Environmental Education

 

By khan

Key words; Principle of Child-Centeredness, Principle
of Community, The principle of comprehensive curriculum, Principle
of Balance curriculum , Principle of Utility, Principles of
curriculum development, Principle of flexibility, The principle
of practical work, Principle of Creativity, Principle of
flexibility, concept of curriculum

PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION

The
term curriculum derives from the Latin word ‘currere’ which means a kind of route
which the learner travels or “to run the racecourse.” The etymological history of the word “curriculum” comes from this Latin word. Thus, currere is fundamental for understanding the meaning of curriculum development. All the activities going on the school or outside of
the school is called curriculum. It is the foundation of intellectual,
physical, moral and emotional development of the child

“Curriculum”
is a series of all those learning opportunities which are planned and carried
out by a teacher and pupil’s working together.

The
modern concept of curriculum was developed with the beginning of Twentieth
Century.  This concept of curriculum is
different from the old one.  According to
the modern concept, “curriculum” is not the name of text book knowledge of
factual information.  It is not a
static-view but a dynamic one.

Now-a-days,
“Curriculum is used for the whole environment in which a child is given
education.  It is a series of all those
activities which a school performs to organize students for physical, social,
moral and spiritual development.  These
activities are necessary for the development of the balance personality of the
child.

Before
designing the curriculum, it’s important for the curriculum developers to agree
on the purpose and principles of curriculum development and also get feedback
from all stakeholders. There is no right or wrong approach to curriculum
design, but all stakeholders should be clear on the aims and objective behind
their chosen design. Without these principles, the curriculum is set to fall
short of imparting required learning experiences which the propose curriculum
intend to do.

Curriculum
is the backbone of any education system, without a good curriculum no nation
can achieve quality in education. Curriculum effect all dimension of a nation
e.g. education, economy, moral values etc.

  Therefore it is necessary for designing a balance curriculum to follow
the principles of curriculum development. Curriculum organization is a
scientific process which involves basic principles on which its credibility
exists. It is not just collection of content and topics.  It reflects philosophy and culture of the
society.

Principles of curriculum
development

Principle
of Child-Centeredness

Curriculum is mainly for the students. And the
purpose of curriculum is to impart learning experiences at a particular age and
grade level that suit their age and mental level so, the age, interest, capacity,
aspiration, needs and psychology of the learner should be taken in to consideration.

  Principle of
Community

The needs of community and the needs of the learner
should be taken in to consideration while developing curriculum. It is reflect of
the values of democracy and main concerns of the country.

The
principle of comprehensive curriculum

• The curriculum must have complete details of the subject material,
  aids, activities, and list of all topics and content, responsibility of
  teachers and students should be clearly stated what is expected of them.

Principle
of Balance / Integration

·        
The curriculum should be balance from all aspects; Cognitive, affective
and psychomotor objectives. Child and society need, these should be related to
the social environment of the students. Importance should be given to the need
of the child and balance between Child and Community needs.

The
curriculum should be environmentally centered

• The content of the learning experiences for children should be
  linked to students’ needs and environment in which the student lives. The
  difference of rural area and urban area should be kept in mind while
  developing curriculum.

Principle
of Need

·        
Curriculum should fulfill all needs of the learner e.g. Physical,
emotional and social development. It should not be just the academic but also
other equally important activities too.

Principle
of Utility

·        
Curriculum should provide very rich experiences, academic and social to
students, furthermore the activities, content, and experience of the curriculum
should be useful to the learner.

The
principle of practical work

• The curriculum should have activities because children are very
  active by nature and they like activities, they like to do things by doing
  therefore curriculum should be designed in such a way that it provides
  maximum opportunity to the child for practical work.

Principle
of flexibility,

• The curriculum should be flexible Instead of rigid. The
  organization of the curriculum should be based on the individual
  differences because every child is different from the other. Therefore, a flexible
  curriculum will address the needs and aspirations of the society and
  students.

Principle
of Creativity

The curriculum should have enough content which
encourage discovery, experimentation and provision of creative type of
activities.

Principle
of Preservation/Conservation

It should help in the preservation /conservation
and transferring of knowledge, traditions, culture and norms to next generation.

Teachers allow students to access the curriculum
through independent, small group, and large group. Teachers use curriculum
planning for appropriate levels which allow all students to develop their
skills and understandings. Teachers co-construct curriculum with students,
parents and colleagues to maximize expertise.

CONCLUSION

Curriculum evaluation is the method to analysis the
outcomes of the educational aims and objectives of the school curriculum.
Proper Implementation of curriculum in learning institutions is equally
important as curriculum development. While developing curriculum, experts
should also keep the implementation of curriculum in mind. They should be aware
of the economic, laboratory and environmental conditions of the schools and the
availability of time and proper resources available as required for the proposed
curriculum.

The curriculum is the totality of learning experiences
that a child learns during school activities in the school environment. A
constant review of the school curriculum will reveal any useful and useless
content or objectives. A frequent review of the curriculum subject oriented, examination
is necessary and brings change according to the need of curriculum and
learners, the learning content which is not in conformity with the aims and
objective of the teaching, rigid and outfits, the difference of age group
should be replace. So, it is the need of time in Pakistan that the present
curriculum should be reorganized in the light of the principles of curriculum
development mentioned above.