CURRICULUM IN

SCHOOLS
Definitions of Curriculum
⚫ A clear understanding of what curriculum is
helps scholars and students in
understanding the curriculum as a dynamic
field in education. Reid (2006) opened the
people talk about, write about, legislate for,
teach courses on, and take credits in
curriculum; hence, it is important to have a
concrete explanation of what curriculum is.
This chapter explores significant pieces of
literature and theories that will help curriculum
workers, teachers, and students understand
basic concepts of curriculum, types of
curriculum, curriculum foundations, and
curriculum conceptions. In this chapter, you
should be able to:
Define curriculum;
Analyze the different types of curriculum;
Discuss the different curriculum foundations and;
Discuss different curriculum conceptions.
Curriculum as a list of subjects.
This definition suggests that
curriculum includes the permanent
or the traditional subjects offered
in the school curriculum such as
Mathematics, Language, Science,
Music, Arts, and others.
⚫ Curriculum as learning experience.
- includes students’ curricular and co-curricular
activities and the learning experiences
-includes the hidden curriculum /the school
culture
⚫ Curriculum as intended learning outcomes
-list of learning competencies or standards that
students should learn in school.

⚫ Curriculum as planned learning experiences

-includes documents specifying contents objectives,
or general ideas of what students should know in
schools or in a specific discipline.
⚫ Curriculum as a discipline
-has its own principles, theories, and practices

⚫ Curriculum as content or subject matter

-views curriculum as a series of topics under each
subject area.
Different Types of
Curriculum
Several curriculum scholars cited nine types of curriculum depending on
how curriculum is used in various institutions.
1. Ideal or recommended curriculum
-most appropriate curriculum for the learners

For example, different professional

organizations or various disciplines in
different universities may propose curriculum
innovations or alternative curriculum content
as a result of their researches.
⚫ Ideal or recommended curriculum may
also develop an alternative response to
various curricular problems and issues.
Glatthorn, Boschee, and Whitehead
(2006) noted several influences that
play the key roles in shaping the
recommended curriculum. These
influences are the professional
associations, individuals and social
trends.
2. Intended, official, or written
curriculum
-the official curriculum embodied in
approved state curriculum guides ( Glatthorn
et al. 2006)
-curriculum prescribed by the government:
DepEd, CHED, TESDA
Examples of this type of curriculum are:
⚫ The Kindergarten Curriculum Standards
⚫ The K-12 Curriculum
⚫ CHED Memorandum Order No. 20, Series of 2013 (for
general Education)
⚫ TESDA Modules and Competencies.
3. Implemented curriculum
The actual implementation of the curriculum
or what teachers in the school teach. In many
cases, teachers modify and improve their
curriculum based on the needs of the
students or whenever there are new ideas in
various disciplines that are important to teach
to the students. Academic freedom among
faculty members in college may also influence
how professors plan and implement their
courses.
4. Achieved curriculum or learned curriculum

The result of the curriculum or what

students actually learned in school
(Print 1993). The achieved curriculum
reveals whether the students learned or
whether the schools are successful in
attaining their curriculum goals and
objectives.
5. Tested Curriculum

This is a set of learning that is assessed

in teacher-made classroom test,
curriculum-referenced tests, and in
standardized tests. (Glatthorn et al.
2006)
6. Entitlement curriculum

This refers to what the people or the

general society believes learners
should expect to learn in the
educational system for them to
become good members of the
society.
7. Supported curriculum

The curriculum that is reflected on and

shaped by the resources allocated to support
or deliver the official curriculum. (Glatthorn
et al. 2006)
8. Null or censored curriculum

This refers to various curriculum

contents on topics that must not be
taught to the students. (Tanner &
Tanner 20017)
9. Hidden curriculum

Various skills, knowledge, and attitudes that

students learn in school as a result of their
interaction with other students, staff, and faculty
members. Although hidden curriculum is not
actually taught in formal classroom learning, it can
be a product of the students’ schooling.
Curriculum Foundations
⚫ Curriculum development scholars like Tyler (1949); Taba
(1962); Eisner (1985); SAYLOR, Alexander, and Lewis (1981);
Print (1993); Sowell (1996); and Tanner and Tanner (2007)
generally identified three categories of source for
curriculum foundations:

1) studies of learners and learning theory (psychology);

2) studies of life (sociology and anthropology); and
3) studies of nature and value of knowledge (philosophy).
These curriculum sources or foundations influence
curriculum developers in framing different curriculum
conceptions and in developing curriculum
 Curriculum Conceptions
McNeil (2006), Eisner (1985), and Print (1993) identified six
curriculum conceptions:
1. Academic rationalist conception – considered
as the oldest among the curriculum
conceptions.
2. Cognitive processes conception- seeks to
develop a repertoire of cognitive skills that are
applicable to a wide range of intellectual
problems.
3. Humanistic conception- stresses the idea that curriculum
or education is an instrument for developing the full
potentials of individuals.

4. Social Reconstructionist conception- views the school or

schooling as an agency for social change.
5. Technological conception- is preoccupied with the
development of means to achieve curriculum or
educational goals.

6. Eclectic conception- is where curriculum workers find

themselves aligning their ideas with two or more
curriculum conceptions.
 Elements of Curriculum
These four elements are :
1. Curriculum intent- the term used by Print (1993) to
mean the direction that curriculum developers wish to go to
as a result of participating in the curriculum. It includes:
Aims – broad statements of social or educational
expectations
Goals – more specific than the aims.
Objectives – specific learning outcomes. It includes specific
concepts, skills, and values that should be learned by the
students.
2. Content – includes the different topics to be learned or
covered in a curriculum.

3.Learning experiences – include all instructional strategies

that are useful for the implementation of the curriculum

4. Evaluation – includes the different ways and tool used for

evaluating whether or not the curriculum intent was realized.
Point of view on Curriculum
Development
⚫ From the various definitions and concepts presented,
it is clear that curriculum is a dynamic process.
Development connotes changes which are systematic.
A change for the better means any alteration,
modification or improvement of existing condition. To
produce positive changes, development should be
purposeful, planned and progressive. This is how
curriculum evolves.
Ralph Tyler Model: Four Basic Principles
These four fundamental principles are as follows:
⚫ What educational purposes should the school seek to
attain?
⚫ What educational experiences can be provided that
are likely to attain these purposes?
⚫ How can these educational experiences be effectively
organized?
⚫ How can we determine whether these purposes are
being attained or not?
 In summary, Tyler’s Model show that in curriculum
development the following considerations should be
made:

(1) Purposes of the school

(2) Educational experiences related to the purposes,
(3) Organization of the experiences, and
(4) Evaluation of the experiences.
⚫ On other hand, Hilda Taba improved on Tyler’s
Rationale by making a linear model. She
believed that teachers who teach or implement
the curriculum should participate in developing
it. Her advocacy was commonly called the
grassroots approach. She presented seven major
steps to her model where teachers could have a
major input.
These are the steps :
1. Diagnosis of learners needs and expectations of the
larger society
2. Formulation of learning objectives
3. Selection of learning content
4. Organization of learning content
Selection of learning experiences
5. Organization of learning activities
6. Determination of what to evaluate and the means of
doing it