Overview
Education, Curriculum and Educology (2014) uses the educological descriptive theory developed in Education, Knowledge and Educology (2013) to clarify one of the most practically important and conceptually confused parts of educological discourse – the discourse about curriculum. The book notes that the term curriculum has been used ambiguously to denote many categories of phenomena, including (a) any written plans for the teaching and intentional guided studying of some content to achieve some intended learning outcome, (b) the actual set of courses and programs offered and the requirements stipulated for the award of certificates and degrees by an educational institution (school, academy, university, etc.) and (c) the experiences which students have in an educational institution, inside and outside of classrooms. The ambiguous use of the term curriculum leads to confused thinking, misinformed choices and mistaken decisions about curriculum and consequently confusion about how curriculum should be designed, evaluated and reformed.
Components of Curriculum
Christensen conducts an evaluation of the various conceptions of the term curriculum, and from the results of that evaluation, concludes that the most appropriate conception for use of the term curriculum in educological discourse is to denote any written plans for the teaching and intentional guided studying of some content to achieve some intended learning outcome. Curriculum, conceived as a written plan for intentional guided study, includes plans for lessons, units, syllabi, courses (also called subjects) and programs. An essential component of any curriculum is a set of statements of intended learning outcomes. An adequately stated intended learning outcome specifies the intended kind of knowing, level of knowing and form of expression of the knowing about some object of knowing. An adequately stated assessment specifies the performance and/or product that students must present as evidence of their having achieved the intended learning outcome.
Educology of Curriculum Design
A central argument of the book is that the task of curriculum design requires philosophical, scientific and praxiological educology to inform the designers. The question about what ranges of knowing are worth learning intentionally under guidance is one that is addressed by philosophical educology. The questions of what combination of intentionally guided study activities, resources and sequences of content will most probably result in the students achieving the intended learning outcomes are ones addressed by praxiological educology. The question of what is current practice in curriculum design is addressed by scientific educology.
Curriculum and the Educological Taxonomy of Intended Learning Outcomes
An important use of the educological taxonomy of intended learning outcomes developed by Christensen is its use in forming statements of intended learning outcomes which specify the range of knowing that students are intended to learn under guidance as a combination of a kind of knowing, a level of knowing and a form of knowing about some object of knowing. Intended learning outcomes stated in this way provide clarity, direction and guidance in specifying procedures for assessment and evaluation which are valid and reliable.