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Curriculum

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Discuss the factors influencing the emergence of the curriculum, models of curriculum design and the implication of curriculum evaluation.
1.1 Concept of curriculum
There is no single definition of the curriculum .The most common definition of curriculum that most teachers give is that it is a syllabus or a program of study but this is an erroneous definition. For Taba (1962), it is a ‘plan for learning’, while Lawton describes the curriculum as “a selection from the culture of a society” (Lawton, 1975, p6). It has also been described as “a social and political construct that changes over time in response to a range of factors and influences” (Mc Cullock, 1992, p9). Hence, the term curriculum means different things for different people. While it is obvious that the curriculum is not neutral, its content and how it is transmitted depends on the kinds of interaction between curriculum developers, teachers and students. Stated differently, curricula emerges depending on the various ways curriculum developers, teachers and students interact with each other.
In this essay, I will outline the internal and external factors that shape the interaction between the official curriculum, what is taught in secondary schools and learning that takes place in classrooms. Internal factors include the influences of philosophy, psychology and sociology, whereas external factors include the social, economic and political aspects that shape curriculum design. Two curriculum models, namely the rational and the dynamic models will then be compared and contrasted and applied to my teaching practice. Thirdly, the positive and negative consequences of different forms of evaluation for students, teachers and the government will be discussed.
1.2 Factors influencing curriculum design.
1.2.1 Internal factors shaping curriculum. Internal or pedagogical factors include the philosophical,

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