10.2.1 Steps in curriculum design
The final product of a curriculum design process will depend on the scope of the curriculum design. Sometimes this can be very broad, for example when developing a core curriculum for primary education. But curriculum design projects can also be limited to designing a module within a specific programme. Moreover, we not only talk about curriculum design when developing a new curriculum, but also when we are revising an existing curriculum. Independent of the scope of the programme, a curriculum design process in general covers five core activities:
- Analysis: This includes an analysis of the current and desired situation, based on this design guidelines can be formulated.
- Design: Here, the design principle will be further elaborated and the overall curriculum framework will be developed.
- Development: Based on the design of the curriculum, teaching and learning materials will have to be developed in order to be able to implement the curriculum. This can also include training for teachers to prepare them for the implementation of the new curriculum.
- Implementation: Once all materials are developed and teachers are prepared, the curriculum can be implemented in the classroom.
- Evaluation: Evaluation should play a role throughout the whole design process, not just at the end.
During each step it is important to check whether the right choices have been made, based on the design process, and whether the proposed activities are still the right ones to achieve the desired outputs. Evaluation can result in going back one stage in order to adjust previous decisions based on new insights.
The activities described are only to a certain extent linear, and it would be better to see it as a cyclic process in which the different activities take place several times and interact with each other. In this regard, evaluation could be put in the middle as central activity supporting all four other activities.
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