Psychological Foundation of Curriculum

Psychological Foundation of Curriculum

Foundation of Curriculum

Foundation is the forces that influence the minds of curriculum developers. In this way, they effect the content and structure of the curriculum. The curriculum reflects the society and culture of a country and this is the desire of a society that their children should learn the habits, ideas, attitudes and skills of the adult society and culture and educational institutions are the proper way to impart these skills. This duty of teacher and school to discipline the young of the society and provide them the set of experiences in the form of curriculum. The needs, knowledge and informations of the society provide foundations in the formation of curriculum.

Psychologial Foundation of Curriculum

 Psychological foundation is based on the individual differences, every students has its own unique personality and they have differences in nature so they can not be treated alike in teaching-learning process. Some may be fast learner while other slow. Therefore, the curriculum should be based on the above facts, and it should be designed to support the capacity and potentiality of all the students.


Psychology plays a vital role in the teaching-learning process. It is the foundation for all types of educational related programmes. The methods of teaching, the selection of content of subjects and the methods and theories of learning, the overall development of the students and to inculcate the norms of the society in the students. Psychology helps in all the processes above in the development process of curriculum.

Psychological Foundation of Curriculum

 In the past, curriculum for child development and learning was developed in traditional ways without keeping in view the psychological implications in the development of curriculum. Today psychology is the core and foundation elements of all the learning processes; curriculum development, child’s mental development, teaching methods, learning theories, administration of education system and planning, character building of the students, attitude of students and teacher, the society, the use of different technologies. Today, the researchers and scholars using experimental approach to find new ways and materials from the analysis of teaching-learning problem and formulating new ways and materials from the analysis of teaching-learning processes. Psychology helps in all fields of education. It not just add to knowledge, psychology is applied tin practical classroom situation as well as in the curriculum development process by defining teaching methods.

Read more

 In the process of using psychology in curriculum development process, some positive concepts or ideas about teaching-learning process emerged, it is reflected in the work produced by different authors.


  • The traditional readiness concept for a difficult subject which require children maturity has been rejected by the modern researchers, now the researchers formed a new principle that the child can teach any subject on the condition that it provided keeping in view the principle of from simple to complex and that the students have the previous experience.

  • When the importance is given to concepts and the process of inquiry for teaching-learning and curriculum development process the transfer of learning and future learning are important.

See more

  • The guided discovery of the relationships in the student learning outcomes, subject matter and in teaching methods play a very important role in the teaching-learning process compare to those approaches in which the curriculum planners used the views and conclusions of other for developing curriculum.

  • The interest and motivation level of the students may be generated using the discovery method within the subject itself. The content of the subject should be interesting and appealing to generate curiosity in the students to find more. In this way the students engage in finding the relationships in the subject matter presented to him, and engage the students in the process of inquiry.

  • Meaningful conversation involves the students in the organising or structuring of facts into conceptual system which help the students to generate new ideas, make new interpretations and raise new questions.

  • The researchers prefer the use of inductive methods because it helps in the discovery through inquiry and help in the formulating of hypothesis and interpretation of information.

  • To study a topic in depth or more helpful in the discovering the relationships between them than try to cover the whole material in once.

  • The depth of learning could be attained by applying different ideas, processes, theories and models.

  • Learning is important when there is relationship order in the continuity of unit to unit from simple to complex in the instruction programme.

  • The solving of problems helps the students in acquiring the concept development, and how to use different principles which lead the students to a higher level of mental development.

Continue reading

  • It put emphasis on the organising of ideas which helps the students to develop the skills to identify the relationships, improves their skills, remembers and retrieves old ideas; it provides a foundation for generating new ideas and concepts, and helps in the transfer of learning.

Therefore, it is said that the impact of psychological sources on the foundations of curriculum is more than significant and still on the rise. The scope of the psychology for applying in curriculum construction and its principles, concepts, processes. The role of psychology in the development of curriculum is vast and each day it is becoming increasingly more meaningful and unavoidable.

 The purpose of psychology and psychologist is the study of human behaviour, the study of living being. Investigate and explain the behaviour of animate creature. Therefore, curriculum needs educational psychology to provide information particularly in the following areas—

  • Prepare objectives of education.

  • Characteristics of the students.

  • The learning process.

  • The method of Teaching.

  • The learning outcomes.

1 thought on “Psychological Foundation of Curriculum”

  1. Pingback: Educational Philosophy: Its Concept, Definition, Nature and Scope

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

error

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)

Scroll to Top