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In Module 2, 3 and 4, we discussed how philosophy, psychology, society and history events influence curriculum. In Modules 5, 6, 7 and 8, we will examine the different phases of the curriculum development process. The first phase is curriculum planning followed by curriculum design, curriculum implementation and curriculum evaluation. In this chapter we examine in general the curriculum development process by referring to three well-known curriculum development model; namely, the Tyler model, the Taba model and the Saylor & Alexander model. In the second part of the chapter, we focus on the first phase of the process namely, curriculum planning which involves establishing the goals and objectives of a curriculum based on the agreed educational philosophy.
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Curriculum is the foundation of the teaching-learning process whether it is a school, college, university or training organisation. The textbooks used, how teachers are trained, development of instructional plans, evaluation of students, preparation of guides for both students and teachers, and setting of standards, are all based on the curriculum. Thus without a curriculum no educational institution can function efficiently. Given such importance to curriculum a number of questions are raised. How is it developed? How is it organised? Who develops it? What are the principles in developing a curriculum? How do we know whether the curriculum is successful? Curriculum is a plan for ordering and directing the teaching-learning experiences that students encounter in an educational institution. The process of providing the plan and keeping it running smoothly is known as curriculum development. Curriculum development is the more comprehensive term, which includes planning