EDDHODJ EXAMINATION NOTES 2014 MAY 2014
What is the difference “curriculum” and “syllabus?”
A curriculum can be defined as a plan for learning. In broader terms, the concept of curriculum refers to
all the learning that is planned and guided as a body of knowledge in order to achieve certain ends
(outcomes) in a teaching-learning process as realized in praxis. The curriculum document should include
the rationale, aim and purpose of the particular course and refer to related subject methodology,
teaching methods and guidance regarding assessment practices, which are all based on a particular
approach.
The word syllabus means a concise statement or table of the topics of a discourse or the list of contents
of a subject. Such a document has a series of headings with some additional notes which set out the
areas to be examined. A syllabus will not generally indicate the relative importance of its topics or the
order in which they are to be studied. Those who compile a syllabus tend to follow the traditional
textbook approach of giving an order of contents, or a pattern prescribed by a logically sequenced
approach to the subject.
What is curriculum development?
Curriculum development focuses on improvement and innovation in education. During this process,
which may take many years – especially where generic curriculum development is concerned – and
which extends beyond a specific local context, desires and ideals are incorporated in a cyclic process of
design, implementation and evaluation to achieve concrete results in practice. The literature contains a
variety of models for curriculum development, in which especially 5 core activities are distinguished.
In a cyclic process, analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation take place
interactively.
Curriculum development often starts by analyzing the existing setting and formulating intentions for the
proposed change or innovation. Important activities in this phase include problem analysis, context
analysis, needs analysis and analysis of the knowledge base. Based on these activities, first design
guidelines are drawn up. The design requirements are carefully developed, tested and refined into a
relevant and usable product. Evaluation plays an important role in this process, it is in the central
position of the model and it casts light on the user’s wishes and the possibilities that exist in their
practical context, and reveal the best way to attune the product to the practical setting. When the
product has sufficient relevance, consistency and practical usability, its impact can be investigated. The
primary emphasis is on generating suggestions for product improvement but during the later phase, the
emphasis shifts towards evaluating effectiveness.
Illustrate the relationship between curriculum, context and the teacher
Curriculum is viewed as a social construct meaning that a particular society’s culture will influence the
development of a particular sort of curriculum, just as that curriculum will in, in its turn, contribute to
shaping and forming that society and its culture. Education is a dialogic process, formative and
transformative and it involves contact, transmitting and acquiring knowledge and developing skills,
habits and values. The mutual influence of education and context is ongoing hence curricula and social
structures should not be thought of as separate.
, EDDHODJ EXAMINATION NOTES 2014 MAY 2014
Situating education in the space of local communities, and connecting the curriculum to the everyday
life of learners, situated pedagogy allows learners to be involved in a conversation that creates new
understanding of the world and their place in it. The enactment of the curriculum explains that it should
meet the needs of all the learners and be oriented to the learner’s development, embody the nature of
science, be focused on scientific inquiry, and even reflect the advance of modern science and
technology.
Aspects like space, time, resources available, community integration, organizational aspects, economic
development, political changes and historical background, theories (for instance communication and
system theory), philosophical ideas and developments in technology will influence the approach to and
interpretation of a curriculum. It is inevitable that curriculum development is a never ending process of
reflection and change.
An individual’s view of the curriculum reflects that person’s view of the world, including what the person
perceives as reality, the values he or she deems important, and the amount of knowledge he or she
possesses. By understanding a teachers approach to or view of the curriculum, and the prevailing
curriculum approach of the school or school district, it is possible to tell whether the teacher’s
professional view conflicts with the formal organizational view. A view of the curriculum is about the
understanding of how a curriculum is designed and developed, the role of the learner, teacher and
curriculum specialists in planning a curriculum, the goals and objectives of the curriculum, and the
content, concepts and skills that needs to be assessed. The teacher mediates between curriculum and
learners- works between official and lived curriculum.
Define and discuss phase planning (5)
Phase planning means that what is planned must guide and inform what is done in the classroom – all
teaching, learning and assessment. There are three phases of planning which are;
Foundation phase (Grade R-3)
Intermediate phase (Grade 4 – 6) they learn 7 subjects with languages
Senior phase (Grade 7 – 9) there are 9 subjects and school may offer more subjects if they wish
FET phase (Grade 10 -12) there are four compulsory (fundamental) subjects and three electives.
Aspects that is important when planning for a specific phase.
Themes within the teaching, learning and assessment will occur
Principles of CAPS to be incorporated in all teaching, learning and assessment
Aims and assessment criteria across the phase
The sequencing of the aims and assessment criteria
Core knowledge and concepts to be used to attain aims and assessment criteria for the phase
How progression will occur within subjects and from grade to grade
Timeframes for all teaching, learning and assessment
Define and discuss the South African Council for Educators (SACE) (5)
Professional council for educators/teachers, which aims to enhance the status of the teaching
profession through appropriate registration, management of professional development and the
inculcation of a code of ethics for all educators.
SACE has the following duties;
Provide for the registration of educators
Promote the professional development of educators
What is the difference “curriculum” and “syllabus?”
A curriculum can be defined as a plan for learning. In broader terms, the concept of curriculum refers to
all the learning that is planned and guided as a body of knowledge in order to achieve certain ends
(outcomes) in a teaching-learning process as realized in praxis. The curriculum document should include
the rationale, aim and purpose of the particular course and refer to related subject methodology,
teaching methods and guidance regarding assessment practices, which are all based on a particular
approach.
The word syllabus means a concise statement or table of the topics of a discourse or the list of contents
of a subject. Such a document has a series of headings with some additional notes which set out the
areas to be examined. A syllabus will not generally indicate the relative importance of its topics or the
order in which they are to be studied. Those who compile a syllabus tend to follow the traditional
textbook approach of giving an order of contents, or a pattern prescribed by a logically sequenced
approach to the subject.
What is curriculum development?
Curriculum development focuses on improvement and innovation in education. During this process,
which may take many years – especially where generic curriculum development is concerned – and
which extends beyond a specific local context, desires and ideals are incorporated in a cyclic process of
design, implementation and evaluation to achieve concrete results in practice. The literature contains a
variety of models for curriculum development, in which especially 5 core activities are distinguished.
In a cyclic process, analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation take place
interactively.
Curriculum development often starts by analyzing the existing setting and formulating intentions for the
proposed change or innovation. Important activities in this phase include problem analysis, context
analysis, needs analysis and analysis of the knowledge base. Based on these activities, first design
guidelines are drawn up. The design requirements are carefully developed, tested and refined into a
relevant and usable product. Evaluation plays an important role in this process, it is in the central
position of the model and it casts light on the user’s wishes and the possibilities that exist in their
practical context, and reveal the best way to attune the product to the practical setting. When the
product has sufficient relevance, consistency and practical usability, its impact can be investigated. The
primary emphasis is on generating suggestions for product improvement but during the later phase, the
emphasis shifts towards evaluating effectiveness.
Illustrate the relationship between curriculum, context and the teacher
Curriculum is viewed as a social construct meaning that a particular society’s culture will influence the
development of a particular sort of curriculum, just as that curriculum will in, in its turn, contribute to
shaping and forming that society and its culture. Education is a dialogic process, formative and
transformative and it involves contact, transmitting and acquiring knowledge and developing skills,
habits and values. The mutual influence of education and context is ongoing hence curricula and social
structures should not be thought of as separate.
, EDDHODJ EXAMINATION NOTES 2014 MAY 2014
Situating education in the space of local communities, and connecting the curriculum to the everyday
life of learners, situated pedagogy allows learners to be involved in a conversation that creates new
understanding of the world and their place in it. The enactment of the curriculum explains that it should
meet the needs of all the learners and be oriented to the learner’s development, embody the nature of
science, be focused on scientific inquiry, and even reflect the advance of modern science and
technology.
Aspects like space, time, resources available, community integration, organizational aspects, economic
development, political changes and historical background, theories (for instance communication and
system theory), philosophical ideas and developments in technology will influence the approach to and
interpretation of a curriculum. It is inevitable that curriculum development is a never ending process of
reflection and change.
An individual’s view of the curriculum reflects that person’s view of the world, including what the person
perceives as reality, the values he or she deems important, and the amount of knowledge he or she
possesses. By understanding a teachers approach to or view of the curriculum, and the prevailing
curriculum approach of the school or school district, it is possible to tell whether the teacher’s
professional view conflicts with the formal organizational view. A view of the curriculum is about the
understanding of how a curriculum is designed and developed, the role of the learner, teacher and
curriculum specialists in planning a curriculum, the goals and objectives of the curriculum, and the
content, concepts and skills that needs to be assessed. The teacher mediates between curriculum and
learners- works between official and lived curriculum.
Define and discuss phase planning (5)
Phase planning means that what is planned must guide and inform what is done in the classroom – all
teaching, learning and assessment. There are three phases of planning which are;
Foundation phase (Grade R-3)
Intermediate phase (Grade 4 – 6) they learn 7 subjects with languages
Senior phase (Grade 7 – 9) there are 9 subjects and school may offer more subjects if they wish
FET phase (Grade 10 -12) there are four compulsory (fundamental) subjects and three electives.
Aspects that is important when planning for a specific phase.
Themes within the teaching, learning and assessment will occur
Principles of CAPS to be incorporated in all teaching, learning and assessment
Aims and assessment criteria across the phase
The sequencing of the aims and assessment criteria
Core knowledge and concepts to be used to attain aims and assessment criteria for the phase
How progression will occur within subjects and from grade to grade
Timeframes for all teaching, learning and assessment
Define and discuss the South African Council for Educators (SACE) (5)
Professional council for educators/teachers, which aims to enhance the status of the teaching
profession through appropriate registration, management of professional development and the
inculcation of a code of ethics for all educators.
SACE has the following duties;
Provide for the registration of educators
Promote the professional development of educators
