidate itself seeking the
articulation between education and those demands of the workforce that the industry claims
its development with the following foundations:

Educational philosophy (pragmatic)

Sociology of education with a functionalist perspective where the theory of capital is relevant.
human.
A psychology with physiological foundations based on the experimental method.
A management theory that demonstrates its proven effectiveness in industry development
and that it is considered possible to apply to various social spheres, including the school.

Below we list some definitions of curriculum, as a sample of its multiplicity.

interpretations and approaches with which the existing conceptual diversity is presented:
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In pedagogical theory, the curriculum, as an object of study, is relatively new, even though since
In the 17th century, Comenius was already setting forth the first regulations aimed at classroom action. By defining the
Pansophia or the attainment of universal knowledge, as the purpose for which teaching is oriented to
organize the students' learning.

What is a curriculum?

The word curriculum comes from Latin and etymologically means, run, race, what is
happening or occurring.

The term curriculum has had a variety of interpretations; sometimes it is used to identify a
level, others for the academic training of an area of knowledge and even relate
specifically with a subject. Every curriculum has not only an academic conception, but also
also a conception of the world, that is, in every curricular conception there are always present
class interests.
Plan that norm and explicitly guide a concrete and decisive teaching process.
learning that takes place in an educational institution. It has 4 elements; curriculum objectives,
study plan, descriptive letters, and evaluation system. (Arnaz, 1990)

Curriculum as an instrumental synthesis through which elements are selected, organized, and arranged for purposes
of teaching all aspects of a profession that are considered socially and culturally valuable and
professionally efficient. (Glazman and de Ibarrola).

The curriculum constitutes the complete program of all the school’s action; it is the essential means of the
education is everything that teachers and students do within the academic framework and is
determined by society. (Daws, 1981).

The curriculum is a teaching process that educates students through the transmission of
values, knowledge and skills in such a way that they are assigned to the proposed objectives. The
elements involved in the curriculum people (students and teachers
fundamentally); the tasks (the learning opportunities, organized into areas, subjects,
projects, etc.); management (the planning, organization, direction, and performance control of the
people who carry out the tasks). (Luis Javier, 1987).

It is the subject matter and the content of the subject that is used in teaching. (Tohmas Brigge 1978)

Curriculum is a structured series of learning objectives that are aimed to be achieved. (M. Johnson
1967

The curriculum understood as a project and as a process that leads to a conception of teaching
learning as a critical activity of constant research and innovation, ensuring the
professional development of the teacher (J. M. Alvarez Mendaz, 1985).

The school curriculum is primarily an educational journey, a continuous set of experiences.

learning related to someone under the control of a formal education institution in a
given period (J-C. Forquin 1987)

A curriculum is an attempt to communicate the essential principles and traits of a purpose.

educational of in a way that remains open to critical discussion and can be transferred
effectively to practice (L. Stenhouse. 1987)
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The curriculum is a planned series of encounters between students and some selection of the branches.
of knowledge.
(King and Brownel, 1971)

The curriculum is a plan to guide learning

(H. Taba, 1974)

The curriculum is all the planned and school-oriented learning, whether individual or group.
outside or inside the school" (Kerr, 1971).

Curriculum, a set of structured and sequentially ordered elements, in order to specify the
educational option and prescribe the courses of action and the means that allow it to be carried out.

Taken from the 'General Law on the Organization of the Spanish Educational System (LOGSEE).

The curriculum is a global educational project that adopts a conceptual didactic model and has the
structure of its object: Teaching - learning. It has the character of a process that expresses a
dynamic nature having its object interdependent relationships with the historical - social context,
science and students, a condition that allows them to adapt to social development, to the needs of
student and the progress of science.
(Rita Marina Álvarez, 1995)

The curriculum is a comprehensive educational project with a process character that expresses the relationships of
interdependence in a historical-social context, a condition that allows it to redesign itself
systematically based on social development, progress of science, and needs of the
students, which translates into the education of the personality of the citizen that one aspires to form.
(Fátima Addine, 1995)

The curriculum constitutes a systematized training project and a process of realization through
a structured and organized series of content and learning experiences, articulated in form
political-educational proposal advocated by various social sectors interested in a type of
private education aimed at producing meaningful learning that translates into
ways of thinking, feeling, valuing, and acting in response to the complex problems posed by life
social and labor in particular the insertion into a specific country" (Otmara Gonzalez, 1994).

Exercise 1. Let's develop a definition of curriculum.

Job suggestions:

Carefully analyze each definition and reflect on:

First:
What terms are used to designate the curriculum?
What does this term mean to you?
1. What is the purpose of the curriculum?
What sciences are reflected in the curriculum?
3. In what documents is the curriculum expressed?
Where is the curriculum developed?
What other interesting information does the definition provide me?

Second:
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Could you write another personal definition of curriculum?

Third:
Consult with your colleagues the elaborated definition. Determine which elements coincide and which do not.
they agree.

Rigidity or curricular flexibility? (Scheme 1)

One of the fundamental characteristics of a curriculum that determines the academic regime of
An educational institution is the degree of rigidity-flexibility that it has. Hence, one of the
Fundamental issues to decide when creating a curriculum are related to its degree of rigidity.
flexibility.

The degree of rigidity-flexibility of academic systems is expressed in the open or

curriculum closed. Currently, there is great heterogeneity in the systems that
they range from closed, heavily structured curricula to open curricula,
designed by the student himself based on his choice within a course offering that
they can take place within the institution or even in another one. Between these two extremes, there exists
a great diversity of variants and combinations.

The issue of flexibility is a complex topic due to its theoretical references and implications.
of an epistemological, didactic, psychological, and organizational nature that it has. For this reason, the decision regarding
to the degree of rigidity-flexibility of a study plan and in which aspects to do it, should be taken into account
analyzing the possible variants of flexibilization, the aspects that can be flexible,
possible repercussions it has for student training (advantages and disadvantages); the
organizational measures required and how they impact the regulations that must govern the
institutional life.

CURRICULAR TRENDS.

The analysis of the origins and development of the curricular issue demonstrates the existence of a
diversity of trends over time that can come together in:

The curriculum as the study of teaching content. This position is related to the
need for a thematic plan, here to be developed establishes certain methodologies and activities
to achieve the objectives. This conception develops from the Middle Ages to the middle of the
19th century and continues to be used today.

The curriculum centered on experiences. It is based on the experiences that the student lives.
which are fostered by the teacher in school teaching, based on planning
premeditated objectives of the activity. This conception emerged in the late 19th century.
reaching its peak in the 30s and 40s.

The curriculum as a technological production system. This conception proposes that the results
learning translates into specific behaviors defined operationally from
of objectives. It originated in the U.S. in the 1960s.

The curriculum as a reconstruction of knowledge and proposal of actions. This centers the
curricular problem in the analysis of practice and problem-solving based on a unit
between theory and practice.

These conceptions have evolved with the historical - concrete practice of the teacher and based on the
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development of research in didactics and other related sciences; such as the

philosophy, sociology, and psychology, among others.

The curriculum specifies a didactic conception that integrates certain approaches, concepts and
educational experiences.

Exercise # 2

1. Do you think that in your practice as a teacher and/or student these trends have been present?
curricular? Which ones?
Do you have any experience you would like to share with your colleagues?

BASIS AND THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE CURRICULUM.

The curricular theme constitutes one of the current scientific issues with the greatest impact on
the educational practice. Within it, the topic of the bases and the foundations is the theoretical premise and
methodological, which in addition to expressing the positions taken in the process of design, execution and
curriculum evaluation also guides this process itself.

The mastery of this subject is of interest not only to those who develop it, from any of the criteria and
levels of elaboration, the curriculum, but also, and in a very special way, for those who implement it -
teachers and students, and actively participate in their evaluation. In Higher Education, given the
nature of it, as a promoter of changes and transformations in the broadest spectrum
educational, and for the role it has historically played, as a driver and guide of transformations
educational and social research, its importance increases. (Sacristán, 1989).

This domain encompasses, as a vital premise, the very theoretical and methodological foundations,
even the content of the curriculum structure itself is reflected in the study plans: programs
of disciplines and subjects, module designs, the work practice system for students,
designs of scientific and methodological work strategies; in short, it encompasses each and every one of the
parts and phases of the curriculum and its construction process.

Currently, there is a fairly widespread consensus in the curricular literature and in a way
especially in our context, about what we understand and how we assume the foundations and fundamentals
of the curriculum. But this is still not enough, especially for the teaching staff of an Institute
Superior Pedagogical, given its specificity as a training center for teaching staff and the
responsibilities that this entails for the achievement and development of our social project.

In this paper, we will analyze some elements concerning curriculum theory, especially to
the theme of the bases, the curricular foundations and their interaction. The purpose is to problematize and
promote reflection on this aspect of the curriculum construction process and its close connection
with a professional scientific performance, conscious and committed on the part of teachers and
students.

1. Bases and fundamentals? Bases or fundamentals?

In general, as Dr. Julia García Otero rightly states, in the field of curriculum theory
they consider the bases as the foundation that sustains the entire spatial and temporal structure of the Curriculum.
The fundamentals are assumed as the theoretical and methodological framework that expresses the curricular model.
assumed and guides the entire process of curriculum development and is conceived as a system
theoretical-methodological framework, integrated by different scientific disciplines. (García Otero, J.,)
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1995).

The curricular literature addresses both contents even when both are not always identified.
concepts in their interdependence and mutual conditioning. The trend is that the second, the
fundamentals, including the first one, the foundations. Thus, in the formulation of the different theoretical elements
that support the curriculum proposal, it is implicit or explicit, the set of conditions, of a nature
multiple -economic, political, social, among others- that give rise to it. This evidences the
existence of a certain relationship between the so-called bases and the fundamentals, that in a way
declared or not, it is always present in the theoretical framework that justifies the new curriculum,
regardless of the term used to name it 'curricular reasons', 'justification',
"fundamentals" or another.

This analysis aims to examine some aspects of this relationship from a perspective of the
interaction of its parts.

The most general theoretical and methodological references, especially the philosophical ones, underpin the
curriculum construction process and at the same time the analysis of the objective and subjective conditions in which
this process unfolds from understanding these conditions as the system of relationships
economic and social -in the broad sense of the term- reflected by each and every one of the subjects
participants.

Depending on the adopted references, the analysis of these conditions will cover more or less.
spheres of that social reality and the system of relationships between them.
This conditions that:

The level of awareness of the problems of a given society, of the ways to solve them for the
the same, as well as the possible solutions in the educational sphere, is conditioned by the
theoretical references of analysis of those who assume the responsibility of modeling practice
educational in that society, regardless of the means used for its development.

Similarly, these will determine the levels and procedures for analysis to be used, thus going from the
diagnosis of the reality object of study, up to the most complex forecasting processes
prospecting. The determination of possible scenarios reveals a process of analysis with a
scientific foundation.

In other words, the richness and depth of the results of the analysis carried out, the determination
of the problems and needs and conditions of the society in question, expressed in the model
of man to be formed by the educational level and corresponding institutions, depend greatly
measure of the set of theories, currents, and conceptions assumed by that same society, and
represented by the social class that generates the curricular needs.

♦That the theoretical and methodological elements assumed as theory, procedures, and instruments
from the study of reality, they are relatively conditioned by the social reality itself; that is to say,
the social reality under study also conditions - represented by its social class
holder of the ideal of man and of education as a means of his formation - the system of theories and
predominant conceptions that will not only guide the model and the conception and structure
curricular, but also the study of one’s own economic and social reality.

As can be seen, the relationship between the concepts assumed as bases and foundations has a character
interactive that manifests itself at a certain level of interdependence and mutual conditioning. The
the assumption of this character is significant not only for those who must develop the curriculum, but also
for those who must act as experts in the analysis of the proposal, and therefore must review,
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to express opinions, to suggest; for those who must develop and evaluate it in its most concrete aspects and
immediates.

The following diagram reflects the interaction that occurs between the bases and the foundations from
of the functions of each of them.

As it is analyzed, the diversity of curricular foundations is largely conditioned by the

elements assumed as objects of analysis.

From the above, the variety and multiplicity of conceptual elements that make up the framework can be inferred.
theoretical basis on which the curricular proposal is developed:
• Philosophical
• Epistemological
• Sociological
• Psychological
• Pedagogical
• Linguistic
• Scientific Direction, among others

This multidimensionality of the curricular theoretical foundations, while enriching and making it more
the scientific proposal, also grants it greater complexity not only in the design processes and
execution, but also, and in a very significant way, in its control and evaluation. This justifies
the multidisciplinary integration of the curricular work teams, both for those in charge of
the processes of conception and design, as - and we reiterate, in a very special way - of those who
are responsible for their evaluation.

It is useful to highlight the significance of the philosophical foundation, based on its own specificity.
Given the nature of philosophical knowledge, it fulfills very specific methodological functions,
which guide the very process of shaping the curricular theory, and therefore, of the determination
of the system of theories and conceptions that will constitute the curricular referential theoretical framework; thus
as necessary integration of them, as a system of principles is needed
unifiers that act as integration criteria to achieve the integration of diverse knowledge
in a unique body. Materialist Dialectics constitutes a vital knowledge and thus becomes a
theoretical instrument, with the character of a premise, for each and every one of the people involved in
the curricular process.

2. SOME IMPLICATIONS OF THE FOUNDATIONS AND CURRICULAR BASES IN THE

CURRICULAR DESIGN PROCESS.
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Without the intention of delving into these aspects, we will only point out some elements that reveal the
significance of the role of the foundations and bases of the curriculum and the performance of the teacher.

Relationship between the curricular foundations and the pedagogical model and the educational model.

The curricular foundations considered as the theoretical and methodological framework that will guide the
curricular transformations that the Educational System is dedicated to (Decennial Plan of
Education, Dominican Republic, 1994, conditions a gathering of extensive consultations developed in a
climate of scientific openness and respect for divergences, based on a strategic line
common given by the social model that serves as its starting point.

The system of theories and concepts that make up this theoretical framework has higher levels of systematization.
that are materialized in educational and/or pedagogical models, which fulfill a dual function: they express the system of
relationships in which the process of constructing the curricular model and the orientation towards the self will be framed
manufacturing process.

The educational contributions that also come from the experience of teachers constitute
sources and ways to correct, expand, adjust and complete the proposals and make them more
relevant, pertinent, feasible for education, in line with the educational model, which is by
enriched extension based on these contributions.

If we assume the model as a theoretical system, with very clear methodological functions, it becomes
more evident the relationships between educational model and curricular foundations. These are
conditioned by the first.

Purposes of the foundations of the curriculum.

The foundations of the curriculum, as a theoretical system, fulfill an inherent function to everything.
scientific knowledge, that of guiding towards practice consciously. How to reflect on
the educational practice developed, if there is no system of theoretical conceptions about the
Object of reflection? How to determine the main theoretical and practical problems of it and
to orient themselves towards finding solutions? In short, how can a teacher propose and develop
transformations in their curricular practice, if they are not first based on the knowledge of the
foundations of your professional performance?
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The mastery of the theoretical foundations of curricular practice fosters an attitude of change in the
educators, this being one of their purposes. Its multidisciplinary nature - which encompasses content
from different scientific disciplines, techniques - it must provide the teacher with a coherent view,
scientific, of the necessary practice for achieving the objectives of the proposed Curriculum. Only from
mastery of the curricular bases - essential for the contextualization of the Curriculum and its practice,
and the theoretical and methodological elements that support it, teachers will be able to, in any of the
levels of organization, detect the real problems and make the adjustments
necessary. That is to say, only in this way, they will be able to materialize their 'attitude of change'.

The assumption in a curriculum construction process of a set of theories and conceptions that
they reveal the educational conception - the educational model assumed, including the positions regarding the
own curriculum theory, involves decision-making; which is based on reasoning, but at the same time
they constitute elements of orientation.

Temporal dimension of the curricular foundation.

A problem that has always accompanied the process of developing a curriculum is

related to the time needed for its construction, implementation, and refinement.

It happens that it takes a long time -sometimes years- for the determination of the bases and the
curricular foundations, in order to carry out a thorough diagnosis and develop actions
prospectives that include a system of possible scenarios, so that trends are revealed
The development of the socioeconomic context may render the proposed Curriculum obsolete in the short term.

On the contrary, if:

Decisions are made hastily, without conducting a study, not thorough, but rigorous from the point of
scientific view
A minimum of necessary consultations is not conducted with various groups of people involved.
different ways to the educational process that is projected in question,
Not all the variables involved in the different phases of the curriculum process are analyzed.
from the structuring of its conception, through its design, and implementation for practice,
until its evaluation based on its improvement,
then, its relevance will be affected, and therefore, it will not satisfactorily fulfill the
functions that are inherent to it as an educational project.

In this time dimension, the criteria for permanence and validity of a Curriculum are also included.
Given. How long is a resume valid? How many generations of graduates must pass before
consider the need to subject it to changes? The conceptions of curricular evaluation that are
They should provide the necessary criteria for the design of their improvement process.
starting from scientific elements of flexibility, updating, and contextualization. Although often the
Curricular evaluation appears as a phase located at the end of many curricular models, the
Conceptions of Scientific Management that are adopted must guide this phase inherent to the
direction of all processes.

Manifestations of the bases and foundations in the Curriculum.

Generally, when we think of the bases and the foundations, we mentally refer to that
initial phase of the construction of the Curriculum. However, the curricular document that contains
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these considerations and statements about the social needs that give rise to the new
Curriculum, and the conceptual elements assumed as theoretical references for its construction
They are not part of the teacher's everyday use. How do they reach him – and the students, if
proceed - these elements?
The different parts of the curricular project are conceived and structured based on these
references. Thus, the curricular structure –whether called Study Plan, Curriculum, Curricular Map or other– and
The practice itself is conditioned by the foundations and fundamentals of the project. By being
the intervention of a large number of people and groups is necessary for program designs
on the subject, designs of student practices, organization of the practice, design of the evaluation
curricular and other curricular tasks, it is it is essential that the theoretical references and
methodological approaches are mastered by all, so that the essence of the project, its purposes, penetrate into
all and each of its parts and phases.

We want to highlight the significance that this has in the development of the curriculum programs.
regardless of the organization of the content that is assumed, whether by subjects, areas,
subjects or modules. Generally, a program can be taught by several teachers who do not
they participate in its development; and the conception that supports the program does not always appear explicitly
as a curricular fact, which does not occur with its scientific content. How to guarantee
then the learning of these contents by the students corresponds to the
conceptions of learning assumed in the Curriculum?

The foundations and curriculum bases are manifested throughout the Curriculum, either explicitly or
implicit, but always present; if that were not the case, they would not fulfill one of their purposes, that of
to guide the entire process of conception, construction, implementation, and evaluation of the Curriculum.

CONCEPTIONS STARTING CURRICULARS. ANALYSIS OF THE APPROACHES

CONTEMPORARY CURRICULA. TOWARDS AN INTEGRATING CONCEPTION.
METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO CURRICULUM DESIGN

What is a curricular approach?

In the analysis of the definitions of curriculum, its bases and foundations are evidenced in great
measure the author's curricular approach. The final organization of the curriculum will depend on
a large part of the selection of the approach. There are not a few authors (Gamboa, Ingrid, 1993
Guatemala;Molina,Zaida,1993 Costa Rica; Sequeira, Alicia; 1994 Puerto Rico; García, Julia, 1995
Cuba and Adinne, Fatima, 1996 Cuba) who believe it is one of the most important steps in the
curricular design, as they enable the understanding of the very essence of the curriculum and from the
research that participants conduct, give a response to all its dimensions.

It is evident that theoretical-practical positions are present in every curricular approach and
methodological guidelines that orient the work and the main direction of the curriculum research and that
allows us to specify the implicit values in the construction made, in other words, it is specified
what is the perspective from which the curriculum is examined; what is the content of education to which
each researcher subscribes, and therefore their ideological position and conceptual framework. Establishing the
the approach has a methodological value as beforehand the objectives are presented and precisely defined
curricular components and dimensions of research in a deployed manner.

What are curricular components and what are they?

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The foundations of each approach reflect positions regarding Pedagogy, Psychology, Sociology,
Philosophy, but invariably underlying are the economic, political, and social conceptions such as
substrate.

Many authors also refer to the curricular approach as curricular conception or curricular style.
try to find in the educational policy at the national level and then institutional, what is the ideal of
man to shape, what are the values that are intended to develop, which to preserve, for then
decide what the curricular approach is. This selection will determine how they interact
other curricular components.

We will start from the following definition:

A curricular approach according to G. Bolaños and Z. Molina '...a theoretical framework that supports the way in
that the different elements of the curriculum will be visualized and how their interactions will be conceived
agreement with the emphasis placed on some of those elements" [Bolaños, G., Molina, Z.; n.d., p. 91]

Many authors conceive curricular approaches in different ways. Some classify them as
psychologists, academicists and intellectualists, technological, socio-reconstructionists and dialectical
[Bolaños, G., Molina, Z. op. cit. p. 91]. Others group them into behavioral, globalizing approaches,
action research, constructivists, of conscious processes [Homero, C., et. al. 1995, p.6] and
others describe them as an organized structure of knowledge, as a technological system of
production, as an instructional plan, as a set of learning experiences and how
reconstruction of knowledge and proposal for action [Pérez Gómez, 1988; cited by Barriga Díaz,
F. 1993, p.20.

As can be seen in each of the classifications, the concept of

curriculum that is assumed, highlighting the main element that characterizes it.
concept.

These approaches generate different curricular models, understood as a curricular model '...
graphic and conceptual representation of the curriculum planning process. Conceptual in that
includes the theoretical visualization given to each of the elements of the curriculum (...) and graphic in
It shows the interrelationships that occur between those elements through a representation.
schematic that offers a global view of the curricular model" [Bolaños, G., [Link]. p. 95].

Following the grouping made by F. Díaz Barriga [1993, [Link].], four types of models are proposed.
curricular methodologies:

1. The classic models, considering among them those of R.W. Tyler; H. Taba and M. Johnson
representatives of American Pedagogy, that have had widespread dissemination
especially in Latin America and have served as a guide to some specialists on the continent for the
development of curricular proposals.

2. Models with a technological and systemic approach, by Latin American authors such as R. Glazman
and M. D. Ibarola (1979); J.A. Arnaz (1991) and V. Arredondo (1983) considered as followers of
the authors of classical methodologies.

[Link] that emerge as an alternative to behavioral models by making a

critical and sociopolitical approach to them. These models are representatives of
ecological paradigm from the educational perspective focusing on the interaction
context-group-individual giving priority to the close bond that must exist between the school and the
society when determining a curriculum. They are representatives of these models L.
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Stenhouse (1996); Schwab (quoted by F. Díaz Barriga) and Guevara Niebla (1976), among others.

4. Models with a constructivist approach, highlighting among them the curricular model for the
Compulsory Basic Education in Spain implemented in the current decade and in which
the proposals made by César Coll (1991) play a fundamental role.

We present below, in a synthetic and panoramic manner, the essence of each of these models.

1- The model of R. W. Tyler:

This model appeared after World War II, in the year 1949, in the work "Basic Principles of
Curriculum" (Spanish version from 1973) whose foundation from an educational perspective is given in the
conception that considers education as a change of behavior. The work presents the following
questions that, according to the author, must be answered before developing any curriculum and teaching system:

What goals does the school wish to achieve?

2. Of all the educational experiences that can be offered, which ones provide the greatest
probabilities of achieving these goals?
3. How can those experiences be organized effectively?
4. How can we verify if the proposed objectives have been achieved? [Tyler, R.W, 1973, p. 7].

This model highlights the sources that give rise to the learning objectives:
Student, Society and specialists; taking into account also the role of philosophy and psychology
from learning (as filters) in its selection. According to Tyler, one must choose '... from the original list
of objectives, those that represent higher values and align with the philosophy of the school" [Tyler;
R., [Link]., p.38] and consider a psychology of learning that allows "to distinguish what changes
can be expected in humans as a result of a learning process and which
they will be out of reach" [Tyler, op. cit. p. 41].

The Tylerian pedagogical model is based on a functionalist epistemology, within a

pragmatic and utilitarian line of thought, although it is recognized for its centered perspective
in the student according to the developmental psychology of the time [Días Barriga, F; [Link]. p. 26].

This model reveals the sources that give rise to learning objectives: Student,
Society and specialists; taking into account the role of philosophy and psychology of
learning (as filters) in your selection. According to Tyler, you have to choose '... from the original list of
objectives, those that represent higher values and align with the philosophy of the school" [Tyler; R.,
[Link]., p.38] and consider a psychology of learning that allows to 'distinguish what changes can
to be expected in humans as a result of a learning process and which will be
out of reach" [Tyler, op. cit. p. 41].

The Tylerian pedagogical model is based on a functionalist epistemology, within a

a line of pragmatic and utilitarian thought, although its centered perspective is recognized
in the student according to the developmental psychology of the time [Díaz Barriga, F; [Link]. p. 26].

Specialists Society Student

Suggested objectives
 15

Selection and Organization of Objectives

Philosophy Filter

Psychology Filter

Defined objectives

Selection of learning activities

Organization of learning activities

Evaluation of experiences

Reinitiation of the cycle

Fig.1. Linear curricular model of R.W. Tyler, in A. Díaz Barriga (1984)

2- The Hilda Taba model.

This model (cited by A. Díaz Barriga, 1984) contains 7 elements arranged in the following order:

Curricular model of H. Taba, in A. Díaz Barriga (1993)

Needs Diagnosis
Formulation of objectives
Content selection
Content organization
Selection of learning activities
Organization of learning activities
Determination of what is going to be evaluated
 16

As can be appreciated, this model is based on Tyler's proposal, although it surpasses it in that it considers as
main support for the development of the curriculum is a diagnosis of social needs that '... allows
keeping the resume in tune with the needs of the time (...) is essentially a process of determination
made to be taken into account in the curriculum" [Taba, H. 1974, p. 305, cited in Adías Barriga, 1995, p. 19].

However, this 'diagnosis' is reduced to providing answers to very specific, immediate demands.
and utilitarian, affecting the theoretical generalization that is necessary in the training of the professional or
of the graduate.

As can be observed, the proposals of R. Tyler and H. Taba have the same foundations and principles.
They start from the definition of education as a change in behavior. They constitute a classic model of
technological paradigm and how models are the most influential in recent years. It is known
as a Rational Curriculum Plan, Medium - End Planning model or Planning by model
objectives.

3- The Mouritz Johnson model.

Her curricular proposals can be seen as a continuation of those by Tyler and Taba.
distinguishing itself in its model the so-called systems approach which is a consequence of the theory of
system applied to education. It highlights two basic teaching systems: Instruction system and the
curriculum development system.

Unlike its predecessors, it considers learning outcomes not only as objectives.

observable behavioral instructions, but also includes the formation of values expressed in
norms and attitudes.

Graph 3 shows the methodological conception of your model.

Criteria of Curriculum (series Results of

structuring structured of System of learning

System of intended results development

Instruction learning outcomes of the Curriculum

Criteria of
 17

selection
Repertoire of
behaviors of
professor
Content
instructions

Sources
teacher's culture

Classification scheme of M. Johnson, in F. Díaz Barriga (1993)

Taking the ideas from the models developed by the aforementioned Americans, not
few didactics and Latin American educators developed their proposals, aimed especially at the
higher education. These models follow a systemic and technological approach like their predecessors.
Among the most prominent for their application in different university degrees are those of Raquel.
Glazman and María De Ibarrola (1978); J.A. Arnaz (1981) and V. Arredondo (1979).
In the sample, it can be seen how each of the elements is systemically interrelated.
curriculum according to Glazman and De Ibarrola; and where the objectives constitute the methodological axis of the
structure of the Study Plan.

Determination of General Objectives

Curriculum

Operationalization of the objectives

Breakdown in Breakdown in
Objectives Objectives
Specific Intermediates

Structuring of
Intermediate Objectives
Hierarchization
Sorting
Goal setting
Evaluation of the Curriculum
Current plan
Design Process
New plan

Technological-Systemic Curriculum Model (Latin Version of R. Tyler and H. Taba)

For his part, Arnaz, based on the concept of curriculum as a plan that guides the selection of the
learning experiences consider that in its formation, the following should be taken into account
four elements: curriculum objectives, study plan, descriptive letters, and evaluation system
(Arnaz, J.A. [Link]. p. 11). It then describes it as a process called development of
the curriculum is composed of four activities as shown in the following graph:

Prepare the curriculum

 18

Implement the curriculum

Apply the curriculum

Evaluate the curriculum

Process of curriculum development, in Arnaz, J.A. [Link]. p.11.

Each of these activities becomes operations that in turn are broken down into sub-
operations in its practical materialization, evidence the technocratic and functional rationality in which
that model is based.

In V. Arredondo's model, the systemic approach is also highlighted "but (...) it presents a
marked orientation towards the study of the issues of society, of the labor market and the
professional exercise" (Díaz Barriga, F; [Link]. p. 31) surpassing in this sense the previous ones. This
the author describes the phases that make up Arredondo's model as follows:

Pre-analysis (here an evaluation of the current curriculum is carried out).

Detection of national needs in relation to professional practice.
Delimitation of the professional profile.
Job market of the graduated professional.
Institutional resources.
Analysis of the student population.

Curricular models with a critical and sociopolitical approach emerge as an alternative to the
conductive models whose theoretical framework and methodological approach are based on technology
educational. They are characterized by their critique of the different theoretical references (social, economic and
politicians) who support the technological models. Their proposals are based on processes of
socialization, collective work in the classroom, problem analysis and seeking solutions through means
investigative.

Among these models, those of L. Stenhouse (1975); Schwab (cited in F. Díaz Barriga, op. cit.) stand out.
y Guevara Niebla (1976). They are part of the humanist movement.

Model of J. Schwab

Schwab proposes in his proposal the need to begin shaping the curriculum starting from the
everyday experience of the students, so it is not necessary, in their opinion, to pre-establish the
curriculum. Its model largely responds to the ecological or contextual paradigm.

Institution Everyday life (Source)

Practical Problems

Problem Solving Institution

Classroom Evaluation Media

Schwab's curricular model (Reconceptualist)

This line of thinking, related to the hermeneutic paradigm and ethnographic methodology
 19

naturalist (...), considers the problems that define design to be of a practical and not theoretical nature
development of the curriculum" (Díaz Barriga, F. [Link].p.32).

Lawrense Stenhouse model.

L. Stenhouse adopts Schwab's notion and approach and advances it, as he indicates how the profession
Education should be organized for research and development tasks of the curriculum.

The teacher is not alone in the structuring of the curriculum; studying the processes through which
it is structured outside of school, the profession will be an essential element to achieve a platform
critique from which reconstruction will be possible. Their proposal can be graphically reflected from
next way:

Institution Society Education

Broad problem formulation

(Macro problems)

Teacher and students Processes and strategies to solve the

problems (action research).

L. Stenhouse model with an action research approach.

As can be seen in its model, special attention is given to the school-society link, which
it allows us to identify problems and seek solutions through dialectical relationships
complex between the teacher and the students.

Stenhouse considers in his proposal the possibility of specifying contents and shaping them.
problems whose solution involves participation from both the teacher and the student, in what has
made known, as action research. It is the opinion that the curriculum must develop
both the teacher and the students.

J. Elliot, one of the collaborators of L. Stenhouse, delves into the particularities of using the
participatory action research methodology for curriculum design. Curriculum development is
seen as a process through which the teacher reflects on the quality of his own practice and
therefore, the quality of the process it directs is favored, students are invited to think for themselves and
do not repeat the thought of your teachers.

It is about the model of the 'teacher as researcher'. Develop this notion in relation to
prolonged professionalization whose fundamental characteristics are:

The commitment to the systematic questioning of one's own teaching as a basis for
development
The commitment and skills to study one's own teaching;
The interest in questioning and testing the theory in practice through the use of those skills.

This enhances the personality of teachers, as they adopt a research-oriented position towards the
curricular practice.

In his work (1987), he describes the curriculum process by relating the following elements:

The respect for the nature of knowledge and its methodology

 20

♦The consideration of the learning process

♦The coherent approach to the teaching process (relationship between the knowledge process and processes of
learning

These models had widespread dissemination in England and Wales, in the United Kingdom, but
...they are accused of being responsible for a low level of student performance, of being distant
of the demands of society, of not maintaining a balance between the different types of content
necessary for the harmonious development of students, being subject to options
somewhat contradictory, depending excessively on the individual will of the teachers and
the centers and not faithfully reflecting an agreement of the whole society on what they should learn
students in the school" (Coll, C., 1990, p.7.)

César Coll model

As an alternative to behaviorist learning theory, new approaches have been developed in recent years.
curricular proposals in line with the cognitive paradigm, focusing attention on how one learns
student, considering learning as a constructive process. It stands out among the proposals
elaborated, the model of Cesar Coll (1991) that is applied in the compulsory basic general education of
Spain today.

This author suggests, based on his conception of the curriculum as a "project that presides over the
school educational activities, (that) clarifies its intentions and provides appropriate action guides
and useful for teachers who have the direct responsibility for its execution" (Coll, C., [Link]. p.31),
that two fundamental aspects must be taken into account in the conception of the curriculum: the
distribution of competencies (responsibilities) in the development and realization of the curriculum and the
adoption of the constructivism of school learning and teaching as a psychopedagogical framework.

The development of the curricular model is guided by a set of references.

theoretical (anthropological, psychological, sociological, and pedagogical convictions) and their structure enables
derive educational intentions at three levels of concreteness:

FIRST LEVEL:

Understand the general objectives of the Stages (Preschool, Primary Education, Secondary Education)
Mandatory, Post-Compulsory Secondary Education.

SECOND LEVEL:

Establishment of the curricular areas with their terminal objectives, content blocks,
educational guidelines and criteria for developing learning and evaluation activities.
THIRD LEVEL:

Organization (sequencing) of the content blocks according to the given time frame and
programming of teaching units.

The decision-making of the first two levels corresponds to Educational Administration, that is,
propose a Base Curriculum Design (DCB) that has prescriptive character to ensure the
minimum essential knowledge of the students.

It corresponds to the centers and teachers the third level of specification that includes the development of the
educational center projects (PEC) (include the basic and priority objectives, structure and
functioning, attention to special educational needs, etc.), the Curricular Projects of
 21

Center (PCC) (constitute the materialization of the DCB at the center level) and Activity Planning
Tasks carried out by each teacher for their classes.

Since its dissemination as an experimental phase, important aspects of this model were recognized:

The choice made for meaningful learning as a guide and orientation for all activity
teacher.

The rigor in programming that allows for a more careful design of teaching activities, a
easier tracking of your application and a more objective assessment of its results.

A more flexible evaluation that (...) helps to clarify and specify more and (...) moves away from the tendency to a
always uniform evaluation.

The application of the curriculum model (...) guides the programming of variable credits that
respond to the terminal objectives of the cycle" (Alrinet, J. Muñoz, E., 1990, p.63).

However, the almost absolute promotion of constructivism as a psychopedagogical basis for learning
could lead to unfavorable results in the curriculum development process.

The curriculum design reflects a specific approach, whose concepts guide the interaction that takes place.
in the components that constitute it. Having a clear focus and curricular model will allow for
answers, among others, to the following questions:

How will you specify the objectives regarding the training you want to achieve with the students?
Will you propose content or will you limit yourself to suggesting criteria for its selection?
What will the students learn?
When to teach?
How to get students to learn?
What, how, and when to evaluate?
What should be the center around which the curriculum is organized?
How to meet individual needs?

Exercise 4

Reflect on the curricular approach that you, as a teacher, implement.

Which of the studied approaches and models is the closest? Argue.

THE CURRICULAR DESIGN. ITS TASKS, COMPONENTS, AND LEVELS.

Understanding the curriculum as the concretion of the design, development, and evaluation of a project.
educational that responds to certain established basics and foundations and to a didactic conception, is
it is possible to distinguish three fundamental dimensions in it:

The curricular design.

Curricular development.
Curricular assessment.

What is meant by dimensions?

 22

The term is used in this context to designate the directions in which the process manifests.
curricular, the way it is expressed and revealed concretely. The dimensions do not correspond
with stages of the curricular process although at times, these may have a more prominent presence
explicit in some of its phases.

What is curriculum design?

In the literature on the subject, the curricular design is sometimes identified with the concept of
planning or with the curriculum in its entirety (Arnaz, 1981), other authors identify the term with
the documents that prescribe the curricular conception or a stage of the curricular process.

EXERCISE #5

It is important that before continuing, you reflect on what your criterion is regarding this and elaborate on it.
written the concept you have about curriculum design.

Curricular design can be understood as a dimension of the curriculum that reveals the methodology, the
actions and the result of the diagnosis, modeling, structuring, and organization of the projects
curricular. It prescribes a certain educational conception that, when implemented, aims to solve
problems and satisfy needs and in its evaluation enables the improvement of the process of
teaching - learning.

EXERCISE #6

The curriculum design is methodology in the sense that its content explains how to develop the conception
curricular, it is action as it constitutes a process of elaboration and is a result because of
this process is reflected in curricular documents, this conception and the ways to implement it
in practice and evaluate it.
Build a concept map to establish the main relationships that can occur in the
interpretation of this concept.

Curriculum design tasks

In the reviewed literature, the tasks of design as a dimension are not clearly defined.
curriculum, however, it is possible to appreciate in most models, especially in the latest ones
30 years, the need for a moment of needs assessment and a moment of development where
What is most reflected is the determination of the graduate profile and the formation of the study plan.
There is a predominance of task treatment in the curriculum.
without specifying the dimension of the curricular design and the explanation of its content for the macro level of
curricular concretion and especially for higher education, which is where it has reached the most
I develop this subject.

The most comprehensive conception we have consulted about phases and tasks of the curriculum is Rita M.
Alvarez de Zayas (1995), from which this work is based to make a proposal, which
differ from the previous one first, in that it specifies the tasks for the design dimension; second, it makes
a phase integration that clarifies the content of the tasks and the result that must be
to remain the same; third, the designation of tasks needs to be specified more; and fourth, the content of
the tasks are reflected in terms that can be applied to any level of teaching and
concretization of the curricular design.

TASKS OF CURRICULAR DESIGN:

 23

1st. Diagnosis of problems and needs.

2nd. Curriculum Modeling.
3rd. Curriculum Structuring.
4th. Organization for implementation.
5th. Design of the curricular assessment

What is done in each of the tasks and what is their content?

1st. Diagnosis of problems and needs.

This consists of the study of the theoretical framework, that is, the existing positions and trends in the
philosophical, sociological, epistemological, psychological, pedagogical, and didactic references that
they influence the foundations of the possible curricular conception on which the design will be based
curriculum. It is a moment of study and preparation for the designer in the theoretical plane in order to
face the task of exploring educational practice. The study of the bases and foundations
allows setting indicators to diagnose the practice.

The content of this task allows for the exploration of reality to determine the
context and existing situation in the different curricular sources.

The subjects of the teaching-learning process are explored, their qualities, motivations,
previous knowledge
This includes the exploration of human resources to address the curricular process.

Society is explored in its economic, sociopolitical, ideological, and cultural conditions, both in its dimension
social general as community and in particular the institutions where the graduate should be inserted, their requirements,
characteristics, prospects for progress, etc. These elements should provide the foundations upon which to design
the curricular conception.

The level of sciences is explored, trends in their development, the development of

information, clarification of teaching methodologies, possibilities for updating, etc.

The current curriculum is explored, its history, contents, contexts, potentialities, effectiveness in
formation of students, the curriculum structure, its link with life, etc.

To conduct the exploration, documentary sources, experts, managers, and the process are used.
of teaching-learning, the scientific literature, etc.

The elements obtained from the exploration allow characterizing and evaluating the real situation regarding
which must be designed and in its integration with the study of theoretical foundations allows for moving forward
to a third moment within this stage that consists of the determination of problems and
needs. At this time, conflicts of various kinds that arise in the
reality, for example:

What is learned and what is needed.

What is taught and what is learned.
What is achieved and reality.
- etc.
 24

These conflicts are classified, prioritized, and the problems that need to be resolved are determined.
in the curricular project.

The previous study should also result in a list of needs and interests of the subjects to be trained.
that must be taken into account in the curriculum to be developed.

In the task of diagnosing problems and needs, three moments can be distinguished:

1. Study of the theoretical framework.

2. Exploration of real situations.
3. Determination of problems and needs.

The result of this task should be reflected in a brief characterization of the situation.
explored and the problems and needs to be solved.

2nd. Curriculum modeling.

In this task, the conceptualization of the model is required, that is, positions are assumed in the
different theoretical references in relation to the existing reality. It specifies what the criterion is
society, man, education, teacher, student, etc. The type of curriculum is characterized, the approach
curricular that has been chosen.

An important moment in the realization of this task is the determination of the exit profile.
expressed in terminal objectives of any of the designed levels. The exit profile is
determine from:

Socioeconomic, political, ideological, and cultural bases in relation to social reality and
community.
Social needs.
Policies of organizations and institutions.
Identification of the graduate's future, fields of action, qualities, skills and
necessary knowledge for their performance and prospective development.

These elements must be expressed in an integrated manner in objectives for any of the
levels that are designed.

Due to the importance of determining the graduate profile and the conception of the plans of
Study for the rest of the modeling includes additional material on its theory and
methodology at the end of this chapter.

Curriculum modeling includes a task of great importance for the curricular process and it is the
determination of the necessary content to achieve the terminal objectives.

The determination of contents is understood as the selection of knowledge, skills, and qualities.
that must be expressed in module programs, disciplines, subjects, director programs,
components, according to the structuring criteria assumed and the type of curriculum adopted,
specified at the level being designed.

In addition to the content, the methodology to be used for curriculum development must be conceived.
the methodology will respond to the level of concreteness of the design being developed, in such a way that if it
It is about a study plan; the methodology refers to how to structure and evaluate it, as well.
 25

if it is a module, discipline, subject, a teaching unit, a component, etc., it must remain

revealed the way to develop and evaluate its practical application. As the conception is of
closed or open curriculum, the responsibility of determining content and methodologies will fall on
the macro, meso, and micro levels of curriculum design concreteness.

In the modeling task, three fundamental moments can be distinguished.

1. Conceptualization of the model.
2. Identification of the graduate profile or the terminal objectives.
3. Determination of contents and methodology.

The result of this task must be reflected in documents in which the are defined the
starting positions in the plane of the characterization of the curriculum of the level in question; the
objectives to be achieved; the relationship of knowledge, skills, qualities organized in programs
or plans according to the curricular structure that is assumed, of the level being addressed and of what is being
designing; and the methodological orientations for implementation.

3rd Stage. Curriculum Structuring.

This task consists of the sequencing and structuring of the components involved in the
curricular project that is being designed. At this moment, the order in which it will be developed is determined.
curricular project, the place of each component, the necessary time, the precedence relationships and
necessary horizontal integration and all of this is reflected in a curricular map.
all these relationships.

This task is carried out at all levels of concretion of the curriculum design, although it assumes nuances.
different in relation to what is designed.

Sequencing or structuring is linked to the curricular conception as it influences the

decision of the structure.

Due to the importance of this task concerning the curriculum, it is included at the end of the chapter.
Explanation of the characteristics of this curriculum document.

4th Stage. Organization for the implementation of the curricular project.

This task involves anticipating all the measures to ensure the implementation of the project.
curricular. The preparation of the subjects who will carry out this task is decisive.
project, in the understanding of the conception, in the mastery of the higher levels of design and of
own and in the creation of conditions. The preparation of pedagogical staff is carried out in a way
individual and collective and the level of coordination among the members of groups is very important
subject, discipline, year, grade, level, career, institutional, territorial, etc., to achieve levels of
integration towards the achievement of objectives. This work centers on the student to diagnose
its development, its progress, limitations, needs, interests, etc., and based on that design actions
integrated among the members of the pedagogical collectives that are coherent and systematic.

This task also includes the preparation of schedules, formation of class groups, and others.
activities, the premises, the resources, which is why all the factors involved participate in it
the decision-making of this kind, including student representation.

5th Stage. Design of the curriculum evaluation.

 26

At all levels and for all components of the curricular project, the evaluation is designed that
must start from terminal objectives and establish indicators and instruments that allow validation of
through different channels, the effectiveness of the implementation of the curricular project for each one
of the levels, components, and factors.

The indicators and instruments of curricular evaluation must be reflected in each of the
documents that express a level of design, that is, of the curricular project in its conception
general, of the plans, programs, units, components, etc.

The criterion assumed in this theory regarding taking the curriculum design as a dimension of
curriculum and not as a stage and define tasks in your methodology, allows to understand that your action
it is permanent and develops as a process in the same time and space as the rest of the
dimensions, recognizing that there are tasks within it that may respond to other dimensions such as
those of development and evaluation, however, there are tasks that must precede in their results.
time to others to achieve coherence in the curricular process.

LEVELS OF CONCRETIZATION OF CURRICULAR DESIGN.

The structuring by levels is consistent with the consideration of an open curriculum in terms of what the
educational administrations define minimum prescriptive aspects that allow for a realization of
curricular design to different contexts, realities, and needs.

The first level of concreteness of the curricular design (Macro Level) corresponds to the educational system in
general form; which involves the maximum level that carries out the curricular design.

It is the responsibility of the educational administrations to create the base curricular design (teachings
minimums, indicators of achievements, etc.), it must be a pedagogical instrument that indicates the
broad lines of educational thought, educational policies, major goals, etc.; in a way
that guide on the action plan to be followed at the following levels of concreteness and in the
curriculum development. These functions require that the base design be open and flexible, but
also that it serves as a guide for teachers and justifies its prescriptive nature.
These three traits shape the nature of that document.

The second level of concreteness of the curriculum design (Meso Level) is materialized in the institution or
intermediate instances, in educational institutions the design at this level is materialized in the
INSTITUTIONAL EDUCATIONAL PROJECT and CENTER PROJECT, which specifies among others
aspects of the principles and purposes of the establishment, the available teaching and educational resources and
necessary, the pedagogical strategy, the regulations for teachers and students, and the system of
management. It must respond to the situations and needs of the learners in the community.
The educational system of the region and the country must be characterized by being concrete, feasible, and evaluable.

The third level of concretion of the curricular design (Micro Level), known as classroom programming.
The educational objectives, content, development activities, and activity of are determined.
evaluation and methodology of each area that will be materialized in the classroom.

CURRICULAR PLANNING IN THE SCHOOL

The P.E.I. is made up of three fundamental documents:

Educational Center Project (P.E.C.)

2. CENTER CURRICULAR PROJECT (C.C.P.)
3. INTERNAL REGIME REGULATIONS (R.R.I.)
 27

The CENTER EDUCATIONAL PROJECT (P.E.C.) clarifies the positions and trends in the references.
philosophical, sociological, epistemological, psychological, and didactic factors that influence the foundations of
the possible curricular conception on which the curriculum will be designed.

The CENTRE CURRICULAR PROJECT (C.C.P.) has been defined as 'the set of decisions
shared articulated by the teaching team of an educational center, aimed at providing greater
coherence in its action, specifying the Basic Curriculum Design (B.C.D.) in global proposals of
didactic intervention, suitable for its specific context", (Del Carmen and Zabala, Guide for the
development, monitoring and evaluation of center curricular projects, Madrid, 1989.

Among its objectives are:

• Adapt and develop the curricular prescriptions of educational administration Design

Curricular Base according to the specific characteristics of the center.

• Contribute to the continuity and consistency of the educational actions of the teaching team,
who offer teaching at various educational levels.

• Express the criteria and agreements truly shared by the teaching staff.

The INTERNAL REGULATIONS (I.R.) is a normalizing element that regulates the regime
from an institution and that will enable the practical application of the P.E.C. and the P.C.C. through the
formalization of the structure of the center and the establishment of rules, precepts and intrusions to
through which the coexistence of the collective is ordered.

Among the documents that are prepared are the annual plans, teaching units, and the plans for
classes.

DETERMINATION OF PROFILES

The term "Graduate Profile" is widely used today in the field of education.
at all levels, sectors, and modalities.

The fact of determining the boundaries and arriving at a definition of a profession or what is expected from it.
Graduated at a certain level of education leads to the conceptualization of the profile.

What is the graduate profile?

Description of the main characteristics that learners should have as a result of

having gone through a certain teaching-learning system." (Arnaz, J., Planning
curricular. Trillas Mexico 1996).

It is the description of the professional in the most objective way based on their characteristics.
(Mercado O, Martínez L, and Ramírez C. A contribution to the professional profile of the psychologist).

It comprises both knowledge and skills as well as attitudes. All of this is defined
operationally defines a professional exercise.
methodology for the development of study plans. In Frida Díaz Barriga. Design methodology
curriculum for higher education. Trillas, 1996).
 28

It is the determination of the general and specific actions that a professional develops in the areas
the fields of action emanating from social reality and the discipline itself aimed at the solution of the
previously warned social needs (Frida Díaz Barriga. 1996 [Link]).

Very important in the development of a profile is the preceding work that precedes its structuring.
in which the diagnosis made through the study, application and plays an essential role
processing of interviews, surveys, and other techniques, in order to help characterize the profession and
their development prospects.

The study of previous plans and the experience of other regions is also valuable.
world, as well as a bibliographic study that allows for the scientific updating of specialists who
they developed the task.

The development of a profile must go through several stages:

1. Determination of the object of the profession, (determined by the group of problems that must be addressed
solve the social environment.
2. Investigate the knowledge, techniques, and procedures of the discipline that are applicable to the
solution to the problems.
3. Investigate possible areas of action for the graduate.
4. Analysis of the potential tasks that the graduate must perform.
5. Investigate the population where you could carry out your work.
6. Development of the profile based on integrating social needs, level to be achieved by the disciplines,
tasks and population characteristics.
7. Profile evaluation.

A well-defined profile must have enough clarity and precision to demonstrate how
The graduate will be characterized by the following elements that can be summarized as:

• Specify the areas of knowledge in which mastery must be acquired.

• Description of the tasks, activities, actions that must be carried out in these areas.
• Delimitation of values and attitudes to be acquired, necessary for good performance.
• Analysis of the population that will receive the labor spheres.
• Specification of the skills that should be developed from a theoretical and practical point of view and
that will allow their performance.

To these characteristics, we must add that every profile must guarantee continuous education and the
recurring training and basic principles that complement it such as:

Polyvalence: It is the ability of driving, adaptation, and flexibility.

Efficiency: Design, budget, cost, and control.

Strategy: Ability to participate, generate organizational situations within a process of

permanent change and transformation.

Update: Autonomy for handling modern technologies.

Stability: Preparation to navigate through different situations resulting from changes and
transformations without deviating from the objectives.
 27

The CENTER EDUCATIONAL PROJECT (P.E.C.) clarifies the positions and trends in the references.
philosophical, sociological, epistemological, psychological, and didactic factors that influence the foundations of
the possible curricular conception on which the curriculum will be designed.

The CENTRE CURRICULAR PROJECT (C.C.P.) has been defined as 'the set of decisions
shared articulated by the teaching team of an educational center, aimed at providing greater
coherence in its action, specifying the Basic Curriculum Design (B.C.D.) in global proposals of
didactic intervention, suitable for its specific context", (Del Carmen and Zabala, Guide for the
development, monitoring and evaluation of center curricular projects, Madrid, 1989.

Among its objectives are:

• Adapt and develop the curricular prescriptions of educational administration Design

Curricular Base according to the specific characteristics of the center.

• Contribute to the continuity and consistency of the educational actions of the teaching team,
who offer teaching at various educational levels.

• Express the criteria and agreements truly shared by the teaching staff.

The INTERNAL REGULATIONS (I.R.) is a normalizing element that regulates the regime
from an institution and that will enable the practical application of the P.E.C. and the P.C.C. through the
formalization of the structure of the center and the establishment of rules, precepts and intrusions to
through which the coexistence of the collective is ordered.

Among the documents that are prepared are the annual plans, teaching units, and the plans for
classes.

DETERMINATION OF PROFILES

The term "Graduate Profile" is widely used today in the field of education.
at all levels, sectors, and modalities.

The fact of determining the boundaries and arriving at a definition of a profession or what is expected from it.
Graduated at a certain level of education leads to the conceptualization of the profile.

What is the graduate profile?

Description of the main characteristics that learners should have as a result of

having gone through a certain teaching-learning system." (Arnaz, J., Planning
curricular. Trillas Mexico 1996).

It is the description of the professional in the most objective way based on their characteristics.
(Mercado O, Martínez L, and Ramírez C. A contribution to the professional profile of the psychologist).

It comprises both knowledge and skills as well as attitudes. All of this is defined
operationally defines a professional exercise.
methodology for the development of study plans. In Frida Díaz Barriga. Design methodology
curriculum for higher education. Trillas, 1996).
 30

• What the student must learn throughout the entire concrete teaching-learning process.

• The proposed order to follow within the process.

All the elements to be considered in its elaboration are related to the profile and among the
the following can be highlighted as the most important:

Social needs
2. Professional internships
3. The involved disciplines
4. The students.

It is of vital importance to logically organize the steps for structuring a plan.

studies, that is, there must be coherence and careful analysis in the decisions that are made
taking.

Frida Díaz Barriga proposes the following steps:

Organization of content in subjects or modules.

2) Structuring of subjects or modules in a curricular plan

a) Horizontal sequence: which refers to the set of subjects or modules that must be taken.
in the same cycle.

b) Vertical sequence: referring to the order in which subjects or modules must be taken.
the different school cycles.

There must be vertical and horizontal coherence among the teaching units that make up the plan.

3) Establishment of the curriculum map: includes the duration of the subjects or modules, their value in
credits, subjects or modules that will make up each school cycle, etc.

The nature of the curricula depends on the objectives and order considerations.
pedagogical, logical, psychological, epistemological, and administrative, primarily. From them derive the
differences in their structuring, which can be:

a) Linear or by subjects: It refers to taking each one of the organized bodies of

knowledge, skills, and activities, divide them and articulate them following a greater logic regarding
to the content and learning experiences, moving from one topic to another, or from one course to another; according to
a defined hierarchy, based on an analysis, evaluation, and prior organization before the teaching.

For educational institutions that need to develop curricula, the structuring by

Subjects are easier for administrative control; tradition influences this, and in general, the lack.
of experience, to assimilate other modalities.

However, the structuring by subjects has been criticized and there are several reasons for this:

1. Because it contributes in a particular way to fragment reality and generates constant repetition.
of information often contradictory that are perceived by the student as opinions or
 31

points of view, equally valid and not as concretions of various theoretical frameworks.

2. It privileges exposure and tends to convert the student into a spectator in front of the object of study.

3. Unnecessary expenditure of psychic energy by teachers and students as a consequence of the

excessive atomization of content.

Despite the fact that this conception tends to consider the external connections of subjects and disciplines
and its evaluation is essentially in terms of quantity, it is not necessary to make this disappear
type of organization, what is essential is to teach the subjects and disciplines based on
of their own dynamic relationships and linked to social issues, which will contribute to
visualize the dangers of a fragmented culture and lay the foundations of a holistic thinking
interdisciplinary.

b) Modular Plan: it is a conception of the curriculum that integrates the different disciplines starting from
to focus on the solution of problems (object of transformation).

Here, the development of study programs must be based on critical thinking and not
simply based on the logical structure of the disciplines, the curriculum, the point of
the reference will be the very process of activity of the future graduate within the context and not the
contents, forms or models of disciplines.

Its appearance is relatively recent and has been proposed as a solution to the linear structure.

According to Margarita Panza, the modules are: '...an integrative and multidisciplinary structure of activities.'
learning that within a flexible timeframe allows achieving educational objectives of
skills, abilities, and attitudes that allow the student to perform professional functions...
(Margarita Panza, Modular Teaching. Educational Profiles, CISE-UNAM # 11)

This definition evidences some of the advantageous characteristics of this structure:

• The isolation of the school institution from the social community is broken, as it broadens the
concept of classroom to the social context.
• Breaks with encyclopedism by acting on reality and not limiting itself to the study of contents.
• Eliminate the overlap of themes.
• Eliminate artificial motivations, as one works with reality, which is inherently stimulating.

However, there are also elements that constitute causes for concern in this approach:

• The organization by modules by itself does not guarantee a break with positivism.
• It is a danger to be confused with juxtaposition, which happens in many institutions in the
current affairs.
• It is also a danger that courses become a passive review of generalization that
they offer few opportunities for research, meaning that by seeking depth one achieves it
increase superficiality.
• If the teacher is not prepared, engaged, committed, and motivated with the principles of
focus, instead of advancing, chaos will be created.

C) Mixed Plan: It is formed by the combination of a common trunk that all students follow.
the beginning of a career and a set of specializations that the student chooses one.
characteristics of the two types of plans and allows the student to specialize in a more specific area
within a discipline or profession. The feasibility and suitability of this type of plan must
 32

to be determined according to social, economic, labor market, resource criteria, etc.

There are other theoretical proposals to organize the curriculum, for example, Susana Sabath among
others, it proposes the distribution by subjects; by areas (which refer to content that comes from
different disciplines, related to each other to facilitate multidisciplinary integration, seeks
integrate the resources and study materials) and by modules. In the case of Hilda Taba, the proposal is
by subjects (referring to the subjects), broad general themes with an organization based on
in social processes and vital functions, and the Cuban Carlos Alvarez believes that a
structure in subjects, disciplines, modules and by credits.

Whatever the structuring of the curriculum plan, pedagogical practice is what evidences the
contradictions, gaps and successes of the study plan and the practice itself allow for a process of
constant evaluation of its results. There are elements that have to do with its very essence as
son

• The achieved integration

• Update of the programs and the theoretical-conceptual and referential framework of the programs.
• Academic results
• The opinion of teachers and students.

The changing reality should also be taken into account, for which it is necessary:

Market analysis.
Opinion of external specialists.
Comparative analysis with other curricula in the same area of specialization.

EXERCISE # 7

1- Characterize the curriculum of the institution where you work, taking into account the content.
studied.

2- What changes would you like to introduce?

CURRICULAR PRACTICE.

The fact of having carefully crafted curricular designs, scientifically

based on empirical evidence and contrasted, arising from the active participation of the community
Education is undoubtedly a basic condition for success within curricular reforms.
currently. However, one of its true challenges is the promotion of curriculum development.
and the conversion of design into a tool for work and inquiry within the framework of its implementation.

When referring earlier to the definition of CURRICULAR DESIGN, we outlined how the development or
The execution of the curriculum presupposes another dimension of it, which may be inherent to its three
levels: at the macro, meso, or micro. In any of them, it is necessary to achieve the development of processes.
intrinsic to re-signification, democratization, and creativity, essential principles of a process
superior to that in the professional mode of action which is self-improvement (Reflections on
A theory and a practice. Proposal of a Cuban pedagogue. V. Páez Suárez. 1977. Edited by the
Private Higher Institute. José L. Bustamante y Rivero. Arequipa. Peru.

This position allows us to realize that when we relate the dimensions, the
self-improvement is one of the basic cores of professional performance, because it operates
 33

about the sphere of regulation, the meanings, the reasons, the needs for decision-making
and the evolution of meanings (Labarrere Sarduy Alberto, 1993)

Execution energizes self-improvement processes that influence relationships

communication and leadership styles, about skill and professional competence, is in summary the
reflective and self-reflective implication of the teacher in their professional performance and education
permanent.

This way of acting can be enhanced by the participation of all teachers in all
curricular dimensions.
From the analysis of the aforementioned definitions, we could summarize the essence of curricular development in
the following graph:

CURRICULAR DEVELOPMENT

EXECUTION OF THE PLANNED

TRANSFORMATION OF THE CURRICULUM

: : :

CORRECTION MODIFICATION PERFECTIONING

: : :

RESEARCH AND REFLECTION FROM PRACTICE

: : :

TEACHERS STUDENTS DIRECTORS

GROUPS

When thinking about the curriculum practice, the thought is directed to the level that is closest to us, the
micro level, that is to say, the one that takes place in the institution, in the disciplines, in the subjects and in the
classes, the main protagonists of this practice are the teachers and the students, who for
In this phase, the general can play a more or less active role depending on the conceptions.
of the institution in question. Related to this reflection is that we consider the need each
growing trend that the teacher, based on their own practice and systematically linked to
study of the main theoretical assumptions, can contribute and suggest transformations to
curriculum. This is achieved when the teacher involves colleagues, students, and other members of the
educational community to the curriculum development process. Therefore, Stenhouse's criterion is reasonable.
when it states, "What is desirable in educational innovation is not that we perfect tactics to
to advance our cause, but rather to improve our ability to subject our ideas to critique
practice in light of our beliefs and in light of our practice.

The role of the teacher in the dimension of curricular development is characterized by facing
constantly the tasks of designing, adapting, and redesigning, and the latter as the result of the
reworking of the design where the initial model is evaluated in its implementation based on its
curricular research.
 34

The redesign has a close relationship with design as it would be repeating the design program.
curricular totally or in some of its parts in order to refine it.

Curricular adaptation is a process that takes place at the meso level and is materialized in the development of
curricular designs that respond to the concrete characteristics of the educational community, do not
try to create a new curriculum, but rather to enrich the existing one with the contribution it offers
immediate reality in such a way that it meets national requirements in terms of understanding and
incorporation of local cultural realities into the curriculum.

EXERCISE # 9

Reflection on your professional practice:

What design, redesign or adjustments tasks have you carried out in the context of curriculum development in
your institution or classroom?

In the text Introduction to the Curriculum of Bolaño and Molina, the authors make a proposal.
Methodological approach to effectively implement the curriculum at the meso and institutional level for this purpose.
describe the following steps:

1. Analysis of the educational institution. For which its location in the context will be taken into account.
socio-cultural.

2. Analysis of the socio-cultural context. For this, a socio-economic and cultural diagnosis is necessary.
of the community.

3. Determination of the needs, interests, and expectations of the students. This stage implies
a careful preparation of the techniques and procedures that will characterize them.

4. Analysis of curricular documents. Study of the purposes, objectives of education, profile of the
student and study programs to adapt them.

5. Methodological treatment to incorporate the information obtained into the teaching planning
through the diagnosis. The information obtained through the previous phases is integrated into the
content of the different curricular plans.

This proposal of steps contains elements that can be very positive in the development.
curricular. At the same time, the development of specific activities that guarantee is of vital importance.
the creation of conditions and execution of the same among which we can mention:

Preparation of support personnel that requires prior training before the implementation.
practice.
Design of all learning activities that respond to the content of the program having
consider the objectives, the skills system, and the values.
1. Prior coordination with the organizations and institutions in the community that are related to the
plan.
2. Presentation of the designed or reworked curricular design to the educational community to hear the
criteria and reflections that allow for their adaptation.
3. Reflection on what is expected as a result of the implementation of the study plan, as well as the
main directions of the methodological plan.
 35

4. Establishment of the groups of teachers who will attend to the different grades, objectives and
main tasks in collaboration with the educational community.
5. Development of the curricular content with its learning activities, both planned
like those that arise from student needs.
6. Linking research activity with service activity (practice) from one's own
academic development.

These elements that have been addressed are closely related to a proposal by Gimeno.
Sacristán expressed: "the curricular thinking from this new perspective has two great
lateral derivatives; a new conception of teacher professionalism (self-improvement)
and a call to seek a new type of research.

In the first of these derivations that for J. Gimeno is the professionalization of the teacher and that
we also understand as a process of self-improvement, an exhortation is made to
teaching staff to change their attitude towards their daily work, which must be imbued with
constant dissatisfaction with their work, the search for creative actions and more efficiency.

These elements are also closely related to the professional function of the teacher. For A.
Medina, this function is the action of the teacher to conceptualize, understand, and proceed in the
educational practice and this professionalism is evident when in the institution or classroom, he/she decides
reflexively on the most appropriate processes to follow, when anticipating, acting, and evaluating their work
systematically. In this regard, it points out that among the most relevant functions in performance
The following stand out in the professional development of educators:

1-The forecast (design)

2-The application (curriculum development)
3-Research on the conception and curricular practice.

The forecast. A well-founded and well-structured forecast in action is essential for the
teaching and constitutes a task of the daily practice of the teacher. Predicting the action gives
possibilities for professional development as the decision-making and design process becomes more open
curricular. In this function, there is an anticipation of action, seeking coherence between theory and the
practice, thought and action.

The application, development, or implementation of the curriculum. The design only makes sense when it
applies, in turn, it is the application that gives complete meaning and justifies the function of design. The application
It demonstrates that each teacher improves their reflection, so the appropriate and reflective application is as
necessary as the design itself. In this regard, the author presents the following considerations:

• Conception of teaching.
• Inquiry (reflection in action).
• Adoption of relevant decisions to innovate the design.
• Permanent collaboration respecting the autonomy of each teacher in their classroom.
• Create a culture, climate of action, and shared responsibility that contributes to unity.
• Value positively the efforts and adaptations made.
• Integrate the evaluative research and criticism on the designed or applied evaluation model.

Research on the conception and curricular practice. Practice is validation of theory and
generalization of new knowledge. research-action-inquiry-collaboration-learning
Collaborative has in common the commitment to transform reality and integrate theory and practice.
the teacher's forecast, the center's collective, students, and the community in that transformation.
 36

The design and application are completed and consolidated through rigorous research; thus, these
functions complement each other and are the basis of educational innovation. Innovation requires
a permanent integration activity, which is essential for development of the
professionalization.
Closely related to the link that exists between the previously valued elements is the
professional development that is nothing more than a continuous training process throughout life
professional, who produces changes and positive transformations in teaching behaviors, in the
ways of thinking, valuing, and acting on teaching. In this process, the following can stand out as
main aspects:

♦- Pedagogical development (here the need for every development program is highlighted
The professor should guide the teacher to confront their own practice.
♦- Psychological development (personal maturity, mastery of skills and strategies towards problem solving
problems and above all creating networks of communication and support to understand the phenomena
educational).

EXERCISE #10

Evaluate the strategy proposed by Glatthor (1987), which we present to you aimed at
promote cooperative professional development. Incorporate new elements based on your experience.
that enrich their analysis.

Glatthor's strategy:

TYPE APPROACH CHARACTERISTICS

1- Dialogue Reflections on Guided discussion

professional the practice centered on the
teaching.

2- Development Production of Collaborative development

of the curriculum- materials curriculum ratio

lum lum (natural process)

3- Overcoming Analysis of Observation of the

from colleagues teaching followed teaching
of feedback.

4- Advisory Domain of Development of skills.

from colleagues skills based on models
and with activities

5- Research Resolution Development and im--

in action of problems implementation of
pro solutions
identify problems
two for the own
 37

teachers.

The author also notes that these processes are accompanied by conditions as they are perceived as a
learning processes should be understood as a 'personal matter' that largely depends on
the experiences in which the teacher is involved and where the key elements for success are the
motivation and feedback.

Professional development as a personal matter must take into account the characteristics of the individuals
who is the learning process aimed at (adult, young person, family situation, economic, emotional,
etc).

For motivation, the institutional context in which the teacher performs their task is essential. The lack
of incentives, the scarce social recognition of the profession and the indices of dissatisfaction in the
work constitutes, among other things, some of the factors that do not help the teacher to consider
seriousness in the development process.

Previous learning experience plays an important role, that is, prior experience regarding
other programs. Feedback is necessary for the establishment of all learning: every process
learning requires a practical application.

Introducing a novelty in daily practice means, on one hand, knowing how to translate a theory or
methodology to ways of doing in classroom activity and on the other hand overcome the situation of
uncertainty that arises when tackling something unknown without knowing if it will be successful.

CURRICULAR EVALUATION

Understanding the curriculum as a process and product will allow for clarifying the relationships in the
different levels and guide the research paths based on the mastery of educational theory that is
sustain.

Curricular evaluation is a dimension that is part of all moments of design and

curricular development analyzed previously since in every management process, control is a
essential task.

The evaluation of curriculum design and development constitutes a process through which it is verified or
the validity of the design as a whole is verified, through which it is determined to what extent its
projection, practical implementation and results meet the demands that society places on the
educational institutions.

From the above, it can be inferred that it cannot be placed at a specific moment, but must be
systematic, constituting a research modality that allows for the improvement of the teaching process
educational based on the analysis of the data collected in practice.

The above implies considering curricular evaluation as a broad process that includes the
evaluation of students' learning and everything related to the academic apparatus,
administrative, infrastructure that supports this curriculum.

The evaluation is therefore a process, while at the same time it is a result. A result through the
One can determine to what extent (with certain indicators) the designed plan is fulfilled or not.

What is conceived, designed, executed including the curricular evaluation process is assessed.
itself; hence the curricular evaluation begins in the stage of preparation for the school year,
 38

where the strategy is modeled or planned based on the problems that have been detected or
foresee that they could exist.

When designing the curriculum evaluation, the main elements to consider are:

a) For what? More general objectives of the evaluation and gradually derive the objectives from them.
partial (clear, precise, achievable, and evaluable).

b) What?. The evaluation can refer to the entire curriculum or to a particular aspect of it.

c) Who?. Depending on what is to be evaluated and the organizational level at which it will take place,
determine the participants to be included in the evaluation and who will carry it out in relation to the level
organizational matter in question. For the development of the curricular evaluation, they will consider, among
other elements, the criteria, suggestions, etc. from the students.

d) How?. Methods to be used depending on what is being evaluated.

e) With what?. The means, resources, budget, etc. are assessed.

f) When? The sequencing or organization of the evaluation process is taken into account.

Depending on what is being evaluated, the curricular evaluation should be carried out at different times and
with different functions, applying the general criteria for assessment. The curricular assessment
the initial diagnosis corresponds to the preactive stage of the process and has as its main purpose
determine if the conditions to execute the curriculum are present, if not, they must be created.

The formative or ongoing curricular evaluation corresponds to the active stage of the teaching process.
learning. This evaluation phase has an important regulatory function as it studies
curricular aspects that are not working well and proposes alternative solutions for them
improvement.

The summative curricular evaluation is carried out in the post-active stage of the teaching process.
learning and allows for decision-making regarding the curriculum, whether to cancel it, improve it, or redesign it.
Hence, summative assessment becomes initial assessment, or part of it, when it serves
to consider curricular adjustment.

It is important to take into account the need to evaluate one's own evaluation strategy, so
you have to design and test the instruments and techniques that will be used, ensuring that they are objective,
valid and reliable.

For the curricular evaluation in literature, we find different criteria and methodology. In the
Annex # 1 presents the strategy proposed by Rafael Fraga, Rene Cortijo, and Caridad Herrera and the
system of instruments suggested by Jimenez Vielsa for the evaluation of a curricular project, to
that we have included a program analysis guide for a discipline.

These criteria and instruments are conceived for the evaluation of curriculum projects aimed at
training of technical professionals and can be adapted to other curricular projects.

MAIN PATHWAYS FOR CURRICULAR CONTROL AND REGULATION

We have outlined the elements and outcomes on which information should be collected. The
 39

The collection of information will be supported by the scientific research activity applied to this field.
specific, that is to say, empirical theoretical methods will be used. Hence, scientific activity
turn into the driving force of the new changes and into a basic principle of
scientific organization of the teaching-learning process and constitutes an essential factor in the
improvement of the teaching process, in the advancement of teachers and in the training of the
students.

Depending on the main characteristics of the context, such as: domain and
researcher's experience, top management's interests, and local needs;
The main pathways for curriculum evaluation are: experience record, scientific work
methodological and research.

Experience Record.

Through the classes, the teacher makes a critical analysis and a value judgment of the program that
imparts, through which it is determined where their main difficulties are centered; for example,
Yes, there is a very general formulation of its objectives, if the content is excessive for the time that
It is planned in the curriculum, if this requires a new restructuring, if the literature
recommended is insufficient or not suitable, etc. These and other aspects must be recorded by the
teachers when developing the subject and are fundamental elements in the improvement of
the programs.

The methodological scientific work.

The methodological scientific work is the research or development activity in the field of
didactics that is fundamentally carried out by the teachers and is implemented through work
educational teacher. It has a concrete and systematic nature, as it addresses the solution of the
existing problems, both immediate and future.

The results obtained from this work, conceived from a research perspective, are the
basic criteria for introducing modifications to the educational teaching process with the objective of
perfect it.

Finally, the research work focused on the solution of concrete problems of the
the training of specialists plays a decisive role in raising the quality of it
preparation, as it allows for a better definition of the traits that should characterize the graduate and, at the same time,
to delve into the theoretical and practical qualities and knowledge they should possess.

In conclusion, scientific activity, harmoniously integrated with teaching activity, is a factor

essential in the improvement of the curricular design, whose result materializes in the remodeling
of the characteristics of the graduate and their future profile, according to the new needs
social, but on a more objective basis, in which the insufficiencies and deficiencies are determined that
they are faced in the preparation of future graduates.

EXERCISE #11

1- Now try to draft what you conceive of curricular evaluation and the ways that can be
use it in the same. Compare it with what was proposed at the beginning of the topic and determine if there has been any
change. Try to explain what has happened.

2- Taking as an example the structure of their school and the curricular design they work with,
 40

Develop a chart or diagram that relates the different organizational levels and who should carry it out.
the curricular evaluation.

3- Next, reflect on the following aspects:

Are new teaching and learning techniques being experimented with at your school?

Have the curriculum programs you work on undergone any modifications as a result of the
curricular evaluation?

Do you think that curricular evaluation in any of its aspects is necessary?

Has it been investigated whether the graduates of your school perform adequately in the
different roles they occupy in society?

4-With the knowledge you already have of curriculum evaluation, analyze the proposals regarding
validation that we offer in an attached material highlights the differences between both. Assess whether both
processes are carried out in your institution.

ANNEX # 1

STRATEGY FOR CURRICULAR EVALUATION

1.- Evaluation of pedagogical work.

2.- Assessment of learning.
3.- Evaluation of the curricular design.
4.- Evaluation of the institution.

1.- Evaluation of pedagogical work.

This aspect refers to the assessment and regulation of the management of the pedagogical process.
professional, which develops at different organizational levels, hence the attention given to the
elements and results of:

The planning for pedagogical intervention based on the graduate model.

Quality of the objectives system.

Quality of the meso and micro-curricular designs.
Attention to the principles and dimensions of curriculum design.

Organization of the pedagogical process.

Preparation of the teachers and students for the execution of the process.
Logistical assurance of the various activities (schedules, human and material resources,
etc.).
Order, systematic approach, and systematization of tasks based on professional problems and
from the initial diagnosis.

Execution or direction of the process.

Quality of teaching activities (update and scientific and pedagogical level).

 41

Integration between the academic, work, and research dimensions.

Effective tribute to the graduate's profile.
Attention to individuality and the multifaceted development of personality.
Coherence in the direction of the process, manifested in the complementarity of actions.
Relationship of theory with practice, with social life, with the environment.
Quality of communication and information.
Correspondence between what is planned and what is carried out.

Process control.

Regulation procedure of the process.

Evaluation strategies of the various levels. Their effectiveness.
Degree or level of compliance with what was planned in the study plan.
Professional performance of teachers.

The evaluation of pedagogical work should be carried out by the institution's management.
the role of researchers relies on close collaboration with those responsible for the different
organizational levels that will gather information based on methods of scientific activity
investigative, data that will be provided, throughout the process, by executors and users (teachers,
employers, students, community, etc.

2. Learning evaluation.

2.1. Learning refers to the process and the result of the transformations that are occurring.
in students both in the education of personality and in the acquisition of knowledge,
skills and habits.

The evaluation of learning should address, among others, the following aspects:

Degree of satisfaction of the model expressed in the objectives of each organizational level, both in
educational as in the mastery of content.

In education.

Scientific conception of the world.

Psychological formations (self-assessment, aspiration, interests, and capabilities), required and

shaped in the graduate model.

Qualities of the professional's personality.

Regarding the mastery of the content.

Integration of knowledge.

Development of skills, habits, their establishment, depth, systematization and the

application to new situations.

2.2. Determination of the significance and meaning of learning in students taking into account
level of these, their motivation and the potentials of the content.

It will be assessed to what extent the student integrates the new content with what they already know in a new
 42

context.

Mastery that is being achieved over the professional's ways of acting in problem-solving
applying the working methods specific to the relevant sciences and the methods of the
scientific research.

2.3. Measure of the extent to which the student participates in the direction of their own learning.

It is about assessing to what extent the regulatory function of personality manifests itself.
students; who according to the criteria of Dr. Viviana González Maura can be taken as
the following indicators:

Subject's orientation in the face of new situations (flexible or rigid).

Student's temporal orientation (towards the future or the present).

•Student's position regarding the regulation of their actions (active or passive).

Motivational quality of their attention (conscious, reflexive, and non-reflexive).

Professional orientation level of learning. It refers to the link between what is learned and its
future professional performance.

3. Curriculum Evaluation

The integration of the evaluations of pedagogical work and student learning allows
to conceive the evaluation of the curricular design as an investigative process, in which the
next problems:

To what extent does the projected design meet social demand?

Social orientation of the graduate.

Competence of the graduate.
Employer and user satisfaction.
Adaptability to changes.
Future projection (vision)

To what extent was the projected design interpreted and executed in reality?

Its coincidence.
Differences.
Adjustments derived from evaluative processes (regulatory) of both pedagogical work as well
of learning.

c) What aspects of the curriculum design need to be readjusted?

Product of its practical applicability

Product of changes in social demands for the type of professional.
Product of scientific, technical, and pedagogical development.

d) What should the new design be?

 43

THE CURRICULAR CONCEPTION OF THE CUBAN MODEL

The educational system in Cuba is structured by levels of education, which respond to

general particularities according to the context of each one of them.

In our country, all types of education are based on the following foundations:

Philosophical: We conceive the curriculum based on Marxist Philosophy as a methodological foundation that
governs our social system, from dialectical-materialist positions demonstrating at every level
structure the why we are who we are and how we have achieved it, with a transformative character and
not contemplative.

2. Sociological: Responds to the interests of society, where all citizens have the same
the right to education and the duty to contribute to it. The school is highlighted as
promoter of accumulated knowledge by society which contributes to education
multilateral and harmonious development of the student's personality.

3. Psychological: It is based on the Historical-cultural paradigm, represented by the ideas of

Vigotsky and his followers, where the historical result is taken into account for its incorporation into the
education, the individual is taught to solve the most common problems in their life supported by the
culture accumulated by society and in the anticipation of what may happen in the future. It has
our projection a high choice of humanism.

4. Epistemological: The curriculum is conceived based on the social construction of knowledge.

with a high level of updating.

5. Didactic: In the curricular conception, the personal didactic components (teacher-

student), the first is the leader of the process and the students are builders of their knowledge under the
influence of the teacher, and the non-personal (objectives, contents, methods, media, and evaluation), it
recognizes the objectives as the guides within this process.

The principles that underpin our curricular conception are highlighted as follows:

1. Permanent and scientific character of education that responds to the demands of development.
actual.

Professionalism and dignification of the profession for good work in the exercise of its functions.

Higher Education, due to its unique characteristics and objectives, acts as a flagship.
of the educational changes, in Cuba the process of improving the system began with the
subsystem of Higher Education. The curricular design model currently applied takes
as a starting point the didactic theory developed by some researchers in this field of
to know, fundamentally by Dr. C. Carlos Alvarez de Zayas who relies on a system of laws and
own categories of pedagogical science to explain the process of professional training
applying the systemic-structural, dialectical, and genetic approaches to the aforementioned process,
drawing on the theory of activity and communication.

What are the fundamental reasons that caused a change in the Cuban conception at the beginning of the
the 90s?
 44

Adjustment to the social context due to changes produced from an economic and political perspective
social in the country.
2. Insufficiencies in the current plans such as:

Lack of precision in the tasks that the professional had to face to solve the
most general and frequent problems of your profession.
No understanding of the guiding role of objectives, as a guiding category of the process
educational teacher
Lack of systematization in the organization of the curriculum that limited integration of the
academic, labor, and research components, among others.

The training of professionals in Cuba is characterized by the new 'C' plans by a set of
essential traits regardless of what the university major is, are shown as follows:

1. Key role of the objectives.

2. Systematization.
3. Increase in practical-professional skills.
4. Broad profiles (labor reconversion with future opportunities).

An analysis of each of these trends is required.

1. Key role of the objectives.

In the pedagogical understanding of Cuban Higher Education, objectives constitute the model.
pedagogical of the social mandate; it is in the pedagogical language, the expression of demand from society, of
life. The guiding nature of the objectives and the understanding of this fact, today are not only
present in the educational teaching process as such, but they preside over work regulations and have
reached all instances of Higher Education management, based on objectives that are
they establish and allow direction at each level from the macro curriculum (Ministry of Education) to the
microcurriculum (class).

It becomes necessary to characterize the very conception of objectives within the teaching process.
educational and these in their relation to the object and the problem, according to an epistemological analysis
of the teaching-educational process.

Object-Problem-Objective Relationship in curriculum design.

The professional problems that the student must solve upon graduation determine the content of the
what should be studied. It is understood as a problem, that situation that occurs in an object and generates
in the subject the need to transform it by developing a process for it.

Through the teaching-educational process, the set of problems that the student knows and resolves
they are being systematized based on their common characteristics.

The common elements: concepts, laws, and characteristics that repeat allow us to seek.
regularities and generalizing a single system for the graduate's work, which constitutes the object
of their activity, of their performance, which is shaped in the educational teaching process.

The object modified in the process is the one that becomes the content of that process, which is
characterized in turn, through a model, highlighting its components and fundamental relationships.
 45

If the content is modeled correctly, it has a marked objective character. That model has
in addition to being flexible and broad enough to allow for efficient performance and
valid for a relatively wide period of time after graduation even under the conditions
changing and dynamic aspects of the contemporary scientific-technical revolution, or of economic changes
and social issues that arise.

The object of work, although it starts from the current problems that arise in life in society,
It must be such that it transcends that framework and projects itself into time.

Now we can specify that the objectives are the purposes, the aspirations that the subject sets for themselves.
to reach the object so that once transformed it satisfies their needs and solves the problem.
As long as the subject selects it, it has a subjective character.

In the teaching-learning process, the objectives are related to the characteristics that must be
The graduate should possess the skills to work with the object and solve the problems.

Between the object and the problem, there is a relationship of essence and phenomenon, with the problem being the phenomenon.

manifestation, while the object constitutes the essence. The object is constituted in content, the
problems in their particular manifestation and the learning method in their solution.

The objective in a more generalizing plane includes the essence of the content, the object, and its methods,
gathering the fundamental and essential.

Ignoring the object makes the content of the educational teaching process imprecise, but not
taking into account the problem is to ignore its way, its logic of development, its method.

The object-problem relationship (and its solution) is the epistemological foundation of the relationship between the
content and method. The objective is the integrating element in its essential aspect, it expresses the quality
of the teaching process system, at each of its levels, which is why it is unique and integrative.

The objective includes the object, knowledge, and skill, that is, the image of the object and the
way of operating with it, to solve the problem, to modify the situation that manifests in the
object.

The design of the educational teaching process starts from problems, it is its link with objective reality.
it establishes the necessary condition for its conception to not be scholastic.

The graduate's performance reflects the tasks they develop to solve problems.
The objectives will be the characteristics that the graduate must have in order to be able to execute the
tasks. The objective is a generalization of the tasks, expressed in a task language,
skills, but these are generalizing, essential.

With problem-solving, the student acquires knowledge and masters the skill. The task
It can be solving a problem. In each problem, the conditions change, and they will be varied.
tasks, but all contribute to achieving the goal.

Based on real problems from life and society, the objectives at school are established, and they are
these objectives that in turn determine the teaching problems; hence the dialectic problem-
problem objective.

If we ignore the problem as a pedagogical category, the process becomes scholastic, but if we ignore
the objective becomes anarchic, superficial, and inefficient.
 46

The curricula, in accordance with this conception, are governed by what has been termed
model of the professional, which is nothing more than the establishment of the objectives that are pursued in
the training of the professional and in such a way that the methods of skills are specified,
to act that characterize their activity.

From the objectives specified in the professional model, the following are derived
corresponding to the disciplines, years, subjects, topics: in a systemic conception that implies
a gradual derivation from those of higher order and in such a way that they reflect, in their essence, the
the way in which the social mandate is realized in each teaching activity.

2. Systematization.

Systematization as a system approach implies the integration of the components of the plan.
study in such a way that ensures the quality that, as a result of the integration, is present at each level.
In this didactic conception, the curriculum is organized into components and they are:

The academic
The labor
The investigative

The organizational components of the process are traditionally referred to as academic and labor.
characterize a type of teaching-educational process, in which the content has a specific quality
of approaching the surrounding reality, to social reality.

Investigative is the fundamental way to face problems and solve them. The investigative is
present both in academia and in the workplace, when they are problematic and reaches its maximum
development in course and diploma work.

The academic, the labor, and the research will, therefore, be a typology of the teaching-educational process.
according to a classification based on their degree of closeness to life, to objective reality. This
The classification criterion is inspired by reality.

Each of these organizational forms has its own typology that characterizes it, which enables
organize the teaching-educational process more appropriately, as illustrated below:

Organizational form Types

Academic Conferences.
Practical classes.
Seminars.
Laboratory practices.

Investigative Course work

Thesis work
Extracurricular jobs.

Labor Specific to each profession in relation to their future performances.

In the integration that the systems approach entails, all these components are present.
harmoniously combined throughout the course and as a trend, in each of the periods or
semesters. Integration, although it is present in a systemic way, is increasing as
 47

that reaches higher years.

Understanding the need for a systems approach in curricula is one of the characteristics
most important aspects of Cuban Higher Education. As a consequence of the systems approach, it
they introduce the disciplines as an intermediate link between the Career and the subjects, as a way to
organize the content.

The discipline constitutes a subsystem of a larger one, which is the career, and ensures training.
one or more modes of action of the professional (stated objectives in the professional model) what
is expressed in its objectives.

The discipline has all the components of the teaching-educational process. The objectives of the discipline
they express the generalizing ability or the skills that are integrated into their content; it has
methods, forms and own evaluation.

The integrative characterization of the discipline as a whole is one of the most methodological tasks.
complexities of Pedagogy and require a global perspective from those who plan, organize, and execute it
and they control.

Discipline expresses the integration, the vertical systematization of the career (teaching process-
higher education). The establishment of disciplines that include several subjects to
the length of the career allows for the coordination of the contents and for the teachers to work towards
achieve more general and essential objectives by eliminating narrow conceptions of a teacher.

No less important is the horizontal integration that occurs during the year, conceived as part of
teaching-educational process and is characterized by all the components of the process. The
The year has its objectives that are not just the simple sum of the objectives of the subjects present in it.
These objectives will express the degree of alignment with the graduate's goals, as a result
from the integrated action of all the subjects that the student has received up to that moment.

The year is a subsystem of the curriculum that integrates horizontally the teaching-educational process and
In interaction with the disciplines, it enables the determination of the entire network of the teaching-educational process.
the race.

The year has its contents, as a result of the systematization of those of each subject and
They play a leading role those of the integrative discipline by including here those that have to do with the
graduate's work object.

In the upper years of the degree, this is evident, if the subjects work with the object of
graduate, enable their integration; if they are qualitatively distinct objects, it is necessary to find it
common, the general in all of them.

We have seen the systemic nature that manifests in the curriculum design which has as
significant moments the discipline and the year.

3. Increase in practical-professional skills.

In contrast to the trend that was manifested in traditional curricula of prioritizing the
theoretical aspects, relegating practical and professional training to a secondary level, today it is appreciated
an increase in these skills.

In the curricula called plans 'A' and 'B' (the first attempts to modify our models
 48

curricular) there were work practices as part of the curriculum that were organized
various forms, the most common being internships, or periods of time during which students
they were engaged in a specific work activity. However, it was not integrated into the
disciplines and their subjects, which had an asymmetrical approach, and their contribution to training
practical-professional was limited and ineffective.

The incorporation of students into research, in general, was not integrated systematically either.
the disciplines were neither related to work activities nor to the concrete problems of the
production and services. This situation has been conceptually understood, with the current plans
"C", although it should be followed in the analysis of this component to raise its efficiency indexes to the
time for its practical implementation.

Such a situation had its primary manifestation in the very conception of the curriculum when developing
objectives that focused their attention on theoretical aspects being minimal or nonexistent the
related to the formation of pre-professional skills.

A systemic approach that enables the integration of academic, labor, and research aspects with a
correspondence between theory and practice in each teaching activity requires the increase of
activities that ensure the development of practical and professional skills, promoting the
reduction of time allocated to lectures and the increase of practical activities.
the reduction of the number of conferences is a controversial element as it may lead to a
theoretical level decrease if changes in the conception of the content are not taken into account,
methods and the forms that are developed in the teaching-educational process.

With the 'C' plans, the disciplines begin from the first year to integrate knowledge and the
skills familiarizing students, initially, with the object of their profession, to then,
link them directly so that in the higher grades they act on this, for which
Determine year objectives that guarantee this integration.

4. Broad profile.

The Cuban curricular conception has as one of its characteristic features the training of a
graduate with a broad profile defined as:

A professional characterized by having a deep mastery of their basic training.

profession, in such a way that it is capable of resolving on the basis of the profession, independently and
creativity the most general and frequent problems that arise in the different spheres of your
professional activity.

This means, first of all, that the student acquires a deep basic education.
through the so-called basic disciplines, whose contents have a greater degree of abstraction
and modeling, which are identified with the object of a science and in which its logic is present. To
the student appropriating the method of science promotes the development of cognitive skills,
from the logic of thought, based on a system of laws and essential principles inherent to that
science

There are other subjects that focus on the content of the profession, in which the student
learn to solve real problems present in the social processes of production and services,
even if their intention is not to introduce qualitatively new contributions, but rather to dominate the
essence of the profession supported by a set of sciences.

In both types of subjects, the science-profession dialectic is present; in the first because the
 49

the logic of the sciences that students must learn is embedded in the logic of the profession, which is
the whole; because a productive level in assimilation must be reached, which will allow it to solve
new problems based on the knowledge and skills they have.

It is worth noting that among the subjects are the basic ones of the profession that together with the
Basics must constitute more than 50% of the degree.

Basic training and the development of cognitive skills provide the student
independence and creativity, allowing for a wide range of diverse job positions, always
that it involves the foundational activity of your profession.

A professional is conceived to work at the grassroots level of their profession in solving the
concrete problems of production and services, wherever they arise.

Training a graduate to work at the base level of their profession is a significant aspect.
meaning in curricular design and must be addressed in the process of its improvement.

It is worth noting that this aspect in the current 'C' plans has not had a uniform treatment, as
there are fields of study whose subject was very broad and in others where it is still very narrow, which has
influenced the graduate's ability to face more general and frequent problems that
they are presented in their professional life.

We refer to general problems as those that are common, that are present in all or in the
most of the places where the professional acts and that occur most frequently in those
places.

What are the differences established in the careers?

Specificity of performance and competencies.

Intermediate outputs at the levels of horizontal integration.

For the Civil Engineering degree.

1st year Surveyor.

2nd Year Middle technician in buildings.
3rd year Intermediate technician in roads.

How was the design of the Cuban Curriculum Model established? It was established in stages:

1. Theoretical-practical exploration (needs diagnosis).

Here, the inherent problems of social and professional reality are detected for which solutions must be found.
to prepare students, from which the object of the profession derives.

Curriculum modeling.

To solve these problems, what qualities, objectives, and contents are necessary? Here we
establishes the model of the professional that includes the characterization of the career, the tasks, functions and
qualities that must be achieved with this professional.

Curricular structuring.
 50

Macro.
Curriculum.
Completion of studies.
Director programs as cross-cutting axes of the curriculum.
Discipline as a vertical axis.
The year as the horizontal axis.

Meso and microcurriculum. The implementation that constitutes the 4th stage is organized.

What is the perspective with the Cuban model for this teaching since the 1990s?

As a result of the changes in the international situation after the collapse of the socialist camp
and the implications that this has had on the economic and social life of the country have been necessary
reconceptualize the foundations that underpin the current model, materialized by the debate held
in Cuban universities aimed at developing better educational training work and
ideopolitics.

All of this has led to the development of an educational project that, first and foremost, trains and develops in the
students the values that a professional needs in these times. This is necessary in the training of
values as key components of your personality.

What is the goal to achieve with this new educational project?

The training of a revolutionary professional with a strong sense of patriotism to fulfill

your social mandate, in this way it must articulate from its sphere of action the knowledge,
skills and values developed with the solution to professional problems, embedded in an environment
economic, political, cultural and ideological that responds comprehensively to these problems.

The conception is established on the basis of three dimensions that encompass the most important aspects.
transcendental aspects in university life, they are:

Curricular dimension.
Dimension of university extension.
- Socio-political dimension.

Final exercise:
What does the curriculum mean to you and what attitude should the teacher adopt towards it?
Do these criteria correspond to your professional practice?
What should we change?
Share these criteria with your colleagues.

Conclusions:
As has been noted, curricular theory is built on a broad framework that encompasses different approaches.
assumptions, and models that complicate the educational practice of the teacher.

It has been our purpose to find viable alternatives for the design, development, and evaluation of the curriculum.
Objectively respond to the social mandate of seeking the comprehensive development of the personality of our students.
what undoubtedly is inherent to the qualitative dimension of the Educational Teaching Process.

Address the analysis of the curriculum from a universal, creative perspective, seeking the connections that unite each one of
 51

its components, establishing guidelines in educational practice, leads us to reflect on the necessity of
enrich our experience with an open and reflective position towards the pursuit of sustainable development,
human, who demand the thresholds of this new century, where the greatest hope of teachers will be that the
education raise its voice to claim the right to live in a better world.

Through those channels advance our pedagogical precepts, dear reader you can join
our dreams and will surely appreciate the effort, that the task of educating be a work of
infinite love: The proposal is made.

OPEN WINDOW TO THE OUTSIDE:

As no human work is perfect, this book is also susceptible to change, to transformations.

aimed at improving our performance as teachers, therefore we would be very grateful if you would
He/She would send his/her opinions, whether he/she shares our ideas or disagrees with them.

If you provide us with your references, ours will be enriched, and that way we will all win, which is in
definitively the greatest aspiration of those teachers who find wonder in the everyday task of
to educate.

You can send us your opinions or suggestions to:

Latin American and Caribbean Institute

IPLAC
3rd Street corner 4
Playa Municipality
Havana. Cuba.
e-mail:iplac@[Link]

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