SOCIAL EFFICIENCY
IDEOLOGY
A SCIENTIFIC TECHNIQUE OF
CURRICULUM MAKING
Created by Franklin Bobbit (1913) who based his
curriculum ideology on the scientific techniques
or production developed and used by industry.
 “The curriculum will then be that series of
experiences which children and youth must have
by way of attaining those objectives… that series
of things which children and youth must do and
experience by way of developing abilities to do
that things well that make up the affairs of adult
life.”
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BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM AND
INSTRUCTION (RALPH TYLER, 1949)
What educational purposes should the school
seek to attain? – goals, objectives
 What educational experiences can be provided
that are likely to attain these purposes? – means
to achieve objectives
 How can these educational experiences be
effectively organized? – effective organization =
efficiency
 How can we determine whether these purposes
are being attained? – evaluation, assessment
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PROGRAMMED CURRICULUM AND THE
BEHAVIORAL ENGINEER
Programmed curriculum – carefully sequenced
set of learning experiences, each representing a
behavior to be learned. “… gradually leading the
learner from incompetence to competence.”
 Behavioral Engineer – views teaching as a
process of shaping learners’ behavior through the
use of rewards or reinforcements (Pavlov’s Dog?).
A specific stimulus results in the desired
response.
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UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS
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Learning consists of a change in behavior. The new
behavior being response to stimuli that would not
have otherwise taken place.
Learning takes place only as a result of practice.
People learn by constructing in their brains the
connections so that they automatically respond to
stimuli (executive function?).
Learning consists of acquiring specific responses to
particular stimuli rather than general response to
vague stimuli.
Learners acquire complex behaviors by first acquiring
a simple behavior and then building upon it
(constructivism?).
All aspects of learning can be accomplished via this
ideology. (Only is analysis is not needed…).
BEHAVIORAL ENGINEERING
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Obtain educational purposes for the curricular.
Programs designed for clients (society, parent,
teachers, school, workplace)
Analysis of the education purpose to determine a
sequence of specific behavioral objectives (one
stimulus/response contingency for each) to move from
incompetent to competent (learning hierarchy).
Creation of the learning experiences (student
activities that contain stimuli to elicit the desired
response).
Organize the learning experience (linear sequence).
Design an assessment tool for each learning
experience.
ANALOGY
Bobbitt compared the school to a factory.
 Child = raw material; Adult = finished product;
Teacher = factory worker.
 The curriculum is whatever processing the child
needs to become the desired adult.
 The curriculum developed is the researcher who
determines what is needed in the finish product
and the most efficient way of producing it.
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SOCIAL ORIENTATION & TERMINAL
OBJECTIVES
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Education as a social
process that recivilizes each
generation.
Childhood is viewed as
preparation for adulthood.
Aim of education is to
maintain society and to
prepare the individual for a
meaningful life in society.
Goal is to develop a future
society superior to the
current one.
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Must be stated in
behavioral terms that
indicate observable
behaviors, action
capabilities, actions, skills,
or cognitive processes.
Must be specific and
particular. Not vague, like
“good citizen”, but
specifically what are the
specific features of a “good
citizen”.
Student must be able to do
something to or with
something (Bloom).
The form of curriculum
objectives is more important
than the content.
PROGRESSIVE STAGES TO TERMINAL
OBJECTIVE
Franklin Bobbitt
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Determine the finite set of
tasks to be completed
which will result in the
finished job.
Each task is analyzed to
find most efficient way of
accomplishing it.
Flow chart detailing
delineating the manner,
time, standards and
sequence for each task.
Robert Gagne
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Pyramid of prerequisite
objectives.
What must the learner
already know how to do in
order to achieve this
performance, assuming
that he is to be given only
instructions?
Atomism – the breaking
down of a complex
behavior into its smallest
unitary actions.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT/ORIGINS
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Social Reform –needs of society highest priority and
society as the sanctioning body in which individuals
take meaning.
Utilitarian Education – making schools useful and
relevant to the life of individuals and the nation;
based in agricultural education, manual training,
industrial education, trade school and vocational
education.
Behavioral Psychology – “real competence only comes
with extensive practice”.
Scientific Methodology – use of statistics, accurate
measurement, task analysis, efficiency engineering,
and industrial management.
Transition of terminal objectives from satisfying
social needs to improving student academic
performance (NCLB/Accountability Movement).
KNOWLEDGE
Nature – ability to act is more important that the
ability to be informed. Correct behavior
emphasized over correct information.
 Objective reality – behavior that cannot be
observed or measure is not dealt with.
 The value of knowledge is based in its ability to
satisfy needs in the objective world. What are
the consequences for the person who possesses
knowledge and the society in which they
function.
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LEARNING
Learning = a change in behavior
 Emphasis on the stimuli that cause the learner to
change, not on the learner. Not impacted by
information processing and cognitive psychology.
 Assumptions about learning: active process,
requires practice, influenced by feedback,
automatic response to specific stimuli, learning is
atomistic – total learning is composed of
summative accumulation of specific learnings –
prerequisites, not all learning is of the same
complexity.
 Readiness – function of the absence or presence
of necessary prerequisites; not age dependent.
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THE CHILD, TEACHING, CONSEQUENCES
Children are meaningful only because they
become adults that will contribute to society.
Focus primarily on societal needs, secondarily on
individual needs. Children are viewed as
workers, they provide the energy to progress
through educational materials/tasks.
 Teachers are the managers of the conditions of
learning. They prepare the environment, engage
the students, and supervise their work.
 Consequences: Teachers are managers,
implementing the curriculum. With no teacher
input on curriculum, “quality control” is assured.
The objective is efficiency, greatest change in
student behavior in the shortest period of time.
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EVALUATION
Accountable to clients; curriculum developers and
teachers are assessed to prove that client needs
are being satisfied.
 Evaluation used to prove reproducibility, validity,
reliability, and proof. (scientific)
 Constant monitoring is needed to ensure that
students learn in sequence .
 Evaluation and feedback to learners helps them
to adjust their behavior (ditto teachers, schools,
etc.)
 Maintenance of standards – students, teachers,
school systems.
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CONCLUSION
Practical influence on American Education.
 Late 19th – early 20th century with the rise of
utilitarian education.
 1920’s influence on school administration via
adoption of “scientific” methods of assessment
and research.
 1940-1980 – social efficiency influenced the
majority of educators.
 Late 20th century – renewed influence with its
views on accountability, efficiency, and NCLB.
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