SECTION A. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Course Overview

This graduate course is offered to help students understand the complex nature of curriculum.  The importance of curriculum – the substance of schooling- is once again reaffirmed in the current school reform movement.  This course is mainly concerned with conceptualizing the curriculum field, identifying fundamental approaches and tasks in curriculum development, discussing important curriculum issues, and thus expanding our understanding of what curriculum is all about.  Some of the main Essential Questions that curriculum scholars have organized theory, research, teaching, and program evaluation around are

What is curriculum?

What are the social forces that impact curriculum?

What are the educational forces that should impact curriculum?

What are the needs of the curriculum –what knowledge is of worth?

Who controls the curriculum? Who should?

Curricular development class allowed me to have a better understanding of the concepts and theories related to curriculum.  Furthermore, it got me involved in the history and evolution of the curriculum for EFL in Ecuador.  I think that being aware of how the educational regulations and their impact used to be in the past contributes to have a better projection for the future. 

  In this class I had the opportunity to read about the definitions of curriculum which different authors provide.  I was particularly impacted by the many different types of curricula that schools use today.  Constructs like the hidden, the null, phantom, concomitant, or rhetorical curriculum and the understanding of what they refer to made me think that curriculum is not only the subjects taught at school formally but rather every action or fact that directly or indirectly affects students’ behavior and achievement.  For example, the information that children’s receives from the media, their family experiences, teachers’ behaviors, schools structures, classroom settings have implicit messages that impact on students.  I think that teachers are not aware of this in Ecuador.  In the future, I anticipate paying more attention to these areas so as to foster a safe learning environment where students can grow personally and academically.

Similarly, along my research paper development I was able to deepen into the current National Curriculum in Ecuador. It was gratifying to learn that this new curriculum is regulated by a clear philosophy summarized in the Good Living Plan which represents the state’s willing to abolish social inequity and satisfy the basic needs of the people.  The Ten Year Plan of education derives its objectives from this philosophy.  Thus, the state guarantees a high quality education which addresses cultural and linguistic diversity, disabled people needs, and social justice. This is a pretty recent innovation in our Educational System.  I consider that even though the current curriculum still has some limitations, it serves as the basis for the regulation of the EFL instruction including teachers’ professional development, permanent evaluation, standard materials, planning and assessment procedures.  Nothing of this existed a few years ago.  However, I think that teachers’ discussions should be held in order to identify areas of the curriculum which should be modified.

  Finally, from my learning experience in this class I was able to clearly state my teaching philosophy which is based on three principles: a) get to know who my students are; b) diagnose where they are at; and c) have great expectations.  Getting to know my students is the first step for instruction.  This knowledge allows me to choose content and strategies based on their interests, likes, and abilities. Knowing where students are at is key to properly design lessons which provide them with opportunities to gain knowledge in their Zone of Proximal Development described by Vygotsky.  Apprenticeship will not happen if activities are too easy or too difficult to fulfill.  Students get either bored or frustrated.  I want my students rather feel challenged and able to discover knowledge.  Finally, I think that believing in students has the power to make them believe in themselves. As a teacher I feel committed to help young generations to discover and develop their skills and potentialities and make a difference in their lives.

COURSE PROJECT 

Introduction

                        The word curriculum can be defined from two perspectives.  From a narrow point of view it is understood as all the subjects taught in a school. From a broader angle, the curriculum is perceived as all the learners’ experiences in and out the school.  In practice, the curriculum consists of a series of plans which define the desired learning experiences.  Thus, the curriculum may be a unit, a course, a sequence of courses, or the school’s entire program of studies (Oliva & Gordon, 2012).

 According to Oliva and Gordon the experiences that students have outside the school is also considered part of the curriculum.  Similarly, Wilson (1990) argues that students are learning all the time when they are exposed to behaviors. They learn important lessons from the secretaries, janitors, peers, cafeteria workers as well as from teachers.  However, not all educators are conscious of the way students can be influenced by these contacts.  

Based on these definitions, all influences that students have from their families, neighbors, media, and peers are learning experiences that become part of the curriculum.  This fact has made theorists propose different types of curriculum: some of the essential ones are the explicit, implicit, null, and rhetorical.  The explicit curriculum is the document that provides a whole guide for the teaching and learning process.  The implicit is also called the hidden curriculum and it refers to those daily experiences students are exposed to.  Those topics that are not taught are identified as part of the null curriculum. And the rhetorical curriculum refers to the ideas developed by policy makers and professionals in charge of educational initiatives.

In Ecuador, the absence of a well- designed curriculum was a common practice until 2007.  The government of Rafael Correa has transformed the educational system radically.  Today, there is a national explicit curriculum which gives direction for teachers and administrators to follow the educational process.  However, elements from the implicit and null curriculum are not being seriously considered by educators at the moment of planning.  Many teachers agree on the fact that the current curriculum seems to be excessively rhetorical.  Hence, the purpose of this paper is to explore the process of curriculum construction to shed light on the overall EFL Ecuadorian curriculum.

Social Forces that Impact Curriculum

In the constitution of 1998, education is declared as a primary duty of the government.  It is recognized as democratic, diverse, humanist and scientist.  The new law also guarantees education for the disabled and rural population.  It dictated that the 30% of the national budget must be assigned for education.  Even though the laws seemed powerful enough, in reality the educational system remained as chaotic as before. The new law for superior education, the program for pre-school education, the division of education into levels, and the implementation of a national curriculum were some of the achievements at this time.  The division of education into levels exposed a series of problems.  Pre-school education lacked well trained teachers. There was no continuity in the basic education.  Some content was repeated in the following years. Planning was not mandatory and improvisation was part of the daily teaching practices.

The disorganization and chaos of public education contributed greatly to the growing of for-profit schools.  Middle and high class parents opted for private schools to provide their children with a better quality of education. In 2002, after recognizing the need of a viable and executable curriculum as a national policy, the National Plan for Everybody 2003-2015 was created.  There were great expectations around this new plan.  However, the variation of ministries, strikes, poor commitment, and lack of attention to the institutions created a hostile scenario for the educational process to develop (Palma, 2013).

As described above, Ecuadorian education was not the priority for governments.  Many positive intentions have been put into law but they have paid lip service. This historical background influenced the desire of the actual government to make a profound, extensive, and definite plan to systematize education nationwide. The government of Rafael Correa and his progressive policies has impacted positively the entire society. Particular attention is given to education.  The amount of money invested has progressively increased. Unlike past governments, today the laws are put into practice.  The Ten year plan 2006-20015 started to build a solid structure to achieve goals. Education is conceived as the government’s obligation and it is nonprofit until the third level.  A new national curriculum has been created supported by the Constitution Reform of 2008.  New bills and institutions which regulate teachers, students, administrators and procedures are passed and become the guidelines that conduct education (Palma, 2013).        

Starting from 2007, the transformation procedures in Ecuador related with thoughtful consequences for redefining education became a priority public investment sector. The ‘Good Living’ Plan in the Ecuadorian Constitution seeks the universalization of quality social services to guarantee and maintain the fundamental rights.  Quality education based on the principles of equality, fairness, national sovereignty, multiculturalism, multilingualism in function of the Latin American integration and strategic integration in the international context is considered a priority challenge (Damme, Aguerrondo, Burgos, & Campos, 2013).

The Ministry of Education of Ecuador focuses on 20 specific ruptures with the status quo in education. These ruptures were classified into four groups: (a) ruptures that should contribute to the re-conceptualization of education as a right of individuals and communities, (b) ruptures aimed at a profound change in the structure of the national education system, (c) ruptures that strive to transcend the old paradigm of quality education and equal opportunities to guarantee better learning for students and (d) ruptures that contribute to the revalorization of the teaching profession (Ministerio de Educacion, 2012).

President Correa is going about his reforms sensibly.  By 2009 he had spent around $280 million repairing schools and building new ones. In impoverished places like Zumbahua, a remote village in the Andes where the president once did voluntary work, high-tech “schools of the millennium” have risen among the maize and potato fields. But it is not just about spending more money. President Correa wants to supervise more closely how the education budget is spent, and to improve the quality and consistency of teaching. The government is now making tests required for existing teachers. Those who fail them will be offered a year's training and then be required to take the tests again.  Those who fail a second time face the fact of being fired. So far the reforms seem highly popular except among the teachers. Some complain that coercion is the wrong way to go about reforming. Ecuador's universities also have to shape up. Low-quality private ones were closed while state-funded ones will have to account publicly for the money they receive every year (The Economist, 2009).

Educational Forces that impact the curriculum

Educational philosophies are theories of learning that focus on how learning happens.  They provide a guide for decision making concerning aspects of teaching and learning.  Theoretical approaches can be transmissive.  That is, information is given to learners.  Constructivist approach suggests that the learner has to make meaning from experiences in the world (Cohen & Gelbrich, 1999).

Identifying a teaching approach in Ecuador before 1992 is not an easy task considering the inexistence of an official EFL curriculum. Before that time, English was considered a non-mandatory subject. Class hours were limited to one or two per week and there was a deficit of English teachers. Consequently, the few professionals based their teaching practices on the traditional grammar approach. Learners tried to learn a language just by memorizing short dialogues, repeating and imitating the teacher’s pronunciation.  More intuitive teachers would go beyond that to the behaviorism theory. 

This theory was founded by J.B. Watson.  The theory was developed in part as a reaction to traditional grammar. Behaviorism was advanced in America as a new approach in the early decades of the 20^th century.  It made particular emphasis on the importance of verbal behavior.  It received a considerable trust from the educational world during the 1950s. The major principle of this theory is based on on the stimulus-response learning.  Learning is recognized as the establishment of habits as a result of reinforcement and reward (Demirezen, 1988)

In 1992, the British and Ecuadorian government agreement gave way to a total transformation of EFL education with the implementation of a major project Curriculum Reform and Development for the Learning of English (Cradle). The project proposed the use of the book Our World through English which was based on the principles of the Communicative approach and the Constructivist Theory.

Constructivism suggests that the learner is much more actively involved in an interaction with the teacher when creating new meanings.  It is necessary to make a distinction between cognitive constructivism which is related to the way individual learners understand things in terms of developmental stages and learning styles and social constructivism which emphasizes how meanings and understandings grow out of social encounters. Constructivist theory draws back to the writings of John Dewey who emphasized the place of experience in education.  In the same way, Piaget demonstrated that children’s minds are not empty but actively processed the material with which they are presented.  However, the most significant bases of a social constructivist theory were established by Vygotsky in his theory of the Zone of Proximal Development (Atherton, 2013)

            After the referendum approval in 2006, the eight policies of the Ten Year Education Plan became state’s policies. A new national curriculum for English is established based on the communicative-functional approach characterized by two main features: focus on real-world contexts and the relationship of language forms and function (Ministerio de Educacion, 2012).

The implementation of this new curriculum was gradually introduced in schools. Teachers have reluctantly adapted their professional practices and modified their lesson plans to adapt themselves to the communicative approach. Those who have not, blame it to the lack of professional development and lack of efficiency. Many other schools have gone one step further and have implemented a new model called the ecological model of human development, proposed by Urie Bronfenbrenner.

The ecological model of human development proposed by  Bronfenbrenner, argues that the entire ecological system in which growth happens has to be considered in order to understand human development.  The model conceives set of structures that move from the inner level called the microsystem to the macrosystem.  Microsystem refers to the relationship between a developing person and the immediate environment, such as school and family while the macrosystem refers to institutional patterns of culture, such as economy, customs and bodies of knowledge.  Internal and external circumstances and situations interact with individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and actions to shape development and learning. (Bronfenbrenner, 1994)

Needs of the curriculum

In Ecuador, a Spanish speaking country, English is taught as a foreign language.  People have few opportunities to be exposed to authentic communicative situations where English is required.  EFL teachers must modify the methodology.  The foreign language is introduced through the basic conceptualizing processes of L1.  Learning a foreign language is more a personal goal instead of a necessity (Lewis, 1975)

In the process of achieving goals, motivation plays an important role.  According to  Brown (2000)  there are two kinds of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Concerning language learning, intrinsic motivation becomes applicable.  Ecuadorian students exhibit a tremendous lack of motivation.  Learning objectives, content, methodology, materials, class periods and all the elements of the curriculum have to be derived from students’ needs.  These needs have to be analyzed from two perspectives: a) the gap between what is and what should be; b) tensions that must be released for a healthy condition (Tyler, 2013) In summary, curriculum workers must fit the curriculum to the student, not the student to the curriculum.

I believe that the model proposed by Taba exhibits a number of benefits.  It is inductive, non-linear and gives teachers the power to build the curriculum. 

The content, methods, processes are grounded on the reality that the students and the school are experiencing. In Ecuador, one of the biggest issues that the education system faces is the fact that the policies are made by authorities that have no experience in working within the classrooms.  They create educational programs that are far from meeting the needs of the students, the school or the society.  The world changes every minute. Consequently, a curriculum which does not permit changes during the process might not be successful.  I think flexibility should be one important element when constructing a curriculum.  It should be designed by the teachers rather than just supplied by authorities. Teachers have the enough experience and knowledge concerning the everyday work in schools.  Therefore, they should be the primary participants in the building of a curriculum. I consider that the philosophical and psychological screen proposed by Tyler should be also taken into account.  This suggests that a combination of different models contribute to the construction of a curriculum which responds not only to one single theory but to the school and participants’ reality.

My teaching philosophy says that classes have to be student-centered, based on the constructivist theory.  The content, methodology, objectives of education should all be grounded on students’ needs, interests, and perspectives. One important element is the quality of education.  I strongly believe that students not only have the right to access education but worthy education which allows them to develop their potentialities holistically no matter their socio economic status. A model of curriculum development as described above might allow teachers and authorities to guarantee students’ educational equity no matter their social position.  The subject matter should demand thoughtful discussions from teachers.  They should reflect on the priority of subjects and consider arts, physical education, and foreign languages as important as math or science.  

Components of Curriculum Development Process

Selecting the Model

As previously mentioned I consider that the Taba model provides a clear guidance for constructing a curriculum that considers students as the starting point.  Furthermore, this model enables teachers to be the developers instead of administrators or specialists that know little about the reality within the classrooms. The model proposes the development of a curriculum based on students’ needs, gaps, deficiencies and different backgrounds.  I consider that this model is aligned with the new tendency in education that requires teachers to see students as individuals who live unique realities.  The objectives, content, and strategies selected on the basis of students’ requirements might contribute to the achievement of the educational goal:  transform students’ life in a positive way.

Considering Philosophy

The next step that curriculum developers have to consider is the Philosophy. As previously mentioned my teaching philosophy follows student-centered strategies based on the constructivist theory. I strongly believe that objectives, content, and methodology have to be derived from students’ reality. My teaching practices are based on three principles: a) get to know who my students are; b) diagnose where they are at; and c) have great expectations.  Getting to know my students is the first step for instruction.  This knowledge allows me to plan classes based on their interests and likes.  This is fundamental for getting students to get engaged in the class so that their learning experience is productive and meaningful.  My second principle requires me to find out where my students are at to properly design lessons which provide them with opportunities to gain knowledge in their  Zone of Proximal Development  described by Vygotsky.  Apprenticeship will not happen if activities are too easy or too difficult to fulfill.  Students get either bored or frustrated.  I want my students rather feel challenged and able to discover knowledge.  Finally, I think that believing in students has the power to make them believe in themselves. As a teacher I feel committed to help young generations to discover and develop their skills and potentialities and make a difference in their lives.

Considering Aims

            Curriculum developers then derive educational aims based on the philosophy adopted.  Aims are statements that provide direction to the educational action.  I think that in my EFL curriculum I would include two main elements: The Good Living National Plan objective which intends to provide student population nationwide with quality, inclusive, and equal education; and the contemporary life challenges.  We are living in a global world where communication happens at any time and at any place. The frontiers between countries are disappearing.  For certain people, it will improve their way of life, but for others, it means just the opposite. Thus, my main aims which will direct my teaching are as follows:  a) students will develop a high sense of social justice, equity, and self-motivation for learning in order to contribute to the society; and b) students will be able to manage technological tools and a foreign language to efficiently interact and communicate as citizens of a globalized world.

Determining Needs

            Following the process of constructing a curriculum, developers will determine the needs of students, society, and the subject matter.  Regarding students’ needs I will mention motivation for learning, pertinent instruction, and a safe learning environment. 

One of the biggest issues Ecuadorian education has to fight is the lack of self-motivation of students for learning.  Some of the reasons might be related to the little exposure they have to the language in schools.  They do not really see the value in learning English since they do not have the need of it to communicate in an everyday situation.  The students’ overpopulation might also be the cause of students’ lack of interest.  It is difficult for teachers to provide students with individualized instruction when the average class size is fifty students or more. In order to overcome this situation, it is important that educators plan activities that contribute to students’ understanding of the importance of setting goals in life.  Classes should be opportunities for them to discover the world around them and have high expectations for their future. 

            Students cannot be successful without efficacious teachers.  Students need teachers who are able to understand the world where they are living at a certain point of time.  They need teachers who are interested in getting to know who their students are so that they can plan lessons accordingly.  They need the type of instruction that recognize them as individual beings with specific needs, interests, and learning styles.

            Finally, students need a healthy and safe learning environment.  The hidden curriculum tells us that students might develop wrong values depending of the place where instruction takes place.  Thus, if the school’s infrastructure invites to paint walls, scratch desks, or break windows, students develop the idea that those are common practices and they are more likely to reproduce them in the society.  Therefore, students need a clean and safe environment inside and out of the school so that they learn real values such as respect, tolerance, and care.

            In regards to society, productive global citizens, scientific researchers, and positive leaders are needed.  The rapid technological growth demands citizens who are able to keep up with the new ways of communication, business, and social relationships.  Ecuadorian society needs individuals with high intellectual development who assist the country to keep up with more advanced societies. The level of development of a society is measured by the body of research that is conducted.  In Ecuador, the need of serious research is high priority. Teachers in schools should be encouraging the natural curiosity of children who later on might become professional researchers.  Another essential need is leadership.  Ecuador society needs men and women with a high sense of identity who deeply understand what being an Ecuadorian means. We need people who do not know the meaning of corruption and do not to place their personal interests before those of the society.     

Concerning the subject matter, a clear and well thought curriculum as well as permanent control and evaluation and technology access are needs that have to be met. The curriculum should allow more time for English learning.  Forty five minutes, five times a week is not time enough to develop language skills effectively.  The textbook selection should be extensively analyzed before making a decision.  I think it is time to consider not using a textbook at all. The current evaluation system needs to be revised. The way teachers are required to evaluate students has transformed instruction into a process of getting things done neglecting the actual objectives of teaching and learning. 

Permanent control and evaluation from professional authorities is required.  The first authority within the school is the area coordinator.  Coordinators need to keep regular meetings with teachers and administrators to evaluate processes and solve problems at school level.  District directors should control the correct functioning of the curriculum at a higher level.  They are the people in charge of making accommodations when things are not going well. 

            Finally, the 21^st century lifestyle demands people master technological tools.  There is plenty of online material for EFL teaching and learning available. Unfortunately, lack of funding, slow bandwidth, insufficient technical support, unaffordable software, and teachers’ reluctance has prevented too many schools from integrating technology to classrooms.  Technology integration should be one important element in the EFL curriculum.

Instructional Objectives

According to my teaching philosophy these are the instructional objectives that I consider essential: a) to develop speaking skills to a level that allow students to effectively interact and communicate in social and academic settings; b) to read various genres of books to nurture  pleasure for reading; c) to enable students to independently create technology-based projects.

Strategies for Learning Experiences

In order to achieve my second objective: to read various genres of books to nurture pleasure for reading I plan the following strategies: storytelling, literature circles, and book choices. 

No matter the age of students, they will always enjoy having the teacher read to them.  First, it is important to choose a text that is familiar for students so they can make connections while listening.  Second, teachers need to have the ability to actually act out the characters in the reading so students can picture the story in their minds.  This activity can be carried out on a regular basis before starting class without the pressure for students of being evaluated. 

The use of Literature circles is a more formal and integrative activity.  It is a significant part of a lesson rather than a simple warm-up. In literature circles, students are given a book to read.  There are four roles that each member of the group will take alternatively.  The discussion director is the student in charge to make a list of questions about the assigned portion of reading.  He or she will help students to talk over the big ideas and share their reactions.  The Literary laminator is in charge of locating a few special sections or quotations in the text for the group to talk over. The idea is to help people go back to some especially interesting, powerful, funny, puzzling, or important sections of the reading and think. The vocabulary builder’s job is to be on the lookout for a few words that have special meaning in the reading selection. He or she should jot down puzzling or unfamiliar words while reading and look them up the definitions. Finally, the checker controls the participation of each member of the circle.  He or she will make sure that everybody has an opportunity to share. Literature circles are a great strategy to develop students’ like for reading.  They become independent learners. Their cognitive skills, critical thinking, reflection, analysis and synthesis abilities are developed as well. 

Another key strategy to develop the pleasure for reading is giving students the opportunity to choose the reading material they are interested in.  Thus, I will have students identify the genre they like the most.  It might be drama, science fiction, history, comedy, poetry, romance, myths or any other they are interested about. Before students make their choices, we will have discussions regarding outstanding authors, their biographies, fun and trivia facts.  At this point, students will be making connections that will help them to make a better book choice. This is meant to be a mid-term project.  Students will have plenty of time to finish the reading.  Additionally, they will be allowed some time before or after class for reading or make questions they might have about their individual readings. 

Evaluation of Instruction (students)

            The purpose of evaluation is to provide continuous feedback to improve instruction.  This improvement should lead teachers to make necessary accommodations for learners to achieve higher results.  In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning experiences, I have to consider two facts: a) satisfying results; b) experiences produce different outcomes. Tyler (2013) argues that in order to develop students’ interest, learning experiences should give them the occasion to explore the areas where their interests are placed into consideration and more importantly to have satisfying results from these explorations.  When students succeed in certain activities, they are more likely to develop interest in these activities.  Another important point to consider is the uniqueness of students.  A given learning experience might produce different outcomes.  “It is possible for two students to be in the same class and for them to be having two different experiences” (p.63).

Considering these two points, I think differentiation instruction strategies are great tools to evaluate students bearing in mind their individual learning styles and interests.  Thus, to evaluate the learning experiences proposed above I will use a choice board.  Students will write a book review, prepare a poster, make a graphic organizer, create a film strip, or construct a representation.  These activities are planned based on the multiple intelligences theory and intend to meet every student’s learning style.  Students have the opportunity to choose the activity they feel better at and stand out.  In doing so, the possibilities for the students to succeed and have a satisfying experience are great. As mentioned before, a satisfying experience has the power to develop students’ interest in this case: the development of the like for reading. 

Evaluation of Curriculum (program)

            Curriculum evaluation considers to what extent the objectives, content, methods, and activities are producing the desired results and how the curricular program might be improved. The process of evaluating the curriculum should address the answers to key questions concerning students, teachers, and instruction. The following questions are examples of topics that teachers, administrators, and curriculum specialists should discuss.

Key Questions	Comments
Are the goals of this subject clearly and explicitly stated?
Are those goals congruent with the national curriculum?
Is the content in accordance with the needs of the society?
Is the methodology meeting all students’ needs?
Do pupils believe that what they are learning is useful and meaningful?
Do the evaluation strategies provide valid evidence of students’ performance?
Do teachers allocate the required time to teaching?
Do teachers make necessary accommodations according with students’ needs and readiness?
Are there any unintended effects of the curriculum?

After the committee discusses the whole functioning of the curriculum, they should compare results and analyze them to determine strengths and weakness to make modifications if necessary.

Conclusion

            The educational system in Ecuador is going through a process of systematization.  The first step was the construction of a national curriculum for English language Teaching.  This curriculum determines objectives, content, methodology, and assessment.  Even though having a document that directs the teaching of English was a necessity, the current curriculum has a number of deficiencies due to the fact that it was developed by specialists with almost no experience within the classroom. 

After exploring the different models for curriculum construction, the Taba model supports the theory that the participation of experienced teachers in the development of the curriculum is essential.  Committed educators who have a deep understanding of students behaviors, needs, and interests are a very reliable source of information which can contribute to a more precise and suitable curriculum. Hence, it is proposed that EFL teachers in Ecuador are given the opportunity to take part in national discussions to evaluate the teaching and learning process and consider making modifications regarding objectives, materials, periods of class, and content.  

References

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Ministerio de Educacion. (2012). Presidencia de la Republica del Ecuador. Retrieved on July 9, 2014 from http://www.ministerioeducacion.gob.ec/

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Palma, A. M. Monografias.com. Retireived on July 9, 2014, from Historia del Sistema Educativo del Ecuador: http://www.monografias.com/

The Economist. Ecuador's education reforms. Retrieved on July 17, 2014 from http://www.economist.com/node/14258942

Tyler, R. (2013). Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. Chicago: The university of Chicago press.