UNDERSTANDING

THE CURRICULUM
Reporter: Ma. Franzel D. Del Mundo
Objectives:
• Define Curriculum
• Analyze the different types of Curriculum
• Discuss the different curriculum
foundations and conceptions
Scope of the Report:
• Definitions of Curriculum
• Different Types of Curriculum
• Curriculum Foundations
• Curriculum Conceptions
• Elements of a Curriculum
Definitions of Curriculum
Definition of Curriculum
Curriculum

Prescriptive Descriptive
Nature Nature
Scope of the Report
• Prescriptive [curriculum] definitions provide us with
what “ought” to happen, and they more often than
not take the form of a plan, an intended program, or
some kind of expert opinion about what needs to
take place in the course of study. (Ellis, 2004, p. 4)
Definitions of Curriculum
Year Author Definition
1902 John Dewey Curriculum is a continuous reconstruction, moving from the child’s present
experience out into that represented by the organized bodies of truth that
we call studies . . . the various studies . . . are themselves experience—they
are that of the race. (pp. 11–12)

1918 Franklin Bobbitt Curriculum is the entire range of experiences, both directed and
undirected, concerned in unfolding the abilities of the individual. (p. 43)
1927 Harold O. Rugg [The curriculum is] a succession of experiences and enterprises having a
maximum lifelikeness for the learner . . . giving the learner that
development most helpful in meeting and controlling life situations. (p. 8)

1935 Hollis Caswell in Caswell The curriculum is composed of all the experiences children have under the
and Campbell guidance of teachers. . . . Thus, curriculum considered as a field of study
represents no strictly limited body of content, but rather a process or
procedure. (pp. 66, 70)
Definitions of Curriculum
Year Author Definition
1957 Ralph Tyler [The curriculum is] all the learning experiences planned and directed by
the school to attain its educational goals. (p. 79)
1967 Robert Gagne Curriculum is a sequence of content units arranged in such a way that the
learning of each unit may be accomplished as a single act, provided the
capabilities described by specified prior units (in the sequence) have
already been mastered by the learner. (p. 23)

1970 James Popham & [Curriculum is] all planned learning outcomes for which the school is
Eva Baker responsible. . . . Curriculum refers to the desired consequences of
instruction. (p. 48)

1977 J. L. McBrien & [Curriculum] refers to a written plan outlining what students will be taught
R. Brandt (a course of study). Curriculum may refer to all the courses offered at a
given school, or all the courses offered at a school in a particular area of
study.

2010 Indiana Department Curriculum means the planned interaction of pupils with instructional
of Education content, materials, resources, and processes for evaluating the attainment
of educational objectives. (n.p.)
Definitions of Curriculum
• Descriptive curriculum displayed in beyond the
prescriptive terms as they force thought about the
curriculum “not merely in terms of how things ought
to be . . . but how things are in real classrooms”.
Definitions of Curriculum
Year Author Definition
1935 Hollis Caswell & All the experiences children have under the guidance of teachers.
Doak Campbell
1941 Thomas Hopkins Those learnings each child selects, accepts, and incorporates into himself to
act with, on, and upon, in subsequent experiences.
1960 W. B. Ragan All experiences of the child for which the school accepts responsibility.

1987 Glen Hass The set of actual experiences and perceptions of the experiences that each
individual learner has of his or her program of education.
1995 Daniel Tanner & The reconstruction of knowledge and experience that enables the learner
Laurel Tanner to grow in exercising intelligent control of subsequent knowledge and
experience.

2006 D. F. Brown All student school experiences relating to the improvement of skills and
strategies in thinking critically and creatively, solving problems, working
collaboratively with others, communicating well, writing more effectively,
reading more analytically, and conducting research to solve problems.

2009 E. Silva An emphasis on what students can do with knowledge, rather than what units
of knowledge they have, is the essence of 21st-century skills.
Different Types of Curriculum
• Written Curriculum
• Taught Curriculum
• Supported Curriculum
• Assessed Curriculum
• Recommended Curriculum
• Hidden Curriculum
• Excluded Curriculum
• Learned Curriculum
Written Curriculum
• A written curriculum is what is formally put down in
writing and documented for teaching.
• These materials can include an educator’s instruction
documents, films, text and other materials they need.
• These materials come from the larger school district or the
school itself.
• Often, they contract or employ a curriculum specialist to
develop a plan that meets specific goals and objectives.
Taught Curriculum
• This type of curriculum refers to how teachers actually
teach.
• This is a less predictable and less standardized type of
curriculum because how an educator delivers material can
vary from one to the next.
Supported Curriculum
• A supported curriculum involves the additional tools,
resources and learning experiences found in and outside a
classroom.
• These include textbooks, field trips, software and
technology, in addition to other innovative new techniques
to engage students.
• Teachers and other individuals involved with the course
are also a component of the supported curriculum.
Assessed Curriculum
• An assessed curriculum is also known as a tested
curriculum.
• It refers to quizzes, tests and other kinds of methods to
measure students’ success.
• This can encompass a number of different assessment
techniques, including presentations, a portfolio, a
demonstration as well as state and federal standardized
tests.
Recommended Curriculum
• This type of curriculum stems from what experts in
education suggest.
• Recommended curriculum can come from a variety of
different sources, including nationally recognized
researchers, policy makers and legislators, and others.
• It focuses on the content, skill sets and tools educators
should prioritize in the classroom.
Hidden Curriculum
• The hidden-curriculum concept is based on the recognition
that students absorb lessons in school that may or may not
be part of the formal course of study.
• The hidden curriculum is described as “hidden” because it
is usually unacknowledged or unexamined by students,
educators, and the wider community.
Excluded Curriculum
• The excluded curriculum is also known as the null
curriculum.
• It refers to what content is not taught in a course.
• Often an educator or curriculum specialist believes that a
certain skill or concept is less important or does not need
to be covered.
Learned Curriculum
• A learned curriculum refers to what students walk away
with from a course.
• This includes the subject matter and knowledge they
learned from a course, but it can also include additional
changes in attitude and emotional well being.
• Teachers need to shrink the gap between what they expect
students to learn and what students actually do learn.
Curriculum Foundations
Curriculum Foundations
I.Philosophical Foundations
1. Philosophy and curriculum
2. Educational Philosophies
II. Sociological Foundations
1. Society and education
2. Social change and curriculum
3. Planning for curricular change
III. Psychological Foundations
1. Learning theories and curriculum
2. Basic human needs and curriculum
Philosophical Foundation of Education
• Based upon fundamental beliefs that arise from one's
philosophy of education curricular decisions involve
consideration of several topics and issues.
• Precisely for this reason, we consider philosophy one of the
major foundation areas in curriculum.
• In this section, we shall explore several different
philosophies of education that influence curricular
decisions.
Philosophical Foundation of Education
Philosophy and Curriculum
(The Four Major Philosophy of Education)
Idealism Realism Pragmatism Existensialism
The doctrine of Proponents of realism Focus on practical This doctrine
idealism suggests that view the world in aspects in teaching emphasizes that there
matter is an illusion terms of objects and and learning. are no values outside
and that matter. human beings,
reality is that which They believe that and thus, suggests
exists mentally. human behaviour is that human beings
rational when it should have the
conforms to the freedom to make
laws of nature and is choices and then be
governed by responsible for the
consequences of those
choices.
Philosophical Foundation of Education
Educational Philosophies
Perennialism Progressivism Essentialism Reconstructionism

It advocates the According to This philosophy, rooted It views education as a

permanency of progressivist thought, partly in idealism and means of reconstructing
knowledge that has the skills and tools of partly in realism, society.
stood the test of time learning evolved
and values that have include problem solving mainly as a critique of
moral and spiritual methods and scientific progressive thought in
bases. inquiry. education.
Sociological Foundation of Education
• Social pressures influence the characteristics of students
who experience the curriculum in the educational
institutions which are established and maintained by
society.
Society and Education
• Most of us regard education as synonymous with schooling.
• But, in actual fact even a society that has no formal colleges/schools still
educates its young through ceremonies, rituals, stories, observation and
emulation of parents, elders, etc.
• A curriculum while reflecting contemporary social forces should also be able to
respond to the dynamics of change.
• By implication, the curriculum should not only reflect society but also help to
shape it.
Social change and the curriculum
• Contemporary society is changing so swiftly that we have difficulty coping with
it, adjusting ourselves to the present and preparing for the future.
• To make education respond to social changes, a curriculum should be framed
keeping in mind, among other things, the following: growth of technology,
structure of the family and cultural diversity.
Social change and the curriculum
Growth of Today, the young are growing up in a world that is very different from
technology that of a generation or two ago. Connected with this is the fact that ours
is a society based on information.

Structure of the The family has been viewed as the basis of the complex social fabric.
family The picture of the family consisting of both natural parents and their
children is steadily fading, replaced by a much more complicated
diversity of family structures.

Cultural Traditionally, an educational institution has been viewed as the major

diversity social agent in the "melting-pot" process. Now it is caught in an
ambiguous position between its traditional role and the emerging trend
towards diversity. The question as to how the curriculum should portray
cultural values, then gains importance in curriculum development today.
Planning for Curricular Change
• Educational aims should be flexible and able to
change in accordance with changing social needs.
• If a major means for survival is to catch fish, lash
horses and frighten away tigers, it is natural that the
school/college in this society will have a curriculum to
meet these needs.
Learning theories and curriculum
behaviorist cognitive theories phenomenology
theories
Which deal with Which view the learner Which emphasizes
various aspects of in relationship with the the affective domain
stimulus total environment of learning.
response and
reinforcement
scheme.
Basic Human Needs and Curriculum
• Physical well-being and health are generally
recognised and frequently dealt with through various
programmes such as those on fitness, nutrition and
health problems.
• Mental health needs such as those pertaining to
acceptance, belonging, security and status have been
widely studied but little emphasized in the area of
curriculum.
Basic Human Needs and Curriculum
• Social reconstruction conception
• Cognitive process conception
• Technology conception
• Humanistic conception
Social reconstruction conception
• Focuses on society needs (Eisner & Vallence, 1974).
• We should create an education where subject matter
focuses on environmental, economic, social and political
issues or perspectives happening in society (ie. pollution).
• This allows young learners to have a better understanding
and connection with society where in the curriculum they
are learning ways on how to live (Sowell, 2005).
Cognitive process conception
• Focuses on the development of the intellectual process.
The curriculum should shape the intellectual and cognitive
skills of the learner.
• Once they gain the skills the learner can apply it to other
forms of learning and in any context.
Humanistic Concepction
• Focuses on the individual and the individuals needs and
interests (Orstien & Hunkins, 2009; Schiro, 2008).
• A curriculum should be student oriented and child centred
meaning children can pursue their individual choices.
• This can allow the individual to learn ways on how to
manage things of personal significance.
Elements of a Curriculum
Elements of a Curriculum
• Objectives
• Contents
• Instruction
• Evaluation
Objectives
• The curriculum aims, goals and objectives spell out what is
to be done.
• It tries to capture what goals are to be achieved, the vision,
the philosophy, the mission statement and objectives.
• Further, it clearly defines the purpose and what the
curriculum is to be acted upon and try what to drive at.
• We begin with this element because it is difficult to plan a
successful trip without a destination.
Contents
• Curriculum content simply means the totality of what is to
be taught in a school system.
• The content component of teaching learning situation
refers to the important facts, principles and concepts to be
taught.
Instructions
• Refers to methods of teaching and the learning activities
used to help students master the content and objectives
specified by a curriculum.
• Instruction encompasses the activities of both teachers
and students.
Evaluation
• Refers to methods of teaching and the learning activities
used to help students master the content and objectives
specified by a curriculum.
• Instruction encompasses the activities of both teachers
and students.
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THANKS