Tyler’s Rationale- Week 2

The Tyler Rationale is basically the idea that when it comes to education, the outcomes are more important than the progress. He has very structured objectives that he suggest every educator must ask themselves when creating a curriculum

1. What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?
3. How can educational experiences be effectively organized?
4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?

His approach insisted that children learn and demonstrate good behavior as part of becoming a better student; “as (Tyler 1949) wrote education is a process of changing the behavior of people” (Schiro, 2013 pg 58). The article also mentions his emphasize organizational skills and standardized testing.

During grade school I somewhat remember the Tyler Rationale throughout my classes in a sense of everyone was expected to maintain certain educational goals solely by the way it was taught. There were never discussions or accommodations for those who may have needed it. We were always tested on what were expected to know and unfortunately some students test much better than others. Everything was organized from subjects, to topics and we would often start at the beginning of the text book and work our way through to the end. I would say it was very traditional and factory like; “education is a shaping process as much as the manufacture of steel rails; the personality is to be shaped and fashioned into desirable forms. (Schiro, 2013 pg 67)

 

What are the major limitations of the Tyler rationale/what does it make impossible?

I would say some limitations of the Tyler Rationale is that it isn’t necessarily accommodating for students with diverse needs or abilities to have other ways of learning and achieving educational goals. There is no such thing as one shoe fits all. Also, I would say that this Rationale may lack some creativity or imagination which could allow for more memorable and impacting learning experiences than just basic guidelines. Next, I would have to say that standardized testing isn’t always an accurate representation of a student’s abilities. Many students learn in different ways and are able to convey that knowledge in more than one way as well. Very often standardized testing is very intimidating and discouraging which can cause students to feel overly nervous and stressed. Lastly, as a future teacher I think that Tyler’s Rationale may imply that teachers must follow particular curriculums without flexibility or innovation. This could prevent teachers from adapting the curriculum in order to teach their students to the best of their abilities and allow them to shape and form some of their own ideas.

 

What are some potential benefits/what is made possible?

I would say maybe a benefit would be that it offers structure for those who may need or like it and it does demonstrate good organizational skills. Since it seems to be such a factory model maybe it will help prepare students for a factory day job?

 

Schiro, Michael (2013). Curriculum theory: Conflicting visions and enduring concerns, (2^nd Ed). SAGE.