Keywords: CURRICULUM / EDUCATION / THEORY
Introduction
Currently some curricular materials and some strategies for their implementation attribute to contemporary theories, in particular to "constructivism". However, most of the curricular materials state that attention to diversity also implies the freedom to adopt and create the most appropriate methodologies for each situation and group of students. Indeed, the provisions regarding the quantity and type of curricular spaces that students must have conditions, for example, the possibility of organizing active and participatory processes that facilitate the formation of competences for entrepreneurship and action.
Consequently, in some countries such as Mexico, Argentina and Chile, it is intended that the curricular materials foresee components that make it easier for students to put different learning strategies and teaching teachers “at stake”, including the development of research and teaching projects. intervention in communities seen from the social sciences, for example. (Chávez, 2011) The study of the curricular design facilitates the concrete, accurate and well-directed elaboration of the proposals of programs and study plans at the required level for educational institutions. Obeying sequences organized in phases.
The real function of the curriculum is to enable learners to develop the capacities that they have as people, to relate adequately to the social environment and to incorporate the culture of their time and their people.
Development
I define curriculum as an instrument of formal and informal education that specifies and concretes the aims and purposes of education, responds to social and cultural demands and the needs of the subjects. It guides the teaching-learning processes in different contexts.
From the moment that curriculum development is conceived as a task that requires orderly judgment, it is essential to examine both the order of decision-making and the way they are carried out, to ensure that all important aspects have been addressed. considered. A more consciously planned and more dynamically conceived curriculum will be obtained through an order:
- Diagnosis of needs Formulation of objectives Selection of content Organization of content Selection of learning activities Organization of learning activities Determination of what is to be assessed and the ways and means of doing so. (LOPEZ, 2002)
The curriculum as a specialized field of educational work has its origins in the early twentieth century, exactly with the first publication by Franklin Bobbitt in 1918, of his book entitled The Curriculum. This book not only marks the beginning of the specialty, but also established guidelines for its development that have marked an entire era.
The immediate period of the First World War was characterized by a notable emphasis on industrial growth, the accelerated process of urban planning and strong technological development. These events marked an influence on the social, cultural, economic, and political life of America; as well as the production of dramatic changes in school programs: the community demanded of schools that were utilitarian and effective. (Antinea, 2015)
Useful formulation of objectives
The curriculum planner should select a small list of important and achievable goals. Sometimes the objectives are stated as something to be done by the instructor, statements that can indicate what the educator intends to do but that, in reality, are not statements of educational purposes, since the real purpose of education is not that the Instructor perform certain tasks, but promote significant changes in student behavior patterns.
The difficulty of achieving the proposed objective in the form of activities that the educator must carry out lies in the fact that it is impossible to judge whether these are the activities that must be carried out.
Otra forma incorrecta de enunciar objetivos es la lista de temas, conceptos y generalizaciones que deben desarrollarse en el curso. Los objetivos que se enuncian bajo forma de temas, generalizaciones indican los sectores de contenido que los estudiantes tienen que tratar, pero no son objetivos satisfactorios pues no especifican qué es lo que deben hacer los alumnos con esos elementos. Por el contrario, el propósito de los objetivos es indicar los tipos de cambio que buscamos en el estudiante para poder planificar y desarrollar actividades didácticas de manera que haga posible que se logren tales objetivos o sea que promueva cambios en los alumnos.
The most useful way to state objectives is to express them in terms that identify at the same time the type of behavior that is intended to be generated in the student and the content of the life sector in which that behavior will be applied.
Curriculum Theories
The origin of the curriculum as a field of research is not the result of a merely academic interest, but of a social and political concern to try to solve the educational needs and problems of a country. (LOPEZ, 2002)
Although Bobbit was a mainstay in the Curriculum, there were more theories of authors who were Bobbit's followers, with different concepts and perspectives.
What is intended with the different theories and studies of the curriculum is to give a systematic and grounded treatment to the decisions of a country on what and how to teach, that is to say to give meaning to teaching in order to reach the established objectives.
In the following timeline some authors are reflected, who were the first to study the curriculum, with their respective conceptions. It is worth mentioning that currently, this type of methodologies and processes are no longer used, society is in constant innovation. However, in order to renew something, it is necessary to know its origin. (See PDF)
Theoretical currents in the Curriculum
After describing the different theories with the previous characters, we will continue with the Theoretical Currents in the Curriculum that are independent of the Curriculum Theories, despite the connections that may exist between them, represent consistent perspectives in themselves and that at some point they have been presented as such, although they have later been interwoven.
There are six trends that I consider in the following table, which describes the different perspectives and approaches. (See PDF)
The effort required to maintain a critical spirit and a constant review of what is being done, the elaboration of materials, the search for attractive activities and consistent with what is intended, the analysis of results, etc., requires work in team and a community involvement in its implementation.
conclusion
Pedagogy as a social science recognizes education as an object of study, which leads us to analyze this phenomenon from multiple points of view, since it is such a complex fact that it deals with neither more nor less than the integral formation of a human being in its physical, psychological, moral and social aspects, through the teaching-learning process, dealing with what, how and when it is taught and learned, that is, set the objectives, establish the conceptual, procedural and behavioral contents that must be included in the curriculum, strategies to transmit or discover information, and the teacher-student, student-student and school-community relationship.
Projecting Curriculum Design to reality, it is necessary to adapt educational programs to the needs of the population and the context in which it will be carried out, although the teacher has the opportunity to adjust and correct the programs in the XXI century for the sole purpose that they become useful in teaching-learning.
REFERENCES
- Antinea, BV (February 10, 2015). HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF CURRICULAR THEORY.Chávez, FA (2011). Curricular Design facing the need for renovation. UVM. LOPEZ, PM (2002). Curricular design. Ixtepec, Oaxaca.
