The curriculum design and evaluation process contain what will be taught, who will be taught, and how it will be taught. Each component affects and interacts with the other. For example, what will be taught is affected by who is being taught (e.g., their growth, maturity, and abilities) (El Sawi, 1996). In addition, the curriculum should be an advantageous tool to assist teachers in the development of students’ skills, methods, and materials necessary for them to be successful. A curriculum development is a creative and inventive part of the curriculum designing process. Therefore, developers are obliged both professionally and ethically to meet the needs of the students, and all development’ processes should be relevant to the socio-economic context and objectively foresee the future.
The curriculum development of the Sultanate of Oman is conducted over two academic years with continuous evaluation and annual reports to provide a comprehensive systematic review. In order for curriculum development to be effective and successful, the developers and the educational researchers must fulfil an annual requirement to develop the programme. The curriculum development process is based on the philosophy of education and Oman’s vision, “Oman Vision 2040”. To this end, the ministry of education seeks to keep pace with developments through the enhancement of content and teaching methods, in addition, there are many projects were initiated in order to develop the curricula and to keep pace with the continuous changes in the world.
For all curricula, there are basic components, each component related to each other and to the curriculum development process. Furthermore, it shows the interaction and relationships of the essential phases of the curriculum development process. These essential phases are including four processes: Planning, Content & Methods, Implementation, and Evaluation and Reporting. Each process has several steps or is completed in a logical sequence. These steps are not always separate and distinct but may overlap and occur concurrently (El Sawi, 1996). It should be noted that the curriculum development team is involved in all the processes and steps.
As a new curriculum is developed, it is required to be evaluated, and consequently, the next phase of the curriculum development process is curriculum evaluation. This process is based on scientific research methodology and takes place throughout one academic year. Although the methodology of curriculum evaluation is important and complex; the researcher should have been equipped with skills of empirical research, a knowledge of common curriculum elements, a knowledge of the subject matter to be taught, and furthermore adequate experience of teaching it. According to (White, 1971), “there is no single process of curriculum evaluation: there are many different forms of it. All (or most) of them can and should play a part in assessing whether a new curriculum is any good, whether it is worth adopting it. This is the ultimate point of all curriculum evaluations. A curriculum has not been positively evaluated in this full sense until it has been shown to have clear objectives and appropriate means to achieve them and to connect with the abilities of those pupils for whom it is designed”.
To summarise, the curriculum has a significant role in the effectiveness or failure of an educational programme, Hence, successful curriculum development and revision should be to meet the needs of the society, and the expectations of the future. Therefore, the curriculum development and evaluation process are occurring continuously over a period of review, revising, and constant change.
