Curriculum Evaluation According to Carl

Curriculum Evaluation

According to Carl (1995:178), "Curriculum evaluation is a process during which a value determination of the standard and outcome of the relevant curriculum (broad, subject or lesson curriculum) is made. Evaluation should take place on an ongoing basis as well as during and after each of the design, dissemination and implementation phases with a view to making timeous adjustments and determining success." Curriculum evaluation is typically concerned with (Evaluation and assessment: Curriculum evaluation):

The impact of the curriculum on students, society and the economy;

The process by which the curriculum was developed;

The content and design of the curriculum compared with:

recent social, technological, economic or scientific changes;

recent advances in educational research and educational paradigms;

Possible future directions for curriculum change.

The purpose of curriculum evaluation is to help avoid existing mistakes, expand knowledge, involve society in education and encourage interest in the importance of the curriculum, keep pace with the social changes; deal with societies in acceptance of results and outcome of education, and insure the importance of education reforms (the three discussion groups).

From the above information it appears that curriculum evaluation is a continuous and holistic assessment process that attempts to consider all of the stakeholders as well as outcomes of the curriculum. The goals of curriculum development are to foster positive changes that consider what has and hasn't worked in the past and to reflect the dynamic contextual environment that education operates within.

How are you going to explain to your teachers the need for an evaluation process?

What are you going to tell them? How will you relay this to them?

First, it will be very important to explain why curriculum evaluation is needed. The evaluation facilitator will explain that curriculum evaluation is a necessary process to help foster student growth and that evaluation is not a negative critical review; rather, it is to recognize progress and to identify areas for future improvement. This is important because evaluation has traditionally been focused on the identification of shortcomings and, for this reason, has caused anxiety and resentment which can impede constructive participation.

Second, the facilitator will explain the process of curriculum evaluation. The process will be described as an analysis of current curriculum, the expression of key goals in a formal mission statement, allocation of resources, implementation of curriculum change and the monitoring of progress over time. In this way, teachers will know exactly what to expect and this will help allay their fear of change. Plus, showing that there are well-defined processes will help lend credibility to the curriculum evaluation program.