How Is Early Childhood Curriculum Developed?
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The curriculum a program or school chooses or develops is defined in many ways, both theoretical and practical. From a theoretical perspective, curriculum reflects the vision and philosophy of the program. From a practical perspective, it may have to address mandates or requirements that the program must meet, teacher qualifications and professional development needs, and available financial and other resources. In addition, a curriculum must be clearly understood by all who use it, be sensitive to individual and community needs, and provide opportunities for parent involvement (Frede, 2007; Posner, 2004; Trister-Dodge, 2004).
Other practical considerations include purchasing materials, ensuring accountability, and setting up an environment that will support the curriculum. The type of curriculum a program or school chooses provides different levels of flexibility in how these decisions are made.
In some cases, a curriculum choice drives all the other decisions so that it will be implemented with fidelity. For example, the decision to use the Montessori curriculum means that many things will have to be done in a certain way; for example, classrooms will have to be set up into clearly defined and named areas. Moreover, classroom equipment and materials will have to be purchased according to a list of materials specifically designed, manufactured, and approved by the Association Montessori Internationale for Montessori classrooms. Teachers will meet qualifications recommended by the North American Montessori Teacher Association (Kahn, 2010). Once a Montessori program is set up, it is readily recognizable as a Montessori space and can’t easily be transformed to serve a different kind of curriculum.
Other curricula are flexible or cross-compatible with one another to varying degrees, using similar equipment and learning materialssuch as items for art, dramatic play, blocks, or music activitiesbut perhaps organizing and using them in different ways. Sometimes there are particular elements of the curriculum that require special attention, such as the aesthetics of a Reggio Emilia or Waldorf classroom. But with many early childhood curricula, changing from one curriculum to another means devoting resources to professional development of staff to implement the new curriculum as well as those changes that can reasonably be made with the equipment and materials already on hand.
In short, curricula can vary widely in the degree to which practical decisions are affected by their characteristics. But all currricula that are effective and stand the test of time are based on strong conceptual elements, including (1) vision and mission, (2) research and theoretical base, (3) stakeholders, (4) curriculum content, and (5) implementation. We’ll discuss these conceptual elements in more detail next (Goffin & Wilson, 2001; Jaruszewicz, 2005