LESSON 1: UNDERSTANDING CURRICULUM

A. Definitions of Curriculum
LLIPDC
1. Curriculum as a list of subjects. This definition suggest that curriculum is the “permanent” or the
traditional subjects offered in the school such as Mathematics, Language, Science, Music, Arts, and
others.
2. Curriculum as learning experiences. This definition includes students’ curricular and co-curricular
activities and the learning experiences they encounter inside or outside the school. This definition
includes the hidden curriculum or those things learned by the students as a result of their experiences in
the school with their peers, schoolmates, teachers, school staff, or the values they learned from a school
program. In short, it includes the school culture.
3. Curriculum as intended learning outcomes. This definition includes a list of learning competencies or
standards that students should learn in school.
4. Curriculum as planned learning experiences. This includes documents specifying contents, objectives,
or general ideas of what students should know in schools or in a specific discipline.
5. Curriculum as a discipline. Curriculum as a discipline has its own principles, theories, and practices.
6. Curriculum as a content or subject matter. This definition views curriculum as a series of topics under
each subject area.

B. Different Types of Curriculum

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1. Ideal or Recommended Curriculum. This refers to what scholars propose as the most appropriate
curriculum for 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.
2. Intended, Official, or Written Curriculum. This refers to the official curriculum embodied in approved
state curriculum guides. It is the curriculum prescribed by the government. For example, the
Kindergarten Curriculum Standards, the K-12 Curriculum, CHED Curriculum for General Education
(Memorandum Order No. 20 Series of 2013), and 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.
4. Achieve Curriculum or Learned Curriculum. This refers to the result of the Curriculum or what students
actually learned in school. The achieved curriculum reveals whether the students learned and whether the
schools are successful in attaining curriculum goals and objectives.
5. Tested Curriculum. This is a set of learning that is assessed in teacher-made classroom tests,
curriculum-referenced tests, and in standardized tests.
6. 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.
7. Supported Curriculum. This refers to the curriculum that is reflected on and shaped by the resource
allocated to support or deliver the official curriculum.
8. Null or Censored Curriculum. This refers to various Curriculum contents or topics that must not be
taught to the students.
9. Hidden Curriculum. This refers to the 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.

C. Curriculum Foundations
 Curriculum development scholars generally identified three categories of sources for curriculum
foundations:
1. Studies of learners and learning theory (Psychology)
2. Studies of life (Sociology and Anthropology)
3. Studies of the nature and value of knowledge (Philosophy)
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: ESLTE
1. Educational objectives
2. Student characteristics
3. Learning processes
4. Teaching methods
5. Evaluation procedures
Meanwhile, studies about 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.
On the other hand, 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.

D. Curriculum Conceptions-CHASTE
1. Academic Rationalist Conception – considered as the oldest among the curriculum conceptions. It
stresses the importance of the 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 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.
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 conception is to be considered and is influential to a certain
extent in designing the curriculum.

E. Elements of a Curriculum
In general, a curriculum has four important elements that 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.
 CCLE

Curriculum Intent

Content

Learning Experiences

Evaluation

1. Curriculum Intent – is the term used 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.
2. 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
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 outcome.
KEEP IN MIND:

The first lesson introduced different concepts that every professional curriculum worker
should know about curriculum. Understanding these concepts is useful in appreciating curriculum
studies as an area in the field of education.
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.

REFERENCE:

Pawilen, Greg T. (2019). The Teacher and the School Curriculum. REX Book Store, INC,
856 Nicanor Reyes St., Sampaloc, Manila.