The Six Famous Theorists
1. Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956)
Bobbit believes that the learning objectives, together with
the activities, should be grouped and sequenced after
clarifying the instructional activities and tasks. He also
views curriculum as a science that emphasizes the needs
of the students. This viewpoint explains why lessons are
planned and organized depending on the needs of the
students and these needs must be addressed by the
teachers to prepare them for adult life.
2. Werret Charters (1875-1952)
Aside from emphasizing the students’ needs, he believes
that the objectives, along with the corresponding activities,
should be aligned with the subject matter or content. For
that reason, department chairpersons or course
coordinators scrutinize the alignment or matching of
objectives and subject matter prepared by the faculty
members.
3. William Kilpatrick (1871-1965)
For him, the purpose of curriculum is child development,
growth, and social relationship. He also introduced the use
of small group interaction, and the project method in which
the teacher and students plan together. Thus, it is called
as the child-centered curriculum.
4. Harold Rugg (1886-1960)
He introduced the concept of the development of the whole
child, the inclusion of social studies, and the importance of
curriculum planning in advance.
5. Hollis Caswell (1901-1989)
He believes that subject matter is developed around the
interest of the learners and their social functions. So, the
curriculum is a set of experiences. Learners must
experience what they learn.
6. Ralph Tyler (1902-1994)
And as to the hallmark of curriculum development as a
science, Ralph Tyler believes that curriculum should
revolve around the students’ needs and interests. The
purpose of curriculum is to educate the generalists and not
the specialists, and the process must involve problem
solving. Likewise, subject matter is planned in terms of
imparting knowledge, skills and values among students.
To sum it up, the famous curriculum theorists have
almost similar views. All of them believe that the
curriculum should be learner-centered – addressing
the needs and interests of the students. All of them
have salient contributions to the educational system
of the world today.
If you are an observant student, you might ask the
following questions about your teachers:
Why is it that we are required to do projects, solve
problems, and work in groups?
Why is it that our teachers are being observed in class, and
their lesson plans or syllabi are checked?
Why is it that all of us should take social studies, and not
only the 3Rs?
Why are the lessons being prepared in advance?
Why should we experience what we have learned?
Why do our teachers integrate values in our lessons?
And why is it that the school is after our development as
whole individuals (to become generalists) and be ready to
face life’s challenges?
Reference
Bilbao, P. P., Lucido, P. I., Iringan, T. C., and Javier, R. B.
(2008). Curriculum development. Philippines: Lorimar
Publishing, Inc.
Franklin Bobbit (1876 – 1956)
Major Works: The Curriculum and How to Make a
Curriculum.
Bobbitt’s book was the first to address curriculum issues.
He believed that curriculum scientific and was based on
the scientific method. He believed that the role of
education was important because it prepared students for
life as an adult, and it should be based on the needs of
students. He also argued for cost effective education and
believed that should show differentiation into a variety of
programs; students should be directed to academic and
preparatory programs or vocational and terminal programs
based on their individual abilities.
Werret Charters (1875-1952)
Major Work: Curriculum Construction
Charters was a behavioralist and viewed education as a
science. He believed that education consisted of a set of
goals that students needed to reach. Charters believed
that listing objectives based on student needs and creating
activities that corresponded with these objectives were
necessary. Likewise, he validated these objectives through
the use of evaluations. Charters can be credited for laying
the foundation for curriculum evaluation.
William Kilpatrick (1871-1965)
Major Work: Foundations of Education
Kilpatrick believed education should be child centered, in
which children provide input while the education takes on
the role of a guide, as opposed to that of an authoritative
figure. He believed in integrating subject matter and that
students should be enabled to direct learning in
accordance to their interests and environment, through
their natural senses. Kilpartrick developed the Project
Method, a form of progressive education, for early
childhood education, believing that it organized curriculum
around the central theme of a subject.

Harold Rugg (1886-1960)

Major Work: The Child Centered School -
Rugg promoted a child-centered curriculum that focused of
educating the entire child and not just limiting one’s focus
to a specific area. Rugg believed teachers should plan
instruction in advance and should relate instruction to the
learning experiences, interests, and needs of students.
Rugg’s curriculum emphasized social studies.

Hollis Caswell (1901–1989)

Major Work: Curriculum Development
According to Caswell, curriculum is a method by which
teachers correlate activities around the needs and
interests of students. These activities aid in implementing
instruction. He also believed that curriculum should be
centered around social functions. Caswell asked seven
questions: What is the curriculum? Why is there a need for
revision? What is the function of subject matter? How does
one organize curriculum? How does one select subject
matter? And How does one measure the outcomes of
instruction?

Ralph Tyler (1902 – 1989)

Major Work: Basic Principles of Curriculum and
Instruction
Tyler deemed curriculum to be a science, placing an
emphasis on organized, logical, sequential, and rational
curriculum. Tyler emphasized vertical and horizontal
alignment of curriculum, believing that subject matter
should be organized in terms of knowledge skills and
values. He asked four questions concerning the goals
of the school, the experiences needed to reach these
goals, how the experiences are organized, and the
method used to evaluate their success. Tyler also
believed curriculum should be a national process and
should be related to instruction.