Read the following curriculum development overview. This one is long. You might find that if you print it in draft mode on your printer it is less straining on the eyes.
Curriculum Development:
An Overview
INTRODUCTION
Ever since the term curriculum was added to educators' vocabularies, it has seemed to convey many things to many people. To some, curriculum has denoted a specific course, while to others it has meant the entire educational environment. Whereas perceptions of the term may vary, it must be recognized that curriculum encompasses more than a simple definition. Curriculum is a key element in the educational process; its scope is extremely broad, and it touches virtually everyone who is involved with teaching and learning.
This volume focuses on curriculum within the context of career and technical and technical education. In no other area has greater emphasis been placed upon the development of curricula that are relevant in terms of student and community needs and substantive outcomes. The career and technical and technical curriculum focuses not only on the educational process but also on the tangible results of that process. This is only one of many reasons why the career and technical and technical curriculum is distinctive in relation to other curricular areas and why career and technical education curriculum planners must have a sound understanding of the curriculum development process.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
Several factors have appeared to cause the differences that currently exist between the career and technical and technical curriculum and curricula in other areas. Perhaps the foremost of these is historical influence. History has an important message to convey about antecedents of the contemporary career and technical and technical curriculum and provides a most meaningful perspective to the curriculum developer. Curriculum as we know it today has evolved over the years from a narrow set of