Curriculum in Higher Education

Jeffrey C. SunJeffrey C. Sun

Why study curriculum?

Knowledge – what is it?

Epistemology: the study of knowledge

• What distinguishes true [or adequate] knowledge from false [or inadequate] knowledge?

• Practically speaking, this question translates into issues of scientific methodology: how can one develop theories or models that are better than competing theories?

Bill Tierney raises the questions …• How do we define knowledge?• How have what we defined as

knowledge changed over time?• Whose interests have been

superceded or ignored by such forms?

• How do we transmit knowledge?• What is the method used to

determine what counts for knowledge?

• Who controls the decision-making?

• Who participates and who does not in curricular decisions?

Trivia …

Q: Which of the following home remedies has been scientifically proven to relieve the effects of a hangover?

• Vegemite on toast• Eating menudo• Drinking a "Red Eye" (whiskey,

coffee, Tabasco sauce, a raw egg, pepper and orange juice)

• Drinking Coca-Cola• None of the above

Q: Urban legend has it that fast food chain KFC can no longer use its full name, "Kentucky Fried Chicken," because...

• The trademark is owned by another company

• Its products aren't really made in Kentucky

• Its products are supposedly made from a genetically manipulated organism that isn't really chicken

• Market testing showed that consumers like shorter product names

• None of the above

Trivia …

Happened?:   A vengeful co-worker made it his practice to urinate into the office coffee pot.

• True• False

Scam?:   Identity thieves trick the unwary into revealing their personal details by telling them they've failed to report for jury duty and warrants for their arrest are being issued.

• True• False

CURRICULAR MODELSCURRICULAR MODELS

PHILOSOPHICAL PURPOSES

Philosophical Grounding …

PERENNIALISMThe major proponents of perennialism include Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Robert Hutchins, Mortimer Adler, and Mark Van Doren.

ESSENTIALISMThe major proponents of essentialism include Horace Mann, William Bagley, James Koerner, Hyman Rickover, Paul Copperman, Theodore Sizer, Arthur Bestor, and E. D. Hirsch.

PROGRESSIVISMThe major proponents of progressivism include William James, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and John Dewey .

RECONSTRUCTIONISMThe major proponents of reconstructionism include George Counts and Theodore Brameld.

Philosophical Grounding …

• Perennialism ("Universal Truth")

• Essentialism ("Back to Basics")

• Progressivism ("Applied Learning")

• Reconstructionism (“Social Engineering”)

• …and others

Philosophical (Levine, 1978)

Perennialism• assumption of education is

perennial or everlasting• ability to reason as

characteristic which distinguishes human beings from other animals

• Education is concerned with training rational faculties

• People are everywhere alike and that education should be the same for everyone.

• Perennialism is a culturally conservative educational theory centered on the authority of tradition and the classics. It believes that truth is universal and does not depend on the circumstances of place, time, or person.

Philosophical (Levine, 1978)

Essentialism • holds that education should

be based upon essential or prescribed body of knowledge dealing with the heritage of humankind

• Subject matter tends to be abstract or conceptual rather than applied and practical

• No one approach; just teacher-centered, utilize tried-and-true forms of pedagogy and learning

• Premise: learning is hard work that is often done unwillingly by students

• Essentialism refers to the "traditional" or "Back to the Basics" approach to education. Its goal is to instill in students the "essentials" of academic knowledge and moral development.

Philosophical (Levine, 1978)

Progressivism • Education is based on life

experiences;• Student interest drives

education, not predetermined• Instructor is expert/adviser• Problem-oriented as

opposed to subject based• Methods of critical thought

are life-long skills while bodies of knowledge are continually changing.

• Progressivism is a movement that gained attention in the early 1900s for its sharp contrast to prevailing, conservative educational approaches. Progressivism promotes the idea that students should be encouraged as independent thinkers, creative beings, and expressive about their feelings.

Philosophical (Kneller, 1971; Levine, 1978)

Reconstructionism • Society and education require

constant reconstruction• programs of study should be

interdisciplinary• education is being used to build a new

social order and educate individuals into new citizenry behavioral roles

• a rationally educated humankind can direct the process of social and conscious evolution toward progressive goals and thus control humankind’s destiny; and

• educational socialization must now be both globalist and futuristic in its orientation

• Reconstructionism accepts the progressive design of education but adds an additional ingredient: an emphasis on reconstructing society. It conceptualizes education as an institution for social engineering.

CURRICULUM DESIGN

PLANNING & DESIGN

Curricular Design

• William Bergquist’s 8 Curricular Models

• Ralph Tyler’s Approach

• Paul Dressel’s Curricular Taxonomy

• Clifton Conrad’s Curriculum Planning Steps

8 Curricular Models

1. Heritage Based

2. Thematic-Based

3. Competency-Based

4. Career-Based

5. Experience-Based

6. Student-Based

7. Values-Based

8. Futures-Based

College Type

• http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2036716n?source=search_video

Ralph Tyler’s Approach

• What educational purposes (goals or behavioral outcomes) should the school (curriculum) seek to obtain?

• What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?

• How can these educational experiences be effectively organized (into courses or sequences of courses)?

• How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?

(Tyler, 1950, pp. 1-2)

Paul Dressel's Curricular Taxonomy

• Student-Centered Disciplinary-Centered• Problems, Policies, Actions Abstractions,

Ideas, Theories • Curricular Flexibility Curricular Rigidity• Curricular Integration Curricular

Compartmentalization (Tyler, 1950, pp. 1-2)

Clifton Conrad’s Steps

(1) Choose an organizing principlea. Academic disciplinesb. Student developmentc. Social problemsd. Selected competencies

(2) Establishing curricular emphasesa. Locus of learningb. Curriculum contentc. Design of programd. Flexibility of program

(3) Building a curricular structure (practical checklist of items)

Curricular Models Combined

• Heritage + Competency: Alverno, Sterling, and Mars Hill

• Heritage + Career: Curry, Worchester Polytechnic Institute

GENERAL EDUCATION

General Education

• “a corrective to the overemphasis on specialization” (Meiklejohn, 1962)

• “universals of human culture” (Hutchins, 1967)

• “generally involves study in several subject areas and frequent aims to provide a common undergraduate experience for all students at a particular institution” (Levine, 1978, p. 3).

Purposes of General Education

1. To bring curricular coherence and unity to an otherwise fragmented and overspecialized undergraduate course of study.

2. To promote social integration by teaching a diverse student clientele the knowledge, values, beliefs, and traditions upon which Western societies have developed and prospered.

3. To provide students with a broad-based knowledge of the "truth strategies" (i.e., ways of knowing) in various disciplines and to assist students in developing general intellectual skills and habits of mind.

General Education Models

TYPICAL APPROACHES

(1)Core Curricula(2)Distribution

Requirements(3)Major Dominated

Model(4)Competency Based(5)Free Electives

ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES

(Newton, 2000)(1) Great Books Model(2) Scholarly Discipline

Model(3) Effective Citizen

Model

Gen Ed … conclusions?

Gen Ed … conclusions

MULTIPLE INFLUENCES TO MULTIPLE INFLUENCES TO CURRICULAR DESIGNCURRICULAR DESIGN

Academic Plan

• Purpose: general goals that guide knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be learned

• Content: subject matter or content within which learning experiences are embedded

• Sequence: arrangement of subject matter intended to lead to specific outcomes for learners

• Learners: information about the learners (i.e. intended audience)

• Instructional Processes: instructional activities for learning

• Instructional Resources: materials and settings to be used

• Evaluation: strategies used to determine if skills, knowledge, attitudes, and behavior change (dispositions) as a result of learning

• Adjustment: Changes in plan to increase learning, based on experience and evaluation

Factors/Forces Affecting Curriculum

External Forces/Factors• accrediting bodies• licensing requirements• state boards of higher education (quality

mandates and resources)• societal trends • market demands• competition with other postsecondary providers• religious orders/hierarchy • disciplinary and other intellectual influences

and currents• technological developments• elementary and secondary education trends• expectations of graduate and professional

schools• textbooks• perceived quality standards (public

expectations, literature) • external grant money (from state and federal

governments, private• foundations for faculty research, curricular and

pedagogical innovations)• legal rulings

Internal Forces/Factors• --faculty power blocs, subcultures• --faculty resistance to change

(curriculum, pedagogy, evaluation/assessment)

• --institutional culture (attitudes, beliefs, sage/heritage, traditions)

• --faculty teaching load• --faculty and student critical mass• --faculty teaching load• --student demands and enrollment

patterns • --institutional assessment mandates and

practices• --resources (financial, capital, human) • --co-curriculum• --curricular advisory committees• --faculty and administrative turnover

Liberal v. Professional EdLiberal Education(the "liberal arts")

Professional Education(the "useful arts")

Focus ofDebate

This tradition argues that "the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake creates fully-rounded women and men with sharp enough minds to succeed at anything they attempt." (Gallagher)

This tradition argues that the "pursuit of practical knowledge, particularly the scientific, sharpens minds as effectively as the study of Greek or Latin, and addresses the broad needs of the people." (Gallagher)

Emphasis of

Education

To teach individuals how to think clearly and to appreciate the wisdom of the collective past for its own merit

To prepare individuals for careers and to contribute to the collective good of society (through the creative application of knowledge to social, economic, technological, and political problems)

Liberal v. Professional EdLiberal Education(the "liberal arts")

Professional Education(the "useful arts")

Perspective onKnowledge

Knowledge is an end in itself; it is valuable for its own sake (Such a perspective leads to an emphasis on basic research that seeks to understand and advance knowledge for its own sake.)

Knowledge is a means to an end; it is worthwhile only when it is applied(Such a perspective leads to an emphasis on applied and policy-related research that seeks to use knowledge to solve problems, inform policy, or contribute in some way in the service of others.)

Concerns ofEach

Those who argue for the merits of liberal education are concerned with the growing fragmentation, hyperspecialization, and vocationalism of the curriculum--problems which they blame largely on the predominance of professional education in the academy. Fragmentation--in terms of incoherent, "department-style" curricula and the lack of a common glue to integrate and bind together peoples of a common national heritage--is of paramount concern to liberal education proponents.

Those who argue for the merits of professional education are concerned with the growing irrelevance of the curriculum and the "ivory tower" attitude of colleges and universities toward their constituents and communities. Proponents of professional education and, more specifically, "useful knowledge," are especially troubled by the lack of university responsiveness to and leadership in improving the educational, social, economic, and political well-being of our communities and society.