The problem-centered curriculum is designed to focus on real-life problems, social issues, and the immediate needs, interests, and abilities of learners. Unlike subject-centered approaches, this model emphasizes the integration of knowledge across disciplines, making learning relevant and meaningful. The curriculum encourages students to actively engage with problems that they encounter in daily life, society, and their communities. It fosters critical thinking, decision-making, and practical problem-solving skills, rather than simply memorizing content.

This curriculum is particularly useful because it allows learners to see the connection between education and real-world situations, helping them apply what they learn to personal, social, and civic contexts. The content in a problem-centered curriculum is dynamic, flexible, and responsive to students’ interests and societal needs.

Two major examples of problem-centered curriculum designs are:

Life-Situations Design

The Life-Situations Design organizes curriculum content around the practical problems and situations that learners experience in their lives. This approach uses students’ past and present experiences as a starting point to examine the basic areas of living. In this model, the curriculum begins with the pressing and immediate problems of society and the students’ existing concerns.

• Origins and Philosophy: This design is influenced by Herbert Spencer’s educational philosophy, which emphasizes that education should sustain and enhance life. Spencer proposed that curriculum should focus on activities that help individuals:
  • Maintain personal health and well-being
  • Raise and nurture children effectively
  • Develop and sustain social and political relationships
  • Enhance leisure, emotional experiences, and practical skills
• Implementation: Teachers link learning content directly to real-life situations, making the curriculum highly relevant and applicable. For example, while teaching science, students may explore environmental problems in their community; in social studies, they may analyze issues related to local governance or community planning. By connecting learning to tangible problems, students develop a sense of purpose and engagement with the content.
• Benefit: The main strength of the life-situations design is that it bridges theory and practice, allowing students to understand the relevance of what they are learning and how it applies to their lives and society.

Core Design

The Core Design is another example of the problem-centered curriculum. It focuses on general education while using problems derived from common human activities as the center of learning. The central idea is that education should respond to learners’ shared needs, concerns, and interests, enabling them to develop skills that are broadly applicable.

• Origins: Popularized by Faunce and Bossing in 1959, the core design emphasizes collaborative problem-solving and experiential learning.
• Principles and Procedure: The core design follows a structured approach to problem-solving, which involves multiple stages to ensure comprehensive learning:
  1. Problem Selection: Either the teacher or the students choose a problem to study.
  2. Group Agreement: The class collectively identifies the most important problems and areas of interest.
  3. Criteria-Based Selection: Problems are selected according to established criteria to ensure relevance and feasibility.
  4. Problem Definition: Each problem is clearly stated and defined to avoid ambiguity.
  5. Area of Study Determination: Teachers and students decide on specific areas to investigate, sometimes dividing the class into smaller groups.
  6. Information Listing and Discussion: Required information is identified and discussed collaboratively.
  7. Resource Identification: Sources of information are listed and explored.
  8. Information Collection and Organization: Data is gathered systematically and organized logically.
  9. Analysis and Interpretation: Collected information is analyzed to understand underlying patterns, causes, and implications.
  10. Tentative Conclusions: Preliminary conclusions are drawn and tested for validity.
  11. Presentation of Findings: Students present their conclusions individually or in groups to the class.
  12. Evaluation and Further Exploration: Conclusions are evaluated, and new avenues for investigation or problem-solving are identified.
• Implementation: In a classroom following the core design, students actively participate in selecting problems, researching information, and discussing possible solutions. The teacher acts as a facilitator, guiding learners while allowing them the freedom to explore and analyze.
• Benefit: The core design ensures that learning is relevant, collaborative, and experience-based, encouraging learners to develop both cognitive and practical problem-solving skills. It also promotes teamwork, communication, and independent thinking.

Conclusion

The problem-centered curriculum is a progressive approach that prioritizes learning through real-world issues rather than isolated subjects. Both life-situations and core designs emphasize the integration of knowledge and practical application. By focusing on the needs, interests, and experiences of learners, this curriculum ensures that education is meaningful, engaging, and directly connected to society. Students are not just passive recipients of information; they become active participants in constructing knowledge and developing the skills necessary for life beyond school.