Exploring the Capabilities of Analytic Network Process in Curriculum-Related Decisions-making Studies

Curriculum development and design of learning systems have become a sophisticated process due to diverse set of learning needs and differences in learners' interests, contents, teaching-learning approaches and the impact of political, social and economic factors, and, hence, decision-making about this complex process and its related factors must be done scientifically. Therefore, choosing the effective approaches that lead us to make appropriate decisions is of paramount importance. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of Analytic Network Process in decision making for the curriculum development based on philosophical method. In this paper, multi-criteria decision-making techniques, and differences between the Analytic Hierarchy Process with Analytic Network Process were analyzed. Then, the nature of the curriculum design and the complexity of decision-making in this field were discussed, and its correlation with new methods was analyzed. The findings indicated the efficiency of the Analytic Network Process in managing the challenges of curriculum implementation, recognizing the influential and complex factors in curriculum development, developing futuristic outlook toward curriculum changes, and analyzing the educational needs which are beneficial for researchers and curriculum planners.