Curriculum Construction In India Education: Read In Detail

Meaning and Concept of Curriculum

The term curriculum comes from the Latin word “currere,” which means “to run.” As a result, curriculum refers to a course that one runs in order to achieve a goal or target. Education is frequently referred to as a race with its objective as the ultimate aim and the curriculum as the route leading there. It’s also known as a study program.The curriculum is the ground on which a student and a teacher collaborate to achieve educational goals or objectives. As a result, the word “curriculum” refers to an arrangement of subjects or courses of study put in order for educational purposes in schools.

Curriculum Defined:

Cunningham

“The curriculum is a tool in the hands of the artist (teacher) to shape his material (pupils) according to his own ideas (aims and objectives) in his studio (school).”

Crow and Crow

The curriculum “It encompasses all of the learners’ previous experiences, whether inside or outside of school, that have been incorporated in a program designed to help him develop intellectually, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and morally.

Brubacher

The curriculum is the “funded capital of social experience,” and it’s used to improve people.

Monroe

“Curriculum refers to all of the activities that a school uses to meet its educational goals.

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The Secondary education commission (1952-53)

Curriculum refers to the entire set of experiences that a student has in school, including not just academic subjects. It comprises of all the diverse activities that take place in schools, such as libraries, laboratories, workshops, playgrounds, and numerous informal interactions between teachers and pupils.

The contemporary idea of curriculum, thus, goes beyond the original notion of curriculum. It covers all significant and desirable aspects of a person’s and a group’s life that aren’t related to academics. It includes all major and memorable events in human existence outside the school as long as they are planned, organized, and utilized educationally.

It’s more than just books, subject matter, and course of study. Curriculum is essentially a mechanism for children to adapt to their surroundings. The acknowledgment that experience is the greatest teacher has given curriculum a new slant.

Principles of Curriculum Construction

Some of the principles of curriculum construction that may be discussed once we’ve learnt about curriculum include:

Principle of Child Centeredness

The modern curriculum development process should be paedocentric as well as democratic in the sense that the child should have a leading role throughout the educational learning process and engage actively in it. At the time of curriculum creation, his capacity, interest, attitudes, and requirements should all be considered.

Principle of Flexibility and Variety

The Secondary Education Commission (1953) recommended that the secondary school curriculum should provide for variety and flexibility. The modern curriculum should be developed in collaboration with local and individual requirements and circumstances. To meet the demands of the individual, there must be variation in the education program.

In order to assist them in achieving their educational goals, learning should be independent and self-directed. Learners should have the option of selecting their own courses of study. Students who do not wish to pursue a certain course of study should not be forced to do so against their will. Individual differences among the learners must be addressed.

Principle of Correlation

Every subject must have some tie to other subjects, which should be felt by teachers and students. Coordination of themes in the curriculum is crucial.

Principle of Integration

The concept of integration is crucial for the child’s overall personality development. History, civics, and geography as social studies should all be integrated into different curriculum areas at various times in a student’s education. Integration should be implemented throughout each activity.

Principle of Community Service

The contemporary curriculum should reflect the demands of community living. The needs and circumstances of the community should influence the curriculum’s content and design. The curriculum should be created in such a way as to optimize the use of local resources for education development while also allowing for equal opportunity.

Principle of Values

In an emerging civilization, we must instill in our children a number of desirable traits. As a result, the current curriculum should include values such as social, moral, spiritual, democratic and aesthetic inculcation.

Principle of Totality

The Secondary Education Commission has also emphasized this idea by stating that the pupil must have access to all learning experiences provided through the school’s many activities, such as as art, sports and music, as well as other opportunities for learning. In this manner, the school’s entire existence becomes the curriculum, which may be utilized at all ages to touch students’ lives.