Curriculum is a term used to describe educational content, media, methods and evaluation. This word was first put forward by Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher and educator. Spencer believes that curriculum is an educational content organized by social and political forces and a form of cultural inheritance that reflects social and political development.
Spencer believes that the curriculum should be determined and adjusted by scientific methods to ensure the realization of its purpose. His educational thought of "trinity of knowledge, skills and thinking" broke the traditional teaching methods and made important contributions to the development of modern courses. In modern education, curriculum has become a very broad concept, covering educational content, teaching methods, teaching materials and evaluation.
A good curriculum design must take into account students' personality differences, the development of knowledge and skills, the evaluation of learning effect and other factors. The importance of curriculum lies not only in the content of education, but also in its influence on social development. Good curriculum design can cultivate high-quality talents and make contributions to social and economic development.
Spencer's theory of "organization of educational content" provides the basis and guidance for modern educational thought, and provides reference and enlightenment for the reform and development of educational system. In the future education, we need to collect and analyze relevant data according to the actual situation, constantly optimize curriculum design and teaching methods, adapt to the changes of the times and social needs, and cultivate more outstanding talents.
Introduction to Spencer
British philosophers, sociologists, biologists and evolutionists were employees of the Natural Science Museum in the19th century, and the courses and lectures held were the stories of social activities in London at that time. The core of Spencer's thought is the concept of "evolution". He put forward "social evolution theory" and thought that social system is also an evolutionary process. He left many works, including History of Social Evolution, Institutional Philosophy, Epistemology and so on.