Systematic approaches to curriculum development can facilitate participation by various stakeholders at different stages and levels of involvement. However, curriculum development may often be based on a panic approach , where local or international political pressures cause rapid decisions to be made to change the curriculum without prior careful planning. The impact of international debate on major global concerns, such as environmental and population issues or women s education, is an example of such pressures. Not only is the panic approach not likely to be successful, but it may lead to an overload of the curriculum, increasing the difficulty of teachers tasks. It is advisable, when faced with such issues, to examine what is already of relevance in the existing curriculum, and how new issues may be effectively incorporated on this basis.
Curriculum development involving too many innovations is unlikely to succeed.
It is thus vital to examine the learning opportunities and teaching resources already available when designing new curricula or introducing specific changes, so as to avoid disparity between expectation and reality. The ways of translating stated goals into practice have to be carefully thought through from the outset. The role of teachers Teachers play a pivotal role in successful curriculum change . In reality, however, changes to curricula are frequently designed almost exclusively within Ministries of Education or in specialized institutions. The is little direct involvement at primary and secondary school levels, altlhough teachers are sometimes assigned to curriculum development institutions or form part of curriculum development commissions or teams.