A Systems Approach to Curriculum Definition for Craft/Clerical and Management Training

A need was identified to define a curriculum for Bell System management, technical, craft, and clerical personnel in the Network Operations Division. Traditional curriculum development efforts are geared to educational needs and philosophies rather than to providing a framework for training personnel to perform defined jobs. Instructional System Development (ISD) approaches are directed to developing training which satisfies job performance requirements. However, since they focus on producing courses, they usually provide less information about functional requirements and more information about detailed job requirements than is needed to build a curriculum. A modified systems/task analysis curriculum development approach which is more efficient than the ISD process is presented. The curriculum requirements, developmental methodology, and preliminary outcomes of the effort are discussed.