Curriculum development is often difficult to define -- as such, a definition inherently depends on the framework in which it takes place. This suggests that curriculum development is a continuous process, always seeking relevance to the learning environment at hand. As such, curriculums develop and evolve over time, incorporating flexibility in both method and content.
From such a perspective, the World Agroforestry Center quotes an accurate definition of curriculum development as follows: "'Curriculum development describes all the ways in which training or teaching organization plans and guides learning. This learning can take place in groups or with individual learners. It can take place inside or outside a classroom. It can take place in an institutional setting like a school, college or training centre, or in a village or a field. It is central to the teaching and learning process.'" (Rogers and Taylor 1998)
Understanding curriculum development in such a context serves as a backdrop to understanding the three distinct emphases of the traditionalist approach and why they arose in the first place.
The content emphasis in the traditionalist approach basically provides a list of knowledge to a student that he must learn. This emphasis is very academic in nature, is rather theoretical and based upon specific disciplines such as chemistry, physics, biology or algebra. This list is most often compiled by the teacher or subject matter experts, and the teacher will implement with little or no guidance to aid learning progression.
The product emphasis focuses on what the intended learners are able to accomplish upon completion of studies. Based on systematic planning, this emphasis will assume all learners have common goals and the required resources available to aid in learning. The product emphasis places a premium on setting objectives. Needs assessment for such a curriculum is usually accumulated based on specific job skills required in a professional environment. This emphasis relies on the assumption that for any specific job, a full set of skills is readily identifiable.
The process emphasis is less structured, instead recognizing variations in social groups and individual behaviors. It acts as an intervention strategy. This emphasis places a premium on the ever-changing communication mediums between people and their environments. Rather than focusing on specific learning objectives, such a curriculum may attempt to identify learning outcomes on an individual basis, rather than all the learners.
The content and product emphasis are consider "safe" choices in traditional curriculum development. They both offer a good degree of predictability and are easier to measure learning achievement based on the developed curriculum. The process emphasis on the other hand is more open to interpretation, presenting challenges in measuring learning outcomes, but takes into account individual and group intelligences.
This does not mean, however, one emphasis is better than the other. With new findings in educational research and psychology, new learning approaches are taking center stage with the likely result of the traditional approach evolving and merging with other curriculum development approaches, or even risk cessation altogether due to its lack of flexibility.