04 HPGD1103 T1 PDF - What is Curriculum?

Topic 1 What is Curriculum? By the end of this topic, you should be able to do the following: 1. Define curriculum. 2. Compare the various definitions of curriculum proposed by different scholars. 3. Explain what i...

Topic 1 What is Curriculum? By the end of this topic, you should be able to do the following: 1. Define curriculum. 2. Compare the various definitions of curriculum proposed by different scholars. 3. Explain what is hidden curriculum. 4. Differentiate between the three approaches to the curriculum. 5. Identify the foundations of the curriculum. 6. Discuss the connection between curriculum and instruction. 7. Describe the curriculum development process. 8. Argue whether the curriculum is a discipline. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 2 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? You would have probably come across these headlines in Malaysian newspapers (refer to Figure 1.1). Figure 1.1: Headlines in Malaysian Newspapers These headlines indicate societyÊs concern with what is going on in schools, particularly the curriculum. It should be remembered that a curriculum is a contract between society and those in power stating how the next generation of young people will be educated. Hence, the general public has the right to question how schools prepare the next generation of citizens. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)  TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 3 As the society becomes more educated, more members are keen to express their views on various issues regarding what schools do and what is taught in schools. Sometimes it is tempting to ask whether society ever comes to a consensus on what it wants schools to do. Some population demand that schools teach mastery of a discipline in terms of facts, concepts, and principles. In contrast, others call for reducing content and instead emphasise on developing critical and creative thinking. Still, others feel that schools are not paying enough attention towards developing studentsÊ character. It appears that society is confused, not knowing what it wants of its schools. However, what may be defined as confusion is dynamism in reality because curriculum reflects our values, choices, and perspectives in differing contexts. As society changes, so will the curriculum because it reflects society at a particular time. For example, during colonial times, education in Malaysia was confined to producing clerks and office assistants for the English administrative system. Whether we consider curriculum as a list of subjects taught in schools or all learning experiences acquired in school, there is no denying that curriculum affects everyone. The curriculum concerns everyone, whether teachers, academics, students, parents, politicians, business people, professionals, government officials or the person on the street. ACTIVITY 1.1 1. Choose any three headlines listed earlier in Figure 1.1. Why are the issues important? 2. Locate and report other concerns about the curriculum that you have come across. Discuss these questions with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 4 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 1.1 DEFINITIONS OF CURRICULUM Like most things in education, there is no agreed-upon definition of „curriculum‰. The word originates from the Latin word currere, referring to the lap or course around the track where Roman chariot race was held (refer to Figure 1.2). Figure 1.2: Rome Chariot Race Source: https://bit.ly/3YHUaVM The New International Dictionary defines curriculum as: The whole body of a course in an educational institution or by a department. In contrast, The Oxford English Dictionary defines curriculum as: Courses taught in schools or universities. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)  TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 5 Curriculum means different things to different people. Most people, including educators, equate curriculum with the syllabus (Do you agree? ), while a few regard curriculum as all the teaching-learning experiences a student encounters in school. Since the early 20th century, when Franklin Bobbitt, dubbed the Father of Curriculum, wrote his book The Curriculum in 1918, various theoreticians and practitioners have proposed various definitions of curriculum (refer to Table 1.1). Table 1.1: Definitions of Curriculum Theoretician Definition Tanner „The planned and guided learning experiences and intended (1980) outcomes, formulated through the systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experiences under the auspices of the school, for the learnersÊ continuous and wilful growth in personal social competence.‰ (p. 13). Schubert The contents of a subject, concepts, and tasks to be acquired, (1987) planned activities, the desired learning outcomes and experiences, the product of culture and an agenda to reform society. Pratt A written document that systematically describes planned goals, (1980) objectives, content, learning activities, evaluation procedures, etc. Goodlad and Su A plan consisting of learning opportunities for a specific time (1992) and place. This plan aims to bring about behaviour changes in students as a result of planned activities and includes all learning experiences received by students with the schoolÊs guidance. Cronbleth Answering three questions: What knowledge, skills and values (1992) are most worthwhile? Why are they most worthwhile? How should the young acquire them? Grundy A programme of activities (by teachers and pupils) designed, (1987) so pupils attain certain educational and other schooling ends or objectives as far as possible. Ornstein „All of the experiences that individual learners have in a program (1987) of education. The purpose of the curriculum is to achieve broad goals and specific objectives. It is planned based on a framework of theory and research or past and present professional practice‰ (p. 5). Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 6 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? Figure 1.3 shows a summary of various curriculum interpretations. LetÊs find out together. Figure 1.3: A Summary of Various Curriculum Interpretations Source: Oliva & Gordon (2012) Are you confused with the different curriculum interpretations? Well, donÊt be! It is not necessarily a bad thing to have numerous definitions of curriculum. The variety of definitions demonstrates the fieldÊs dynamism. This variety exists because it reflects the philosophical beliefs, conceptions of human learning, pedagogical strategies, political experiences and cultural and societal background of the planned curriculum (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998). Though much time may be spent on defining curriculum, it may be well spent because it encourages exploring many possibilities. One should be aware that if a curriculum is too narrowly defined, there is the tendency and likelihood to omit, ignore or miss relevant factors related to teaching and learning because they are not part of the written plan. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)  TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 7 On the other hand, it would not be easy to implement if they are too broadly defined because they may be open to different interpretations. These diverse definitions will make evaluating the achievement of the goals and objectives of the programme more difficult. Despite varying definitions of curriculum, there seems to be a consensus that it is a statement of: what students should know (knowledge or content); what students should be able to do (skills); how it is taught (instruction); how it is measured (assessment); and how the educational system is organised (context). Thus, the curriculum is a structured plan of intended learning outcomes involving knowledge, skills, behaviour, and associated learning experiences organised as a sequence of events a student acquired through education and training. How we conceive the curriculum is important because our conceptions and ways of reasoning about curriculum reflect how we think, study, and act on the education made available to students. In short, how we define the curriculum reflects our assumptions about the world (Cornbleth, 1990). SELF-CHECK 1.1 1. Identify the FIVE common features of a curriculum mentioned in most of the definitions given by scholars in the field (excluding Oliva & Gordon, 2012). 2. Select SIX interpretations of the curriculum summarised by Oliva and Gordon (2012) which you think gives a comprehensive definition of curriculum. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 8 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 1.2 THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM You may have heard of the phrase „hidden curriculum‰. What is it? The phrase hidden curriculum was coined by the sociologist Philip Jackson in his book Life in Classrooms, written in 1968. He drew attention to the idea that schools did more than transmit knowledge from one generation to another. Students learn things that are not taught in the formal curriculum. It could be viewed as the entire range of educational experiences promoted by schools and teachers through practices that are not necessarily written down. Doll (1992) pointed out that „every school has a planned, formally acknowledged curriculum, but there is also an unplanned informal and hidden one that must be considered ‰ (p. 5). The planned, formal curriculum focuses on goals, objectives, subject matter, and organisation of instruction. The unplanned, informal curriculum deals with socio-psychological interaction among students, teachers, and administrators, especially regarding their feelings, attitudes, and behaviours. Suppose we only consider the planned curriculum as the official curriculum stated in a written document. In that case, we ignore the planned curriculumÊs numerous positive and negative consequences. Often, we fail to realise the power of the hidden curriculum, which may not be written but will certainly be learned by students. For example, they learn even without being formally taught: about „the rules of the game‰ in the school canteen, playground, corridors of the school and so forth; the specific relationships between senior and junior students, between male and female students, cliques of students; how an order is created and maintained in the classroom, the way individual teachers interpret the behaviour of students; and the way teachers and principals or headteachers have different expectations of students based on interpretations of behaviour in class. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)  TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 9 The hidden curriculum involves learning. This curriculum includes how to respond to and cope with authority. It also teaches students how to get on with others, pass the time, deal with boredom, establish priorities, and conform to teachersÊ and peersÊ expectations. SELF-CHECK 1.2 1. What is the hidden curriculum? 2. Why is the hidden curriculum important in education? ACTIVITY 1.2 Give examples of the hidden curriculum other than those stated in the text. Share your answer with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 10 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 1.3 CURRICULUM APPROACHES Suppose you examine the definitions provided by experts in the field. In that case, there are three ways of approaching a curriculum (refer to Figure 1.4). Figure 1.4: Approaches to Curriculum The first is approaching it as content or a body of knowledge to be transmitted. The second is approaching it as a product or the desired learning outcomes. The third is approaching it as a process or what happens in the classroom when the curriculum is practised. 1.3.1 Curriculum as Content It is common for people to equate a curriculum with the syllabus, which is a concise document listing the topics of a subject. You will be familiar with such documents if you have experience preparing students for national examinations. What do they contain? It is a list of topics, concepts to be mastered, and suggestions on how the topics are taught. For example, a primary school mathematics curriculum will consist of topics on addition, multiplication, subtraction, division, distance, weight and so forth. A syllabus will not generally indicate the relative importance of the topics or the order in which they are to be studied. But, there is a tendency for teachers to follow the sequence prescribed in the syllabus. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)  TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 11 In most cases, teachers follow the logical structure of selected textbooks because the textbooks have been written to match the syllabus closely, for example, in geography subjects in secondary school. The subjects involve the study of countries or regions. The textbooks begin with physical geographies, such as relief, climate and vegetation, followed by economic activities, such as agriculture, mining, industries, urbanisation, etc. Suppose one adopts the content approach to a curriculum. In that case, the focus will be on the syllabus, and the body of knowledge to be transmitted or „delivered‰ to students using appropriate teaching methods. When curriculum is equated with content, there is the likelihood of limiting instruction to acquiring facts, concepts, and principles of the subject matter transmitted. SELF-CHECK 1.3 1. What do you mean when curriculum is approached as content ? 2. Why is it a common approach of viewing curriculum? 1.3.2 Curriculum as Product Besides viewing curriculum as content to be transmitted, it has also been viewed as a product. In other words, what is desired of students having been taught using a curriculum? Bobbitt (2013), in his book The Curriculum, stated that: Human life, however varied, consists of the performance of specific activities. Education that prepares for life prepares definitely and adequately for these specific activities. However numerous and diverse they may be for any social class, they can be discovered. This aim requires only one to go out into the world of affairs and discover the particulars of their affairs. Further, it will show the abilities, attitudes, habits, appreciations and forms of knowledge that men need. These will be the objectives of the curriculum. They will be numerous, definite and particularised. The curriculum will then be that series of experiences that children and youth must have by way of obtaining those objectives (p. 42). Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 12 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? According to Bobbitt (2013), education should prepare people for life with detailed attention to what people need to know to work and live. Go out into the world and see for yourselves what society needs „the abilities, attitudes, habits, appreciations and forms of knowledge that men [women] need‰. The curriculum should not result from armchair speculation but from a systematic study of society. The product of the curriculum is a student equipped with the knowledge, skills and values to function effectively and efficiently. Ralph Tyler (1949) shares BobbittÊs approach to curriculum. He said that the real purpose of education is to bring about significant changes in studentsÊ patterns of behaviour. We will examine TylerÊs view in more detail in Topic 5. Any statement of objectives of the school must be a statement of changes to take place in the students. This way of approaching curriculum is attractive because it is systematic and has considerable organising power. Central to the approach is the formulation of behavioural objectives, which provide a clear notion of outcomes or desired products so that content and teaching methods may be organised and the results evaluated. When learning, things have to be broken down into smaller and smaller units „numerous, definite and particularise ⁄ series of experiences which children and youth must have ‰ (Bobbitt, 2013). As many of you will have experienced, the result can be long lists of often trivial skills or competencies. These skills can lead you to focus on the parts rather than the whole. It focuses on the trivial rather than the significant. It can lead to an approach to education and assessment, which resembles a shopping list. When all the items are ticked, the person has passed the course or has learned something. The role of overall judgment is somehow sidelined. SELF-CHECK 1.4 1. How is curriculum as a product different from the curriculum as content? 2. According to Bobbitt (2013), what should be the overall purpose of a curriculum? 3. How are these objectives to be derived? Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)  TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 13 ACTIVITY 1.3 Criticisms of the „Curriculum as Product‰ Approach There are a number of disagreements with the curriculum as product approach. The first is that the curriculum can become too technical and sequential. The tendency is for the curriculum to exist prior to and outside the learning experiences which takes much away from learners and end up with little or no voice. They are told what they must learn and how they will do it. The success or failure of a curriculum is judged on the basis of whether pre-specified changes occur in the behaviour of learners. If the curriculum is closely followed it might limit creativity and turn educators into technicians. Also, since the approach emphasises measurability, it implies that behaviour can be objectively and mechanistically measured. There are obvious dangers here; there always has to be some uncertainty about what is being measured. It is often very difficult to judge what the impact of particular experiences has been. Sometimes years after the event, only then will we come to appreciate what has happened. Source: Smith, M. K. (1996, 2000). Curriculum theory and practice, The Encyclopaedia of Informal Education. www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm (a) To what extent do you agree with the criticisms of the curriculum as product approach? (b) What are some advantages of this approach? Discuss these questions with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 14 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 1.3.3 Curriculum as Process We have seen that the curriculum as content approach emphasises the content to be transmitted. In contrast, the curriculum as a product approach focuses on setting instructional or behavioural objectives. Another way of looking at curriculum is via a process. Here, the curriculum is not seen as physical but rather as the interaction of teachers, students, and knowledge. It is what happens in the classroom, such as the questions asked by the teacher, the learning activities students engage in and so forth. It is an active process emphasising the context in which the processes occur. Stenhouse (1975) used the analogy of a recipe in a cookbook which teachers translate into practice in the classroom. Like a recipe, it can be varied according to taste; so can a curriculum. According to the process, the approach curriculum is seen as a scheme for the practice of teaching. It is not a package of materials or a content syllabus to be covered. The classroom can be regarded as a laboratory, where the teacher is like a „scientist‰ who tests the ideas stated in the curriculum. The teacher translates an educational idea into a hypothesis tested in the classroom. It involves critical testing rather than acceptance. The focus is on finding out those processes which enhance (if it is successful) or hinder (if it goes wrong) a personÊs learning. So, the curriculum is not a finished product but rather the proposed educational ideas teachers must verify in the classroom. This approach differs from the product approach. The desired pre-determined behaviours have been fixed and applied to all learners. You may not know what you will get. It might be different from the specified curriculum document. Forrest Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re Gump going to get. A process approach to curriculum theory and practice, as argued by Grundy (1987), tends towards making the learning process the teacherÊs central concern, emphasising thinking and meaning-making. The process approach to curriculum treats the learners as humans, not as objects. They have a say in what is going on in the teaching-learning session. The focus is on interaction, and attention shifts from teaching to learning. On the other hand, the product model, by having a pre-specified plan or programme, tends to direct attention to teaching. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)  TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 15 1.4 FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM Debate is continuing as to the definition of curriculum. Imagine what would have happened if we had to wait for an agreed-upon definition of curriculum. Despite this lack of consensus, it has not hindered institutions, school districts, states, and nations from continually developing and improving curriculum in schools, colleges, universities, and training organisations. The design and development of the curriculum is a team effort involving curriculum planners, curriculum developers, teachers, academicians, education officers, administrators, community members and many others. They decide the goals of the curriculum, what content to include and how it should be organised. In addition to these, they suggest how it should be taught and determine whether the efforts have been successful. To help them make these decisions, they have turned to philosophy, psychology, sociology, and history. These foundations have been accepted as the basis of a curriculum. We shall discuss the influence of these disciplines in detail in Topics 2, 3 and 4, respectively. These disciplines have produced a vast amount of knowledge that provides guidelines for people interested in developing curriculums. For example, philosophy has evolved numerous beliefs about how people should be educated and what knowledge is worthwhile. These beliefs have provided curriculum developers with guidelines on how they should go about designing a curriculum. From psychology, various perspectives on how humans learn have been proposed. This knowledge is of great significance, whereby a curriculum is a plan that helps individuals to learn. Research provides insight into how learning can occur at different stages. The curriculum developers decide how a body of content is taught. Courses such as sociology, economics, culture, and politics provide knowledge for society. A curriculum is a reflection of the societal values and beliefs it serves. It is usually a response to what society wants and desires. The community plays an important role in influencing what is taught in the classroom. Finally, many curriculum plans have evolved from earlier times, and curriculum developers refer to historical events to better understand the decisions made at different times. Refer to the newspaper headlines at the topicÊs beginning. The headlines provide a better understanding of curriculum development efforts. We will examine the curriculum of early America and Japan in Topic 4 to understand how and why curriculum changes with the evolution of society. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 16 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? ACTIVITY 1.4 Problems with the „Curriculum as a Process Approach‰ Teachers who want uniformity in what is taught will find this approach problematic because the focus is on the learner. So, there will be different content and delivery methods to cater to individual needs. Examinations would be difficult to conduct because learners would learn different things at different paces. It would not be fair to have one examination as you might not be assessing the real ability of a learner. Examinations do not pay attention to the context in which learning takes place, so some students might be disadvantaged. Teachers implementing a curriculum using the process approach must believe that learning is the making of meaning and the construction of knowledge. If teachers are not convinced this should be the aim of education, then the process approach will not succeed. (a) To what extent do you agree with the problems with the „curriculum as a process approach‰? (b) Do you think the curriculum as a process approach would be easier to implement if there were no centralised or national examinations? Why? (c) What is the main difference between the curriculum as a product and curriculum as a process approach? Discuss these questions with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)  TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 17 1.5 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT Curriculum development is a process involving many different people and procedures. Thus, it is usually linear and follows a logical step-by-step fashion involving the following phases: curriculum planning, design, implementation, and evaluation. We will discuss each phase in detail in Topics 5, 6, 7 and 8. If you were to specialise in curriculum, each of these phases would be taught as a separate course. The process phases provide us with guideposts and structure to clarify our thinking. The phases can be graphically or pictorially illustrated and are conceived in technical terms – assuming that one must know the process to appreciate and understand it fully. DonÊt worry! By the end of Topic 8, you will fully recognise the technical terms associated with each of these phases of curriculum development. Many curriculum development models have been proposed. Generally, most models involve four phases (refer to Table 1.2). Table 1.2: Phases in Curriculum Development Model Phase Description Curriculum It involves decisions about the philosophy of education and the planning aims of education. After deciding on the philosophical beliefs, curriculum goals and objectives are derived and later translated into the classroom as desired learning outcomes for the students. Curriculum It refers to the way curriculum is conceptualised and involves the design selection and organisation of content and the selection and organisation of learning experiences or activities. Among the issues that must be resolved is deciding „what knowledge is of most worth‰ and „how the content should be organised to maximise learning.‰ Curriculum It happens in a classroom setting. It involves getting people to implementation practise the ideas in the curriculum and providing them with the necessary resources, training, and encouragement. Curriculum Determining the extent to which the efforts in implementing evaluation the ideas of the curriculum have been successful. It involves identifying factors that have hindered implementation and success stories; and, most importantly, whether students have benefited from the programme. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 18 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 1.6 CURRICULUM AS A DISCIPLINE Can curriculum be considered a discipline like sociology, economics, biology or political science? Graduate students have taken courses in curriculum planning, evaluation, primary school curriculum, and so forth in various universities. Many graduate schools offer doctoral curriculum and instruction specialisation, better known as „C&I‰. To decide whether an area of study is a discipline, one must first ask, „What are the characteristics of a discipline?‰ If we know the characteristics of a discipline, then maybe we can decide if „curriculum‰ is a discipline. According to Oliva and Gordon (2012), a discipline has the following characteristics: A discipline should have an organised set of theoretical principles. A discipline encompasses a body of knowledge and skills pertinent to that discipline. A discipline has its theoreticians and its practitioners. The field of curriculum has its own set of principles. For example, the term „curriculum" itself describes very complex ideas. In curriculum planning, principles include educational philosophy, curriculum goals, and learning objectives. They are applied in developing school programmes, universities, and training centres. In curriculum design, the principles of scope, sequence and balance are used to organise the content taught. The field of curriculum has also its own body of knowledge and skills. However, much of it has been borrowed from several pure disciplines. For example, in selecting content (What to teach?), the curriculum has relied on the principles, knowledge, and skills from psychology, philosophy, and sociology. The curriculum has drawn from management and organisational theory in content organisation. In implementing the curriculum, various ideas from systems theory, organisational behaviour, and communication theory have been used to enhance its effectiveness. For example, research in organisational behaviour has been used to bring about change among teachers, educational administrators, and the community. Has the field of curriculum its own body of knowledge and skills? Applying the ideas drawn from the different disciplines and through experimentation has generated its own body of knowledge and skills, or at least, new interpretations of principles as applied in the educational setting. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)  TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 19 Additionally, the field of curriculum has its list of theoreticians and practitioners. They include curriculum planners, curriculum developers, and so forth, who are termed, curriculum specialists. These specialists are well-versed in areas relating to the curriculum. They include the history and origin of a curriculum (to know of earlier successes or failures), curriculum planning and how a particular curriculum is to be implemented in schools successfully. The specialist is well-informed about how students learn, how teachers react to change and obstacles to improvement. Perhaps, after completing this course, you might be more convinced that the curriculum meets the requirement of a discipline, or maybe not! The curriculum specialist generates new knowledge by recombining existing programmes, adopting new approaches and constructing a new curriculum. SELF-CHECK 1.5 1. Why do curriculum developers rely on the knowledge and skills of other disciplines? 2. How would you justify the field of curriculum to be a discipline? 1.7 CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION Now that you have an idea of a curriculum, what is the relationship between curriculum and instruction? Simply put, the curriculum is what is to be taught, while instruction is how it is taught. Hence, in a way curriculum and instruction can be viewed as a partnership. We may think of the curriculum as a plan stipulating the content to be taught and the learning experiences to be included. Instruction may be considered a methodology, the teaching act, and achievement assessment. In other words, it is putting into practice what has been planned. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 20 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? Oliva and Gordon (2012) described curriculum and instruction as two entities. You could have a situation in which the two entities are apart, called the dualistic model (refer to Figure 1.5). Figure 1.5: Dualistic Model Source: Oliva & Gordon (2012) What occurs in the classroom under the teacherÊs direction has little relationship to what is stated in the curriculum plan. Planners ignore what teachers are doing and vice versa. The curriculum or the instructional process may change without affecting one another. This separation will cause serious harm to each other. On other occasions, curriculum and instruction are mutually interdependent, as shown in the concentric model (refer to Figure 1.6). Figure 1.6: Concentric Model Source: Oliva & Gordon (2012) In this model, curriculum assumes the superordinate position while instruction is subordinate; that is, instruction is a subsystem of a curriculum that is a subsystem of the whole education system. This model implies a hierarchical system, with curriculum dominating instruction. Instruction is not a separate entity but a dependent portion of the curriculum. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)  TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 21 In other situations, curriculum and instruction may be separate entities with a continuing circular relationship, called the circular model (refer to Figure 1.7). Figure 1.7: Circular Model Source: Oliva & Gordon (2012) The curriculum makes a continuous impact on instruction, and similarly, instruction impacts on curriculum. This model assumes that instructional decisions are made after curriculum decisions are made. But, these curriculum decisions are later modified when implemented and evaluated in the classroom. This process is continuous, repeated, and never-ending. Of all the models, the cyclical model seems the best alternative as it emphasises the need for a close working relationship between implementers and planners. Though curriculum and instruction may be different entities, they are interdependent and cannot function in isolation. It is impossible to plan everything that happens in the classroom in the curriculum document. It should be accepted that what is planned on paper may not work in real-life because the numerous factors operating in the classroom are impossible to pre-determine. The constant feedback from the classroom as to what works and what does not work has to be recycled to curriculum developers so necessary adjustments and modifications can be made to the curriculum plan. This process may explain the need for pilot testing a curriculum before it is widely implemented. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 22 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? ACTIVITY 1.5 1. Write down your definition of curriculum. (a) What does your definition of curriculum include? Does it includes a process? A product? Materials for teaching? An approach to education, and methods of instruction that fosters certain values and attitudes? (b) Compare your definition with the definitions given by scholars in the field. How similar or different is it to yours? 2. „The curriculum on paper and the curriculum in action‰. What do you understand by this statement? 3. „The curriculum is too examination-oriented, and children are deprived of their childhood‰. Do you agree with this statement? Justify. 4. „An over-loaded curriculum is a concern of many teachers. Increasingly, teachers feel that there is not enough time to cover all the traditional material being put into the curriculum‰. (a) To what extent do you agree? (b) Suggest solutions to overcome the problem. Discuss these with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)  TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 23 A curriculum is a statement of what students should know, and be able to do, how it is taught, measured, and how the educational system is organised. Curriculum can be approached as content (knowledge, skills, and values), product (desired learning outcomes) and process (interactions in the classroom). Curriculum development is a process involving planning, designing, implementation, and evaluation. Curriculum can be considered a discipline because it has an organised set of theoretical principles, including a body of knowledge and skills, and has theoreticians and practitioners. The relationship between curriculum and instruction is interdependent, continuous, repeated, and never-ending. Concentric model Cyclical model Curriculum Dualistic model Curriculum and instruction Hidden curriculum Curriculum development Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM) 24 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? Bobbitt, F. (2013). Scientific method in curriculum-making. In: D. J. Flinders & S. J. Thornton (Eds.), Curriculum Studies Reader (4th ed.), pp. 11–18. RoutledgeFalmer. Cornbleth, C. (1990). Curriculum in context. Falmer Press. Grundy, S. (1987). Curriculum: Product or praxis? Falmer Press. Jackson, P. W. (1968). Life in classrooms. Teachers College Press. Oliva, P. F., & Gordon II, W. R. (2012). Developing the curriculum. Pearson Higher Education. Ornstein, A. C. (1987). The field of curriculum: What approach? What definition? The High School Journal, 70(4), 208–216. Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (1998). Curriculum: Foundation, principles, and issues. Pearson Education. Stenhouse, L. (1975). Defining the curriculum problem. Cambridge Journal of Education, 5(2), 104–108. Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)