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© Proceedings of the Ruhuna Quality Assurance Sessions 2021 (RUQAS 2021)
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21 September 2021

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A Retrospect on the Curriculum Development Process of the Faculty of Humanities and Social

Sciences, University of Ruhuna

D.P.P.G. Liyanage, H.I.G.C. Kumara*, I.P. Renuka and U. Pannilage

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka

*Corresponding author: chamindakumara03@yahoo.com

Abstract

This paper describes the process of the curriculum revision process for 13 degree programmes offered
by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science of the University of Ruhuna. Firstly, it justifies the

background and rationale for embarking on an inclusive approach to revise the existing curricula. The
challenging factors identified during the curriculum development process were analysed to come up

with a comprehensive mechanism for a qualitative transformation in higher education in Humanities

and Social Sciences. Secondly, it discusses the steps taken and strategies applied from the beginning to
the final output in order to ensure that the expected objectives are achieved.

Keywords: Curriculum Development, Curriculum Development Committee, Humanities and Social

Sciences, Employability, Graduate Attributes

Introduction

This paper intends to describe the experience of the curriculum revision process undertaken from 2018

to 2020 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Ruhuna. Further, it sheds light
on how the curriculum in Humanities and Social Sciences could be revised addressing the market

needs while not compromising the core of the discipline and, as such, enlightens the "marketability" of
the discipline of Humanities and Social Sciences, setting against the dominant attitudes towards the

discipline in the society.

Background and Rationale

An effective curriculum should reflect the rationale and philosophy-based goals and objectives

(Hussain et al., 2011; Redon & Angulo 2015; Alsubaie, 2016). The curriculum development has two
broader connotations as pointed out by Angulo (1994) and Soto (2015). Firstly, it is a process of

moulding learners with essential skills and talents through shaping and reshaping the contents and the
process of instructions in the educational environment based on the experiences accrued by working

with the existing curricula. The other connotation emphasises that as a response or reaction to several
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