Pros and Cons of Pre Planned Curriculum and Emergent Curriculum

Pros and Cons of Pre Planned Curriculum and Emergent Curriculum
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Pros and Cons of Pre Planned Curriculum and Emergent Curriculum
Curriculum design and development extensively borrow from behavioristic psychology. Majorly, in setting up curriculum objectives, the objectives should always be stated in observable human behavior terms. Hence, educational psychologists insist that one can only establish the most appropriate learning conditions after the specification of terminal behavior. Experts who corroborate that objectives should be stated in observable human terms assert that only through this method may objectives achievement be realized. And the efficacy of specific curriculum sequence gauged (Taber et al., 1965; Gagne', 1965).
The most debated early childhood curricula are the pre-planned and emergent systems. In a pre-planned curriculum, there are written subjects or predetermined themes that educators must follow. According to Mangold, it usually entails a set of instructions that governments, school authorities, or some authorities outside the classroom demand of the teacher to teach the students. It is an approach requiring educators to be equipped with any needed learning material in the classroom. Susan Stacey views the system as rigid and unrealistic in that it insinuates to control what children learn (the content) and how they learn (the process) while disregarding any developing changes (2009).
Conversely, according to Jones, the emergent curriculum was coined in 1970 and contextualized as an approach set down after its occurrence, instead of being set up in advance except when dealing in broad provisions (2012). Thus, teaching process dynamisms are considered in this approach, especially when dealing with children unfamiliar with limitations and rules enforced under routine learning. Its principles closely relate with those in the Reggio Emilia system, where Loris Malaguzzi challenges educators to view children as competent learners in a group work context (Fraser & Gestwicki, 2002).
An emergent curriculum creates a flexible, relationship-motivated learning environment. Relationships between learners and educators are the epicenter of the emergent approach, as is the same case in Reggio Emilia's philosophy. The learning system envisions a learner surrounded by an environment with three levels of protagonists or teachers. The primary teacher is the parent who takes the initial active role educating and guiding the child at the preschool stage. The second educator is the classroom teacher. The classroom teacher forms the main learning component where they double as researchers and take up guidance role to children in learning. Environme...