Chapter 1:

Understanding Curriculum
RONAVIO ALLIOURA T. GALANO
BSED-III
Learning outcomes

 In this chapter , you should be able to:

 Define curriculum;
 Analyze the different types of curriculum;
 Discuss different curriculum foundations; and
 Discuss different curriculum conceptions.
 Definitions of Curriculum

 Curriculum as a list of subjects - This definition suggests that curriculum is the

“permanent” or the traditional subjects offered in the school 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 they encounter inside and
outside the school. This definition includes the hidden curriculum, or those things
learned by the students as a result of their experience in the school with peers,
schoolmates, teacher, school staffs or the values they learned from a school program. In
short, it includes the school culture.
Definition of Curriculum
 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
documents specifying contents, objectives or general ideas of what
students should know in school or in a specific discipline.
 Curriculum as a discipline- curriculum as a discipline has its own
principles, theories, and practices.
 Curriculum as content or subject matter - This definition views
as a series of topics under each subject area.
 Different Types of Curriculum

 Ideal or recommended Curriculum - This refers to what scholars propose as the most
appropriate curriculum for the learners. For example different professional organizations
or various programs of study in different universities may propose curriculum innovations
or alternative curriculum content as a result of their researches.
 Intended, Official or Written Curriculum - This refers to the official curriculum
embodied in approved state curriculum guides. (Glatthorn, Boschee, and Whitehead,
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 Authority (TESDA). Examples of this
type of curriculum are:
- The Kindergarten Curriculum Standards
- The K-12 curriculum
- CHED Curriculum for General Education (Memorandum Order No. 20
Series of 2013)
- TESDA Modules and Competencies

 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 curriculums based on the needs of the
students or whenever there are new ideas in various discipline 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.

 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 and whether the schools
are successful in attaining their curriculum goals and objectives.
Different types of Curriculum

 Tested Curriculum – This is a set of learning that is assessed in teacher-

made classroom test, curriculum-referenced tests, and in standardized
tests. (Glatthorn, Boschee, Whitehead, 2006)
 Entitlement Curriculum- It refers to what the people or the general
society believed the learners should expect to learn in the educational
system for them to become good members of the society.
 Supported Curriculum- This refers to the curriculum that is reflected on
and shaped by the resources allocated to support or deliver the official
curriculum. (Glatthorn, Boschee, and Whitehead, 2006)
 Different Types of Curriculum

 Null or Censored Curriculum- This refers to various curriculum contents or

topics that must not be taught to the students. (Tanner & Tanner, 2007)

 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 the hidden curriculum is not actually taught in
formal classroom learning. It is also true that the hidden curriculum can be a
product of the students’ schooling. The hidden curriculum is very powerful in
developing the school culture (Print, 1993).
 Curriculum Foundations

 Curriculum Foundations Tyler (1949), Taba (1962), Eisner (1985), Saylor, Alexander,
and Lewis (1981), Print (1993), Sowell (1996), and Tanner and Tanner (2007)
identified three types of curriculum foundation sources: (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 affected curriculum developers as they framed various curricular
concepts and developed curriculum
 Psychology as a discipline deals about understanding human behavior; hence, it is
important in curriculum development. According to Print (1993), psychology can
provide information in five important areas:
 Curriculum Foundations
 1. Educational objectives
 2. Student characteristics
 3. Learning processes
 4. Teaching methods
 5. Evaluation procedures
 Meanwhile, studies about the society and culture-sociology and anthropology, respectively
affect all curriculum processes. Sowell (1996) pointed out that knowledge about the society
and its culture is important in selecting the content of the curriculum. It provides a clear
understanding of the context in which the curriculum is developed. Studies about the
society and culture help curriculum workers in understanding several social and
educational issues that affect curriculum processes and education in general.
 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.
 Curriculum Conceptions

 3. Humanistic Conception- stresses the idea that curriculum or education is an

instrument for developing the full potential 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.
 Curriculum Conceptions

 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 a Curriculum

 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. These four
elements are curriculum intent, content, learning experiences,
and evaluation.
Elements of a Curriculum

Curriculum
Intent
Content
Learning
Experiences
Evaluatio
n
 Curriculum Intent

 is the term used by Print (1993) to mean the direction that curriculum developers wish to
take as a result of participating in the curriculum. It includes the aims, goals, and
objectives found in any curriculum documents.
 Aims - are the broad statements of social or educational expectations. Aims include
what is hoped to be achieved by the entire curriculum.
 Goals - are statements more specific than aims. Goals are general statements of what
concepts, skills, and values should be learned in the curriculum.
 Objectives- are specific learning outcomes. Objectives include what specific concepts,
skills, and values should be learned by the students. Usually, objectives are used in
making decisions or planning about instruction.
 Contents and Learning Experiences

 Contents may include values, concepts, or skills that are important for the learners to
learn

 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.
 Evaluation

 includes the different ways and tools used for evaluating whether or not the
curriculum intents were realized. Evaluation tools are also used to evaluate
the performance of the learners after they have undergone the curriculum.
 Hilda Taba (1962) observed that all curricula, no matter what design they have, are composed of
certain elements.
 A curriculum usually contains a statement of aims and specific objectives.
 It indicates some selection and organization of content.
 It either implies or manifests certain patterns of learning and teaching, whether because the
objectives demand them or because the content organization requires them.
 It includes a program of evaluation of the outcomes.
 Understanding the different elements of curriculum will help curriculum workers especially the
teachers in designing curriculum and in analyzing the different curriculum materials that are offered
to schools and students.
Activities

 Write a personal definition of curriculum. Explain.

 Browse the internet and check some examples of an ideal curriculum
suggested by professional organizations. List down at least two
examples.
 What are the benefits and possible pitfalls of having an official
curriculum prescribed to all schools?
 Discuss the roles of the teachers and other curriculum workers in
ensuring the success of the implemented curriculum.
 Provide an example of a null or censored curriculum.