Curriculum In formal education, a curriculum is the planned interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources, and processes

for evaluating the attainment of educational objectives. Depending on how broadly educators define or employ the term, it may refer to the knowledge, skills, topics, and concepts that are taught to students or to the lessons, units, assignments, readings, and materials used to deliver knowledge and skillsyet in most cases it refers to both. In dictionaries, curriculum is often defined as the courses offered by a school, but it is rarely used in such a general sense in schools. Curriculum Development It is a specialized task which requires systematic thinking about the objectives to be achieved, learning e periences to be provided, evaluation of changes brought out by the curricular activities. !teps of curriculum development

"ssessment of educational needs # $eed assessment is for determining what the curriculum should be for a given population during a particular period of time %ormulating educational objectives &rganization of the content # It demands a thorough understanding of the teaching leaning process. !electing learning e periences # 'earning e periences means learning activities which shape the learner(s orientation to the content and ultimately their understanding of it. )valuating the curriculum # )valuation means to assess the e tent of the objectives o the curriculum are achieved through implementation of curriculum.

Trends in Curriculum Development Effective Planning of Curriculum *lanning, a comple task is the most important aspect of curriculum development. In this early stage, educators should collaborate with parents, community members, and students. In fact, all stakeholders need to share their e pertise in creating a curriculum based on high standards for student learning.

Changes Brought About By Science and Technology +oving towards global competitiveness, the *hilippines should re#conceptualize the policies and strategies of I,- in education towards life#long learning, and should continue to strengthen technology transfer in !cience, +ath and )nglish. "lso, there has to be a reflection of researches and advances in knowledge in curriculum development. Reflection of National and niversal Culture in the Curriculum -he need to understand different cultures is an emergent issue in today.s education and societies as relationships among countries become more intertwined. -his then calls for a curriculum that creates international awareness, understanding of various cultures, and learning of different opinions and values which can be made feasible through the incorporation of technology into the curriculum. Empo!erment and Continuous Professional Development of Teachers -his can be done through the promotion of professional development activities like reflective thinking, action research, and journal writing when confronted with problems in the classroom/ e posure of teachers to the current trends in teacher education/ involvement of teachers in the decision0making process particularly in curriculum change and in planning the curriculum/ training effective trainers 1at pre#service and in# service levels2 who will train teachers/ raising the awareness of candidate and actual teachers on the importance of professional development activities. Staff development of Curriculists -he different parties involved in the development of the curriculum must undergo in# service training. -hey should be made fully aware of their role and responsibility in the curriculum development. -hey have to work together to develop a well#rounded curriculum, which includes the learning of different cultures inasmuch as today(s learners will need to cope with cross#cultural matters and grow into sensible adults who are fair and just to the global society Emphasis on "earner Needs and Development "evels 3esearches show that the design of the *hilippine curriculum appears to be overcrowded. 'earners are faced with seven subject areas every day. 4hen combined with the learning competencies required for each grade5year level, this has proven to be e cessive. "s a result, science and mathematics content cannot be completed in one school year. -his further leads to, a backlog and a carry#over of the previous year(s content and competencies to the following school year , which eventually adversely

affects the teaching5learning process. In addition to this, the scope and sequencing of education 1from elementary to secondary level2 have also been identified as design defects where there are content and skills gaps as well as overlaps and duplications. -he overlap and duplication further aggravate the curriculum overload, and the gaps contribute to the production of half#baked elementary school graduates who are not entirely ready for secondary school , and of high school graduates who are half 0baked for college education. +oreover, national e aminations are focused on only five subject areas6 )nglish, %ilipino, science, mathematics and social studies. 7ery few concepts are included from the other subject areas. Effective #mplementation of the Curriculum design -here has been massive training of schoolteachers and orientation of school heads and supervisors for the nationwide implementation of the curriculum/ however, the training programme was not sustained at the regional and division levels/ thus the poor school implementation. -here was also lack of instructional materials like students( te tbooks, and teachers( manuals, science and vocational subject facilities, equipment5apparatus and supplementary teaching5learning materials, and computer laboratories. -oo large classes , teacher availability 1for the specialized secondary subject areas2 and quality of instructional supervision further hindered curriculum implementation. $onitoring and Evaluation of Curriculum #mplementation -he monitoring and evaluation of curriculum implementation is not effectively done due to the great number of elementary schools .&n the other hand, the secondary schools are rarely visited because supervisors are unable to provide technical assistance on specialized subject matter. "t the regional level, supervisors are subject specialists, while those at the division level are mostly generalists. Establishment of Evaluation Procedures and Needs 8ualified evaluators who are capable of using multiple techniques in assessing the process of evaluation and the learners are needed. -his will determine the success of the evaluation procedures used.