ROLE OF TEACHERS’ IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

ROLE OF TEACHERS’ IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT FOR
TEACHER EDUCATION
Ms. Megha Sahebrao Jadhav1 Dr.(Ms) Pratibha S Patankar2
Abstract
Teacher Education provides a platform to student-teachers to acquire the required
knowledge, skill and develop positive attitude, values and beliefs. This can be done with the help
of the provided curriculum. And the quality of teacher produced in any institution invariably
depends on the curriculum offered to them during their training period.
After reviewing various researches on the curriculum and significant role of teachers’ in
framing the curriculum the process of curriculum development was decentralized. The process
of curriculum framing and preparation of textbooks be decentralized so as to increase teachers’
involvement in these tasks. Decentralization should mean greater autonomy within the
state/district.
As curriculum is the best mean of overall development of students. And teacher is
mediator between curriculum and students. She/he knows various needs of students, educational
institutions, industries, parents (stakeholders). The quality of teacher education is maintained by
curriculum of Teacher Education. The curriculum development is dynamic process. The paper
will dealt with the following objectives such as1. To explain the curriculum development process.
2. To explain the role of the teacher as curriculum developer.3.To communicates the best
practices in the context of curriculum development. The present paper will discuss the role of
teachers’ in curriculum development for teacher education.
Keywords: curriculum development, teacher education, curriculum developer.
1Golden Jubilee DRF, Department of Education, Shivaji University, Kolhapur
meghasgouri@gmail.com, 7588112709
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Shivaji University, Kolhapur
pratibhapatankar@yahoo.co.in, 9960192103

ROLE OF TEACHERS’ IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHER
EDUCATION
Dr.(Ms) Pratibha S Patankar2 Ms. Megha Sahebrao Jadhav1
Teacher Education provides a platform to student-teachers to acquire the required
knowledge, skill and develop positive attitude, values and beliefs. This can be done with the help
of the provided curriculum. And the quality of teacher produced in any institution invariably
depends on the curriculum offered to them during their training period.
After reviewing various researches on the curriculum and significant role of teachers’ in
framing the curriculum the process of curriculum development was decentralized. The process

of curriculum framing and preparation of textbooks be decentralized so as to increase teachers’
involvement in these tasks. Decentralization should mean greater autonomy within the
state/district.
As curriculum is the best mean of overall development of students. And teacher is
mediator between curriculum and students. She/he knows various needs of students, educational
institutions, industries, parents (stakeholders). The quality of teacher education is maintained by
curriculum of Teacher Education. The curriculum development is dynamic process. The
objectives of this paper are
1. To explain the curriculum development process.
2. To explain the role of the teacher as curriculum developer.
3. To communicate the best practices in the context of curriculum development.
Firstly, understand the meaning of curriculum.
Curriculum
Curriculum plays an important role in the field of teacher education. Curriculum is the
planned interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources, and processes for
evaluating the attainment of educational objectives.
Curriculum is used in several meanings. There are also a number of definitions of the
term, curriculum.
The word curriculum is derived from the Latin word 'currrere' which means 'run' and it
signifies a 'run-away' or a course which one runs to reach a goal.
Carl (1995:40) defines curriculum development as"... an umbrella and continuous process
in which structure and systematic planning methods figure strongly from design to
evaluation."For the purposes of this study, this definition is accepted as it includes all aspects
from design, dissemination, and implementation to evaluation.
According to Taylor (1966) curriculum means all the learning which is planned or guided
by the school, whether it is carried in groups or individually, inside or outside the school.
Kerr (1968) says, "Curriculum means all the learning which is planned or guided by the
school, whether it is carried on in groups or individually, inside or outside the school”.

Importance of curriculum in teacher education
A curriculum guides the instructional lessons that teachers use. A curriculum defines
what the learner will learn and can possibly guide when the learner learns the information from
the lesson.
A curriculum offers teachers the ideas and strategies for assessing student progress. A
student must meet certain academic requirements in order to go to the next level. Without the
guidance of a curriculum, teachers cannot be certain that they have supplied the necessary
knowledge or the opportunity for student success at the next level, whether that the levels
involve a high school, college or career.
Curriculum can help students to achieve some personal control over their learning, to
plan their semester, and to manage their time effectively, and describes Active Learning.
Students often conceive of learning as the acquisition of correct information, but they may not
know what it means to take an active role in the process, beyond rote memorization and recall,
students should be given some idea about what they should already know and what skills they
should already have before taking course so they can realistically asses their readiness, sets the
course in a Broader Context for Learning, describes Available Learning Resources.

Curriculum development
Curriculum development is the process of creating planned syllabus, teaching, training,
and exhibition modes. It is a term used to refer to the process of instituting and putting in place
precise guidelines of instruction for the curriculum. It describes ways in which teaching and
different training organizations plan and guide learning which can be in groups or as an
individual.
Curriculum development is a local, regional, or state/provincial level process that student
teachers often have difficulty comprehending (Hansen, Fliesser, Froelich, & McClain, 1992). In
their eyes, it is something undertaken by authorities (e.g., regional advisory committee members)
with years of experience in the teacher education system. The expectation of the teacher
candidates, often enough, is that they will learn how to teach and thereby become effective at
transmitting the knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with a particular subject or program.
Education practitioners with years in the profession know differently. Successful practice in the
classroom is inextricably linked to curriculum development-the everyday decisions about both
what to teach and how to teach.

Curriculum development process
Curriculum development is dynamic process it changes according to the need of the
society and the stakeholders of the education system. The curriculum development process
includes several stages such as planning, preparing, designing, developing, implementing,
evaluating, revising, and improving.
Traditionally curriculum development has been seen as planning for a sustained process of
teaching and learning in a formal institutional setting. Curriculum development is systematic and
dynamic process sensitive to time and place in which preparation, development, implementation
and evaluation steps are involved.

The challenges in curriculum development
There are varieties of challenges facing curriculum development, but in general they are
classified into three types, global challenges (external), internal challenges of the education
systems, and challenges specific to Region.
With regard to the external challenges, curriculum planners should response to eight
critical processes: the process of globalization, accelerated pace of scientific and technological
progress, radical transformation in the work field, increasing social inequalities, progress of
democracy and human rights, multi-culturalism, the feeling of insecurity, and moral decline.
In addition, the third type of challenges may be summarized as: universal literacy,
shortage of highly skilled human resources, reconciling traditional orientation of education with
the aspiration for modernity, privatization of schools, diversification of the economy, the need to
invest more in education research.

Role of teacher in curriculum development
Teachers know the needs of all stakeholders of teacher education. Teachers can
understand the psychology of the learner. Teachers are aware about the teaching methods and
teaching strategies. Teachers also play the role as evaluator for the assessment of learning
outcomes. So teachers must possess some qualities such as planner, designer, manager,
evaluator, researcher, decision maker and administrator. Teachers play the respective role for the
each step of curriculum development process.
Curriculum planning involves analysis of philosophy, social forces, needs, goals and
Objectives, treatment of knowledge, human development, learning process & instruction, and
decision.

Curriculum preparation involves systematic data, content, selection, collection,
assessment, organization.
Design factors includes school (levels, types, Structures), educational technology,
systemic vocational, social reconstruction, Curriculum design, analysis of social needs,
translating the needs into Course/general/learning/terminal objectives, splitting the objectives
into specific objectives, grouping the specific objectives into subjects, deriving the subjects from
the above classification, specifying enabling objectives, unitizing each subject matter,
specification of required time, and syllabus formulation.

Curriculum development phases consist of Instructional development, Materials & media
development, Methods of teaching & testing
Implementation of the Curriculum involves Instructional scheme of each subject to be
completed in the semester, Planning the lessons as per the timetable, Using the transactional
strategies, Using the appropriate media, Providing the learning resources, Promoting classroom
learning experiences, Progressive testing
Curriculum evaluation involves, Intra-curricular evaluation, Teacher evaluation of
students, Student evaluation of teachers, Materials evaluation, Verification of methods,
Evaluation of tests and examinations, Checking the learning outcomes while on the field,
Curriculum review/ improvement/ change/ modification, System revision.
After evaluating the prepared curriculum it is observed that the curriculum is not
satisfactory then developer turns for revising and improving phase.
Best practices
Minocha,Manisha (1989) undertaken a study entitled “Responses of primary school
teachers to an experimental school teachers to an experiment in curriculum reform: a study of the
teachers involved in the integrated programme” the findings of this study as follows: teachers
were more receptive to the NCERT evaluation scheme and textbooks than to those of the
integrated programme, teachers cited may problems that they faced, the problems related to
learners parents being the most intense.
Yadav, A.J. (1992) undertaken a study entitled “A study of hotel workers in Kolhapur
district with a view to preparing a curriculum for their education” the major objective for this
study was to develop a need based curriculum for hotel worker and to examine the impact of
training programme on hotel worker. The findings were a need based curriculum for hotel
worker can be developed.
Patnakar, P.S. (2013) undertaken research entitled “M.Ed. Curriculum as a Quality
Indicator in teacher education: student’s feedback”. The present research is descriptive in nature
in which survey method was used. To collect the feedback from the students the questionnaire
was used as the data collection tool. The findings of her study are as follows: standard of M.Ed.
curriculum is satisfactory, curricular and co curricular activities help them in developing their
personality, evaluation of the curriculum is satisfactory. Hence, present M.Ed. curriculum
prescribed by Shivaji University, Kolhapur is a quality indicator in Teacher Education.
Jadhav, M.S.(2013) undertaken research entitled “Quality Circles in M.Ed. Curriculum
for enhancing Quality of Teacher Education”. In this research quality circles are assumed as
student-teachers complete predetermined task in groups to successfully compete the M.Ed.
curriculum. The findings of this study are quality circles work very effectively in implementing
M.Ed. curriculum. Present M.Ed. curriculum (prescribed by Shivaji University) is playing very
important role in shaping the personality of students also indirectly enhance the quality of
Teacher Education.
In last year Department of Education, Shivaji University, Kolhapur organized an
orientation programme for B.Ed. curriculum for teacher-educators.
Suggestions

The curriculum development process can be improved by following ways:
 Need based analysis of curriculum,
What is the requirement of institutions?
Which types of skills are incorporated in the student?
How can be bridge the gaps between the theory and real life situation?
 Taking feedback of stakeholders is one of curriculum development strategy,
 Use of technology for fulfillment of demands of stakeholders,
 Revision of curriculum is done for each five years, etc.
 The seminars, panel discussions, orientation programmes and workshops must be
arranged for involvement of teacher as curriculum developer
 Curriculum developers must follow some of the principles of curriculum
development such as conservative principle, forward looking principle, creation
principle, activity principle, child centered principle, flexibility principle, leisure
principle, character building principle, and dignity of labour principle. Also the
principles of maturity, preparation for real life, linking with life, individual
difference, loyalties, core or common subjects, all round development of body,
mind and spirit, democracy, secularism, socialism etc.
Conclusion
Curriculum development is intellectual and research activity. It needs the skillful
programmers for planning, developing, designing, implementing, evaluation and improving
phase. Teachers know the needs of all stakeholders of teacher education. Teachers can
understand the psychology of the learner. Teachers are aware about the teaching methods and
teaching strategies. Teachers also play the role as evaluator for the assessment of learning
outcomes. Teacher can be worked as planner, designer, manager, programmer, implementer,
coordinator, decision maker, evaluator, researcher etc. so teachers can play important role in the
process of curriculum development for teacher education.