Curriculum Studies MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Curriculum Studies - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is - N.C.E.R.T

Key Points

• National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education (NCPFECCE)
  • It is aimed at developing a comprehensive and standardized framework for the education of children up to the age of 8.
  • The National Council of Educational Research and Training (N.C.E.R.T) is responsible for its development.
  • NCERT's involvement ensures that the framework aligns with national educational policies and standards.

Additional Information

• NCERT
  • Established in 1961, NCERT is an autonomous organization of the Government of India.
  • It assists and advises the central and state governments on academic matters related to school education.
• Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
  • ECCE refers to the holistic development of children in their early years, encompassing physical, cognitive, emotional, and social growth.
  • A well-structured ECCE program can significantly impact a child's lifelong learning and development.
• Importance of NCPFECCE
  • It aims to provide a strong foundation for children's learning and development.
  • The framework will help standardize early childhood education across different regions and institutions in India.
  • It addresses the needs of diverse learners and ensures inclusive and equitable education.

The correct answer is - (A), (C), (D), (B), (E)

Key Points

• Identification of general competencies
  • This is the initial step where general competencies required for the curriculum are identified.
• Organizing competencies into specific themes
  • Once general competencies are identified, they are organized into specific themes or categories to give structure to the curriculum.
• Creating learning experiences
  • Based on the organized competencies, relevant learning experiences are designed to help students acquire the identified competencies.
• Assessing competencies
  • After the learning experiences, assessments are designed to evaluate whether students have acquired the competencies.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of curriculum
  • The final step involves evaluating the overall effectiveness of the curriculum in achieving its goals and making necessary adjustments.

Additional Information

• Competency-Based Curriculum
  • This model focuses on the outcomes of learning, where the primary goal is for students to develop specific competencies.
  • Competencies are defined as a combination of skills, knowledge, and behaviors required for effective performance.
• Steps in Competency-Based Curriculum
  • Identification of Competencies: Determine what students need to know and be able to do.
  • Organization into Themes: Group the competencies into coherent themes for better structure.
  • Learning Experiences: Develop activities and experiences that help students acquire these competencies.
  • Assessment: Measure the extent to which students have acquired the competencies.
  • Evaluation: Review and refine the curriculum based on feedback and assessment results.

The correct answer is - (B), (C) and (D) Only

Key Points

• Bottom-up approach
  • This approach involves initiatives from the grassroots level, ensuring that changes are relevant and practical for those directly involved in the educational process.
• Democratic process
  • Involves participation from all stakeholders, including teachers, students, and community members, ensuring the curriculum is developed through a collective and inclusive effort.
• Goal-setting by the practitioners
  • Allows those who are directly involved in the teaching and learning process to set relevant and achievable goals, making the curriculum more practical and effective.

Additional Information

• Small scale experiments
  • These are initial testing phases often used in curriculum development to assess feasibility and impact before wider implementation.
• Face to face problem solving
  • This involves direct interaction among stakeholders to address and resolve specific issues in the curriculum, promoting a collaborative and immediate approach to problem-solving.

The correct answer is - A - II, B - I, C - IV, D - III

Key Points

• Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act - 2009
  • This act came into force on 1 April 2010.
  • It ensures free and compulsory education for all children aged 6 to 14 years.
• Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act - 2005
  • This act was enacted to ensure the protection of child rights and the establishment of a National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
  • The commission is responsible for monitoring and examining the safeguards provided for the protection of child rights.
• National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act - 1993
  • The NCTE Act was established to formally oversee standards, procedures, and processes in the Indian education system.
  • The council ensures that teacher education programs are conducted within the prescribed norms and standards.
• University Grant Commission (UGC) Act - 1956
  • This act led to the establishment of the UGC, which coordinates, determines, and maintains the standards of university education in India.
  • The UGC provides recognition to universities in India and disburses funds to such recognized universities and colleges.

Additional Information

• Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act
  • The act mandates that every child has the right to full-time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school.
  • It also includes provisions for the establishment of a child-friendly and inclusive school environment.
• Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act
  • The act provides for the constitution of a National Commission and State Commissions for the protection of child rights.
  • It aims to review the existing policies and make recommendations for the effective implementation of child rights.
• National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act
  • The act empowers the NCTE to regulate the standards and norms for teacher education institutions.
  • It ensures that teachers are well-prepared to cater to the diverse needs of students in various educational settings.
• University Grant Commission (UGC) Act
  • The UGC ensures that universities meet the required standards of higher education.
  • It also provides grants to universities and colleges for their development and to improve their infrastructure.

The correct answer is - Principle of Leisure

Key Points

• Principle of Leisure
  • The Principle of Leisure is not commonly recognized as a foundational element in curriculum development.
  • Curriculum development focuses on comprehensive educational goals, and leisure is not a primary consideration.
  • Key principles of curriculum development include elements that support structured learning and educational growth.

Additional Information

• Principle of Totality
  • This principle ensures that the curriculum addresses the holistic development of the learner, integrating various aspects of education.
  • It considers the learner's physical, emotional, social, and intellectual needs.
• Principle of Maturity
  • This principle acknowledges the developmental stages of learners, ensuring that the curriculum is appropriate for their age and maturity level.
  • It helps in creating content that is relevant and engaging for different age groups.
• Principle of Flexibility
  • This principle emphasizes the need for the curriculum to be adaptable to changes in society, technology, and the needs of the learners.
  • It allows for modifications and updates to the curriculum to keep it relevant and effective.

Curriculum models are designed to provide a basis for decisions regarding the selection, structuring and sequencing of the educational experiences

Important Points

• Statement I :Tyler’s goal attainment model or sometimes called the objectives-centered model is the basis for most common models in curriculum design, development and evaluation. The Tyler model is comprised of four major parts. These are:
  • defining objectives of the learning experience;
  • identifying learning activities for meeting the defined objectives;
  • organizing the learning activities for attaining the defined objectives; and
  • evaluating and assessing the learning experiences.
• Statement II : Stake’s model of curriculum evaluation is based explicitly on the assumption that the concerns of the stakeholders - those for whom the evaluation is done - should be paramount in determining the evaluation issues.

  • Stake’s model of curriculum evaluation is more than just an evaluation process. the responsive model is based explicitly on the assumption that the concerns of the stakeholders—those for whom the evaluation is done—should be paramount in determining the evaluation issues. 

Thus both the Statements are Correct. 

Meaning of curriculum

• In education, a curriculum is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experiences in terms of the educator's or school's instructional goals. A curriculum is the combination of instructional practices, learning experiences, and students' performance assessments that are designed to bring out and evaluate the target learning outcomes of a particular course.

• The word "curriculum" began as a Latin word that means "a race" or "the course of a race" (which in turn derives from the verb currere meaning "to run/to proceed").
• There is no generally agreed-upon definition of curriculum. Some influential definitions combine various elements to describe the curriculum as follows:

Through the readings of Smith, Dewey, and Kelly, four types of curricula could be defined as:

Explicit curriculum/ overt curriculum:

• subjects that will be taught, the identified "mission" of the school, and the knowledge and skills that the school expects successful students to acquire.
• It is simply that which is written as part of formal instruction of schooling experiences.
• It may refer to a curriculum document, texts, films, and supportive teaching materials that are overtly chosen to support the intentional instructional agenda of a school. Thus, the overt curriculum is usually confined to those written understandings and directions formally designated and reviewed by administrators, curriculum directors, and teachers, often collectively. 

Hidden or Implicit Curriculum:

• A hidden Curriculum is an unintended or unnoticed curriculum that is often unwritten.
• Curricular inputs are implicitly provided to the learner by the organization through various means. Learners learn a lot from the social environment of the classroom and the school. A teacher during her course of interaction with learners provides instructional inputs, which might not be planned and designed by her earlier.
• Through various non-verbal behavior like gestures and postures, eye contact, appreciation of learner behavior by nodding, the teacher conveys many things.
• A hidden curriculum also includes the value system of the school and its teachers. Hence, a hidden curriculum is as important as the overt curriculum.
• Learners learn ‘appropriate’ ways to act at school is part of the hidden curriculum.

​Excluded curriculum (Null curriculum):

• It refers to the curriculum, which is not taught. This means curricular matters are not consciously but are taught by our silence.
• It is physically not possible to teach everything in the schools, therefore many topics and subject areas are excluded intentionally.
• Eisner called them as ‘Null Curriculum’; For example, life education, career planning, etc. are not a fine part of the overt curriculum but are important areas.
• That which we do not teach, thus giving students the message that these elements are not important in their educational experiences or in our society.

Some other types of curriculum:

1. Received curriculum: Those things that students actually take out of classrooms; those concepts and content that are truly learned and remembered.
2. Concomitant curriculum: What is taught, or emphasized at home, or those experiences that are part of a family’s experiences, or related experiences sanctioned by the family. (This type of curriculum may be received at church, in the context of religious expression, lessons on values, ethics or morals, molded behaviors, or social experiences based on the family’s preferences.)
3. Core curriculum: in this type of curriculum there exists a set of common learning. Common learning includes knowledge, skill, and values. The core curriculum may be organized around the idea of a core as a set of learning essential to all the students.

There are four ways of approaching curriculum theory and practice:

1. Curriculum as a body of knowledge to be transmitted.
2. Curriculum as an attempt to help students achieve a goal.
3. Curriculum as a process.
4. Curriculum as praxis.

Key Points

Conclusion: in simple language, the curriculum is related to schooling. Some of the curricula are centered around the written documents, some are centered on activity and some are centered around teachers. Some of the curricula are focused on acquiring knowledge and skills while others focus on dropping a few topics as they are not useful for the students. Hence, from the above discussion, we come to the conclusion that option (4) is correct.

NCF (National Curriculum Framework) 2005 is one of the four NCF published in India by NCERT. It seeks to provide a framework for the betterment of educational purposes and experiences.

Key Points

The fact that learning has become a source of burden and stress on children and their parents is evidence of a deep distortion in educational aims and quality. To correct this distortion, the present NCF proposes five guiding principles for curriculum development:

• connecting knowledge to life outside the school
• ensuring that learning shifts away from rote methods
• enriching the curriculum so that it goes beyond textbooks
• making examinations more flexible and integrating them with classroom life
• nurturing an overriding identity informed by caring concerns within the democratic polity of the country

Hence, we conclude that making examination easier and integrated into classroom life is not the guiding principle recommended by the National Curriculum Framework 2005.

Curriculum design

• Curriculum design focuses on the creation of the overall course blueprint, mapping content to learning objectives, including how to develop a course outline and build the course.
• Each learning objective is met with assessment strategies, exercises, content, subject matter analysis, and interactive activities.
• Curriculum design is a term used to describe the purposeful, deliberate, and systematic organization of curriculum (instructional blocks) within a class or course.
• It is a way for teachers to plan instruction. When teachers design a curriculum, they identify what will be done, who will do it, and what schedule to follow.
• The ultimate goal is to improve student learning, but there are other reasons to employ curriculum design as well.

Types of Curriculum Design

1. Subject-centered design:
   • Subject-centered curriculum design revolves around a particular subject matter or discipline.
   • For example, a subject-centered curriculum may focus on math or biology.
2. Learner-centered design:
   • learner-centered curriculum design takes each individual's needs, interests, and goals into consideration.
   • In other words, it acknowledges that students are not uniform and adjust to those student needs.
   • Learner-centered curriculum design is meant to empower learners and allow them to shape their education through choices.
3. Problem-centered design:
   • Problem-centered curriculum design is also a form of student-centered design.
   • Problem-centered curricula focus on teaching students how to look at a problem and come up with a solution to the problem.
   • Students are thus exposed to real-life issues, which helps them develop skills that are transferable to the real world. 

Dimensions of curriculum design:

1. Scope:
   • define as all the content, topics, learning experiences, and organizing threads comprising the educational plan.
   • The term broad, limited, simple, general is a few of the words that can describe the scope.
2. Sequence:
   • ​contents and experiences are arranged in a hierarchical manner where the basis can either be the logic of the subject matter or on the developmental pattern of growth of the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domain.
3. Continuity:
   • vertical repetition and recurring appearances of the content provide continuity in the curriculum.
   • This process enables the learner to strengthen the permanency of learning and development of skills.
4. Integration:
   • ​“Everything is integrated and interconnected. Life is a series of emerging themes”. This is the essence of integration in the curriculum design.
5. Articulation:
   • It can be done either vertically or horizontally.
   • In vertical articulation, contents are arranged from level to level or grade to grade so that the content in a lower level is connected to the next level.
   • Horizontal articulation happens at the same time as social studies in grade six is related to science in grade six.
6. Balance:
   • equitable assignment of content, time experiences, and other elements to establish balance is needed in curriculum design.
   • Too much or too little of these elements may be disastrous to the curriculum.

Conclusion:

• Students and their learning needs are at the center of effective curriculum planning and assessment.
• Curriculum designs provide clear relationships between and among the different elements of the curriculum: objectives, contents, activities, and evaluation.
• Curriculum planning and assessment recognize that learning occurs along a continuum.
• This allows teachers to embed relevant formative and summative assessment strategies into classroom practice.
• Curriculum design processes are essential to effective learning experiences across education and professional contexts.
• Without effective curriculum design processes, learners often lack the structure and guidance necessary for optimal learning and organizations lack the ability to effectively measure results and optimize their return on investments. 
• The different dimensions emphasize continuous and cumulative learning, the arrangement of learning objectives, the interrelatedness of objectives, etc.
• Articulation helps to connect the content of the lower level to a higher level. It also connects the content of the same level.

Hence, option (3) is correct.

Curriculum development is a comprehensive process that involves the planning and structuring of educational content and experiences to achieve specific educational goals.

Key Points

• Curriculum development often includes international considerations to ensure that students are prepared to compete and collaborate in a globalized world.
• Incorporating educational best practices from around the world can enhance the quality of education.
• Curriculum development takes into account societal goals to ensure that education meets the needs and values of the community.
• It prepares students to be responsible citizens who can contribute to societal progress and address community challenges.
• National goals are fundamental to curriculum development as they reflect the country’s educational standards, priorities, and long-term objectives.
• The curriculum is often designed to align with national policies on education, economic development, and cultural preservation.

Hence, we can conclude that curriculum development excludes Family aspirations.

Two general or world philosophies, idealism and realism, are derived from the ancient Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. Educators who share one of these distinct sets of beliefs about the nature of reality presently apply each of these world philosophies in successful classrooms. Key Points

Let us explore each of these metaphysical schools of thought.

Realism:

• Realists believe that reality exists independent of the human mind.
• The ultimate reality is the world of physical objects.
• The focus is on the body/objects. Truth is objective-what can be observed.
• Aristotle, a student of Plato who broke with his mentor's idealist philosophy, is called the father of both Realism and the scientific method. In this metaphysical view, the aim is to understand objective reality through "the diligent and unsparing scrutiny of all observable data."
• Aristotle believed that to understand an object, its ultimate form had to be understood, which does not change. For example, a rose exists whether or not a person is aware of it. A rose can exist in the mind without being physically present, but ultimately, the rose shares properties with all other roses and flowers (its form), although one rose may be red and another peach colored.
• Aristotle also was the first to teach logic as a formal discipline in order to be able to reason about physical events and aspects.
• The exercise of rational thought is viewed as the ultimate purpose for humankind.

Realism and curriculum:

• The Realist curriculum emphasizes the subject matter of the physical world, particularly science and mathematics.
• The teacher organizes and presents content systematically within a discipline, demonstrating the use of criteria in making decisions.
• Teaching methods focus on mastery of facts and basic skills through demonstration and recitation. Students must also demonstrate the ability to think critically and scientifically, using observation and experimentation.
• The curriculum should be scientifically approached, standardized, and distinct-discipline based. Character is developed through training in the rules of conduct.

Idealism:

• In idealism, the aim of education is to discover and develop each individual's abilities and full moral excellence in order to better serve society.
• The curricular emphasis is the subject matter of mind: literature, history, philosophy, and religion.
• Teaching methods focus on handling ideas through lecture, discussion, and Socratic dialogue (a method of teaching that uses questioning to help students discover and clarify knowledge).
• Introspection, intuition, insight, and whole-part logic are used to bring to consciousness the forms or concepts which are latent in the mind.
• Character is developed through imitating examples and heroes.

According to the Philosophy of realism, Science, Mathematics, and Logic combination of subjects is most appropriate for inclusion in the curriculum.

Curriculum development: It refers to the process of creating and designing educational programs and courses. It involves determining the goals and objectives of the program, selecting and organizing content, and evaluating and revising the curriculum as needed. The goal of curriculum development is to provide students with a well-rounded and meaningful educational experience that prepares them for success in their future endeavours.

Hence the correct matching is (A) - (II), (B) - (III), (C) - (IV), (D) - (I),

Curriculum is a familiar word, which we come across in the context of school, college or university system. All of us also have some idea of curriculum; though it may not be exactly what a curriculum means. To many of us, curriculum means one or more of the following: 

Key Points

• Curriculum is the list of contents taught to the students.
• Curriculum is a set of subjects.
• Curriculum is the syllabi followed in a school or a college.
• Curriculum is the programmes of school or college activities.
• Curriculum is a set of study materials. 
• Curriculum includes both curricular and extra curricular activities organized in a school or college.
• Curriculum comprises all those experiences a learner receives in a school or in a college.  

Hence, it can be concluded that curriculum is content, objectives, course, programme, experience, activities, relationships, skills, behaviour.

Theme-based learning/theme-based curriculum is one of the most important ways of teaching in many primary schools, with a focus to increase the enthusiasm of young learners.

In the Theme-Based Approach, learning is done in such a way that teaching and learning, whereby many areas of the curriculum are connected together and integrated within a theme to provide a proper understanding of the theme as well as wider applications.

Broadly speaking, the curriculum is divided into smaller thematic units and these thematic units act as mainstream among kids and educators alike and their utilization of thematic units gives a coordinated way to deal with educating and learning. Here, Children are able to relate more to real-world experiences and build on prior knowledge of a topic.

Thus,  these themes help us to weave the design and structure to the whole of our approach by intertwining the different methodologies.

Some of the examples of the theme-based curriculum are as follows:

1. A theme-based topic could be "plants" and it can be divided into smaller units or the themes under different subjects including science, environment, historical movements etc.
2. It may also involve projects which emphasize the importance of finding patterns/relationships to concepts.
3. E-learning platforms for learners can be used not for just dialogue perspective, but also for assessment, evaluation, etc.
    

Hence, is clear that changing the way you learn and act in a disciplined way and engaging with a complex problem or scenario. are not an example of a thematic curriculum, although complex problems if divided into smaller parts/units and associating them with different subjects/domains would be an example of of a theme-based curriculum.

The term curriculum refers to the lessons and academic content taught in a school or in a specific course or program.

Key Points DETERMINANTS OF CURRICULUM -

• Philosophical determinants of the curriculum -
  • It aims at the all-around development of the individual.
  • It is based on the philosophy of the nation.
  • It reflects the ideals and aspirations of the people.
  • The philosophical foundations of education are Child-centeredness (Naturalistic philosophy) Need-centeredness (Pragmatic philosophy) Activity-centeredness (project and basic curriculum).
• Sociological determinants of the curriculum - 
  • Core values and needs of the Indian society Changing values of the people.
  • Demands of the modern society good family, and ways of life.
  • The democratic temper of the society's Faith, beliefs, and attitudes of the people.
• Psychological determinants of the curriculum -
  • Knowledge of the nature of the learner and learning process and the condition facilitating optimum learning.
  • Knowledge of growth and development Intelligence, development capacities.
  • Curriculum to be child-centered, learning experiences should be provided in accordance with the mental development of the learner. Interests of the learner.
• Scientific:
  • To achieve complete development of an individual & to prepare for complete living i.e. human activities in 5 categories: self-preservation, self-protection, promote human pregnancy & its protection, social & political protection & last proper utilization of leisure time.
• Political:
  • To develop democratic values of social justice, equity, socialism, rights & duties.

Therefore, Basic Needs, Social Aspects, and Cultural Factors all are determinants of the curriculum.