Curriculum Implementation and Evaluation
This topic covers the practical process of putting a curriculum into action and then assessing its effectiveness.
5.1. Curriculum Implementation
Curriculum implementation is the process of translating the written curriculum (the plan or document) into practice in the classroom. It involves all the activities, procedures, and conditions necessary to operationalize the curriculum design. Effective implementation requires the participation of teachers, administrators, students, and the community.
5.1.1. Approaches of Curriculum Implementation
There are several approaches that describe how a curriculum change or innovation is introduced and adopted in a school system. These often relate to the degree of control and participation involved:
- Top-Down Approach (Centralized/Mandatory): The curriculum change is mandated by a central authority. Implementation is usually uniform and fast but can lead to resistance.
- Bottom-Up Approach (Decentralized/Grassroots): The initiative for change comes from the teachers and schools themselves. It promotes ownership but can result in inconsistent implementation.
- Participative/Interactive Approach: This approach involves collaboration between curriculum developers, administrators, and implementers (teachers), fostering a shared vision.
- Curriculum Fidelity Approach: Focuses on ensuring the curriculum is implemented exactly as intended by the designers.
- Curriculum Adaptation Approach: Acknowledges that teachers must modify or adapt the curriculum to meet the specific needs, context, and resources of their local environment and students.
5.1.2. Strategies of Implementation Curriculum
Strategies are the methods and techniques used to ensure the smooth and effective adoption of the new curriculum by the implementers (primarily teachers).
| Strategy | Key Focus | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Training and Development | Equipping teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge for the new curriculum. | Conducting a mandatory 3-day workshop on the new inquiry-based teaching methodology. |
| Provision of Resources | Ensuring the availability of all necessary materials, technology, and time. | Supplying new textbooks, digital learning tools, and lab equipment. |
| Monitoring and Feedback | Systematically checking the process, identifying issues, and providing supportive feedback. | Classroom observations followed by constructive debriefing sessions with the teacher. |
| Supportive Leadership | Creating an enabling environment through administrative and instructional support. | Principals restructuring the timetable to allow for inter-disciplinary teaching. |
| Communication and Collaboration | Establishing clear channels for dialogue and encouraging teamwork among teachers. | Organizing weekly Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to discuss implementation challenges. |
| Phased-in Approach | Implementing the curriculum gradually to allow for adjustments. | Rolling out a new science curriculum to Grade 1 first, then to Grade 2 the following year. |
5.1.3. Factors Affecting Curriculum Implementation
- Facilitating Factors (Enablers): Teacher Competence and Commitment, Adequate Resources, Supportive Leadership, Clear and Relevant Curriculum, Positive School Culture.
- Inhibiting Factors (Barriers): Resistance to Change, Lack of Training, Inadequate Resources, Poor Communication, External Constraints.
5.2. Curriculum Evaluation
Curriculum Evaluation is the systematic process of gathering and analyzing information about the extent to which the intended goals and objectives of the curriculum have been achieved. Its purpose is to make informed decisions.
5.2.1. Models of Curriculum Evaluation
A. Stufflebeam’s CIPP Model
CIPP stands for the four types of evaluation, which cover the entire cycle of a curriculum project:
- Context Evaluation: To help plan the objectives and determine the needs. (What needs to be done?)
- Input Evaluation: To help program the activities and decide how to use the resources. (How should the project be carried out?)
- Process Evaluation: To help implement the plan and monitor the project. (Is the program being implemented as planned?)
- Product Evaluation: To help recycle decisions by measuring and interpreting outcomes. (Did the program achieve its goals?)
B. Provus’ Discrepancy Model
The Discrepancy Evaluation Model focuses on finding the difference (discrepancy) between the performance of the curriculum and the standards (specifications) of the curriculum. The model involves a cycle of comparing performance to standards at different stages:
- Stage I: Definition: Establishing the standards/specifications for the curriculum.
- Stage II: Installation: Comparing the actual implementation against the planned standards (resources).
- Stage III: Process: Comparing the actual operating procedures against the planned procedures.
- Stage IV: Product: Comparing the actual outcomes against the desired outcomes.
- Stage V: Comparison: Comparing the results to an external set of standards.
