Ralph W Tyler Rationale - Assignment Example

The Tyler Rationale The Tyler Rationale Introduction The Tyler Rationale is one of the most influential curriculum models in the history of American education. Ralph W. Tyler, an illustrious scholar, had an extended career in education and made major contributions to the general practice of American schooling. This paper looks at the contributions that Tyler made in the transformation of the American education system. It does so by delving into the four principles put forth by Tyler and the effects they have had on the American education system. After many years working as a science teacher at Dakota, Tyler joined the University of Chicago in pursuance of a doctorate in educational psychology. Upon graduating in 1927, Tyler was employed at the University of North Carolina. He worked here in collaboration with many teachers to improve the curriculum. In 1929, Ralph followed W. W. Charters to the State University of Ohio, where he joined a team of scholars under the management of the Charters at the University’s Bureau of Educational Research. Tyler took the position of director of accomplishment testing in the Bureau, hired to assist Ohio State University with the task of advancing their teaching and increase the retention of students at the University. While at the University, Tyler contributed much to the development of the curriculum. Tyler was involved in so many studies, but the one that greatly contributed to his stand is the Eight-Year Study he conducted. Tyler devised methods of evaluation based on the different variables of the Eight-Year study, he conducted in thirty schools that concurred to try out with varying parallel curricula approaches. The results of the study questioned the tradition of supporting only one set of high school occurrences for the success in college. For this reason, it opened the door for expansive thinking about the high school curriculum. He questioned the rationale for the school curriculum. Responding to the pleas for assistance from the participating schools in the research, Tyler devised a curriculum planning rationale for them. After Tyler moved to Chicago University in 1938, he took the position of Chairman of the Education Department. While there, Tyler continued to cultivate his ideas on the “rationale”, using it in a syllabus for curriculum and instructions. Tyler came up with a rationale through which the problems of curriculum and instructions could be examined. The “Tyler rationale” was advanced in 1949. It began with identifying four elementary questions that according to Tyler must be answered in the process of developing any form of curriculum and plan of instruction. The four questions, also referred to as “Rationale” are; 1. What educational objectives should the school seek to arrive at? 2. What educational experiences can be provided that is most probable to attain these purposes? 3. How can these educational experiences be successfully organized? 4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being achieved? The Tyler Rationale What educational purposes should the school seek to attain? Many educational programs do not have clearly outlined purposes. Someone might randomly ask any teacher a simple question like “what is the objective aimed at by the curriculum you are using to teach?” Most teachers say that it aims at developing a well-educated person; because it is essential to an all rounded education system. Most teachers have no clear and concise goals, but have a sense of good teaching, what topics are worth dealing with, and how to present the material to the students effectively. According to Tyler (1971), if an education program is to be planned and efforts continually made for improvements, then it is essential to have some notions of the goals and targets being aimed at. It is these educational objectives that become the decisive factor by which materials are selected; content outlined, instructional procedures advanced and examinations and tests prepared. It is a verity that any forms of educational programs aim at accomplishing elementary educational purposes. Hence, if we are to study an educational program, methodically and intellectually we must first be sure as to what educational objectives are aimed at. But how are objectives obtained? Principles of investigation allow research be made in deciding objectives because helpful information may be provided. To define objectives, it is important to study the development of a child to find out what kinds of interests he or she has. This way, it will be easy to define what problems he or she has and what purposes he has in the intellect. According to Tyler (1971), this is the primary source for choosing objectives. Some essentialists, on the other hand, recognize the colossal body of knowledge collected through cultural heritage. The cultural heritage can be a source of deriving objectives. Essentialists view objectives as the elementary learning of the enormous cultural heritage of the past. The contemporary society provides the platform from which basic information can be derived. In the eyes of the society, the school is perceived as an agency that helps young people deal successfully with the grave problems of contemporary life (Hlebowitsh, 1992). Thus, it is the objectives of the school to provide skills; knowledge and attitude that will help people deal effectively with the problems in the society. Hence, these sources of information are adequate to provide a basis for comprehensive and wise objectives of the school. It is imperative that the views of these two sources be given some consideration in planning any all-inclusive curriculum program. What educational experiences can be provided that is most probable to attain these purposes? As Kliebard (1970) explains, education is a process that involves changing the behavioral blueprints of people. When education is seen from such a perspective, it is evident that educational objectives represent the types of changes in behavior that an educational establishment seeks to produce in its students. An investigation into the learners themselves would try to find out the changes in behavior patters of the students that the educational establishment should seek to fabricate. According to Pinar (1978), a human being is a dynamic organism, a system in equilibrium between the external conditions and the internal forces produced by the action of oxidation of ingested foods. For the system to be in equilibrium, it is imperative that some “needs” be met. The equilibrium means that certain tensions are created which lead to disequilibrium; unless these tensions are neutralized. From this perspective, a human being is an organism reacting in a manner to relieve these forces that cause system imbalance. In the same terms, one of the major challenges in education is to channel the means through which these needs are met so that the resultant behavior is socially acceptable. At the same time, the needs are met, and the organism is not under unrelieved periods of tension (Hlebowitsh, 1992). The needs of the students are physical (food, water, sex and the likes), social (affection, sense of belonging, respect from society), and integrative needs (need for a philosophy of life). In essence, all children have the same needs, and it is the duty and responsibility of the school to get these basic needs met. The needs should be met in a manner that not only satisfies, but provides the behavior patterns that are socially and personally significant. A research of such needs in a given group of children would involve identifying those needs that are not adequately satisfied. In addition, there should be an investigation into how the school can play a role in helping those students meet their unsatisfied needs. The research may suggest educational objectives in the sense of directing what attitudes and skills would help the children meet these basic needs effectively (Kliebard, 1970) How can these educational experiences be successfully organized? Organization is the procedure of classifying learning experiences into courses, units and programs. For the education process to be effective, experiences must be organized in an orderly fashion to reinforce the learning process. According to Tyler (1971), levels of the organization can be organized with respect to the level of education. Vertical organization is the setting where advancement from stage to stage is on the basis of content. Horizontal is the process of integrating different content on the same grade level. As Tyler suggests (1971), there are three effective criteria for effective organization; continuity, sequence and integration. Continuity is the vertical reiteration of the major curriculum elements. It entails the repeated opportunities to practice skill through the repetition of concepts. Through the constant repetition of concepts, the students can sharpen their skills. Sequence serves to increase the complexity of skills, attitudes, and values. Each experience is built and augmented upon preceding experiences, and all this creates more value on the skills. Integration is the concept where the students increasingly get a unified view that tends to unify the behavior in relation to the three elements of the organization. Proper identification of the elements of a curriculum serves as the organizing threads. In turn, the threads will serve as organizing elements in achieving sequence, continuity, and integration. The three elements of the organization apply to the learning experiences of the student (Kliebard, 1970) How can we determine whether these purposes are being achieved? Tyler avows that curricula are evaluated on the basis of hypotheses; the best judgments of program as the best set of processes for attaining successful program outcomes. The sole purpose of the process of evaluation is to validate the program’s hypotheses. Tyler’s theoretical idea is focused on the specific objectives and measurement of the possible outcomes (Pinar, 1978). He rejects the application of normally referenced tests for the evaluation of programs. Tyler argues that discarding test items that are answered correctly by a majority, or too few, do not necessarily provide the information about what the students are learning. Tyler’s view is an objective oriented evaluation. The approach focuses on formulating a statement of objectives (educational). In addition, the approach classifies these objectives into types, defining and re-defining the objectives in relation to behavior. The approach further selects methods for obtaining evidence regarding each objective, selecting the elementary trials for auxiliary development and improvement, and devising the means of deducing and using the outcomes (Pinar, 1978). Effects of the Tyler Rationale Tyler’s role in transforming the American education system may be labeled that of an educational statesman. His work reflects his brilliance and vision for the education system of the United States. Many people argue that it is sufficient to measure the recall and recognition of knowledge and facts. If students have the compulsory knowledge, then they would apply it to solve problems. However, Tyler (1971) argues that the measures of higher order objectives do not correlate highly with the mastery of factual knowledge. He concluded that if higher cognitive skills were the objectives of instructions, then they could be directly quantified. His idea about this issue has influenced the achievement test formulation to the present day. Another illustration of Tyler’s work that still influences the field of curriculum advancement and program evaluation is his industry in the Eight-Year Study. Tyler’s work in this research is the best available illustration of how evaluators can cooperate and work closely with teachers. His research classifies instructional objectives as well as developing indicators of the students’ progress towards mastery of a whole range of learning outcomes (Pinar, 1978). Another important contribution is his strong argument against the practice employed in advancing many norm-referenced achievement tests that fail to distinguish among the examinees. Tyler recognized the fact that items (tests) that were missed by most as well as those that were answered by a majority were good items to begin with; provide precious information about student progress and instruction. Such information was more valuable than including the items for the purpose of differentiating the examinees with an intention to rank them. According to Tyler, items selected to meet personal differences, using technology initially advanced in intelligence testing, does not provide the necessary information required effectively to evaluate the full range of educational objectives. Conclusion It is an undeniable fact that the Tyler Rationale is one of the most influential curriculum models in the history of American education. The Tyler Rationale has clearly caused a complete revolution in the manner in which the curriculum is designed in the United States. As a consequent of the Rationale, curriculum development has improved because unlike the olden days, the current curricula have educational objectives being aimed at. It is these objectives that determine the material to be used, the outline of the content, the instructional media and the tests and examinations prepared. Tyler’s Rationale also explains the experiences aimed towards the achievement of the educational goals as outlined in the curriculum. Tyler’s Rationale also explains how these experiences may be organized to achieve the educational targets outlined in the curriculum. In addition, Tyler’s Rationale also highlights the appropriate examination and evaluation techniques of determining how well the curriculum objectives have been met. The Rationale is the framework for many curricula in the United States of America. Due to the Tyler Rationale, curriculum development is now more efficient because it is centered on giving objectives, clearly highlighting how each objective is to be met. Consequently, the Tyler Rational forms the elementary model of curriculum in the United States, making it one of the most influential in the History of American Education. References Hlebowitsh, P. (1992). Amid behavioral and behaviouristic objectives: reappraising appraisals of the Tyler Rationale. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 24(6), 533-547. Kliebard, H. (1970). The Tyler Rationale. The School Review, 78(2), 259. Pinar, W. (1978). Notes on the Curriculum Field 1978. Educational Researcher, 7(8), 5-12. Tyler, R. (1971). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Read More