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Curriculum TheoryWilliam Allan Kritsonis, PhDQuestions:1.You have been assigned to a low-performing middle school campus.Your superintendent has requested that you make changes in theschool curriculum to increase student achievement. Describe your  plan of action to increase student achievement levels at this middleschool.2.Describe and discuss how the informal and hidden curriculum impactand change the formal curriculum? Provide specific examples.Include parental expectations and prohibitions as part of the informalcurriculum.3.What constructs about curriculum are present in the minds of educators in a school with which you are familiar?Historically, education has played a major role in shaping the lives of all individuals. Curriculum theory has continually evolved and, there hasalways been a battle to improve and expand the curriculum. Severalquestions that plague educators today are “Which curriculum should wefollow?” and “What knowledge is of most worth?”. There are a multitude of 
 
curriculum theories that help educators understand the concept of studentlearning and achievement. This chapter is an attempt to expose educators tothe diverse curriculum theories that influence today’s educational system.
What is curriculum?
 From a historical perspective, curriculum is any document or plan thatexists in a school or school system that defines the work of teachers. This plan guides educators in identifying the content of the material to be taught.Many work plans may consist of textbooks, resource materials, or scope andsequence charts. “The purpose of a curriculum is not to abandonorganizational boundaries but to enable the organization to function withinthose boundaries more effectively and, over time more efficiently” (Englishand Larson, 1996). “A curriculum can accomplish these goals by: (1)clarifying organizational boundaries; (2) defining the nature of the work to be done; (3) relating the major tasks to be accomplished to one another within the total work process or work flow (coordination); (4) definingstandards by which work is to be measured or assessed; (5) definingevaluation procedures by which work results can be compared to work  performed; (6) making changes in the work performed through feedback;and (7) repeating the above steps in order to achieve a higher level of work  performance on a consistent basis” (English and Larson, p.24).
 
There are at least three different types of curriculum in schools:formal curriculum, informal curriculum, and hidden curriculumThe
formal curriculum
usually appears in state regulations, curriculumguides, or officially sanctioned scope and sequence charts. The formalcurriculum is what will be found in teacher’s lesson plans. The
informalcurriculum
represents the unofficial aspects of designing or delivering thecurriculum. This type of curriculum involves the subtle but important personality traits that a teacher interacts with the child – positively or negatively. Informal curriculum contains those things that we teach that areunplanned and spontaneous. The
hidden curriculum
is not recognized atschools. It deals with expectations and assumptions. These are teachings,which are presented to students but are not consciously received by them.Hidden curriculum can be destructive, negative and subversive, or it can beconstructive, desirable and positive. Tanner describes this as the collateralcurriculum. Tanner stresses that collateral learning is in the way of formation of enduring attitudes, of likes and dislikes, may be and often moreimportant that the spelling lesson in geography or history that is learned(Tanner,1995).
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