It is possible to study the curriculum of an educational institution from a number of different perspectives. In the first instance, we can look at curriculum planning, that is at decision making, in relation to identifying learners’ needs and purposes; establishing goals and objectives; selecting and grading content; organizing appropriate learning arrangements and learner groupings; selecting, adapting or developing appropriate materials, learning tasks and assessment and evaluation tools.

Alternatively, we can study the curriculum in action, as it were. This second perspective tasks us into the classroom itself. Here, we can observe the teaching/learning process and study the ways in which the intentions of the curriculum planners, which were developed during the planning phase, are put into action.

Yet another perspective relates to assessment and evaluation. From this perspective we would try and find out what students had learnt and what they had failed to learn, in relation to what had been planned. In addition we might want to find out if they had learned anything which had not been planned.