ABSTRACT

In secondary education, for example, whether under the dominance of regional geography paradigm of the old grammar school system, or in the issues-based approaches of the comprehensive, too little thought has been given to other aspects of good practice, not least those supported by curriculum theory. Objectives might equally be viewed in terms of what the learner is expected to have achieved by the time s(he) leaves school, by the end of a particular stage of schooling, or by the end of a course unit. But as we shall see, it is important to specify process as well as outcome objectives. The most precise and primitive statements of objectives are those termed 'operational' or 'behavioural'. Though not offering a taxonomy of objectives, another strong advocate of using an enlightened and rigorous structuring of the curriculum was Jerome Bruner. The Ausubel and Gagne schemes were both associated with developmental learning theories, which would seem an appropriate start for planning cognitive objectives.