Curriculum Types in Education

• Study notes for the teacher and the curriculum

Types of Curriculum

• Recommended Curriculum: Almost all curricula used in schools.
  • Basic Education: Department of Education (DepEd) recommendations.
  • Higher Education: Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recommendations.
  • Vocational Education: Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) recommendations.
  • These agencies oversee and regulate Philippine education.
• Written Curriculum: Documents based on the recommended curriculum.
  • Includes course of study, syllabi, modules, books, and instructional guides.
  • Teacher's lesson plan is a part of the written curriculum.
  • The K to 12 curriculum is the most current written curriculum in the Philippines.
• Taught Curriculum: Implementation of the written or planned curriculum.
  • Teachers and learners bring the written curriculum to life.
  • Teacher facilitation skills and instructional materials are essential.
  • Dependent on the teacher's teaching style and the learners' learning style.
• **Supported Curriculum: **Materials and support needed to make learning and teaching meaningful.
  • Includes print materials and non-print materials.
  • Facilities inside or outside the classroom building.
• Assessed Curriculum: Evaluates the success of teaching and learning.
  • Done during teaching and at the end of lessons.
  • Includes assessment for learning (formative), assessment as learning (self-assessment), and assessment of learning (summative).
• Learned Curriculum: Positive outcomes that indicate successful teaching and learning, measured by assessment tools, reflects cognitive, affective, and psychomotor outcomes.
  • Demonstrates higher order and critical thinking skills, and lifelong learning skills.
• Hidden Curriculum: Not deliberately planned, but has a significant effect on learner behavior.
  • Factors include peer influence, school environment, media, parental and societal pressures, cultural practices, etc.
  • Teachers need to recognize and address it.

Philosophical Foundation of Education

• Philosophy involves the fundamental study of existence, knowledge, values, reason, and reality.

  • Philo means love, and Sophia means wisdom, equating to love for wisdom.

• Philosophical foundation: Underlying beliefs shaping educational goals and learning experiences.

  • Each philosophy influences how education is structured, what knowledge is prioritized, and how students learn.
  • Modern curricula blend traditional and progressive philosophical views.

Major Philosophical Foundations of Curriculum

• Idealism:

  • Founded by Plato
  • Emphasizes ideas and values via philosophy and literature.
  • Focus on intellectual and moral development through education aimed at absolute knowledge.
    • Influences include theoretical knowledge, moral education, and teacher-centered approaches.

• Realism:

  • Founded by Aristotle. 
  • Emphasizes practical and factual knowledge over abstract concepts.
  • Knowledge is based in the physical world, thus education focuses on objective facts.
    • Influences include STEM, experiments, and standardized assessments.

• Pragmatism:

  • Founded by Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey.
  • Learning is shaped by experience, problem-solving, and social interaction.
  • Emphasizes experience, experimentation, and practical learning over fixed ideas.
    • Influences include hands-on experiences.

• Progressivism:

  • Founded by John Dewey.
  • Education centers around individuality, change, and progress.
  • Curricula focus on student needs, experiences, and interests.
  • Teachers make school interesting and useful by planning lessons to provoke curiosity.
    • Influences include student-centered learning.

• Existentialism:

  • Founded by John Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger.
  • Emphasizes individual freedom, choice, and self-expression.
  • Education focuses on personal meaning.

• Perennialism:

  • Founded by Thomas Aquinas
  • Focused on ideas and knowledge that have lasted over centuries to foster critical thinking skills.
    • Influences focus on classical literature, logic and resoning skills, and promotion of rigorous academic training.

• Essentialism:

  • Founded by William Bagley, James D. Koerner, H.G. Rickover
  • Students must learn a core body of knowledge for social success.
    • Influences are structured and discipline based curriculum, emphasis on basic skills, development of national and state curriculum standards.

• Reconstructionism:

  • Founded by Theodore Brameld and George S. Counts
  • Visionary approach that uses education to address and solve social issues.
    • Influences include social sciences, ethics, service learning, and environmental and sustainability education.

Legal Foundations of Education

• Curriculum development: Guided by laws, notably the constitution, implemented and evaluated at all levels.
• Three levels of education: elementary, secondary, and tertiary.
  • Department of Education (DepEd) has jurisdiction over public and private elementary and secondary schools.
• Major Legal Bases:
  • 1899 Constitution (Malolos Constitution): Public education should be free and obligatory across all national schools.
  • 1935 Constitution: Government maintains public education, free primary instruction, and citizenship training for adults.
  • 1987 Constitution: The state should protect citizens' right to quality and accessible education.
• Governing bodies:
  • Commission on Higher Education (CHED) - RA 7722 or Higher Education Act.
  • Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) - RA 7796 manages technical education.
  • Department of Education (DepEd) - Oversees basic education, per RA 9155.

Historical foundations of Education

• Curriculum reflects the educational focus in Philippine history, shaped by religion, politics, mass education, and excellence.
• Pre-Spanish Period: No formal education, no set curriculum, oral and practical teaching methods were used.
• Spanish Colonial Period: Education became religion-oriented with a goal to spread Christianity, it was for the elite, Spanish was the teaching language.
  • Early schools are parochial, missionaries teaching subjects, university education started in the early 17th century.
  • Educational Decree of 1863: It was a liberalization that allowed access to education to Filipinos by establishing at least one primary school.
• American Colonial Period: To spread democracy American values, and the English language they introduced a new education system.
  • Created a free public school system, English became official language and teachers trained new Filipino educators.
• Japanese Occupation: Reserved the teaching of Tagalog, Philippines history, love for work and dignity of labor, and Character Education for the Filipinos.
  • Implemented the new order to promote relations between Japan and the Philippines, and to elevate people while relinquishing materialism.
• Post War: There was a restructuring of education and schools were rebuilt to maintain American influences like English instructions.

K-12 Curriculum and Teacher Ethics

• K-12 Curriculum: It should be learner-centered, inclusive, developmentally appropriate, contextualized and global.
• Multilingual Education: flexible using a spiral progression approach.
• Teachers face legal and ethical issues.
• Guiding Principle for Teacher Personal Lifestyle: Behavior should not negatively influence student learning or teacher effectiveness.
• Teachers cannot be fired for freedom of expression if it does not interfere with the integrity of the school's program.
• Teachers can be associated with organizations as long as there is no conflict of interest.