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Tariq Mehmood Bhuttah1, Chen Xiaoduan*1, Hakim Ullah1, Amna Bibi2

1
School of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
2
Govt. Girls’ college, Rajanpur, Punja, Pakistan

*Corresponding Author:
C. Xiaoduan
Email: [email protected] ; Tel: +86 13991388589
Published online : 17 December, 2018
Abstract: The present study aims to review and analyze the concept of curriculum and its
development and the factors which are important in the development of curriculum. The term
curriculum was defined by different educationalists in their own way. Some argued that it is
a written document, some said that it is a mode of thought, other holds that it is a skill that
how to do? etc. There are also various factors like curriculum design, implementation and
evaluation which are essential for the development of curriculum. The first and foremost way
to define the curriculum is through modeling. Basically the models of curriculum
development are serving as guidelines to action and there are various models for the
development of curriculum. But the analyses of two major models of curriculum which I use
in this article are the method of Ralph Tyler (deductive/classical) and Hilda
Taba(inductive/naturalistic). There is a much stress on the planning and evaluation of
teacher in every model of curriculum development. According to Tyler four questions are
important to shape the curriculum during its development while on the other hand the focus
of Taba was on teachers input during curriculum development. These two models play a
crucial and different role in the process of curriculum development. Aims and objectives are
very essential in the Tyler’s classical model, while aims and objectives are only means/ ends
in the Taba’s naturalistic model of curriculum development.
Keywords: Curriculum, curriculum development, models, analysis of Tyler &Taba model
INTRODUCTION :
The term curriculum has different meaning, form and purpose for different thinkers different.
The task of curriculum, ultimately, having the relationship between the following: (a)
content/subject matter, or what to know and why to know (b) people e.g, students, teachers,
parents- who they are, why and what they do, what they know and believe; and (c) how all
the environmental factors in which intellectual, social and physical factors included that are

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highly relevant to the society and subject matter (Posner, 1995; Henderson & Hawthorne,
2000).
Various inquiries stems during the process of curriculum development that: What educational
principles should we seek to attain? What educational experiences will help to accomplish
these principles? How this educational experience can be organized effectively? How we can
establish the accomplishment of these principles? In the development process of curriculum
these types of questions are used to demonstrate what it is and what it does. 1The word
curriculum was defined by Miol and Lewis as “a set of intentions about opportunities for
engagement of persons to be educated with other persons and with things (all bearers of
information, processes, techniques and values) in certain arrangement of time and
space.”2Often the term curriculum is described as follows: “The cumulative tradition of
organized knowledge, modes of thought, race experience, guided experience, a planned
learning environment, cognitive content and process, an instructional plan, instructional ends
or outcomes and a technological system of production”.3
Beauchamp considered about curriculum “as a written document”4 (Beauchamp, 1961, pp.
101-103). According to Beauchamp the most important purpose of curriculum theory was to
“give meaning to the various facets of curriculum activity in light of our present knowledge,
the values are bring to bear upon problems, and the assumptions or hypothesis that may be
evoked”.5 (Beauchamp, 1961, pp.60)We turn to Beauchamp (1981) for an understanding of
what a curriculum structure consists of:
“A curriculum system is that part of the organized framework of a school or a school system
within which all curriculum decisions are made. A curriculum system consists of the
personnel organization and the organized procedures needed to produce a curriculum, to
implement it, to appraise it, and to modify it in light of experience. The output of a
curriculum system is a curriculum; the function of the system is to keep the curriculum
dynamic” (p. 61).6
So we identify curriculum development in divisions and this system reflects our move toward
it. The development process of Curriculum is consists of various elements in which missions,
roles, phases, resources, space & time are included which are helpful in carrying out specific
design to construct a curriculum document the arrangement of these elements is necessary.
Ornstein and Hunkins (2009, p15) holds that “curriculum development consist of how a
„curriculum is designed, implemented and evaluated”.7

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Curriculum Design: A specific order of the ends/ goals of curriculum is called curriculum
design. Specifically many elements are crucial to design a curriculum in which functions,
aims & objectives and the purposes are included.
Curriculum Implementation: When an authentic use of a curriculum put into practice it is
called curriculum implementation.
Curriculum Evaluation: It involves planning, implementing, information gathering,
evaluate inconsistencies among planned and real educational results; to evaluate
inconsistencies among program of study and its implementation, to shape the efficiency of
the development of curriculum and to clarify its importance 8. (Figure: A)

Figure: A

Analysis of the Models of the curriculum development:

To develop the curriculum is a tough activity. So its complexity is increased by the lack of
the distinct ideas or models in the development and planning of curriculum. (Beauchamp,
Curriculum Theory, 1961).To guide all the planners of education, mentors, administrators
that whether any institute who apply the requirements of the learner, whom they are teacher,
the curriculum development models are very important. The models of curriculum
development possess aims and objectives that are based on the requirements of people, group
of people and the society as a whole. Modeling is a way through which a curriculum
development plan is defined. Basically models are samples that provide guidelines to action
and more or less set up for educational purpose.The models are used in the development of
curriculum for the better output (Oliva, 2009).9We can examine the stages crucial to the
procedure by examining models for curriculum development. For the use of specific way of
teaching, learning and evaluation strategies, to plan an underlying principle, the curriculum
development models help designers clearly and systematically.

pg. 111
According to Ornstein and Hunkins (2009), though the models of curriculum development
are technically valuable, but sometimes they neglect the human aspect for example the
personal feelings, attitudes, values that are curriculum development.

The ‘Product Model’ and the ‘Process Model’:

The „Product Model‟ and the „Process Model‟ are the curriculum development models which
are normally referred by some authors. Neary10 (2003a, p39) holds that “the product model
put emphasis on plans and intentions and the process model put emphasis on activities and
effects”.

Technical and non technical approaches to curriculum development:

Hunkins and Ornstein (2004) put much emphasis on the significance of planning in the
development of curriculum and holds that there are other curriculum approaches/ models
exists e.g. Technical/ scientific or Non-Technical/ non-scientific approaches. Forarranging
the learning environment, curriculum development is a useful plan In the Technical–
Scientific approach and in transferring instruction it is illustrated as being sound, well-
organized and effective. In contrast, The Non-Technical approach focuses on the learner and
has been illustrated as private to individual, subjective and aesthetic. And in this approach
the main focus is on the learners, not on the contents or outcomes of learning (Ornstein
&Hunkins, 2004, p207). 11Some of the ideas of the non-technical approach are parallel to the
Process model.Ralph Tyler‟s (1949) original work can be seen in the Technical Scientific
Approach and his name is associated with the product model (O‟Neill, 2010).12
There are many other models of curriculum development but in this article I use two of those
(inductive/naturalistic and deductive/classical models of curriculum development) by well
known scholars: Ralph Tyler and Hilda Taba.

Ralph Tyler: The Curriculum Rationale

RalphW. Tyler(1902–1994) was an American educationalist and worked in the field of

assessment and evaluation. In the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
(ASCD), and its “Fundamental Curriculum Decisions Tyler took active part” (1983). There
are four basic questions which Ralph Tyler elaborated in his tremendous work “Basic
Principles of Curriculum and Instruction” to define the rationale of (Figure. B):
1. What are the learning rationales a school should try to find?

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2. What the learning principles can be presented that will probably achieve these rationales?
3. In what manner these learning skills are organized effectively?
4. To what degree we find out that whether the rationales are being accomplished or not?

Probably these queries are recreated into four steps: put before rationales, choice of learning
skills, classification of learning skills, and judgment of the curriculum. Basically the rationale
of Tyler is an explanation of these steps. model of Tyler is deductive, linear, move from
general to specific and from beginning to end it entails a specific order of steps. Furthermore,
it is prescriptive and indicates that what should to be done and what is done by curriculum
developers. Tyler model is “society centered” and placed the school curriculum as an
instrument for refining the life of community. Thus, the main focus of the curriculum
development in this model is to the needs and problems of the society. According to Tyler
(1990),to plan the function of education, three forms of resources (1) individuals (children as
students), (2) contemporary life, and (3) professionalthought of field of study are used.
The model of curriculum development means how to plan a curriculum according to the goals
and the mission of an educational institution. According to Taylr (1990),the rationale for
education, learning skills to accomplish the objectives, learning organizing skills, and
assessment/evaluation are the four basic things which are related to the development of
curriculum.13

Instructional Strategies Model of Taba

Hilda Taba (7 December 1902 – 6 July 1967) was a thinker and educationalist who is
associated with curriculum and its reformation. He gets supremacy on Tyler‟s model. She

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was her partner and held that in developing a curriculum teachers should take active part.
Tyler starts from the top but, unlike Tyler, the Taba starts from the bottom as a grass root
approach. Costa and Loveallholds that, Taba's approach is based on step by step plan and the
behavioral approach to curriculum planwith definite aims and objectives with actions that
correspond and evaluated with those objectives that are stated. How to achieve the results
from learners Taba advanced a method for clarifying what needs to be learned to the students
(Costa &Loveall, 2002).14In this approach, Taba holds that, the role of teacher in the
development of curriculum is very crucial. She believed that generalized learning objectives
ought to be organized aroundcurriculum which facilitate students in discovering principles
efficiently. (Middaugh&Perlstein, 2005).15Ornstein and Hunkins stated that, to explain a
"grassroots approach to curriculum development”,Taba introduced seven most important
steps (Figure. C).
1. Find the requirements of the learners.
2. Identifying goals to be learned by the teachers.
3. The contents and objectives should be match.
4. According to the interest of the children the content should be categorized.
5. The methods of instruction should engage the learners.
6. The actions of learning should categorize to recall the learners what they learned.
7. In the process of evaluation both the teacher and student involved.(Ornstein
&Hunkins, 2009).16
Figure: C

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The views of Hilda Taba about the curriculum development areused in curriculums that are
established in many schools nowadays. There are three clusters of objectives are stated by
Taba:
a. Knowledge: in which student ought to understand.
b. Skills: in which student learn how to do.
c. Concepts: In which student ought to be. (Ornstein &Hunkins, 2009).
The requirements of the learners are the first preference to the curriculum, according to Taba.
Walker holds that, the curriculum development model of Hilda Taba is descriptive, inductive
and nonlinear. At different positions a non linear approach allow the planners of curriculum
to insert, exclude elements, overturn the order, and focus on two or more than two elements
in the model at the same time. By a number of researchers, a descriptive model is considered
as naturalistic and it entails three most important components: platform (doctrines that lead
the planners of curriculum), deliberation (the method of decision making), and design (its
17
results comes from the deliberation) (Walker, (1971). Walker compared the descriptive/
naturalistic model of Taba with the prescriptive/ classical model of Tyler (1949).18 During the
development process of curriculum, different function was played by the aims, objectives and
assessment in these two models. Goals and objectives are fundamental in the classical model.
Goals and objectives are means in the naturalistic model forthe development process of
curriculum. Moreover, the process of assessment is used in the classical model of Tyler for
the verification that either the educational practices are helping in accomplishing the specific
objectives or not. Evaluation is exercised simply to justify conclusions in the naturalistic
model. Toset upa standard for the variety of content and educational practices and to guide
the assessment of educational results, objectives assist us to give a reliable pin point for the
development of curriculum.

According to Durkin, there are many objectives that are organized tojudge that either the
curriculum is useful in helping learners to identify fundamental relations or not. There are
many procedures are planned to judge the conceptualization and generalization of the learners
which they utilize in response to a number of questions. He argued that in Bloom‟s and other
taxonomies a system of coding was introduced to judge the debate and the level of thinking
among teacher and students (Durkin, 1993).19Sharp 20
defined the relationship of curriculum
development with the personality development of teacher and his much focus was on the
reeducation of teacher. The reeducation of teacher involves the encouragement of free
expression of ideas that are helpful in setting up mature interpersonal relationships,

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approaching to one‟s own problems, (d) test this approach to actual situation. An
educationalist, Benne21 defines the relationship of curriculum development with cultural
change at two levels: (1) changes in the habits, attitudes, and skills of the learners, (2) the
reconstruction of the school as one of many social institutions. Thus at every age, different
educationalist relates the process of curriculum development with different methods.

CONCLUSION:
In this article two models for the development of curriculum were presented: Taba‟s
instructional strategies model of Hilda Taba and curriculum rationale of Ralph Tyler. The
model of Tyler was descriptive/deductive and it move from the general to specific, while
Taba use the grass-root approach and her model of curriculum development is wholly
inductive which moves from specific to general. After analyzing both models it is not good to
say that any model is inherently superior to other models. Based on the needs of individuals,
community and the society as a whole, every model has its own goals and objectives.
Different educationalists relate curriculum development process with different things. Some
says that the process of curriculum development is related to the personality of teachers while
other relates the curriculum development with cultural change that the curriculum should be
change with the variation of time. The curriculum should be self-motivated, practical and
flexible to be put into practice without any issue. The amalgamation of all these are necessary
components of a good curriculum. As one Educator says “Education is one institution that
plays a peculiar role in the preservation or the transformation of society”. The present task
calls for teachers to be encouraged to participate seriously in the development of curriculum
that would contribute to the ultimate improvement of the people it serve. And this is achieve
only through organize efforts of each of us in the educational profession.

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