Carl’s Curriculum Model & History of South African Curriculum Development

1. Question 1: This question requires students to provide a concise outline of Carl’s curriculum development model. After presenting the model, students should demonstrate how the various stages of the model have been applied in South Africa over time, across different curriculum reforms and implementations. This question invites students to explore both local and international literature on content-based education (process) versus outcomes-based education (product). Students should discuss how these two approaches have influenced curriculum development, as well as their impact on teachers, learners, and the selection of content in educational systems, particularly within the South African context.

• Question 2: This question asks students to examine the history of curriculum development in South Africa. Students are required to explore how various scholars have addressed the progression of curriculum development in the country. Additionally, the use of Walter’s four orientations should be applied to analyse the theoretical foundations of the various curriculum dispensations in South Africa.

The following structure provides guidance to help you address the key points in each question. Use this outline to organize and develop your response, ensuring that your answers are well-researched and thorough.

Question 1: Carl’s Four-Stage Curriculum Development Model

Curriculum development in South Africa has evolved significantly, shaped by historical, political, and social changes. From the apartheid-era education system, designed to enforce racial segregation, to the post-1994 curriculum reforms aimed at creating an inclusive, democratic education system, substantial transformations have occurred.

Scholars like Carl and others in the field of curriculum studies have offered frameworks to help understand these shifts.

• Carl’s four-stage model includes curriculum design, dissemination, implementation, and evaluation. Illustrate how these stages have been applied throughout the history of curriculum development in South Africa, with reference to key curriculum reforms such as Curriculum 2005, the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), and the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS).
  • Additionally, compare the objectives-oriented and outcomes-oriented approaches, focusing on how each has been applied in South Africa’s education system, both pre- and post-1994. Discuss how these approaches influence the curriculum design process, teacher autonomy, teaching and learning practices, content selection, and assessment strategies.

Question 2: Political and Policy Milestones in South African Curriculum Development

South African curriculum development has been deeply influenced by political and policy shifts over recent decades. Key historical periods include:

• Pre-1994: During the apartheid era, the curriculum was racially segregated, with the Bantu Education Act (1953) ensuring that the curriculum was designed to serve the needs of different racial groups, thereby perpetuating inequality.
  • Post-1994: After the end of apartheid, South Africa’s new democratic government undertook a series of curriculum reforms aimed at addressing historical inequities and creating a more inclusive education system. Curriculum 2005 was introduced as part of a move toward outcomes-based education (OBE), followed by the introduction of the NCS and CAPS, which responded to the challenges of implementing OBE.

Walter’s four orientations in curriculum development — academic rationalism, technocratic, social reconstructionism, and humanistic orientation — should be applied to analyse the philosophical foundations of the various curriculum dispensations in South Africa.

• Discuss how each orientation has shaped the direction of curriculum development and the focus of each reform, paying attention to how these orientations align with the political context of the time.

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Carl’s curriculum development model
An analysis of Carl’s four stage model indicates that it has 4 phases including design, dissemination, implementation and evaluation. The design phase includes identification of goals and content selection while the dissemination is the communication of the curriculum to teachers. The implementation phase is putting the curriculum into practice while the evaluation phase is reviewing its effectiveness. In the case of South Africa, the curriculum 2005 emphasized on outcomes based education, but there were changes identified in the design as the outcomes were unclear. The national curriculum statement is aimed at improving the curriculum and assessment policy statement (CAPS) focuses on strengthening the content knowledge.
Content versus outcome based approaches
The content based approach focuses on subject knowledge and academic standards, whereas the outcome based focuses on learners skills and competencies. The impact on tTeachers is identified in the sense that OBE has resulted in reduction in autonomy whereas CAPS helped in restoring clarity. OBE encourages student participation whereas CAPS helps in reinforcing foundational knowledge.
History of Curriculum development in South Africa
The history can be identified from pre 1994 Apartheid era whereby Bantu Education Act (1953) was enforced and the design of Curriculum was performed to maintain inequalities. Post 1994 also known as the democracy era leads to the introduction of outcome based education to promote equity, simplification of OBE principles in 2002 and CAPS 2011 with main emphasis of curriculum design on the basis of content and standardised approach.
Walters Four Orientation
This includes academic rationalism, technocratic orientation, social reconstructionism and humanistic orientation. The entire analysis leads to the identification that the curriculum development in South Africa is highly affected by political development and each stage of reform is reflecting a different theoretical orientation.

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