CHAPTER 2:

PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM
DEVELOPMENT

Developing the Curriculum

Eighth Edition

Peter F. Oliva
William R. Gordon II
 AFTER STUDYING THIS CHAPTER YOU
SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

• Describe the ten axioms for curriculum

development discussed in this chapter.

• Illustratein what way the curriculum is influenced

by changes in society.

• Describe limitations affecting curriculum changes in

a school system and within which curriculum
workers must function.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-2

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 CLARIFICATION OF TERMS

• Education is one of the institutions the human race

has created to serve certain needs, and, like all
human institutions, it responds or should respond
to changes in the environment. The institution of
education is activated by a curriculum that itself
changes in response to forces affecting it.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-3

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 CLARIFICATION OF TERMS

• The curriculum is perceived as a plan for the learning

experiences that young people encounter under the
direction of the school.
• This process of keeping the curriculum running
smoothly is commonly known as curriculum
development.
• The preliminary phase, when the curriculum workers
make decisions and take actions to establish the
plans that teachers and students will carry out, is
known as curriculum planning.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-4

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 CLARIFICATION OF TERMS

• Curriculum implementation is defined as the

translation of plans into action.

• Those intermediate and final phases of

development in which results are assessed and
successes of both the learners and the programs
are determined is known as curriculum evaluation.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-5

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 CLARIFICATION OF TERMS

• Curriculum revision is used to refer to the process

for making changes in an existing curriculum or to
the changes themselves and is substituted for
curriculum development or curriculum
improvement.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-6

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 CLARIFICATION OF TERMS

• Key Point: Through the process of curriculum

development we can discover new ways for
providing more effective pupil learning
experiences. The curriculum developer
continuously strives to find newer, better, and
more efficient means to accomplish this task.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-7

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 TYPES OF CURRICULUM
DEVELOPERS

• Some curriculum developers excel in the

conceptualizing phase (planning), others in
carrying out the curricular plan
(implementation), and still others in assessing
curriculum results (evaluation).

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-8

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 TYPES OF CURRICULUM
DEVELOPERS

• To the weary professional curriculum worker, it

sometimes seems that every federal, state, and
local legislator is a self-appointed, self-trained
curriculum consultant who has his or her own pet
program to promulgate.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-9

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 TYPES OF CURRICULUM
DEVELOPERS

• What has led so many people to be dissatisfied

with so much of what education is all about? Why
is the status quo rarely a satisfactory place to be?
And why does it turn out, as will be illustrated, that
yesterday’s status quo is sometimes tomorrow’s
innovation? For answers to these questions some
general principles of curriculum development
should be considered by teachers and specialists
who participate in efforts to improve the curriculum.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-10

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 SOURCES OF CURRICULUM PRINCIPLES

• Principles serve as guidelines to direct the activity

of persons working in a particular area.
• Curriculum principles are derived from many
sources:
○ Empirical data
○ Experimental data
○ The folklore of curriculum, composed of
unsubstantiated beliefs and attitudes
○ Common sense

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-11

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 SOURCES OF CURRICULUM PRINCIPLES

• Unless a principle is established that is irrefutable

by reason of objective data, some degree of
judgment must be brought into play. Whenever
judgment comes into the picture, the potential for
controversy arises.

• Consequently, some of the principles for curriculum

development provoke controversy, while others are
generally accepted as reasonable guidelines.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-12

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 TYPES OF PRINCIPLES

• Curriculum principles may be viewed as whole

truths, partial truths, or hypotheses. While all
function as operating principles, they are
distinguished by their known effectiveness or by
degree of risk.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-13

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 TYPES OF PRINCIPLES

• Types of guiding principles for curriculum

development:

○ Whole Truths
○ Partial Truths
○ Hypotheses

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-14

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 TEN AXIOMS

• Axiom 1. Change is both inevitable and necessary,

for it is through change that life forms grow and
develop.
• Axiom 2. A school curriculum not only reflects but
also is a product of its time.
• Axiom 3. Curriculum changes made at an earlier
period of time can exist concurrently with newer
curriculum changes at a later period of time.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-15

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 TEN AXIOMS

• Axiom 4. Curriculum change results from changes

in people.
• Axiom 5. Curriculum change is effected as a result
of cooperative endeavor on the part of groups.
• Axiom 6. Curriculum development is basically a
decision-making process.
• Axiom 7. Curriculum development is a never-
ending process

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-16

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 TEN AXIOMS

• Axiom 8. Curriculum development is a

comprehensive process.
• Axiom 9. Systematic curriculum development is
more effective than trial and error.
• Axiom 10. The curriculum planner starts from
where the curriculum is, just as the teacher starts
from where the students are.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-17

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 TEN AXIOMS

•Key Point: The investment of thought, time,

money, and work by previous planners cannot be
thrown out even if such a drastic remedy appeared
valid to a new set of planners since most
curriculum planners begin with already existing
curricula.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-18

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 A FINAL THOUGHT:

• Curriculum change is a normal, expected

consequence of changes in the societal
environment. It is the responsibility of curriculum
workers to seek ways of making continuous
improvement in the curriculum.

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. 2-19

© 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved