The Nature Of Curriculum

02ProfEd06

Session Guide At the end of this session, students are expected to:  Come up with a concrete concept of a curriculum;  Differentiate the types of curriculum  Distinguish between the term “curriculum” and other associated terminologies such as “syllabus”, “scheme of work, “course of study” and “lesson note”.  Explain the nature and importance of curriculum in various levels

Nature of Curriculum

Big Idea: The way we view curriculum reflects our approach to it.

Curriculum  Comes from the Latin word currere which means “to run” or “to run a course.”  It is a course of study, which contains a body of subject matter approved for teaching in schools

Meaning of Curriculum Prescriptive [curriculum] definitions provide us with what “ought” to happen, and they more often than not take the form of a plan, an integrated program, or some kind of expert opinion about what needs to take place in the course of study (Ellis, 2004, p. 4).

Meaning of Curriculum • Curriculum is a continuous reconstruction, moving from the child’s present experience out into that represented by the organized bodies of truth that we call studies… the various studies… are themselves experience – they are that of the race (John Dewey, 1902). • Curriculum is the entire range of experiences, both directed and undirected, concerned in unfolding the abilities of the individual (Franklin Bobbit, 1918)

Meaning of Curriculum • (The curriculum is) a succession of experiences and enterprises having a maximum lifelikeness for the learner… giving the learner that development most helpful in meeting and controlling life situations (Harold O. Rugg, 1927), • The curriculum is composed of all the experiences children have under the guidance of teachers… Thus, curriculum considered as a field of study represents no strictly limited body of content, but rather a process or procedure (Hollis Caswell, 1935 in Caswell & Campbell)

Meaning of Curriculum • [The curriculum is] all the learning experiences planned and directed by the school to attain its educational goals (Ralph Tyler, 1957) • Curriculum is a sequence of content units arranged in such a way that the learning of each unit may be accomplished as a single act, provided the capabilities described by specified prior units (in the sequence) have already been mastered by the learner (Robert Gagne, 1967)

Meaning of Curriculum • [Curriculum is] all planned learning outcomes for which the school is responsible… Curriculum refers to the desired consequences of instruction (James Popham & Eva Baker, 1970) • [Curriculum] refers to a written plan outlining what students will be taught (a course of study). Curriculum may refer to all the courses offered at a given school, or all the courses offered at a school in a particular area of study (J. L. McBrien & R. Brandt, 1997)

Meaning of Curriculum • Curriculum means the planned interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources and processes for evaluating the attainment of education objectives (Indiana Department of Education, 2010)

Meaning of Curriculum Descriptive [curriculum] definitions are “not merely in terms of how things ought to be… but how things are in real classrooms” (Ellis, 2004, p.5). It is also known as the experienced curriculum that provides “glimpses” of the curriculum in action.

Meaning of Curriculum • All the experiences children have under the guidance of teachers (Caswell & Campbell, 1935) • Those learnings each child selects, accepts and incorporates into himself to act with, on and upon, in subsequent experiences (Hopkins, 1941) • All experiences of the child for which the school accepts responsibility (Ragan, 1960) • The set of actual experiences and perceptions of the experiences that each individual learner has of his or her program of education (Hass, 1987)

Meaning of Curriculum • The reconstruction of knowledge and experience that enables the learner to grow in exercising intelligent control of subsequent knowledge and experience (Tanner & Tanner, 1995) • All student school experiences relating to the improvement of skills and strategies in thinking critically and creatively, solving problems, working collaboratively with others, communicating well, writing more effectively, reading more analytically, and conducting research to solve problems (Brown, 2006) • An emphasis on what students can do with knowledge, rather than what units of knowledge they have, is the essence of 21st century skills (Silva, 2009)

Points for Emphasis on the Definitions 1. Curriculum includes both the plans made for learning and the actual learning experiences provided. 2. The “retrievable documents” is sufficiently broad in its denotation to include curricula stored in digital form. 3. Key dimensions of actualized curriculum: as experienced by the learner and that which might be observed by a disinterested observer. 4. The experienced curriculum takes place in an environment that influences and impinges on learning – usually termed as hidden curriculum

Characteristics of Curriculum (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2018)

• It includes all the experiences of children for which the school is responsible; • It has content; • It is a system for dealing with people; • It is planned; and • It is a series of courses to be taken by students

Types of Curriculum

Big Idea: The definition of curriculum is multi-layered and highly eclectic. Studying the types of curriculum gives more holistic meaning.

Types Goodlad and associates (1979)

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Glatthorn, 1980; 2006

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Wilson, 1990

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Types of Curriculum Goodlad and associates (1979) 5 forms of curriculum planning: • Ideological curriculum – the ideal as construed by scholars and teachers – a curriculum of ideas intended to reflect funded knowledge. • Formal curriculum – is that officially approved by state and local school boards – the sanctioned curriculum that represents society’s interest.

Types of Curriculum Goodlad and associates (1979) 5 forms of curriculum planning: • Perceived curriculum – is the curriculum of the mind – what teachers, parents and others think the curriculum to be • Operational curriculum – is the observed curriculum of what actually goes on hour after hour in the classroom • Experiential curriculum – is what the learners actually experience

Types of Curriculum (Glatthorn, 1980; 2006) Recommended Curriculum – are typically formulated at a rather high level of generality; they are most often presented as policy recommendations, lists of goals, suggested graduation requirements, and general recommendations about the content and sequence of a field of study. It is recommended by the individual scholars, professional associations, and reform commissions.

Types of Curriculum (Glatthorn, 1980; 2006) Written Curriculum – it is intended primarily to ensure that the educational goals of the system are being accomplished; it is a curriculum of control. It indicates a rationale that supports the curriculum, the general goals to be accomplished, the specific objectives to be mastered, the sequence in which those objectives should be studied, and the kinds of learning activities that should be used

Types of Curriculum (Glatthorn, 1980; 2006) Supported Curriculum – the curriculum as reflected and shaped by the resources allocated to a given subject at a particular level of schooling, the time allocated by the classroom teacher within that overall subject allocation to particular aspects of the curriculum; personnel allocations as reflected in and resulting from class-size decisions; and the textbooks and other learning materials provided for use in the classroom.

Types of Curriculum (Glatthorn, 1980; 2006) Taught Curriculum – is the delivered curriculum, a curriculum that an observer sees in action as the teacher teaches. Tested/ Assessed Curriculum – set of learning that is assessed in teacher-made classroom tests; in districtdeveloped, curriculum-referenced tests; and in standardized tests

Types of Curriculum (Glatthorn, 1980; 2006) Learned Curriculum – all the changes in values, perceptions, and behavior that occur as a result of school experiences. It includes what the student understands, learns, and retains from both the intentional curriculum and the hidden curriculum Hidden Curriculum – which by and large is not a product of conscious or intentional curriculum

Types of Curriculum (Wilson, 1990) 1. Overt, explicit or written curriculum – written as part of formal instruction of schooling experiences. It may refer to curriculum document, texts, films and supportive teaching materials that are overtly chosen to support the intentional instructional agenda of a school. Thus, it is usually confined to those written understandings and directions formally designated and reviewed by administrators curriculum directors and teachers, often collectively.

Types of Curriculum (Wilson, 1990) 2. Societal/ Social Curriculum – the massive, ongoing, informal curriculum of family, peer groups, neighborhood, churches, organizations, occupations, mass media, and other socializing forces that “educate” all of us throughout our lives (Cortes, 1981). It can now be expanded to include the powerful effects of social media and how it actively helps create new perspectives, and can help shape both individual and public opinion.

Types of Curriculum (Wilson, 1990) 3. Hidden or Covert Curriculum – implied by the structure and nature of schools, much of what revolves around daily or established routines. It may include both positive or negative messages, depending on the models provided and the perspectives of the learner or the observer.

Types of Curriculum (Wilson, 1990) 4. Null Curriculum – that which we do not teach, thus giving students the message that these elements are not important in their educational experiences or in our society.

Types of Curriculum (Wilson, 1990) 5. Phantom Curriculum – the messages prevalent in and through exposure to any type of media. These components and messages play a major part in the enculturation of students into the predominant metaculture, or in acculturating students into narrower or generational subcultures.

Types of Curriculum (Wilson, 1990) 6. Concomittant Curriculum – What is taught, or emphasized at home, or those experiences that are part of a family’s experiences, or related experiences sanctioned by the family. This type of curriculum may be received at church, in the context of religious expression, lessons on values, ethics or morals, molded behaviors, or social experiences based on the family’s preferences.

Types of Curriculum (Wilson, 1990) 7. Rhetorical Curriculum – Elements from this curriculum are comprised from ideas offered by policymakers, school officials, administrators or politicians. This curriculum may also come from those professionals involved in concept formation and content changes; or from those educational initiatives resulting from decisions based on national and state reports, public speeches, or from texts critiquing outdated educational practices. It may also come from the publicized works offering updates in pedagogical knowledge.

Types of Curriculum (Wilson, 1990) 8. Curriculum-In-Use – the formal curriculum (written or overt) comprises those things in textbooks, and content and concepts in the curriculum guides. However, those “formal” elements are frequently not taught. The curriculum-in-use is the actual curriculum that is delivered and presented by each teacher. 9. Received Curriculum – Those things that students actually take out of classrooms; those concepts and content that are truly learned and remembered.

Types of Curriculum (Wilson, 1990) 10. Internal Curriculum – Processes, content, knowledge combined with the experiences and realities of the learner to create new knowledge. While educators should be aware of this curriculum, they have little control over the internal curriculum since it is unique to each student. Educators can explore this curricula by using instructional assessments like “exit slips”, reflective exercises, or debriefing discussions to see what students really remember from a lesson.

Types of Curriculum (Wilson, 1990) 11. Electronic Curriculum – It may either be formal or informal, and inherent lessons may be overt or covert, good or bad, correct or incorrect depending on ones’ views. Students who use the internet on a regular basis, both for recreational purposes and for personal online research and information gathering are bombarded with all types of media and messages. It is part of the overt curriculum needs to include lessons on how to be wise consumers of information, how to critically appraise the accuracy and correctness of e-information, as well as how to determine the reliability of electronic resources.

Curriculum and Related Terms

Big Idea: Distinctions between terms and concepts are important to better define the curriculum.

Related Concepts and Terms Syllabus – part of a curriculum. It is the content of the school subjects offered in the school and a sub-set of the curriculum.  It normally contains what students will learn in the various school subjects in a year leading to certification. It is a long term plan of work for students and normally prepared by the classroom teachers.

Related Concepts and Terms Scheme of Work – it is a breakdown of contents of what students are expected to learn in a given period. It is the systematic arrangement of subject matter and activities within a given time period.  It is a guide in planning what is to be done per week over a term in an academic year.

Related Concepts and Terms Course of Study – It refers mainly to a program of learning that are offered to students -with various course contents- at the end of which they are awarded a certificate indicating the type of course of study they had undergone.

Related Concepts and Terms Lesson Note – (lesson plan) is a guide for teachers to assist them in the orderly presentation of a lesson to the learners in order to facilitate learning.  It is an important aspect of curriculum implementation, especially the program of learning component of the curriculum

Levels of Curriculum

Big Idea: There are different perceptions of the curriculum in various levels. It is important to recognize perspectives.

Levels of Curriculum Societal - the farthest from the learners since this is where the public stakeholders (politicians, special interest groups, administrators, professional specialists) participate in identifying goals, the topics to be studied, time to be spent in teaching/ learning, and materials to aid instruction.

Levels of Curriculum Institutional - refers to the curriculum derived from the societal level, with modification by local educators or lay people; often organized according to subjects and includes topics and themes to be studied; may also include standards, philosophies, lesson plans and teaching guides.

Levels of Curriculum Instructional - refers to how teachers use the curriculum developed in the societal level and modified in the institutional level, or what authorities have determined; involves the teachers’ instructional strategies, styles and materials used.

Levels of Curriculum Experiential - the curriculum perceived and experienced by each student and may, therefore includes both curriculum processes (procedures in creating, using and evaluating the curricula) and curriculum product or projects, resulting from curriculum development processes; includes curriculum guides, courses of study, syllabi, resource units and other document that deal with content of schooling.