TYPES OF CURRICULUM

By Dr. Sultan Muhammad Khan

Keywords: Subject Based Curriculum, what are the Characteristics of Subject Based Curriculum?    Criticism on Subject Curriculum, Requirements for the Optimum Operation of Subject Curriculum

TYPES OF CURRICULUM
There are many types of curriculum design, but here we will discuss only the few. Types or patterns are being followed in educational institutions.

1  Subject curriculum

2  Teacher Centered curriculum

3  Learner centered curriculum

4 Activity/Experience curriculum

5  Integrated curriculum

   Core curriculum

   Board field curriculum

   Hidden curriculum

Subject Based Curriculum

Subject matter is the most used and accepted curriculum Design, it is also the oldest curriculum Design. We see the earliest example in the medieval era in the Middle Ages the monastery and Cathedrals and the organizations of the seven liberal arts in the schools of ancient Greece and Rome. The seven liberal arts were consisted of two divisions:

1. Trivium

2. Quadrivium

These subjects were broad. In the modern period the Trivium was further divided to include literature and history and the quadrivium to include algebra, trigonometry, geography, botany, zoology, physics and chemistry. In this manner subjects added one after the other so much so that in 1930 there were over 300 different subjects.

After centuries the curriculum design of the seven liberal arts are still the nucleus of the subject curriculum. In a subject base curriculum every subject is separate unit. In this kind of curriculum four or five subject are placed in curriculum and each subject has a separate teacher. Every teacher try to teach his own subject, no one intervene in the subject of other teacher

Characteristics of Subject Curriculum

Information for future use

Importance is given to acquire knowledge and information for future use, only those subjects are considered important which have a value and the individual have benefit from it in future (vocational importance). Adult problems are given importance and the problems of children in youth are ignored

Progress is measured to the extent the students learned the subject

In this type of curriculum subject matter is the most important thing to learn therefore the learning is measured by how much and well the subject matter has been mastered by the pupil. Frequent tests are given to students to check the degree of the achievement in the subject.

Predetermined uniform standard of knowledge:

There is a uniform standard for all the students to pass the subject else they well have to repeat the subject therefore the experts of the subject centered approach strongly support the minimum standards for examination so all  achieved the set standard and qualify the examination. The teacher tries to help the weak students and to bring him to the set standard and pass the exam or repeat a grade.

Each subject is a separate entity (unit) with a logical organization of its own:

Importance is given to the acquisition of skills, facts and information for vocational purpose in different logically organized subjects. The teaching staff teaches different subjects and they do not discuss or plan subject together.

Practice in skills is emphasized:

The main aspect of subject base curriculum is the continues practice or drill in a specific skill, it is one of the typical characteristics of the subject base curriculum. For this purpose multiple methods are used; evaluations, Exercise session, tutoring classes are often dedicated to such type of practices and all the students are given equal opportunities to participate.

Subject matter is selected by adults/experts for teaching learning situation:

The content of the subject is selected in advance before the teaching learning process; the subject matter is logically organized from simple to complex with the help of the experts, specialists, teacher’s supervisors, planners, writers and administrators.

Learning subject matter is an end in itself:

The main focus of the teachers, administrators and students are to complete the subject matter, to cover all the topics which are provided in the course out line by Listening to lectures, studying the recommended textbook. It is all preparation for examination on the part of students and teachers and it shows the influence of the subject centered approach. For the teacher to finish the textbook on time is a great accomplishment,

Requirements for the Optimum Operation of Subject Curriculum

Ü Trained Teachers with mastery in a subjects and expert in methodology are required to teach.

Ü A separate classroom for each subject and each level.

Ü A fixed time table is required for different subjects according to importance of the subjects and age in curriculum.

Ü Special arrangements for guidance physical education, Indoor and outdoor activities, tours and examinations etc.

   Need of Text books and guide books for subject base curriculum.

Criticism on Subject Curriculum:

Teacher has the control over pupil experiences, Learning activities and conduct. The teacher follows the decision of others in the planning and evaluation process. The teacher and headmaster formulate the rules for the classrooms management. They demand a very stern discipline and they want a quite classroom atmosphere, teacher thinks it is the best situation for teaching learning process.

 It is compartmentalized and fragmentary

The critics believed that there is no unity and continuity in the subject base matter. The subject is learned in parts. Every teacher is specialist in one subject and he feel pride to have the knowledge of his own subject and teaching and denying any responsibility for any other subject. Here they say that the learner acquire scraps of information not actual knowledge.

2.         Subject base curriculum ignores the interest and activities of the learner. The critics think that the arrangement of the course content is useless and inefficient and not suitable for teaching learning process. The subjects are logically organized.

3.                     The critics also have a viewpoint that the fact is the students know about the history what a few men had done in the past but they do not know about the current situation in their own country and what are the hopes and desires of Pakistani people and what are the social problems they have today here .

1. The critics also said that subject base curriculum fails to develop habits of effective and critical thinking. This curriculum gives importance to mastery of conclusions of thought (the end result) rather than the process through which that conclusion were derived. Which support this conclusion that it lead to uncritical thinking? The traditional assumption is that anybody who has learned the facts and information can think effectively, but the evidence does not support this assumption.

Defense of Subject Curriculum:

         Defense of Subject Curriculum

1. The supporter of the subject base curriculum rejects the claim that it did not develop child’s thinking. They argue that it is the most suitable method for the development of critical thinking in an individual but if one can’t then the problem lies in the instruction not in the curriculum itself. A vast majority of countries select this method and they are producing botanist, doctors and geologist and so on.

2. The other claim that it is fragmentary and compartmentalized is also not true about subject base curriculum alone because no one can study one subject in one session at once in any kind of curriculum. They use the principle of selection in the selection of course contents.  In a sense anything that is learnt is a fragment and is a part of some larger unit.

3. It gives the teacher the idea what to teach and the student what he supposed to learn and how much time they have to cover the course of the subject. This provides them with a constant source of security and a self-evaluation process through which they know how much course they have cover and how to complete.

4. Subject base curriculum use a logically sound framework for the organization of subject matter, it used the cause and effect principle in science and the chronological order of the historical events but they assumed an order and are reliable for learning experiences

5. The evaluation of subject base curriculum is easy. It use the achievement based testing in the evaluation to find the mastery of the subject matter in the individual.

6. It has a bright future. Subject approach is useful for specialization in any branch of knowledge. It is more effective.

Read more about types of different curriculum

Activity/Experience base curriculum

https://research-education-edu.blogspot.com/2020/01/activityexperience-base-curriculum.html

Learner-Centered curriculum

https://research-education-edu.blogspot.com/2020/01/learner-centered-curriculum.html

Teacher Centered curriculum

https://research-education-edu.blogspot.com/2020/01/teacher-centered-curriculum.html

TYPES OF CURRICULUM

https://research-education-edu.blogspot.com/2014/08/types-of-curriculum.html