Modeling Catholic Curriculum at Catholic University: Applying Tyler's Curriculum Development Model

Objectives The purposes of this study were to theoretically and empirically modeling Catholic Curriculum at Catholic University based on the Tyler curriculum model through the Catholic University's view of the human being, educational philosophy, educational goals, and the current state of Catholic curriculum. Methods Based on Tyler's curriculum model, the Catholic curriculum reflecting the Catholic educational ideology was modeled, and the Catholic curriculum was empirically analyzed based on the founding ideology and ideal talent of Catholic universities reflecting Catholic characteristics, and the official data of Catholic universities such as the 『Curriculum Handbook』 of each university and the lesson plans of the curriculum reflecting the Catholic spirit. Results The Catholic curriculum require understanding the needs of learners, (church) society, subjects, and spirituality when setting educational goals based on the Catholic view of humanity. In setting provisional Catholic educational goals, the educational philosophy is set as the categories of core elements: 1) fostering Catholic talents, 2) pursuing Catholic values, and 3) contributing to human development. In terms of educational goals, the core elements are organized as 1) Catholic integrated education, 2) Catholic human education, and 3) promoting Catholic inquiry. In terms of screening, it is necessary to consider why and how to teach and learn, and theology, which can examine whether it conforms to the truth, can be seen as a key characteristic in developing a Catholic curriculum. The next step after setting educational goals is to go through each step of selecting educational content that reflects Catholic characteristics, selecting educational methods, and selecting educational evaluation, and through feedback on whether it embodies Catholic identity, a Catholic curriculum can be developed and organized. Conclusions The development of a Catholic curriculum based on the Tyler model goes through the stages of setting educational goals → selecting educational content → selecting educational methods → selecting educational evaluation, and should be designed based on key elements with Catholic characteristics. Spirituality was the core of Christian understanding of human beings, and developing human spirituality could be the core characteristic of a Catholic curriculum that was different from general universities. In addition, new academic areas should be fused with psychology, philosophy, and theology to create Catholic-specific courses, and the perspective of international cooperation should also be considered when developing Catholic curricula to realize the values of internationalization and evangelization.