Meaning of Curriculum:

The term curriculum has been derived from a Latin word

‘Currere’ which means a ‘race course’ or a runway on which one
runs to reach a goal. Accordingly, a curriculum is the instructional
and the educative programme by following which the pupils
achieve their goals, ideals and aspirations of life.
It is curriculum through which the general aims of a school
education receive concrete expression.
Traditional concept-The traditional curriculum was subject-
centered while the modern curriculum is child and life-centered.
 Modern Concept of Curriculum:

Modern education is the combination of two dynamic

processes. The one is the process of individual development and

the other is the process of socialization, which is commonly known

as adjustment with the social environment.

Cunningham - “Curriculum is a tool in the hands of the artist

(teacher) to mould his material (pupils) according to his ideas

(aims and objectives) in his studio (school)”.

Morroe - “Curriculum includes all those activities which are utilized

by the school to attain the aims of education.

Crow and Crow - The curriculum includes all the learners’

experience in or outside school that are included in a programme

which has been devised to help him developmentally, emotionally,

socially, spiritually and morally”.

T.P. Nunn-“The curriculum should be viewed as various forms of

activities that are grand expressions of human sprit and that are of

the greatest and most permanent significance to the wide world”.

 • subjects that will be taught, the identified
Explicit "mission" of the school, and the knowledge
and skills that the school expects successful
curriculum students to acquire

Implicit • lessons that arise from the culture of the

school and the behaviors, attitudes, and
curriculum expectations that characterize that culture

Null • topics or perspectives that are specifically

excluded from the curriculum
curriculum

• school-sponsored programs that are

Extra intended to supplement the academic aspect
curriculum of the school experience
1. Goals: The benchmarks or expectations for teaching and
learning often made explicit in the form of a scope and
sequence of skills to be addressed;
2. Methods: The specific instructional methods for the teacher,
often described in a teacher’s edition;
3. Materials: The media and tools that are used for teaching
and learning;
4. Assessment: The reasons for and methods of measuring
student progress.
 Nature of curriculum

1. the instructional programme as indicated by the

course offerings to meet the varies requirements
of a vast heterogeneous population
2. the courses of study, embodying outlines of
knowledge to be taught
3. all the experiences provided under the guidance of
the school
 Nature of curriculum

Close examination of them reveals the difficulty in

deciding
the basic nature of curriculum.
1. Is it thought of as a programme and pattern of
offerings?
2. Is thought of to be a content of courses?
3. Is it thought of to be experiences through which
knowledge is communicated?
 Nature of curriculum
Curriculum is that which makes a difference between
maturity and immaturity, between growth and stasis,
between literacy and illiteracy, between sophistication
(intellectual, moral, social and emotional) and
simplicity.

It is the accumulated heritage of man’s knowledge

filtered through the prisms of contemporary demands
and pressures.

It is that wisdom considered relevant to any age in

any given location.

It is that we choose from our vast amount of heritage

of wisdom to make a difference in the life of man.
Scope relates to what should be taught or learned.

•Sequence relates to when different parts of the

curriculum should be learned with respect to the
other parts of the curriculum.

•Integration relates to how different strands of a

piece of curriculum relate to other things

•Continuity relates to how previous learning and

future learning relate in terms of cumulative effects
of learning.
Scope refers to the breadth of the curriculum- the
content, learning experiences and activities to be
included in the curriculum.

The scope can be arrived at by answering the following

questions:

What do young people need in order to succeed in the

society?

What are the needs of the locality, society, nation and

world?

What are the essentials of the discipline?

 Sequence
Sequence relates to when different parts of the
curriculum should be learned with respect to the other
parts of the curriculum.

There are many ways in sequencing:

simple to complex chronological

easy to difficult developmental

prerequisite learning close at hand to far

away

whole to parts easy to difficult

parts to whole known to unknown

 Balance or integration
The curriculum should integrate:
1. Cognitive, affective and psychomotor objectives and
abilities
2. Knowledge and experience
3. Objectives and content
4. Child’s activity and needs with the society needs and
activity.
It should be related to the social environment of the
students
A change in the life style of a group, a community S
or a society is called social change. o
c
Social change includes technological changes,
i
economic changes, political changes and changes
in values. a
l
The technological changes cause change in the
style of living and therefore influences the C
curriculum accordingly. h
a
Economic changes demand changes in curriculum
n
by bringing about change in occupational structure.
g
Political changes have an impact on curricula. The e
policies of the government decide the core features
of a curriculum.
 V
Values play a crucial part in the formulation and
a
implementation of educational ideologies. l
u
Generally, two kinds of values enter into curriculum
e
making. They are:

•Ultimate values that determine the aims and S

purposes of education
y
•Instrumental values that are related to the means of s
education. t
The ultimate values and instrumental values of a e
society decides the type of curriculum appropriate m
for it.