The Six Famous Theorists
1. Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956)
Bobbit believes that the learning objectives, together with the
activities, should be grouped and sequenced after clarifying the
instructional activities and tasks. He also views curriculum as a
science that emphasizes the needs of the students. This
viewpoint explains why lessons are planned and organized
depending on the needs of the students and these needs must
be addressed by the teachers to prepare them for adult life.
2. Werret Charters (1875-1952)
Aside from emphasizing the students’ needs, he believes that
the objectives, along with the corresponding activities, should
be aligned with the subject matter or content. For that reason,
department chairpersons or course coordinators scrutinize the
alignment or matching of objectives and subject matter prepared
by the faculty members.
3. William Kilpatrick (1871-1965)
For him, the purpose of curriculum is child development, growth,
and social relationship. He also introduced the use of small
group interaction, and the project method in which the teacher
and students plan together. Thus, it is called as the child-
centered curriculum.
4. Harold Rugg (1886-1960)
He introduced the concept of the development of the whole
child, the inclusion of social studies, and the importance of
curriculum planning in advance.
5. Hollis Caswell (1901-1989)
He believes that subject matter is developed around the interest
of the learners and their social functions. So, the curriculum is a
set of experiences. Learners must experience what they learn.
6. Ralph Tyler (1902-1994)
And as to the hallmark of curriculum development as a science,
Ralph Tyler believes that curriculum should revolve around
the students’ needs and interests. The purpose of curriculum is
to educate the generalists and not the specialists, and the
process must involve problem solving. Likewise, subject matter
is planned in terms of imparting knowledge, skills and values
among students.
To sum it up, the famous curriculum theorists have almost
similar views. All of them believe that the curriculum should be
learner-centered – addressing the needs and interests of the
students. All of them have salient contributions to the
educational system of the world today.
If you are an observant student, you might ask the following questions about
your teachers:
Why is it that we are required to do projects, solve problems, and work in
groups?
Why is it that our teachers are being observed in class, and their lesson plans
or syllabi are checked?
Why is it that all of us should take social studies, and not only the 3Rs?
Why are the lessons being prepared in advance?
Why should we experience what we have learned?
Why do our teachers integrate values in our lessons?
And why is it that the school is after our development as whole individuals (to
become generalists) and be ready to face life’s challenges?
Reference
Bilbao, P. P., Lucido, P. I., Iringan, T. C., and Javier, R. B. (2008). Curriculum
development. Philippines: Lorimar Publishing, Inc.
Franklin Bobbit (1876 – 1956)
Major Works: The Curriculum and How to Make a Curriculum.
Bobbitt’s book was the first to address curriculum issues. He believed
that curriculum scientific and was based on the scientific method. He
believed that the role of education was important because it prepared
students for life as an adult, and it should be based on the needs of
students. He also argued for cost effective education and believed that
should show differentiation into a variety of programs; students should
be directed to academic and preparatory programs or vocational and
terminal programs based on their individual abilities.
Werret Charters (1875-1952)
Major Work: Curriculum Construction
Charters was a behavioralist and viewed education as a science. He
believed that education consisted of a set of goals that students
needed to reach. Charters believed that listing objectives based on
student needs and creating activities that corresponded with these
objectives were necessary. Likewise, he validated these objectives
through the use of evaluations. Charters can be credited for laying the
foundation for curriculum evaluation.
William Kilpatrick (1871-1965)
Major Work: Foundations of Education
Kilpatrick believed education should be child centered, in which
children provide input while the education takes on the role of a guide,
as opposed to that of an authoritative figure. He believed in integrating
subject matter and that students should be enabled to direct learning
in accordance to their interests and environment, through their natural
senses. Kilpartrick developed the Project Method, a form of
progressive education, for early childhood education, believing that it
organized curriculum around the central theme of a subject.
Harold Rugg (1886-1960)
Major Work: The Child Centered School -
Rugg promoted a child-centered curriculum that focused of educating
the entire child and not just limiting one’s focus to a specific area. Rugg
believed teachers should plan instruction in advance and should relate
instruction to the learning experiences, interests, and needs of
students. Rugg’s curriculum emphasized social studies.
Hollis Caswell (1901–1989)
Major Work: Curriculum Development
According to Caswell, curriculum is a method by which teachers
correlate activities around the needs and interests of students. These
activities aid in implementing instruction. He also believed that
curriculum should be centered around social functions. Caswell asked
seven questions: What is the curriculum? Why is there a need for
revision? What is the function of subject matter? How does one
organize curriculum? How does one select subject matter? And How
does one measure the outcomes of instruction?
Ralph Tyler (1902 – 1989)
Major Work: Basic Principles of Curriculum and
Instruction
Tyler deemed curriculum to be a science, placing an emphasis on
organized, logical, sequential, and rational curriculum. Tyler
emphasized vertical and horizontal alignment of curriculum, believing
that subject matter should be organized in terms of knowledge skills
and values. He asked four questions concerning the goals of the
school, the experiences needed to reach these goals, how the
experiences are organized, and the method used to evaluate their
success. Tyler also believed curriculum should be a national process
and should be related to instruction.