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Leslie Owen Wilson 2005,  restrictions on usage

Key questions about the written (overt) curriculum:

Copyright Leslie Owen Wilson, 2003

The following questions represent common concerns or queries revolving around the development, evolution, dissemination and assessment of the overt or written curriculum. These questions are meant to stimulate discussions about varied aspects of curriculum development and content, concept, knowledge, or process selections. 

Curriculum Content:

• What defines, or should be considered, knowledge? 
• Are there differences between education and schooling?
• Is there certain knowledge that should be considered common (required by most), essential, worthy, or mandatory?
• What specific or general content or processes should be included as basic or essential knowledge?
• What persons, or designated groups of people, should be empowered to make selection decisions about what to include in the common curriculum (that body of knowledge required by most)? Why these people? What qualifications should they have?
• What social, cultural, or political forces influence curriculum selection, formation, and distribution? 

 Curriculum creation and formation, organization, and dissemination: 

• Who should be responsible for the creating the philosophy or tone of a curriculum, or for selecting the specific learning theories that drive the curriculum?

• Who should be involved in ensuring that a curriculum has a sense of unity, relevance, pertinence, and purpose?

• What minimal components are considered necessary, or bare essentials, for the practical implementation of curriculum?

• And, how is usable curricula best organized?

• Should there be different forms of curricula (hard bound, electronic, media)?

• Who is responsible for making formatting, organizational, and distribution decisions?

• What forces or people play a part in deciding to create new, or revise older curriculum?

• What social, generational, political, or professional influences generally serve as catalysts in changing the curriculum?

 Curriculum Assessment: 

• What types of evidence or data indicate that the curriculum is effective? What types of measures can be used in assessment?

• How can educators best assess whether the goals and objectives of the delivered curricula have been obtained?

• Who should be in charge of assessing if and how learning has taken place?

• Who should be responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of curricula and for collecting and documenting assessment data?

• How should assessment and evaluation data be used to improve future curricula?