Negotiating Quality in Curriculum Development – A Process of Finding a Compromise for Different Stakeholder Agendas

Abstract

The research article reports on curriculum quality for an ODL setting in the context of a digital era, from a perspective of a broader educational stakeholder environment. The literature research paper ask the question with regards to divergent, dynamic and sometimes conflicting perspectives and agendas of different stakeholders in the broader education spectrum in an ODL setting. The research paper establishes a thought pattern in searching for the best answer or a compromise with regard to stakeholder agendas by illustrating and engaging in an applicable thought pattern on how evaluation and adjustment operate in an ODL curriculum model. The article asks and addresses specific issues about what is so special about ODL and therefore the value of stakeholder agenda and perspectives in curriculum development. The article assumes that there is a natural sequence in which to work in curriculum development and therefore identifies the research questions that has not been addressed sufficiently in literature with regard to the inter-connectedness and alignment of the components of curriculum development. Going through this analysis, the research will allude to the stakeholder agendas and therefore address the specific areas of compromise in curriculum development. The research adopts a qualitative case study research method.