Ed 109- The Teacher and the School Curriculum

MODULE
INTRODUCTION OF CURRICULUM
1 DEVELOPMENT

Overview
This chapter explores significant pieces of literature and theories that will help curriculum workers,
teachers, and students understand basic concepts of curriculum, types, elements and composition of curriculum,
curriculum foundations, curriculum conceptions, and models of curriculum development.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this module students must have;
1. Defined curriculum
2. Analysed the different types of curriculum
3. Discussed different curriculum foundations
4. Discussed different curriculum conceptions

Indicative Content:
 Definition of Curriculum
 Types of Curriculum
 Curriculum Foundation
 Curriculum Conceptions
 Elements of Curriculum
 Composition of Curriculum
 Models of Curriculum

Discussion:
Definitions of Curriculum form Different Views
A. Traditional Points of View
 A listing of subjects to be taught
 Course of study/course syllabus
 A group of subjects arranged in a certain sequence
 Permanent studies where the rules of grammar, reading rhetoric and logic are being emphasized
 Focus on the fundamental intellectual disciplines of grammar. Literature and writing
 Consist of knowledge which comes from various discipline
 A written documents or a plan of action in accomplishing goals

B. Progressive Points of View

 Refers to the total learning experiences of individuals
 Total effort of the school to bring about desired outcomes in school and out-of-school situations
 Refers to all learning opportunities provided by the school
 Consist of all learning experiences for learning which are planned and organized by the school
 A sequence of potential experiences set up in the school for the purpose of disciplining children
 Thought is not derived from action but tested by application according to John Dewey
 Refers to all experiences children have under the guidance of teachers according to Caswell & Campbell

C. Other Curriculum Conceptions

Many books on curriculum present various images, characterizations, and definitions of the term
curriculum. To analyze or discuss all of these definitions would be a massive endeavor since there are
more than eleven hundred books written about curriculum (Schubert 1980). Presented in this book are
just a few definitions provided by Beauchamp (1982), Eisner (1985), Glatthorn (2006), Marsh (2004),
Oliva (2005), Pinar (1995), Posner (1995), Reid (2006), Saylor (1981), and Schubert (1986), among
others.
1
  Curriculum as a list of subjects. This definition suggests that curriculum includes the “permanent” or
the traditional subjects offered in the school curriculum such as Mathematics, Language, Science,
Music, Arts, and others.
 Curriculum as learning experiences. This definition includes students' curricular and co-curricular
activities and the learning experiences the encounter inside or outside the school
 Curriculum as intended learning outcomes. This definition includes a list of learning competencies
or standards that students should learn in school.
 Curriculum as planned learning experiences. This definition includes documents specifying
contents, objectives, or general ideas of what students should know in schools or in a specific
discipline.
 Curriculum as a discipline. This definition has its own principles, theories, and practices.
 Curriculum as content or subject matter. This definition views curriculum as a series of topics under
each subject area.

Different Types of Curriculum Operating in the Schools

Several curriculum scholars (see Glatthorn, Boschee, and Whitehead 2006; Print 1993; Tanner and
Tanner 2007) cited nine types of curriculum depending on how curriculum is used in various institutions.
1. Recommended curriculum. This refers to what scholars propose as the most appropriate curriculum
for the learners. For example, different professional organizations or various disciplines in different
universities may propose curriculum innovations or alternative curriculum content as a result of their
researches.
Curriculum standards recommended by professional organizations are examples recommended
curriculum. Many of these various curriculum standards are recommended by professional organizations as
alternative to the current contents of the curriculum. Curriculum standards are products of their latest
researches on the nature of the different disciplines and the developments in various academic fields.
2. Intended, official, or written curriculum. This refers to the official curriculum embodied and approved
state curriculum guides (Glatthorn et al. 2006). It is the curriculum prescribed by the government. In the
Philippine context, these are the prescribed courses from different government agencies: the Department of
Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills
Development Administration (TESDA). Examples of this type of curriculum are:
 The Kindergarten Curriculum Standards
 The K-12 Curriculum
 CHED Memorandum Order No. 20, Series of 2013 (for General Education)
 TESDA Modules and Competencies
3. Implemented curriculum. This type of curriculum refers to the actual implementation of the curriculum
or what teachers in the school teach. In many cases, teachers modify and improve their curriculum based
on the needs of the students or whenever there are new ideas in various disciplines that are important to
teach to the students. Academic freedom among faculty members in college may also influence how
professors plan and implement their courses.
4. Achieved curriculum or learned curriculum. This refers to the result of the curriculum or what students
actually learned in school (Print 1993). The achieved curriculum reveals whether the students learned or
whether the schools are successful in attaining their curriculum goals and objectives.
5. Supported curriculum. This refers to the curriculum that support or help in the implementation of a
written curriculum. Examples are textbooks, computers, and audio-visual materials.
6. Null or censored curriculum. This refers to various curriculum contents or topics that schools do not
teach to the students.
7. Hidden curriculum. This refers to various skills, knowledge, and attitudes that students learn in school as
a result of their interaction with other students, staff, and faculty members. Although hidden curriculum
is not actually taught in formal classroom learning, it can be a product of the students' schooling.

Curriculum Foundations

2
 Curriculum development scholars like Tyler (1949); Taba (1962); Eisner (1985); Saylor, Alexander, and
Lewis (1981); Print (1993); Sowell (1996); and Tanner and Tanner (2007) generally identified three categories
of sources for curriculum foundations: (1) studies of learners and learning theory (psychology); (2) studies of
life (sociology and anthropology); and (3) studies of the nature and value of knowledge (philosophy). These
curriculum sources or foundations influence curriculum developers in framing different curriculum conceptions
and in developing curriculum.
Psychology as a discipline deals with understanding human behavior, which is important in curriculum
development. According to Print (1993), psychology can provide information in five important areas:
1. Educational objectives
2. Student characteristics
3. Learning processes
4. Teaching methods
5. Evaluation procedures
Philosophy as a foundation helps curriculum workers in understanding the nature of knowledge and
what subjects or topics are worthwhile. This is very important in making decisions about the contents of the
curriculum. Ornstein and Hunkins (1993) mentioned that philosophy provides curriculum workers with a
framework or base for organizing schools and classrooms. It also provides educators with a framework for
broad issues and tasks, such as determining the goals of education, the content and its organization, and the
teaching and learning processes.

Curriculum Conceptions
Curriculum workers have different ideas about curriculum matters and curriculum development
processes. They have different points of view about curriculum concerns, goals of what a curriculum should
accomplish, and how a curriculum should be designed or constructed. These explain the presence of various
curriculum orientations or conceptions. McNeil (2006), Eisner (1985), and Print (1993) identified six
curriculum conceptions:
1. Academic rationalist conception - considered as the oldest, among the curriculum conceptions. It stresses
the importance of different bodies of knowledge, known as disciplines or subject areas, as the focus of the
curriculum.
2. Cognitive processes conception - seeks to develop a repertoire of cognitive skills that are applicable to a
wide range of intellectual problems. The subject matters are instruments or tools for developing these
cognitive skills that are lasting in the lives of individuals.
3. Humanistic conception - stresses the idea that curriculum or education is an instrument for developing the
full potentials of individuals. It seeks to help individuals discover and develop their unique identities. It
stresses that curriculum should focus on the needs and interests of individuals.
4. Social Reconstructionist conception - views the school or schooling as an agency for social change. Hence,
it stresses that curriculum should respond to the different needs, issues, problems, and demands of the
society.
5. Technological conception- is preoccupied with the development of means to achieve curriculum or
educational goals. It views schooling as a complex system that can be analyzed into its constituent
components.
6. Eclectic conception - is where curriculum workers find themselves aligning their ideas with two or more
curriculum conceptions. Hence, this curriculum conception reiterates the realities in curriculum
development that each of the curriculum conceptions is to be considered and is influential to a certain extent
in designing the curriculum.

Elements of Curriculum

3
 In general, a curriculum has four important elements. These elements must be present in all curriculum
documents or before a document can be called curriculum.

Curriculum Intent

Content

Learning Experiences

Evaluation

1. Curriculum intent- the term used by Print (1993) to mean the direction that curriculum developers wish to
go to as a result of participating in the curriculum. It includes the aims, goals, and objectives found in any
curriculum document.
 Aims-broad statements of social or educational expectations. Aims include what is hoped to be
achieved by the total curriculum.
 Goals-more specific than the aims. Goals are general statements of what concepts, skills, and values
should be learned in the curriculum.
 Objectives -specific learning outcomes. It includes specific concepts, skills, and values that should
be learned by the students. Usually, objectives are used in making decisions or planning about
instruction.
2. Content - includes the different topics to be learned or covered in a curriculum. These topics are based on
the curriculum intents. Contents may include values, concepts, or skills that are important for the learners to
learn.
3. Learning experiences- include all instructional strategies that are useful for the implementation of the
curriculum. These may appear in the form of activities, strategies, methods, or approaches that are useful in
implementing the curriculum or in teaching the content.
4. Evaluation- includes the different ways and tools used for evaluating whether or not the curriculum intent
was realized. Evaluation tools are also used to evaluate the performance of the learners after they have
undergone the curriculum.

Composition of Curriculum
1. A statement of aims and of specific objectives
2. Some selection and organization of content
3. Certain patterns of learning and teaching
4. A program of evaluation of the outcomes

Curriculum Plan
 Advance arrangement of learning opportunities for a particular population of learners
 Curriculum guide

Three Processes in Curriculum

1. Panning
2. Implementing
3. Evaluating

Curriculum Development
 It is a dynamic process
 Development connotes changes which are systematic
 It a process of selecting, organizing, executing and evaluating learning experiences on the basis of the
needs, abilities and interests of learners and the nature of the society or community

Factors to consider:
4
 1. The nature of the society which includes the cultural heritage, the needs and demands as well as the
economic, social, political, cultural, moral and other problems of the people
2. The interests, needs, previous experiences and problems of the learners
3. Educational and psychological principles based on the findings of scientific studies and
experimentation
 It is cooperative venture among teachers, supervisors, curriculum expert, learners, parents and non-
school people
 It is a continuous process since we can never exhaust the possibilities of improving the teaching-
learning situation

Criteria of a Good Curriculum

1. The curriculum is continuously evolving
2. It is based on the needs of the people
3. It is democratically conceived
4. It is the result of long-term effort
5. It is a complex of details
6. It provides for the logical sequence of subject matter
7. It complements and cooperates with other programs in the community
8. It has educational quality
9. It is administrative flexibility

Models of Curriculum Development

A. Ralph Tyler Model – consist of four basic principles
1. What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
2. What educational experiences can be provided that is likely to attain these purposes?
3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?
4. How can we determine whether these purposes are attained or not?

Three Important Elements of Curriculum Development according to Tyler

1. Learners – analyzing their needs and wants
2. Society – interaction and help find ways of solving problems in the environment they are in
3. Subject Matter – has to be organized following a structure of knowledge and congruent with
learners’ and society’s demands

B. Hilda Taba: Grassroots Approach

1. Diagnosis of learners needs and expectations of the larger society
2. Formulation of learning objectives
3. Selection of learning content
4. Organization of learning content
5. Selection of learning experiences
6. Organization of learning activities
7. Determination of what to evaluate and the means of doing it

Exercises/Drills:

5
 Activity 1. Answer the following. Write your answers in short bond paper. DO NOT
forget to write your complete name, course & Year.
1. Give your personal definition of curriculum. Explain briefly.
2. What is the difference between written and hidden curriculum? Give examples to
support your answer.
3. What are the benefits or advantages of having an official or formal curriculum
prescribe to all schools?
4. List five (5) examples of a hidden curriculum
5. List down other different curriculum models aside from being discussed above.
Explain briefly.

Activity 2. Research the following and give your references.

Obtain a copy of the following elements of the curriculum intent of specific
school. Analyze the relationship among these elements.
1. Curriculum Aims
2. Curriculum Goals
3. Curriculum Objectives

Evaluation:

Evaluation 1.1
Give five (5) examples of curriculum content and learning experiences. Examine
their relationship.

Content Learning Experiences

Evaluation 1.2. Identify the following examples below if what type of curriculum
operating in the schools. Write your answer in a separate sheet.

1. Lesson plan
2. Course Syllabus
3. Evaluated subjects
4. CHED Memo Order No. 25, s. 2012
5. Teaching styles of a teacher
6. Computers
7. Application of what is learned
8. K-12 Curriculum
9. Curriculum implemented by DOST, CHED, etc.
10. Teaching guides

6
MODULE
CURRICULUM PLANNING
2
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this module student must have:
1. Discussed the different curriculum sources and influences
2. Discussed the importance of curriculum planning
3. Analyzed different kinds/levels of curriculum
4. Identified different roles of teachers and school administrators in curriculum
planning.

Indicative Content:
 Characteristics of Curriculum Planning
 Curriculum Source and Influences
 Curriculum Influences

Discussion:
Curriculum Planning
 It is a process whereby the advance arrangement of learning opportunities for a particular population
of learners is created
 Give wide participation in planning by all persons professional and lay who are affected

Importance of Curriculum Planning

 Need for exactness and particularity in making decisions about ends and means demands scientific
curriculum planning
 A growing awareness of a need for rational curriculum planning is manifested in concerted efforts
towards generating specific and precise educational ends

Factors in Curriculum Planning

1. Identifying relevant substantive decisions at increasing levels of specificity and precision
2. Checking for consistency between and among the ends-and-means decisions by a two-way process
of derivation and evaluation at each stage and by referring to data sources for basic information

Planners of Curriculum
1. National o state and local curriculum control
2. Laymen, academic scholars, and elementary schools, secondary schools and collegiate educators

Characteristics of Curriculum Planners

1. Open-mindedness
2. Understanding values of the past practices and of school and community traditions
3. Analysis and evaluation of all aspects of the program
4. Reckon public opinion
5. Behove curriculum
6. Listen to well-founded criticisms
7. Study critically and thoroughly educational practices
8. Adopt relevant foreign educational practices
9. Testing programs and standardized test data
10. Consider the learners’ needs, culture, society and the teacher

7
Curriculum Sources and Influences

Tyler (1949) identified three major sources of curriculum: subject matter, society, and learners.
Accordingly, these curriculum sources need to be considered and examined to identify the four elements of
curriculum: goals, content, learning experiences, and evaluation.
 Nature of the subject matter - to provide knowledge and skills those is essential to the nature of the
discipline. This also helps in selecting and designing curriculum contents.
 Nature of the society - this provides a more comprehensive idea of the needs, demands, and problems of
the society, and the available resources that can be utilized in the development and implementation of the
curriculum (1yler 1949). Briefly, society, as one of the curriculum sources, provides information about the
context in which the curriculum will be used. This is important to make the curriculum more relevant and
responsive.
 Nature of the learners – this includes knowing their needs, nature interests, learning styles, and thinking
styles. It also includes knowing the various issues and problems about them. The learners are the direct subject
of the school curriculum. Hence, making the learners as one of the curriculum sources is important in selecting
the learning experiences for the curriculum (Tyler 1949).

Society as Source of Curriculum

 Society is an important source of curriculum. Teachers need to understand the culture, socio-economic,
and political conditions of the people.
 Understanding the context is important in developing a relevant and responsive curriculum (Tyler 1949;
Nicholls & Nicholls 1978). It is useful in selecting curriculum goals and objectives, content, and learning
experiences (Taba 1962; Stark & Lattuca 1997; Oliva 2005).
 The society is becoming multilingual and multicultural. Developing cultural understanding and socio
cultural consciousness among the learners is becoming a necessity. Other pressing social issues like climate
change, security problems, diseases, poverty, and many others also affect our everyday life.

Learner as Source of Curriculum

 Knowledge about the learners is one of the major sources of the curriculum. Although the curriculum
content is set by the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the
Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA), educators and curriculum developers have tried
to align the curriculum to the needs and nature of the students.
 This process is done when faculty members plan their individual syllabi, unit plans, and lesson plans as
an interpretation of the intended curriculum.
 As students come from different contexts, they have different cultures, languages, learning styles,
needs, and types and levels of motivation.
 The students are also different in terms of socio-economic status and educational backgrounds (public or
private institution).
 For these, the students, as a major source of curriculum, are supported by several curriculum scholars
and are well represented in their curriculum development models (Taba 1962; Wheeler 1967; Walker 1972;
Skilbeck 1976; Nicholls 1978; Print 1993; Stark& Lattuca 1997; Oliva 2005).

Subject Matter as Source of Curriculum

 Tyler (1949) subject matter as one of the main sources of curriculum. Different subjects are unique in
terms of design and content.
 There are specific skills and contents that should be emphasized in each of the disciplines. In some
cases, there are similarities in skills, concepts, and strands in different subjects that may be possible points for
integration.
 Understanding the nature of the discipline or subject matter requires educators to closely analyze the
contents prescribed by the Department of Education, especially the K-12 Curriculum.
 The curriculum framework, curriculum goals, descriptions, standards, and competencies in different
subjects will help educators understand what should be taught and how to teach the different subjects.
 The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) also prescribes guidelines in different courses. Several
curricular innovations and changes set by the government were considered and strictly followed in designing
the official curriculum of a particular school, college, or university.

8
  The curricular requirements that include course title, course credit, and course descriptions are based
on the CHED Memorandum Orders (CMOs) issued for different courses. For example, CMO No. 20, Series of
2013 includes the general education program for all undergraduate courses or programs in the Philippines.
 Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) also prescribes different contents of the
modules offered for each particular subject for vocational or technical courses.
 The skills that should be learned including the materials needed and the time that is required for
training are clearly' specified in each module.

Curriculum Influences
Aside from the major curriculum sources, Stark and Lattuca (1997) identified three major factors that
influence curriculum development: external, internal, and organizational influences (see Figure 2). Stark and
Lattuca (1997) used the term curriculum influences to refer to these three factors that are very influential in
curriculum development.
These curriculum influences affect the whole academic plan that incorporates a total blueprint for action,
including the purposes, activities, and ways of measuring success.

Figure 1. Factors Affecting Academic Planning (Stark & Lattuca 1997)

Understanding the different curriculum influences is useful in knowing the different factors that need to
be considered in developing a curriculum. It provides the sources of data and information for developing
curriculum. Knowing these curriculum influences is useful in making the curriculum more relevant and
responsive to the educational system of the Philippines.

Stakeholders in Curriculum Development

1. Individuals and groups who influence and make important contributions to the curriculum
2. Community-based stakeholders (parents and guardian of students, government officials and groups,
lawmakers, professional groups in several discipline, business and industry groups, civic groups,
local/school boards, textbook publishers?
3. School-based stakeholders (school personnel, students, school administrators, resource specialists,
counselors, social workers)

Roles of Different Stakeholders in Curriculum Development

A. Community-at-large – dictates the purposes, goals and content of school curricula; recommends
direction and charges in the curriculum.
B. Law-makers/government officials – authorize school budget; enact legislation to effect curriculum
changes.
C. Governing/school boards – make important decision on manage or oversee school operation;
conduct public hearings; authorize school expenditures for curriculum development; adopt and
consider curriculum proposals.
D. Parents/guardians – support and participate in parent-school organization activities.
E. Publishers – support the development of instructional materials.

9
 F. Teachers – establish direction and implementation of a particular program; select content to be
emphasized; help prepare the scope and sequence of a program; help in evaluating the curriculum.
G. Learners – primary stakeholders of the curriculum; bases on the curriculum content selection.
Exercises/Drills:

Activity 1. Explain the following. Write your answer on separate sheets. (10
points each)

1. Identify the different issues, needs, and demands that should be considered in
developing the curriculum.
2. The role of stakeholders in curriculum planning.
3. Characteristics of curriculum planners.

Activity 2.
Make a concept map or conceptual diagram showing your own
understanding/insights about planning a curriculum. Put your answer in short bond
paper.
Your output will be graded based on the following criteria.

Organization of ideas/concepts------------50%
Accuracy--------------------------------------30%
Creativity-------------------------------------20%
Timeliness------------------------------------10%
Total------------------------100%

Evaluation:

Evaluation 1. Write your answer on separate sheets.

1. Identify CapSU vision, mission, objectives and core values.

2. Based on your answers in # 1 discuss in your own understanding.
3. How are these help the societies’ demand and how are these reflected to our
lessons/ modules and activities?

10
11