Lesson 2.

2 Approaches to the School Curriculum

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Describe the different approaches to school curriculum

 Explain by examples how the approaches clarify the definition of curriculum
 Reflect on how the three approaches interrelate with each other

Take Off

From the various definitions, we realize that curriculum is viewed in many ways. Let us
look back and use the definitions as a way of classifying how curriculum is viewed. In this
lesson, let us look at the curriculum as either a Content, a Process or a Product to fully
understand the different perspectives of what curriculum is all about. This can be one way of
approaching a curriculum.

Content Focus

Three Ways of Approaching a Curriculum

Curriculum can be approached or seen in three ways. It can be defined as a content, a

process or an outcome. If you examine the definitions provided by the experts in the field, there
are three ways of approaching a curriculum. First, is to approach it as content or a body of
knowledge to be transmitted. Second, is to approach it as a product or the learning outcomes
desired of learners. Third, is to approach it as a process or what actually happens in the
classroom when the curriculum is practised.

1. Curriculum as a Content or Body of Knowledge

It is quite common for traditionalists to equate a curriculum to a topic outline, subject
matter, or concepts to be included in the syllabus or a book. For example, a primary school
mathematics curriculum consists of topics on addition, multiplication, subtraction, division,
distance, weight and many more. Another example is in secondary school science that involves
the study of biological science, physical science, environmental science and earth science.
Textbooks tend to begin with biological science such are plants and animals: physical science
with the physical elements, force and motion; earth societal the layers of the earth and
environmental science with the interaction of the biological and physical science and earth's
phenomena, climate, vegetation followed by economic activities such as agriculture, mining,
industries, urbanization and so forth.
 If curriculum is equated as content, then the focus will be the body of knowledge to be
transmitted to students using appropriate teaching method. There can be a likelihood that
teaching will be limited the acquisition of facts, concepts and principles of the subject matter,
however, the content or subject matter can also be taken as a means to an end.
All curricula have content regardless of their design or model. The fund of knowledge is
the repository of accumulated discoveries and inventions of man from the explorations of the
earth and as products of research. In most educational setting, curriculum is anchored on a body
of knowledge or discipline.

There are four ways of presenting the content in the curriculum. These are
1. Topical Approach, where much content is based on knowledge and experiences are
included;
2. Concept Approach with fewer topics in clusters around major and sub-concepts and their
interaction, with relatedness emphasized:
3. Thematic Approach as a combination of concepts that develop conceptual structures, and
4. Modular Approach that leads to complete units of instruction.

Criteria in the Selection of Content

There are some suggested criteria in the selection of knowledge or subject matter.
(Scheffer, 1970 in Bilbao, et al 2015)

1. Significance. Content should contribute to ideas, concepts, principles and generalization

that should attain the overall purpose of the curriculum. It is significant if content
becomes the means of developing cognitive, affective or psychomotor skills of the
learner. As education is a way of preserving culture, content will be significant when this
will address the cultural context of the learners.
2. Validity. The authenticity of the subject matter forms its validity. Knowledge becomes
obsolete with the fast changing times. Thus there is a need for validity check and
verification at a regular interval, because content which may be valid in its original form
may not continue to be valid in the current times.
3. Utility. Usefulness of the content in the curriculum is relative the learners who are going
to use these. Utility can be relative to time. It may have been useful in the past, but may
not be useful now or in the future. Questions like: Will I use this in my future job? Will it
add meaning to my life as a lifelong learner? Or will the subject matter be useful in
solving current concerns?
4. Learnability. The complexity of the content should be within the range of experiences of
the learners. This is based on the psychological principles of learning. Appropriate
organization of content standards and sequencing of contents are two basic principles that
would influence learnability.
 5. Feasibility. Can the subject content be learned within the time allowed, resources
available, expertise of the teachers and the nature of the learners? Are there contents of
learning which can be learned beyond the formal teaching-learning engagement? Are
there opportunities provided to learn these?
6. Interest. Will the learners take interest in the content? Why? Are the contents
meaningful? What value will the contents have in the present and future life of the
learners? Interest is one of the driving forces for students to learn better. The selection of
the subject matter or content, aside from the seven criteria mentioned earlier, may include
the following guide.

Guide in the Selection of the Content in the Curriculum

1. Commonly used in the daily life

2. Appropriate to the maturity levels and abilities of the learners
3. Valuable in meeting the needs and competencies of the future career
4. Related to other subject fields or discipline for complementation and integration
5. Important in the transfer of learning to other disciplines

B A S I C S: Fundamental Principles for Curriculum Contents

Palma in 1952 proposed that the contents in the curriculum should be guided by Balance,
Articulation, Sequence, Integration and Continuity. However, in designing a curriculum contents
Hunkins and Ornstein (2018) added an important element which is Scope, hence from BASIC to
BASICS initials of Balance, Articulation, Sequence, Integration, Continuity.

Balance. Content should be fairly distributed in depth and breadth. This will guarantee
that significant contents should be covered to avoid too much or too little of the contents needed
with in the time allocations.

Articulation. As the content complexity progresses with the educational levels, vertically
or horizontally, across the same discipline smooth connections or bridging should be provided.
This will assure gaps or overlaps in the content. Seamlessness in the content is desired and can
be assured if there is articulation in the curriculum. Thus, there is a need off team among writers
and implementers of curriculum.

Sequence. The logical arrangement of the content refers to sequence or order. This can
be done vertically for deepening the content or horizontally for broadening the same content. In
both ways, the pattern usually is from easy to complex, what is known to the unknown, what is
current to something in the future.
 Integration. Content in the curriculum does not stand alone or in isolation. It has some
ways of relatedness or connectedness to other contents. Contents should be infused in other
disciplines whenever possible. This will provide a holistic or unified view of curriculum instead
of segmentation. Contents which can be integrated to other disciplines acquire a higher premium
than when isolated.

Continuity. Content when viewed as a curriculum should continuously flow as it was

before, to where it is now, and where it will be in the future. It should be perennial. It endures
time. Content may not be in the same form and substance as seen in the past since changes and
developments in curriculum occur. Constant repetition, reinforcement and enhancement of
content are all elements of continuity.

Scope. The breadth and depth of the curriculum content are vital in a curriculum. Scope
consists of all the contents, topics, learning experiences comprising the curriculum. In layman's
term scope refers to coverage. The scope shall consider the cognitive level, affective domain and
psychomotor skills in identifying the contents. Other factors will be considered but caution is
given to overloading of contents. “More contents is not always better.”

2. Curriculum as a Process

We have seen that the curriculum can be approached as content. On the other hand, it can
also be approached as a process. Here, curriculum is not seen as a physical thing or a noun, but
as a verb or an action. It is the interaction among the teachers, students and content. As a process,
curriculum happens in the classroom as the questions asked by the teacher and the learning
activities engaged in by the students. It is an active process with emphasis on the context in
which the processes occur. Used in analogy of a recipe in a cookbook, a recipe is the content
while the ways of cooking is the process.

Curriculum as a process is seen as a scheme about the practice of teaching. It is not a

package of materials or a syllabus of content to be covered. The classroom is only part of the
learning environment where the teacher places action using the content to achieve an outcome.

Hence the process of teaching and learning becomes the central concern of teachers to
emphasize critical thinking, and heads-on, hands-on learning and many others. As a process,
curriculum links to the content. While content provides materials on what to teach, the process
provides curriculum on how to teach the content. When accomplished, the process will result to
various curriculum experiences for the learners. The intersection of the content and process is
called the Pedagogical Content Knowledge or PCK. It will address the question: If you have this
content, how will you teach it?
 This section will not discuss in detail the different teaching strategies from where
learning experiences are derived. Rather, it will describe how the process as a descriptor of
curriculum is understood. The content is the substance of the curriculum, how the contents will
be communicated and learned will be addressed by the process.

To teachers, the process is very critical. This is the other side of the con: instruction,
implementation, and teaching. These three words connote the process in the curriculum. When
educators ask teachers: What Curriculum are you using? Some of the answers will be: 1.
Problem- based. 2. Hands-on, Minds-on, 3. Cooperative Learning, 4. Blended Curriculum 5. On-
line 6. Case-based and many more. These responses approach curriculum as a Process. These are
the ways of teaching, ways of managing the content, guiding learning, methods of teaching and
learning and strategies of teaching or delivery modes. In all of these, there are activities and
actions that every teacher and learner do together or learners are guided by the teacher. Some of
the strategies are time- tested traditional methods while others are emerging delivery modes.

When curriculum is approached as a PROCESS, guiding principles are presented.

1. Curriculum process in the form of teaching methods or strategies are means to achieve
the end.
2. There is no single best process or method. Its effectiveness will depend on the desired
learning outcomes, the learners, support materials and the teacher.
3. Curriculum process should stimulate the learners' desire to develop the cognitive,
affective, psychomotor domains in each individual.
4. In the choice of methods, learning and teaching styles should be considered.
5. Every method or process should result to learning outcomes which can be described as
cognitive, affective and psychomotor.
6. Flexibility in the use of the process or methods should be considered. An effective
process will always result to learning outcomes.
7. Both teaching and learning are the two important processes in the implementation of the
curriculum.

3. Curriculum as a Product

Besides viewing curriculum as content that is to be transmitted process that gives action
using the content, it has also been product. In other words, product is what the students as
learning outcomes.
The product from the curriculum is a student equipped with knowledge, skills and values to
function effectively and efficient. The real purpose of education is to bring about significant
changes in students' pattern of behavior. It is important that any statement of changes to take
place in the students. Central to the approach is the formulation of behavioral objectives stated as
intended learning outcomes or desired so that content and teaching method may be organized and
the results evaluated. Products of learning are operationalized as knowledge, skills, and values.

Curriculum product is expressed in the form of outcomes which are referred to as the
achieved learning outcomes. There may be several desired learning outcomes, but if the process
is not successful, then no learning outcomes will be achieved. These learned or achieved learning
outcomes are demonstrated by the person who has meaningful experiences in the curriculum. All
of these are result of planning, content and processes in the curriculum.