The frame work of curriculum should leverage on inclusive and equitable, characterized by quality learning, promoting lifelong learning, and relevant to holistic development. Curriculum, in other words, provides the bridge between education and development -and it is the competencies associated with lifelong learning and aligned with development needs, in the broadest, holistic sense of the term, that span that bridge.
The curriculum represents a conscious and systematic selection of knowledge, skills and values: a selection that shapes the way teaching, learning and assessment processes are organized by addressing questions such as what, why, when and how students should learn. More broadly, the curriculum is also understood as a political and social agreement that reflects a society's common vision while taking into account local, national and global needs and expectations. The curriculum, in other words, embodies a society's educational aims and purposes. Contemporary curriculum reform and development processes therefore increasingly involve public discussion and consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. The complexity of curriculum development processes and the range of issues informing the 'what' and the 'how' of teaching, learning and assessment present major challenges for policy-makers and curriculum developers.
In confronting these challenges, curriculum developers need to answer many fundamental questions, including, which knowledge, skills and values should be included in our curriculum? Would the acquisition and development of such knowledge, skills and values, and of the associated capabilities and competencies, enable our young people to lead meaningful and productive lives? Does our current paradigm of a set of ‘subjects’ constitute a curriculum adequate? How can we make learning relevant and interesting to students?
But what does ‘quality’ mean in a curriculum context? What is the quality framework within which curriculum developers can set goals, develop and implement change processes, and eventually gauge their success? Some useful indicators of a quality curriculum have to do with its relevance, consistency, practicality, effectiveness and sustainability.
The curriculum is not, of course, an end in itself. Rather, it seeks both to achieve worthwhile and useful learning outcome for students, and to realize a range of societal demands and government policies. It is in and through the curriculum that key economic, political, social and cultural questions about the aims, purposes and processes of education are resolved. The policy statement and technical document that represent the curriculum reflect also a broader political and social agreement about what a society deems of most worth -that which is of sufficient importance to pass on to its children
Key indicators of curriculum success include the quality of the learning achieved by students, and how effectively students use that learning for their personal, social, physical, cognitive, moral, psychological and emotional development. A quality curriculum maximizes the potential for the effective enhancement of learning. Underlying this paper is the premise that educational quality should be understood primarily in terms of the quality of student learning, which in turn depends to a great extent on the quality of teaching. Of prime importance in this is the fact that good teaching and learning are greatly enhanced by the quality, relevance and effectiveness of the curriculum.
Good quality curriculum development is an ongoing and continuous process, not least because curricula need constantly to respond to change. Good curricula need to keep pace with a world in which knowledge is rapidly expanding, communication technologies are broadening access to information, and, as a result, the skills needed by students are constantly changing or being invented. A well-planned and systematic curriculum development process is therefore best conceived as a continuous dynamic cycle of development, implementation and Evaluation, which leads to and informs a new cycle. There are implications for adopting this cyclical approach to curriculum development, particularly those related to development costs teacher education and professional development and support materials development and resources.
The fundamental purpose of a subject syllabus is to provide a coherent and consistent program of learning, which takes account of the way young people learn, and which has the flexibility to adapt to local circumstances and students' needs, and to be adapted over time. A syllabus should ensure that planned and progressive program of learning activities is constructed to develop understanding over time, this program is consistent with the way children's cognitive, emotional and physical abilities develop, there is consistency of approach between subject areas, and with the values and principles that have been articulated, inter-disciplinary links are established between the subject textbooks, other learning materials and assessment practices.


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