Determinants of curriculum b.ed notes

 

Determinants and Motivators of Curriculum Development

Following are the other major lists of determinants and motivators of curriculum development-

(1) Family

Family is the oldest social institution. The informal education of a child starts with the parents and family only. At present, despite such a huge promotion of formal education, crores of children in different regions of the world do not go to school. Such children get social education from the family only. Apart from this, the family has already created a solid foundation for the children who take admission in schools for formal education. 

Thus, by the time the child enters the school, a lot of socialization has taken place. Therefore, the school has already made its program on the basis of its pre-condition. Thus, by the time the child enters the school, a lot of socialization has taken place. Therefore, the school has to start its programs on the basis of its pre-position.

(2) Traditions

Traditions or customs are the specialties of human society. Every society has such customs which it has received in the form of cultural heritage. All the people of the society usually follow these customs and traditions without any thought. Often people do not even argue about these traditions, because the continuation of these traditions from generation to generation is considered to be the proof of their significance, but this is not the only point of view about traditions.

 

Traditions do slow down the pace of change, but at the same time they are also helpful in keeping it orderly, while maintaining stability, do not allow chaos to arise and pave the way for gradual change. So far, there has been pressure of traditions in the prevailing curriculum, traditions are playing a strong role to some extent in the determination of the current curriculum. Curriculum makers often agree with them and adopt them in their original form or with some modifications. In case of complete disagreement with or rejection of these traditions, it is not easy to find an alternative to them. In this way traditions act as pressure groups in curriculum making.

(3) Social Pressure Groups

 Due to the social trend in education, the curriculum has to face various social pressures at different levels. These pressures or influences can generally be kept in two parts. In the first category come those pressure groups which are informal, unplanned and unconscious and in the second category come the formal, planned and conscious pressure groups. In a democratic society, pressure groups have even more importance. At present, many such organizations are being formed, so they work in a planned manner to change the curriculum.

(4) Religious Organizations

 Belongs to religious organizations and institutions. In almost every society of the world, schools were first established by religious institutions. Although after scientific progress and industrial revolution, the religious hegemony in the field of education has definitely decreased, but still, in some form or the other, education has been influenced by religion. Religion still occupies an important place in the social foundations of the curriculum. In the West, the Church acts as an influential pressure group on all educational questions. Many questions related to religious education, such as whether religious education should be provided or not, if it is to be provided, of which religion and how much, whether this education should be compulsory or optional, should it be conducted in regular school hours or extra time and for how long,

 

(5) Changing Needs of the Society

In every society, some or the other changes have been taking place since ancient times. Due to these changes, such new situations have also arisen, due to which the process of revision and enhancement of the curriculum continues. But due to the rapid pace of change in the modern society, many new trends are presenting many challenges to the curriculum planners, not only because of their rapid speed and numerical strength, but also because of their epoch-making nature.

(6) Nature of Society

 The nature of any society can be understood in two ways-

(1) Traditionalism and dynamism of the society,

(2) Free state and controlled state of society

The more ancient a society is, the more traditional it is and it constantly strives to take those traditions forward. In such a society, traditions are given an important place in the curriculum and any change in them is not accepted easily. In such a society, it takes much longer than necessary to accept any kind of change even if its usefulness is unquestionable. A good example of this is the very late adoption of the metric system of measurement in Britain. 

On the contrary, the new society is more dynamic than the old society, that is, it is more ready for changes. The revolutionary changes that took place in many budding nations are proof of this.

 

(7) Education According to Changing Needs of Modern Society

The changing needs of the modern society are the result of rapid changes taking place in it. Any society can adapt properly to these rapid changes only when it arranges education according to the personal, social, economic, political, technical and ecological needs arising out of those changes.

(8) Other Pressure Groups

Many new influencers are influencing the curriculum at present. These influence groups work in both direct and indirect forms. In this type of pressure groups, the names of various social and political organizations, publishers, manufacturers of educational material and equipment, agencies conducting examinations for the selection of various services are particularly noteworthy. These agencies have come to influence the curriculum in the same way as modern advertisements influence the use of material goods.