School Curriculum: Definition, Nature, and Scope

Module 2 Overview:

• Describes the school curriculum in terms of its definition, nature, and scope
• Provides a wider perspective for teachers about the curriculum, specifically the curriculum approach, the curriculum development process, models, and foundations

The School Curriculum: Definition, Nature, and Scope

• Curriculum is defined from different perspectives, and its nature and scope are described
• The curriculum affects all teachers, students, parents, politicians, businessmen, professionals, government officials, and even the common person
• The concept of curriculum can be fragmentary, elusive, and confusing
• The word originates from the Latin word "currere," referring to the oval track upon which Roman chariots raced

Definitions of Curriculum

• Curriculum is a planned and guided set of learning experiences and intended outcomes
• Formulated through systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experiences for the learners' continuous and willful growth in personal social competence (Daniel Tanner, 1980)
• A written document that systematically describes goals, objectives, content, learning activities, and evaluation procedures (Pratt, 1980)
• Consists of a subject's contents, concepts, tasks, planned activities, desired outcomes, experiences, cultural products, and agendas to reform society (Schubert, 1987)
• Includes all experiences that individual learners have in an educational program, which is planned with a framework and is based in theory, research, or professional practice (Hass, 1987)
• A program of activities (by teachers and pupils) designed so that pupils will attain certain educational and other schooling ends or objectives (Grundy, 1987)
• A plan consisting of learning opportunities for a specific time frame and place, which aims to bring about behavior changes in students (Goodland and Su, 1992)
• Provides answers to 3 questions: What knowledge, skills, and values are most worthwhile? Why? How should the young acquire them? (Cronbeth, 1992)

Traditional Points of View on Curriculum

• Proposed by Robert Hutchins, Arthur Bestor, and Joseph Schwab
• Robert M. Hutchins considers curriculum as "permanent studies," where basic education emphasizes grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic, and mathematics -The 3Rs (Reading, Writing, 'rithmetic) should be emphasized in basic education, while liberal education should be the emphasis in college
• Arthur Bestor believes that the school's mission is intellectual training, so the curriculum should focus on grammar, literature, and writing -Should include mathematics, science, history, and foreign languages
• Joseph Schwab thinks that the only source of curriculum is a discipline, so there are subject areas like Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, and English -Coined the word discipline as a ruling doctrine curriculum development
• Phillip Phenix asserts that curriculum should entirely consist of knowledge

Progressive Points of View on Curriculum

• Differ from subject syllabi, courses of study listings
• Defined as total learning experiences of the individual
• John Dewey believes that education is experiencing
  • Reflective thinking unifies curricular elements tested by application
• Holin Caswell and Kenn Campbell view curriculum as all experiences children have under the guidance of teachers
• Othaniel Smith, William Stanley, and Harlan Shore defined curriculum as a sequence of potential experiences set up in schools
  • Purpose of disciplining children and youth in group ways of thinking and acting
• Colin Marsh and George Willis view curriculum as all classroom experiences are planned and enacted by the teacher and learned

Approaches to School Curriculum

• Curriculum can be a content, a process, or a product to understand all perspectives

Approaching a Curriculum

• Three ways to approach: as content, as a process, or as an outcome
• First approached as content or a body of knowledge to be transmitted
• Second is to approach it as a product or the learning outcomes desired of learners
• Third is to approach it as a process or what actually happens in the classroom when the curriculum is practiced

Curriculum as Content or Body of Knowledge

• Traditionalists may equate a curriculum as a topic outline, subject matter, included in the syllabus or books
• If curriculum is equated as content, then the focus will be the body of knowledge to be transmitted to students using appropriate teaching methods
  • There can be a likelihood that teaching will be limited to the acquisition of facts, concepts, and principles of the subject matter; however, the content or subject matter can also be taken as a means to an end
• All curricula have content regardless of their design or models
• Knowledge is a result of accumulated discoveries and inventions from explorations and products of research and anchored on a body of knowledge or discipline

Presenting Content in Curriculum

• Topical approach includes knowledge and experiences
• Concept approach has fewer topics in clusters with major and sub-concepts
• Thematic approach combines concepts that develop conceptual structures
• Modular approach leads to complete units of instruction

Criteria in the Selection of Content

• Significance: contributes to ideas, concepts, principles, and generalizations and means of developing cognitive, affective or psychomotor skills of the learner
• Validity: authenticity of the subject matter; needs validity checks because knowledge becomes obsolete
• Utility: usefulness relative to the learners; related to time; used to solve current concerns as a lifelong learner or add meaning to one's life
• Learnability: complexity based on the psychological principles of learning and sequenced well
• Feasibility: contents that can be learned within the time allowed, resources available, expertise of the teachers and the nature of the learners
• Interest: contents should be meaningful to learners in present and future life

Guiding the Selection of Content in the Curriculum

• Commonly used in daily life
• Appropriate to the maturity levels and abilities of the learners
• Valuable in meeting the needs and competencies of the future career
• Related to other subject fields or discipline
• Important in the transfer of learning to other disciplines

Basic Principal of Curriculum Content

• 1952, Palma proposed the principle of BASIC as a guide in addressing CONTENT in the curriculum
• B.A.S.I.C. is an acronym for Balance, Articulation, Sequence, Integration, and Continuity
• Balance: Content should be fairly distributed and to guarantee that significant contents are covered while avoiding too much or too little of the contents
• Articulation: Smooth connections or bridging should be provided at educational levels
• Sequence: The logical arrangement from easy to complex, known to unknown, current to something in the future
• Integration: Providing relatedness or connectedness to other contents for a unified view and infused in other disciplines when possible
• Continuity: Content viewed as curriculum is continuous: as it was before, to where it is now, and where it will be in the future

Curriculum as a Process

• An interaction between the teacher, students and content for learning
• Curriculum happens in the classroom with questions from the teacher and learning activities engaged in by the students
• The process is the learning environment

Guiding Principals of Curriculum as a Process

• Strategies achieve the end
• No single best process; effectiveness depend on outcomes, learners, support, teacher
• Stimulate the learners' desire to develop all domains
• Choice of methods depends on learning styles
• Each process should result in cognitive, affective and psychomotor outcomes
• Flexibility in the process should be considered
• Teaching and learning are both important processes in implementing curriculum

Curriculum as a Product

• Viewed as the learning outcomes
• The student is equipped with the knowledge, skills and values to function effectively and efficiently with significant changes
• Expressed as the achieved learning outcomes
• Outcomes demonstrated by the person with meaningful experiences

Curriculum Development Process

• Alteration, modification, or improvement of existing conditions for positive changes
• Curriculum is "a plan for providing sets of learning
• Involves the phases of planning, designing, implementation and evaluation

Phases of Curriculum Models

• Curriculum planning includes goals
• Curriculum designing covers assessment
• Curriculum implementing puts the plan into action
• Curriculum evaluating finds the progress

Ralph Tyler Model: Four Basic Principles

• The curriculum development model emphasizes the planning phase and contains four fundamental principles
• What education purposes should schools 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?
• Considerations should be made: purposes, experiences related to purposes, organizing the experiences, evaluating

Hilda Taba Model: Grassroots Approach

• Believed that teachers should participate in developing a curriculum from the bottom
• Seven major steps to linear model:
• Diagnosis of learners' needs and expectations of the larger society
• Formulation of learning objectives
• Selection of learning contents
• Organization of learning contents
• Selection of learning experiences
• Determination of what to evaluate and the means of doing it
• Evaluation

Galen Saylor and William Alexander Curriculum Model

• Viewed curriculum as a combination of planning and providing sets of learning
• Consists of four steps: goals/objectives/domains, curriculum designing, implementation, evaluation

Foundation of Curriculum

• Anchored on historical, psychological and sociological influences with its importance acknowledged in the light of of global development

Philosophical Foundations

• Educators, teachers, educational planners and policy makers must have a philosophy about education, schooling and curriculum
• Philosophy answers questions like: What are schools for? What subjects are important? How should students learn? What methods should be used? What outcomes should be achieved? Why?
• Various school activities are influenced by a philosophy
• John Dewey influenced the learning by doing
• Fundamental subjects in the curriculum are reading, writing and arithmetic.
• Presented by Ornstein and Hunkins in 2004

Philosophies in Education

• Perennialism- To educate the rational person by having teachers that assist students (critical thinking) with a focus on a literary analysis and books
• Essentialism Aim To promote intellectual growth of learners to become competent by having teachers that are auhorities with essential skills and subjects
• Progressivism- Promote democratic social living with teachers that lead for growth and development of lifelong learners while also focusing on interdisciplinary subjects
• Reconstructionism- To improve and reconstruct society through education for change from teachers that are agents of change to focus on an educational landscape

Historical Foundations

• Began with Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956)

Bobbit's Curriculum Theories

• Started the curriculum development movement
• A science that emphasizes students; needs
• Prepares learners for adult life
• Objectives and activities should group together when tasks are clarified

Werries Charters Curriculum Theories

• Curriculum emphasizes science and students needs
• Objectives and activities should match and relate to each other

William Kilpartick’s theories

• Child centered activities with the purpose of development that plans activities and develops social relationships

Harold Rugg Theories

• The curriculum should produce outcomes through objectives learning with emhasized social studies

Hollis Caswell curriculum theories

• Interrelated Curriculum focused on learner, themes, functions, and experiences

Ralph Tyler Curriculum Theories

• Relates to instruction with matter organized by skills, aims and problem solves

Hilda Taba Curriculum Theories

• Contributed to the theoretical/pedagogical concepts within social studies

Oliva Curriculum Theories

• Cooperative change for curriculum through planners, teachers, and improvement when grouped

Psychological Foundation of Curriculum

• The psychological foundations of education address the following questions: How should curriculum be organized to enhance learning? What is the optimal level of students' participation in learning the various contents of the curriculum

Social Foundations of Curriculum

• Society as a source of change
• Schools as agents of change
• Knowledge as an agent of change