Understanding Curriculum: Elements and Importance

This document provides a clear understanding of the curriculum and the elements included in it. It explores the curriculum navigator framework and its dimensions. It discusses the current pattern and desired pattern of curriculum design in an institution. The document emphasizes the importance of proper curriculum design in providing a better learning experience to students.

Introduction
Curriculum is a complex term and it might be difficult to understand as it is widely
used in different areas. While reading any literature, it is important to think about the
curriculum means in the specific text. This section of the document is going to provide a clear
understanding of the curriculum and the elements which are included in it. The term
curriculum is generally used in many ways and it is equivalent to an entire education
program. In my case, the term curriculums for program aspects are about the course level of
family medicine course. Being a family doctor I am working in university of Saudi Arabia
and teaching both the undergraduate as well as the post graduate level student in my
institution and I am teaching family medicine course there. The end goal of the curriculum is
to provide a clear knowledge to all the pupils about the family medicine course. Students will
achieve the competency over the importance of medicines and its applications when required.
In my institution, the top most priorities are the students who are learning and it is always
checked as well as analyzed thoroughly that whether the aims and educational goals are
emphasized or not. The curriculum development examines various aspects of education and it
includes an undergraduate degree course along with a post graduate course and a one-hour
lecture. The curriculum in this institution strictly follows some design steps and for the
development cycle of education, it follows five recurring phases that includes analysis,
design, development, implementation and evaluation. As I am the teacher of the university
and teaching both undergraduate and post graduate level, hence the age group of the pupils
vary from each other and different curriculum is set for different students to teach the family
medicine course as their power of learning also differ from each other as per their knowledge
and experience. I use different teaching methods that consist of lectures as well as problem-
based learning. Apart from this, I used Power point presentation to focus on the curriculum
level. In order to teach all the pupils regarding family medicine course, it was necessary to

have a laboratory and all the necessary lab equipments along with computer rooms, library
and other necessary facilities such as classroom, models etc. In this type of curriculum,
practical knowledge receives more priority than the theoretical knowledge. Keeping all these
things in mind, the whole set up was organized in the institution for both the undergraduate as
well as post-graduate students who were a part of the course of family medicine. It is
essential to properly follow the specific structure of the curriculum so that the teaching
process can be completed in a systematic way and all the pupils can get benefit from it
(Gustafson & Branch, 2002). I also followed the structure of the curriculum and was focussed
enough to achieve the goal so that all the students can get the satisfaction while learning and
can acquire the entire knowledge in a quick and easy manner.
Justification
Curriculum navigator is used to explore the attitude of teachers towards the current
curriculum of the institution which is being followed. The curriculum navigator framework
basically integrates the well-known approaches into a conceptual framework which is
comprehensive in order to explore the process of curriculum planning. According to
literatures, curriculum is mainly termed as a sophisticated amalgamation of educational
strategies. It integrates the 14 approaches and curriculum navigator helps a teacher to have an
insight into the practices. Again, according to literatures six education strategies together
have been identified as the SPICES model and it can be related to the medical school and also
to our institution. Curriculum can be developed using a SPICES model and it serves various
purposes such as, it helps in reviewing an existing curriculum to check if any improvement is
required or not. It also works in developing a new curriculum from the scratch, tackling
specific questions or issues related to the curriculum is also possible with the help of this
model. The appropriate teaching method for any course can also be selected using this model
and the format in which the assessment should be taken or evaluated can also be decided with

the use of SPICES model. This model basically is the abbreviation of student centred,
problem based, integrated, community based, elective and systematic. In any kind of student
centred learning process, learners are involved n the curriculum design. In the curriculum
planning, this model of curriculum strategy analysis is always used. I preferred curriculum
navigator above SPICES model and there are various reasons behind my preference to this
framework. This navigator framework integrated 14 approaches which can be divided into
two main categories and they are focal approaches and decision-making approaches. In focal
approaches, the emphasis is on the aims and objectives of the curriculum. It also focuses on
the teaching techniques as well as methods used by the educators. At the initial state, the
content and all the topics are enlisted properly which makes it easier to understand about the
complete syllabus. Again, in this curriculum planning, the decision is made by the consensus
of representatives of groups. In this method, widest input from the stakeholders can be
availed. In this approach of curriculum, everyone is involved including student, public and
other healthcare team and they can take decisions together which make the process better and
due to these reasons I preferred curriculum navigator above the SPICE model in my
institution.
Current pattern
The curriculum navigator has 10 different dimensions. Each of the dimensions is
basically represented in a four-point continuum between two styles and they are
lawyer/detective, ant’s eye/bird’s eye, human/non-human resources, activist/bureaucratic,
fashionable/dogmatic, collaborative/authoritative decision making, salesman/spy,
mentor/magician, crafting/shopping, quality assurance/public relations (Al-Eraky, 2012).
Lawyer/detective

When people are asked about their curriculum various opinions might come and some
of them can be satisfied and some of them might seem to be over-confident in this regard. It
can be compared with lawyer as they constantly advocate their efficacy and believes that they
have the best curriculum over others’. On the other hand, detectives meticulously look for the
issues in their existing curriculum (Al-Eraky, 2012).
Ant’s eye/bird’s eye view
Details of curriculum can be viewed in two perspectives. First one is ant’s eye view,
in which a narrow view can be achieved as ants are the hard workers but they will have
narrow perspectives. Again on the other hand, through the bird’s eye view, it is possible to
capture the aerial view and reading the mission and vision of the organization, curriculum can
also be expected with such view. The duty of the educators is balancing the curriculum bird’s
and ant’s view (Al-Eraky, 2012).
Human/non human resources
Two types of resources are there and they are either human or non-human. Non
human resources can generally be achieved negatively such as lack of simulators, budget
limits and others and positively through introduction of smart boards and others. Both of
them can lead to some particular curriculum changes (Al-Eraky, 2012).
Bureaucratic/ activist
Bureaucratic planners are the policy centred and they work upon the policies only but
the activists are the policy breaker on the other hand. They believe that rules are made just to
be broken. They always perceive any kind of rules as restrictions (Al-Eraky, 2012).
Dogmatic/fashionable

It is another dimension of curriculum framework which is very much important.
Sometimes, students are not confident enough in deciding their own learning and evaluation
and in this situation, dogmatic approach is considered. In this approach, some certain
unquestionable ideas are believed as an act of faith. Some other students might be obsessed in
time-to-time trends, latest fashion and others. Therefore, attitude of the educators might
change towards these two extremes which are absolutely not favourable, as a four point
continuum (Al-Eraky, 2012).
Authoritative/ collaborative decision making
Decision making has always been an issue in almost all the areas and it is not
exceptional in case of curriculum. Two types of decision making issues are related to
curriculum, one of them is authoritative and the other one is collaborative. In case of
authoritative decision, it is generally taken by only one person who is influential than the
others. It provides a strong leadership attitude with eminent deadlines. On the other hand,
collaborative approach of decision making in curriculum mainly accommodates different
types of views from all the faculty members, representatives of each departments, students
and sometimes parents. It means all the stakeholders of the curriculum gets involved while
making decision. But, in literatures, it has been argued that different views might raise
different barriers instead of raising solutions. The argument doesn’t offend the collaborative
approach but rather it guides to maximize the effectiveness as well as the efficacy of the
collaborative approach in decision making purpose in the curriculum (Al-Eraky, 2012).
Spy/salesman
It is another dimension of curriculum among the 10 dimensions and it plays a major
role. It is concerned on how the curriculum communicates to all the stakeholders associated
with it. Sometimes, people who plan, behave like any secret agents of any group or as if they

are representing any high class business and in this kind of approach nothing is properly
communicated beyond the limited group of people who are there generally at the topmost
level of the administrative ladder. While, some others discuss in details about their planning
in order to get better ideas as if they are working in business marketing (Al-Eraky, 2012).
Magician/ mentor
It is one of the 10 dimensions of curriculum and when the curriculum planning
follows a poor communication path to the stakeholders the outcome becomes mysterious.
According to literatures, when a magician produces “rabbit out of the hat”, a new curriculum
might suddenly be evolved and on the other hand, some other literatures argued that if the
rabbit, to be more specific, if the curriculum is not produced then it might be even worse than
before. Some other curriculum planners may adopt the mentorship style who helps in
educating the participants not only to feel confidence as well as ownership but also at the
same time to help and motivate them to be competent enough to fix any kind of flaws and
issues in the curriculum (Al-Eraky, 2012).
Shopping/crafting
When any decision is taken towards the curriculum reform, the leadership committee
of the institution prefers to explore the best options to the students which help in earning
good reputation nationally as well as internationally. An alternative or substitute planning
approach is crafting curriculum to perfectly suit the local health problems. In this dimension
it is possible to get enlightened by experiences but the lessons learned are worthwhile (Al-
Eraky, 2012).
Public relation/quality assurance

It is about reinforcing the group and providing assurance to all the students regarding
the quality of the education program (Al-Eraky, 2012).
In my institute, the current patter follows the dimensions of the curriculum navigator.
Mostly, it follows bird’s eye and collaborative approach of decision making to reach all the
participants equally. Apart from that it maintains a salesman approach in order to
communicate with a larger audience. Fashionable approach is followed to bring confidence
among the students. Institution follows human and non human resources and also lawyer-
detective approach in this regard.
Desired pattern
Among the 10 dimensions of the curriculum navigator, all are important in setting and
designing a proper curriculum plan in any institution. If all the dimensions are followed
properly then the curriculum design becomes successful enough in bringing the reputation of
the institution. In my institution, where I am working as a doctor and teaching bother
undergraduate as well as post-graduate students need to make proper curriculum design to
provide a better learning experience to all the students and I follow the 10 dimensions of the
curriculum navigator before making its design and teaching the students about their main
course, which is based on family medicine. We follow 10 dimensions although, but some of
them are able to provide a high satisfaction but some others need improvement to be carried
on. If the dimensions are not working satisfactorily, then it might create gap in the curriculum
design which directly as well as indirectly affects the education system, the students as well
the reputation of the institution where the students came to learn a new course. Therefore, the
design of the curriculum is highly essential and it depends on the 10 dimensions of the
curriculum navigator. As a teacher I think the curriculum design used in my institution
properly follows the dimensions of the curriculum navigator and the bird’s eye and ant’s eye

approach is the most satisfactory approach of 10 dimensions of curriculum navigator
followed by us in our curriculum design. In this approach, a broad area can be viewed and the
gap will also be observed while creating the design. It will be then easier enough to work
accordingly focussing to reduce all kinds if existing gaps. In bird’s eye view, it is possible to
get the details of the curriculum courses, admission policies, selection criteria and sometimes
the outcomes of the curriculum. Just like the birds, it becomes possible to capture the
complete view of the institution which helps to find the issues and fixing them from the root.
Again, ant’s view is the narrow but hardworking approach and they focus on the small
segment of the big pictures before diving into the details. Our institution properly follows this
viewing approach to anticipate future trends as well. Furthermore, the salesman approach of
the 10 dimensions of curriculum navigator is also followed by our institution while designing
curriculum for any specific courses. In this approach all the plans are discussed with other
stakeholders and in this way various other opinions are collected to make the process better.
However, the dimension of decision making used in the institute needs some improvement in
this regard. Two types of decision making approaches are acquired, one of them is
authoritative and the other one is collaborative. In the authoritative approach, the decisions
are generally taken by the authorities where leadership plays a strong role but in case of
collaborative approach, all the stakeholders, starting from the education professionals to the
parents of the students, all are associated with the curriculum designing program (Davis &
Harden, 2003). Again, the quality assurance approach also needs some improvement in this
regard and I would suggest that the administrative authorities should not think too much
about their reputation and institutional image. The social accountability of any medical
university is to address the priority of the health concerns of the people of the region,
community as well as the whole nation. A proper quality assurance strategy is helpful in
creating a very much consistent idea footprint about the institution. According to my opinion,

if these things can be improved a little bit then it could help the curriculum to be more
effective and its efficacy could also be achieved by the learners of the institution. I think a
desired plan can be designed using four basic approaches from the 10 dimensions of the
curriculum navigator. The dimensions that should be considered while making plan are
dogmatic approach, collaborative decision making in an improved way, salesman as well as
quality assurance approach. A systematic design approach would be helpful (Dick, Carey &
Carey, 2005). All these four approaches together would be highly effective for the institution
as well as for the learners to achieve their goal and to increase the reputation of the
institution. It would also provide some long-term benefits for the institution. These changes
should be brought after having a discussion with the administrative authority and other
stakeholders.
Reflection
The improvements and changes in the curriculum or setting up a new design for
curriculum plan might face several challenges. It is not so easy to implement in an
organization without any extra effort of consideration. From various challenges that might be
faced by the institution, I am discussing two major challenges in this section of the paper that
can affect the plan of the curriculum. The first challenge is regarding the lack of leadership
support, training and availability of sources. When a new plan will be implemented, a strong
leadership authority is required in order to control the whole institutional strategies. While
taking any decision, whether it is authoritative or collaborative, the final evaluation is
possible only when a leader properly implements that into the working practices (Harden,
Sowden & Dunn, 1984). Lack of leadership support can contribute to the dissatisfaction of
the students as well as the educators in any academic institution. In my institution, lack of
leadership support can be one of the biggest challenges in this regard and a proper training
program is highly essential to motivate others. A well trained leader always motivates others

in taking decisions and they think rationally before implementing any kind of strategies into
the working practice. Also, an ineffective leader can impact the whole leadership pipeline of
the institution. Therefore, a proper training is required and also, the lack of resources can
become a barrier in the training program of the leaders. Two types of resources are there, one
is human resources and the other one is non-human resources. If any of the resources are not
available, then it becomes difficult to provide training to the leaders. Therefore, lack of
leadership support, training and resources are one of the challenges of implementing
improvements into the working practices.
Another issue is specific events or actions to drive the changes in the improvement
program. Planning the orientation session or any kind of faculty development workshop is
another challenge in the implementation of my plan of developing an improved curriculum
for the students. In order to train the faculty or develop their skill, it is necessary to organize
development program or workshop but it can come out as a major challenge in this
implementation program (Harden, 1986). Organizing any workshop requires support from all
the stakeholders and it also needs permission from the administrative authority. Time can
become another factor in this regard as all the faculties may not be comfortable in managing
time together. Not only that, planning the orientation requires constant support from all the
education professionals and other stakeholders which can be challenging during the
implementation of the improvement program in my institution. I personally feel all these
challenges can out as main barriers in front of the success of the education program and
curriculum development program.
There will be challenges in any kind of improvement program but there must be some
solutions as well in order to overcome those. All the challenges can be crossed if proper
strategies are followed. First of all, it is important to make others aware of the importance of
improvement plan and then it will be easier to make them understand the necessity of

organizing a training program to train the leaders to be more effective in their working
practices. If all the individual stakeholders will get to know the value of the leadership
program, training and resources, then automatically they will agree to have discussion
regarding the strategies of the improvement program (Harden, 2001). Therefore, I strongly
believe that at the initial stage it will be important to explain the necessity of the
improvement program to others. If all the resources are properly found and consent from the
administrative authority is obtained to organize workshop for the development of faculties
then it will be easier to improve the curriculum designing program. In this way, along with
the success of the students, the reputation of the institution can also be enhanced. The
faculties would also get their leaders and any kind of decision making program would be
smoother. The course would appear in a systematic way to all the students and it would also
be easier to omit all the gaps of the education program in the institution (Harden, 2000).
The 7th dimension
SPICES model consists of 10 dimensions of curriculum navigator and all have been
clearly discussed in this paper. It has also been illustrated how my institution is following the
dimensions in designing the curriculum. At the same time, the dimensions that are successful
and the dimensions which require improvement have also been analyzed in this paper.
Improvement plan will face several challenges and the solutions to overcome the challenges
are also a part of the paper. However, the solution strongly requires consent from the
administrative authorities before implementing into the plan of action. Apart from the 10
dimensions, I would like to introduce a new dimension to the curriculum navigator in order to
provide an improvement into it. I would suggest including a student-centred approach into the
dimension of the curriculum navigator. If the faculties would think from the student’s
perspective instead of thinking only about the image or the reputation of the institution, then
it would be better for the students. If the curriculum is set considering the ability of the

students then they could learn properly with greater assistance and support from the
institution which is highly essential in building their career in future. Also, they would get
mental satisfaction that all the faculties and the stakeholders of the institution are thinking
from their perspectives and they would not be felt deprived from the curriculum planning of
the institution in this way. If all the dimensions are strictly considered while making the
curriculum planning then it would become highly effective in teaching the entire
undergraduate as well as the post graduate students of the university regarding the course
family medicine. As a consequence, all the students would be satisfied and thus reputation of
the institute would also be enhanced in the field of education.

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