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CurriculumdevelopmentGuide:PopulationEducationfornonFormalEducationprogramsofOutofSchoolRuralYouth

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OVERVIEWOFTHECURRICULUMDEVELOPMENTPROCESS
"EveryJourneyBeginsWithTheFirstStep."
Thecurriculumdevelopmentprocesssystematicallyorganizeswhatwillbetaught,whowillbetaught,
andhowitwillbetaught.Eachcomponentaffectsandinteractswithothercomponents.Forexample,
whatwillbetaughtisaffectedbywhoisbeingtaught(e.g.,theirstageofdevelopmentinage,maturity,
andeducation).Methodsofhowcontentistaughtareaffectedbywhoisbeingtaught,their
characteristics,andthesetting.Inconsideringtheabovethreeessentialcomponents,thefollowingare
widelyheldtobeessentialconsiderationsinexperientialeducationinnonformalsettings:
EssentialConsiderationsforCurriculumDevelopment:
1. issue/problem/needisidentified(issuewhat),
2. characteristicsandneedsoflearners(targetaudiencewho),
3. changesintendedforlearners(intendedoutcomes/objectiveswhatthelearnerswillbe
abletodo),
4. theimportantandrelevantcontent(what),
5. methodstoaccomplishintendedoutcomes(how),
6. evaluationstrategiesformethods,content,andintendedoutcomes(Whatworks?).

TheCURRICULUMDEVELOPMENTMODELonthenextpage(Figure1)showshowthese
componentsrelatetoeachotherandtothecurriculumdevelopmentprocess.Itbeginswhenanissue,
concern,orproblemneedstobeaddressed.Ifeducationortrainingasegmentofthepopulationwill
helpsolvetheproblem,thencurriculumtosupportaneducationaleffortbecomesaprioritywithhuman
andfinancialresourcesallocated.
Thenextstepistoformacurriculumdevelopmentteam.Theteammakessystematicdecisionsabout
thetargetaudience(learnercharacteristics),intendedoutcomes(objectives),content,methods,and
evaluationstrategies.Withinputfromthecurriculumdevelopmentteam,draftcurriculumproductsare
developed,tested,evaluated,andredesignedifnecessary.Whenthefinalproductisproduced,
volunteertrainingisconducted.Themodelshowsacircularprocesswherevolunteertrainingprovides
feedbackfornewmaterialsorrevisionstotheexistingcurriculum.
AnExample:1nthecaseofpopulationeducation,aneedruraloutofschoolyouthwithinformation
onhowpopulationrelatestothetotalenvironmentaswellastheirpersonallives.

(InsertCurriculumDevelopmentModelhere)

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Figure1

Figure2
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PHASESANDSTEPSINCURRICULUMDEVELOPMENT(SeeFigure2onthepreviouspage)
furtherillustrateshowthe12essentialstepsprogressfromonetothenext.Italsoshowstheinteraction
andrelationshipsofthefouressentialphasesofthecurriculumdevelopmentprocess:(I)Planning,(II)
ContentandMethods,(III)Implementation,and(IV)EvaluationandReporting.Itisimportantto
acknowledgethatthingsdonotalwaysworkexactlyasdepictedinamodel!
Eachphasehasseveralstepsortaskstocompleteinlogicalsequence.Thesestepsarenotalways
separateanddistinct,butmayoverlapandoccurconcurrently.Forexample,thecurriculum
developmentteamisinvolvedinallofthesteps.Evaluationsshouldoccurinmostofthestepstoassess
progress.Theteamlearnswhatworksandwhatdoesnotanddeterminestheimpactofthecurriculum
onlearnersafteritisimple
mented.Eachsteplogicallyfollowstheprevious.Itwouldmakenosenseto
designlearningactivitiesbeforelearneroutcomesandcontentaredescribedandidentified.Similarly,
contentcannotbedeterminedbeforelearneroutcomesaredescribed.
Intheexperienceoftheauthor,andconfirmedbyothercurriculumspecialists,thefollowingcurriculum
developmentstepsarefrequentlyomittedorslighted.Thesestepsareessentialtosuccessfulcurriculum
developmentandneedtobeemphasized.
EssentialCurriculumDevelopmentStepsNeedingEmphasis
1. Needsassessment:ifnotconducted,wonderfulcurriculumcouldbedeveloped,but
theappropriateneedsofthetargetaudiencemaynotbemet.
2. Involvingyouth:thetargetaudienceandvolunteers(orstaff)whowillbethe
implementorsofthecurriculummustbeinvolved(i.e.,theyparticipateasfull
membersofthecurriculumdevelopmentteam).
3. Recruitingandtrainingvolunteerfacilitators:competentandskilledcurriculum
implementorsarecritical(theprintedwordcannotteachexperientialgroupprocess,
itdoesn'tprovidefeedback).
4. Evaluatingandreportingontheimpactofthecurriculum:iscriticalforsecuring
humanandfinancialsupportfromkeypolicydecisionmakersandforassessing
whetherthecurriculumhasachievedtheintendedoutcome.

TwotypesofevaluationareincludedinthePhasesandStepsillustration:(1)Formativeprovides
feedbackduringtheprocessofdevelopingthecurriculum,and(2)Summativeanswersquestions
aboutchanges(impact)thathaveoccurredinlearnersbecauseoftheirlearningexperiences.
Summativeevaluationprovidesevidenceforwhatworks,whatdoesnotwork,andwhatneedstobe
improved.
Ineverystepofthecurriculumdevelopmentprocess,themostimportanttaskistokeepthelearner(in
thiscase,youth)inmindandinvolvetheminprocess.Forexample,thecurriculumteammembers,who
havedirectknowledgeofthetargetaudience,shouldbeinvolvedincon
ductingtheneedsassessment.
Fromtheneedsassessmentprocess,theproblemareasareiden
tified,gapsbetweenwhatyouthknow
andwhattheyneedtoknowareidentified,andthescopeoftheproblemisclarifiedanddefined.The
resultsmaypromptdecisionmakerstoallocateresourcesforacurriculumdevelopmentteamtoprepare
curriculummaterials.
Abriefdescriptionofeachofthecurriculumdevelopmentstepsisdescribedbelow.Afterreviewing
thesedescriptions,youshouldhaveaveryclearideaofhowthestepsoccurineachofthephasesand
whateachstepincludes.

PHASEI:PLANNING
"Nobodyplanstofailbutfailureresultsfromafailuretoplan."
Theplanningphaselaysthefoundationforallofthecurriculumdevelopmentsteps.Thestepsinthis
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phaseinclude:
(1)IdentifyIssue/Problem/Need

(2)FormCurriculumDevelopmentTeam
(3)ConductNeedsAssessmentandAnalysis

(1)IdentifyIssue/Problem/Need
Theneedforcurriculumdevelopmentusuallyemergesfromaconcernaboutamajorissueorproblem
ofoneormoretargetaudience.Thissectionexploressomeofthequestionsthatneedtobeaddressed
todefinetheissueandtodevelopastatementthatwillguidetheselectionofthemembersofa
curriculumdevelopmentteam.Theissuestatementalsoservestobroadlyidentify,thescope(whatwill
beincluded)ofthecurriculumcontent.

(2)FormCurriculumDevelopmentTeam
Oncethenatureandscopeoftheissuehasbeenbroadlydefined,themembersofthecurriculum
developmentteamcanbeselected.Topicscoveredinthissectioninclude:(1)therolesandfunctions
ofteammembers,(2)aprocessforselectingmembersofthecurriculumdevelopmentteam,and(3)
principlesofcollaborationandteamwork.Thegoalistoobtainexpertisefortheareasincludedinthe
scopeofthecurriculumcontentamongtheteammembersanddevelopaneffectiveteam.

(3)ConductNeedsAssessmentandAnalysis
Therearetwophasesintheneedsassessmentprocess.Thefirstisproceduresforconductinga
needsassessment.Anumberoftechniquesareaimedtowardlearningwhatisneededandbywhom
relativetotheidentifiedissue.Techniquescoveredinthissectioninclude:KAPKnowledge,Attitude,
andPracticeSurveyfocusgroupsandenvironmentalscanning.
Analysis,thesecondpartofthisneedsassessmentstep,describestechniquesonhowtousethe
dataandtheresultsoftheinformationgathered.Includedare:waystoidentifygapsbetween
knowledgeandpracticetrendsemergingfromthedataaprocesstoprioritizeneedsandidentification
ofthecharacteristicsofthetargetaudience.
"Asthetwigisbent,sogrowsthetree"

PHASEII:CONTENTANDMETHODS
PhaseIIdeterminesintendedoutcomes(whatlearnerswillbeabletodoafterparticipationincurriculum
activities),thecontent(whatwillbetaught),andthemethods(howitwillbetaught).Stepsinclude:
(4)StateIntendedOutcomes

(5)SelectContent
(6)DesignExperientialMethods

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(4)StateIntendedOutcomes
Oncetheissueisdefined,thecurriculumteamisformed,theneedsassessed,analyzedandprioritized,
thenextstepistorefineandrestatetheissue,ifneeded,anddeveloptheintendedoutcomesor
educationalobjectives.Anintendedoutcomestateswhatthelearnerwillbeabletodoasaresultof
participatinginthecurriculumactivities.
Thissectionincludes:(1)adefinitionofintendedoutcomes,(2)thecomponentsofintendedoutcomes
(condition,performance,andstandards),(3)examplesofintendedoutcomes,and(4)anoverviewof
learningbehaviors.Amorecompleteexplanationofthetypesandlevelsoflearningbehavioursis
includedintheAddendumaswellasintendedoutcomeexamplesfromFAOpopulationeducation
materials.

(5)SelectContent
Thenextchallengeinthecurriculumdevelopmentprocessisselectingcontentthatwillmakeareal
differenceinthelivesofthelearnerandultimatelysocietyasawhole.Atthispoint,theprimary
questionsare:"Iftheintendedoutcomeistobeattained,whatwillthelearnerneedtoknow?What
knowledge,skills,attitudes,andbehaviourswillneedtobeacquiredandpracticed?"
Thescope(breadthofknowledge,skills,attitudes,andbehaviours)andthesequence(order)ofthe
contentarealsodiscussed.Intendedoutcomesofpopulationeducationwithcontenttopicsisprovidedin
theAddendumsectionasanexampleandapplicationofhowintendedoutcomesarelinkedwith
content.

(6)DesignExperientialMethods
Afterthecontentisselected,thenextstepistodesignactivities(learningexperiences)tohelpthe
learnerachieveappropriateintendedoutcomes.Anexperientiallearningmodelandit'scomponents
(i.e.,experience,share,process,generalize,andapply)arediscussedinthissection.
Additionaltopicsinclude:
1. learningstylesandactivitiesappropriateforeachstyle
2. alistoftypesofactivities(withdescriptions)
3. anactivitydesignworksheetforfacilitatorsand
4. briefdiscussionsonlearningenvironmentsanddeliverymodes.
Tenpopulationeducationsampleactivitysheetsalongwithtipsforfacilitatorsworkingwithyouthand
dealingwithsensitivetopicsareincludedintheAddendum.

PHASEIII:IMPLEMENTATION
(7)ProduceCurriculumProduct

(8)TestandReviseCurriculum
(9)RecruitandTrainFacilitators

(10)ImplementCurriculum

(7)ProduceCurriculumProduct
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Oncethecontentandexperientialmethodshavebeenagreedupon,theactualproductionofcurriculum
materialsbegins.Thissectionincludes:1)suggestionsforfindingandevaluatingexistingmaterials2)
evaluationcriteriaand3)suggestionsforproducingcurriculummaterials.

(8)TestandReviseCurriculum
Thisstepincludessuggestionstoselecttestsitesandconductaformativeevaluationofcurriculum
materialsduringtheproductionphase.Asampleevaluationformisprovided.

(9)RecruitandTrainFacilitators
Itisawasteofresourcestodevelopcurriculummaterialsifadequatetrainingisnotprovidedfor
facilitatorstoimplementit.Suggestionsforrecruitingappropriatefacilitatorsareprovidedwithasample
threedaytrainingprogram.

(10)ImplementCurriculum
Effectiveimplementationofnewlydevelopedcurriculumproductsisunlikelytooccurwithoutplanning.
Strategiestopromoteandusethecurriculumarediscussedinthisstep.

PHASEIV:EVALUATIONANDREPORTING
(11)DesignEvaluationStrategies
(12)ReportingandSecuringResources

(11)DesignEvaluationStrategies
Evaluationisaphaseinthecurriculumdevelopmentmodelaswellasaspecificstep.Twotypesof
evaluation,formativeandsummative,areusedduringcurriculumdevelopment.Formativeevaluations
areusedduringtheneedsassessment,productdevelopment,andtestingsteps.Summativeevaluations
areundertakentomeasureandreportontheoutcomesofthecurriculum.Thisstepreviewsevaluation
strategiesandsuggestssimpleprocedurestoproducevalidandreliableinformation.Aseriesof
questionsareposedtoguidethesummativeevaluationprocessandasampleevaluationformatis
suggested.

(12)ReportingandSecuringResources
Thefinalelementinanevaluationstrategyis"deliveringthepayoff(i.e.,gettingtheresultsintothe
handsofpeoplewhocanusethem).Inthisstep,suggestionsforwhatandhowtoreporttokey
shareholders,especiallyfundingandpolicydecisionmakers,areprovidedandabriefdiscussiononhow
tosecureresourcesforadditionalprogramming.

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