What is Curriculum?

A variety of definitions
But I dont
work in a
classroom,
what does
curriculum
have to do
with me?


Definitions of Curriculum
Definition 1:
Curriculum is such permanent subjects as
grammar, reading, logic, rhetoric, mathematics,
and the greatest books of the Western world
that best embody essential knowledge.

Definition 2:
Curriculum is those subjects that are most
useful for living in contemporary society.
Definitions of Curriculum
Definition 3:
Curriculum is all planned learnings for which
the school is responsible.

Definition 4:
Curriculum is all the experiences learners
have under the guidance of the school.
Definitions of Curriculum
Definition 5:
Curriculum is the totality of learning
experiences provided to students so that they
can attain general skills and knowledge at a
variety of learning sites.
Definition 6:
Curriculum is what the student constructs
from working with the computer and its
various networks, such as the Internet.

Definitions of Curriculum
Definition 7:
Curriculum is the questioning of authority and
the searching for complex views of human
situations.
Definition 8:
Curriculum is all the experiences that learners
have in the course of living.
(From Marsh, C. J. & Willis, G. (2003). Curriculum: Alternative
approaches, ongoing issues. (3
rd
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill
Prentice Hall.)

What is curriculum?
Five basic definitions of curriculum
1. A plan for achieving goals
2. Dealing with learners experience
3. A system for dealing with people
4. A field of study
5. Subject matter (e.g. Math, Science,
English, etc.)
DEFINITIONS OF CURRICULUM
Curriculum experts have arrived at some
understanding as to what constitutes the term
curriculum. Tyler (1949) and Taba (1962)
stipulated four elements of curriculum.
These are:
(i) goals and objectives;
(ii) content or subject matter;
(iii) learning experiences; and
(iv) evaluation.
.


Any good curriculum must at least follow these
basic elements mentioned above if such curriculum
is to effect any change on the learners.

In our discussion of the meaning or definitions of
curriculum, our focus will be on the four basic
elements of the curriculum stated by Tyler and
Taba.

Kerr (1962) defines curriculum as
all the learning, which is planned
and guided by the school, whether it is
carried on in groups or individually
inside or outside the school.
Kerr in this definition sees curriculum as
a plan for learning, or plan for action.
Just like Kerr, Nicholls & Nicholls (1978)
sees curriculum as the opportunities
planned by teachers for pupils.



Another definition for our consideration
comes from Caswell and Campbell (1935)
who defined curriculum as
all the experiences the learners have
under the guidance of the school.

This definition limits curriculum to what is
obtainable in the school alone not minding
that learning takes place outside the school
and without the guidance of the guided
learning experiences.

Tyler (1963) defined curriculum
as all of learning of students which is
planned by and directed by the school to
attain its educational goals.

Tanner and Tanner (1975) defined curriculum
as
the planned and guided learning
experience and intended learning outcomes,
formulated through the systematic
reconstruction of knowledge and experience,
under auspices of the school for learners
continuous and willful growth in personal-
social competence.


In considering the validity of any definition of
curriculum it is very vital to bear in mind all
the four elements of curriculum that is
i. goals and objectives
ii. content or subject and subject matter
iii. learning experiences and
iv. evaluation.
Our judgment and conclusions about any
definition of curriculum should be based on
these elements.

Concepts of Curriculum

We shall discuss four prevailing conceptions of
the curriculum which are;
1. the humanistic,
2. social reconstructionist,
3. technological, and
4. academic.

The advocates of these viewpoints have
different ideas about what should be taught, to
whom, when and how.
Concepts of Curriculum

Those with a humanistic orientation hold the view
that the curriculum should provide personally
satisfying experiences for each individual.
The social reconstructionists stress societal
needs over individual needs.
Those with technological orientation view
curriculum making as a technological process for
producing whatever ends policy makers demand.
Persons with an academic orientation see
curriculum as the vehicle by which learners are
introduced to subject disciplines and organised
fields of study.

The Humanistic Curriculum

The humanistic curriculum has been described by
some critics as a gimmick, others see it as a way
to cut vandalism, deviance and boost learning of
school subjects.
Some scholars also describe it as a truly liberating
education.
The main objective of the humanistic orientation is
that the curriculum should provide personally
satisfying experiences for each individual.
This group sees curriculum as way of accelerating
human growth and promoting personal integrity.

The Social Reconstruction
Curriculum

The social reconstructionists do not buy the idea that
the curriculum should help student to adjust or fit into
the existing society.
They perceive curriculum as a vehicle for fostering
critical discontent and for equipping learners with the
skills needed for conceiving new goals and effecting
social change.
This development began in America in 1970s. One of
the protagonists, Harold Rugg (1932), emphasised
work. He wanted the learners to use newly emerging
concepts from the social sciences and aesthetics to
identify and correct social issues.
Rugg and his colleagues thus called on the school to
begin creating a new and more equitable Society.



Conception through the
Academic Subject Curriculum

It is no gain saying the fact that the heart of
schooling is curriculum and that the irreducible
element of curriculum is knowledge.
The central focus of knowledge and the chief
content or subject matter of instruction are found in
academic subjects that are basically intellectual,
such as language and literature, mathematics, the
natural sciences, history, social sciences and the
fine arts.
The aforementioned disciplines represent a range
of ways at arriving at the truth and knowledge. We
will regard knowledge as justified belief opposed
to ignorance, mere opinions or guesses.

Child-centred Curriculum

The Child-centred curriculum holds that the child
is an important individual and should be
considered first.
The curriculum in this respect should be based
on the development needs of the child taking
care of the interests of the child.
The protagonists of this school of thought hold
the belief that the child has active mind, which
has been developed and has conceived ideas
ever before it comes in contact with the teacher.
Child-centred Curriculum
- Cont.
A child like every individual has aspirations
and beliefs and hopes.
The scholars believe that the purpose of
education is to assist the child in achieving
his goals in life and there is nothing to
educate but the child.
In this sense curriculum is not expected to be
chosen by the educators for the child to learn
but has to include things that agitate the
minds of the child and enable him to realize
his aspirations, hopes and desires.

Child-centred Curriculum
- Cont.
Jean Rousseau believed that education
should be child-centred. He noted that the
child should be seen as possessing unique
characteristics of his own and so he should
be handled as such. He emphasises that the
child is good and innocent and he should be
allowed to enjoy the experience of his age.
Teaching should be suitable to the age and
ability of the children. Education should focus
on the needs and interest of children.

The Core-Curriculum

The common core-curriculum is an example of
a content-based curriculum common body of
fundamental knowledge and skills as taught to
all pupils in some countries.
The core curriculum denotes those stipulated
subjects for all pupils of given age in any
particular school.
In Nigeria the implementation committee of the
National Policy on Education recommends the
following as the core subjects for Junior
Secondary School.
Mathematics
English

The Core-Curriculum - Cont
Nigerian Language
Science
Art and Music
Moral and Religious Instruction
Physical Education
Vocational subjects
It is important that no one opts out of a
discipline or subject merely through lack of
interest.
Any similarities in Malaysia??

Hidden or Unstudied
Curriculum

Hidden or unstudied curriculum is not the
same thing as unplanned curriculum.
Hidden curriculum takes into consideration
the fact that student in school have purposes
and objectives that may not be fully
congruent with those of the school or the
teacher.
They also have their own aims and objectives
that are usually unrecognised by the teachers
who interact with the students in the
classrooms or non-classroom situation.

Relationships between curriculum,
syllabus, course and programme

Syllabus Vs Curriculum
Definition of syllabus:
This term covers the teaching learning items,
materials, equipments and the evaluation
tools.
A finished syllabus is an overall plan the
learning process.
It must specify;
what components, or learning items, must be
available, or learned by a certain time;
what is the most efficient sequence in which the
are learned;
what items can be learned simultaneously; what
items are available from the stock, and the whole
process is determined by consideration of how
long it takes to produce or learn a component or
item.
The process is under continual scrutiny by means
of stock checks, or tests and examinations.

Difference between Curriculum
and Syllabus:

Some confusion exists over the distinction
between syllabus and curriculum, since the terms
are used differently on either side of the Atlantic.
Curriculum is a very general concept, which
involves consideration of the whole complex of
philosophical, social and administrative factors,
which contribute to the planning of an educational
programme. Syllabus, on the other hand, refers the
subpart of curriculum, which is concerned with a
specification of what units will be taught.
Difference between Curriculum
and Syllabus:
The European term syllabus and its North American
counterpart curriculum often seem to be very close in
meaning and sometimes further apart, depending on
the context in which they are used.
In a distinction that is commonly drawn in Britain,
syllabus refers to the content or subject matter of an
individual subject, whereas curriculum stands for the
totality of content to be taught and aims to be realised
within one school or educational system.
In the USA curriculum tends the synonymous with
syllabus in the British sense.
Difference between curriculum
and syllabus:

Curriculum should not simply be seen as a kind of
super syllabus because there is a qualitative difference
between the two.
On the one hand, curriculum may be viewed as the
programme of activities, the course to learn by pupils
in being educated.
On the other, curriculum may be defined as all
learning, which is planned and guided by the school,
whether it is carried on in groups or individually,
inside or outside the school.
That is one school of thought regards the curriculum
as a plan, while the other views it as activities.
Allen distinguishes at least six aspects of
levels of curriculum:
1. Concept formation
2. Administrative decision making
3. Syllabus planning
4. Materials design
5. Classroom activities
6. Evaluation
Programme
Course of study: an integrated course of
academic studies; "he was admitted to a
new program at the university"

Types of Curriculum
1. Overt, explicit, or written curriculum
2. Societal curriculum (or social curricula)
3. The hidden or covert curriculum
4. The null curriculum
5. Phantom curriculum
6. Concomitant curriculum
7. Rhetorical curriculum
8. Curriculum-in-use
9. Received curriculum
10.The internal curriculum
11.The electronic curriculum
The Curriculum Field
1. Curriculum Approaches

1. Foundations of Curriculum

1. Curriculum Domains

Looking into concept of curriculum
it encompasses what we mean by
curriculum
what it involves, and
who is involved and served by the
curriculum. thus
Curriculum Approach
reflects our perceptions, values, and knowledge.
how we view schools and society
can be viewed from a technical/scientific or
nontechnical/nonscientific perspective
technical/scientific traditional theories and
models of education
nontechnical/nonscientific experimental
philosophies and politics; they tend to challenge
established, formalised ed. practices.


Curriculum Approach
1. Behavioral Approach
2. Managerial approach
3. Systems Approach
4. Academic Approach
5. Humanistic Approach
6. Reconceptualist Approach

technical/scientif
ic
nontechnical/non
scientific
Foundations of Curriculum
I. Philosophical Foundations of Curriculum
II. Historical Foundations of Curriculum
III. Social Foundations of Curriculum
IV. Psychological Foundations of Curriculum
Curriculum Domains
- Beauchamp divided curriculum knowledge
into planning, implementation and evaluation

- Edmund Short listed curriculums domains
as policy making, development, evaluation,
change, decision making, activities or field of
study, and forms and language of inquiry.


Curriculum Domains
i. Curriculum Development
- how curriculum is planned, implemented
and evaluated; what people, processes and
procedures are involved in constructing the
curriculum
ii. Curriculum Design
- refers to the way we conceptualize the
curriculum and arrange its major
components


Curriculum Domains
iii. Other Curriculum Domains
a- planned (formal) curriculum
b-unplanned (informal) curriculum
c- hidden curriculum




Tutorial 1
In your group, discuss the following;
1. In one/two sentences, define the term
curriculum
2. Differentiate the types of curricula.
3. Identify the core curriculum at your school, and
4. Explain to colleagues the characteristics of each
types of curriculum.

References
Allen, J. P. B. General-Purpose Language Teaching: A
Variable Focus Approach. ELT Documents 118. Ed.
C.J. Brumfit. Oxford: The British Council and
Pergamon Press, 1994: 61-74.
Marsh, C. J. & Willis, G. (2003). Curriculum: Alternative
approaches, ongoing issues. (3
rd
ed.). New Jersey:
Merrill Prentice Hall.
Marsh, C.J. & Willis, G. (2007). Curriculum: Alternative
Approaches, ongoing issues (4
th
Ed.). New Jersey:
Merril Prentice Hall.
Ornstein, A.C. & Hunkins, F.P. (2009). Curriculum:
Foundations, Principles, and Issues (5
th
Ed.). US:
Pearson Education, Inc.