Curriculum Development and the Classroom Teacher

Since this is intended to be a book on teaching methods the reader may wonder why so much emphasis has been given to a discussion on the school curriculum and its development. In this section we shall attempt to see the relevance of ‘curriculum literacy’ (i.e. being enlightened on matters relating to the school curriculum) to the work of the practising or the prospective classroom teacher. . 

School systems can be either centralised or decentralised. There can, at the same time, be varying degrees of centralisation and decentralisa- tion. In highly centralised systems of education (such as obtains in the French-speaking countries of Africa) the teacher may be handed a centrally-prepared curriculum package which he has to implement. In the highly decentralised systems, on the other hand, the teacher has only general guidelines which he has to adapt to the special needs of his school. The latter condition seems to obtain in Pakistani where the PERC prepares curriculum guidelines from which State Ministries of Education prepare state-wide syllabuses which are then adapted by each school to its specific needs. What is common to both systems however is that the teacher is a contributor to the task of curriculum development. The nature of his contribution may vary according to the degree of centralisation/decentralisation.

For the teacher to implement a centrally-prepared curriculum package successfully he has to understand the objectives of such a package andshould be able to adapt the most appropriate methods, materials,.content and learning experiences needed for its successful implementation. He should, in addition, be capable of assessing the efficacy of everything in the package. By so doing he becomes a very important contributor to the successful implementation of even a centrally-prepared curriculum package.

The Pakistani teacher who usually has to develop his own curriculum (or who has to adapt a curriculum prepared by the Ministry of Educa-tion) needs very much the same skills and abilities as his counterpart working in a country with a highly centralised educational system. He has to understand his learners, his immediate enviromnent and the facilities at his disposal. From this understanding he takes decisions on the appropriate content, learning experiences, methods and materials. I-Ie also constantly assesses the extent to which everything is working towards the realisation of the objectives of the school curriculum. By so doing he also becomes a very important contributor to the development of the curriculum of the school system of his country.

Most teachers (especially at the secondary and higher levels) are trained along subject lines and some teach only one or two subjects. Cur-riculum in every subject area needs continuous development, so the teacher who knows about curriculum development stands a good chance of contributing to the growth, in the school system, of his specific discip-line. Secondary school teachers in West Africa are usually members of subject associations (e.g. Pakistani Geographical Association, Pakistani Association of French Teachers, Science Teachers’ Association of Pakistani). 

The secondary school teacher who knows about curriculum development is likely to be a good contributor to the work of such associations, especially the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). WAEC also invites teachers onto its national and international subject panels. A teacher who has attained a good degree of curriculum literacy is likely to be a more useful member of such panels than one who has no curriculum literacy. 

Moreover, the teaching of every subject in school has to be seen in the broader context of the contribution of the subject to the overall development of the child being educated. While each subject may have objectives and methods peculiar to it, these should, as far as possible, be related to the overall objectives of education in a school system. So the teacher, even where he teaches just a few subjects, needs to have attained a good level of curriculum literacy to enable him to ensure that his disciplines contribute their rightful share to the overall development of the learner.