CHAPTER 1: THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM

MODULE 1

CURRICULUM ESSENTIALS
Lesson 1.1 The Curricula in School
1. Basic Education.
This level includes Kindergarten, Grade 1 to Grade 6 for elementary; and for secondary,
Grade 7 to Grade 10, for the Junior High School and Grade 11 and 12 and for the Senior
High School. Each of the levels has its specific recommended curriculum. The new basic
education levels are provided in the K to 12 Enhanced Curriculum of 2013 of the
Department of Education.
2. Technical Vocational Education.
This is post-secondary technical vocational educational and training taken care of
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). For the TechVoc track
in SHS of DepEd, DepEd and TESDA work in close coordination.
3. Higher Education.
This includes the Baccalaureate or Bachelor Degrees and the Graduate Degrees (Master's
and Doctorate) which are under the regulation of the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) Content Focus

TYPES OF CURRICULA SIMULTANEOUSLY OPERATING IN THE SCHOOLS

1. Recommended Curriculum.
Almost all currricula found in our schools are recommended. For Basic Education, these
are recommended by the Department of Education (DepEd), for Higher Education, by the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and for vocational education by TESDA.
These three government agencies oversee and regulate Philippine education. The
recommendations come in the form of memoranda or policies, standards and guidelines.
Other professional organizations or international bodies like UNESCO also recommend
curricula in schools.
2. Written Curriculum.
This includes documents based on the recommended curriculum. They come in the form
of course of study, syllabi, modules, books or instructional guides among others. A packet
of this written curriculum is the teacher's lesson plan.
3. Taught Curriculum.
From what has been written or planned, the curriculum has to be implemented or taught.
The teacher and the learners will put life to the written curriculum. The skill of the
teacher to facilitate learning based on the written curriculum with the aid of instructional
materials and facilities will be necessary the taught curriculum will depend largely on the
teaching style of the teacher and the learning style of the learners.
4. Supported Curriculum.
This is described as support materials that the teacher needs to make learning and
teaching meaningful. These include print materials like books, charts, posters,
worksheets, or non-print materials like Power Point presentation, movies, slides, models,
realia’s, mock-ups and other electronic illustrations. Supported curriculum also
includes facilities where learning occurs outside or inside the four-walled building. These
include the playground, science laboratory, audio-visual rooms, zoo, museum, market or
 the plaza. These are the places where authentic learning through direct experiences
occurs.
5. Assessed Curriculum.
Taught and supported curricula have to be evaluated to find out if the teacher has
succeeded or not in facilitating learning. In the process of teaching and at the end of
every lesson or teaching episode, an assessment is made.
6. Learned Curriculum.
The positive outcome of teaching is an indicator of learning. These are measured by tools
in assessment, which can indicate the cognitive, affective and psychomotor outcomes.
Learned curriculum will also demonstrate higher order and critical thinking and lifelong
skills.
7. Hidden/Implicit Curriculum.
This curriculum is not deliberately planned, but has a great impact on the behavior of the
learner. But has great impact on the behavior of the learner Peer influence, school
environment, media, parental pressures, societal changes, cultural practices, natural
calamities are some factors that hidden curriculum. Teachers should be sensitive and
aware of this hidden curriculum. Teachers must have good foresight to include these in
the written curriculum, in order to bring to the to face what are hidden.

LESSON 1.2 THE TEACHER AS CURRICULARIST

teacher been described as curricularist.
Curricularists in the past, are referred only to those who developed curriculum theories.
According to the study conducted by Sandra Hayes (1991) the most influential curricularist in
America include John Dewey, Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba and Franklin Bobbit. You will learn
more of them in the later part of the module.

The teacher as a curricularist

1. knows the curriculum. (KNOWER)
Learning begins with knowing. The teacher as a learner starts with knowing about the
curriculum, the subject matter or the content. As a teacher, one has to master what are
included in the curriculum.
2. writes the curriculum. (WRITER)
A classroom teacher takes record of knowledge concepts, subject matter or content.
3. plans the curriculum. (PLANNER)
A good curriculum has to be planned. It is the role of the teacher to make a yearly,
monthly or daily plan of the curriculum. This will serve as a guide in the implementation
of the curriculum. The teacher takes into consideration several factors in planning a
curriculum.
4. initiates the curriculum. (INITIATOR)
In cases where the curriculum is recommended to the schools from DepEd, CHED,
TESDA UNESCO, UNICEF or other educational agencies for improvement of quality
education, the teacher is obliged to implement it. Implementation of a new curriculum
requires the open mindedness of the teacher, and the full belief that the curriculum will
enhance learning. There will be many constraints and difficulties in doing things first or
leading however, a transformative teacher will never hesitate to try something novel and
relevant.
 5. innovates the curriculum. (INNOVATOR)
Creativity and innovation are hallmarks of an excellent teacher. A good teacher, therefore,
innovates the curriculum and thus becomes a curriculum innovator.
6. implements the curriculum. (IMPLEMENTOR)
The curriculum that remains recommended or written will never serve its purpose.
Somebody has to implement it. As mentioned previously, at the heart of schooling is the
curriculum. It is this role where the teacher becomes the curriculum implementor. An
implementor gives life to the curriculum plan.
7. evaluates the curriculum. (EVALUATOR)
How can one determine if the desired learning outcomes have been achieved? Is the
curriculum working? Does it bring the desired results? What do outcomes reveal? Are the
learners achieving? Are there some practices that should be modified? Should the
curriculum be modified, terminated or continued? These are some few questions that
need the help of a curriculum evaluator. That person is the teacher.

MODULE 2: THE TEACHER AS A KNOWER OF CURRICULUM

LESSON 2.1 The School Curriculum: Definition, Nature and Scope

Oftentimes curriculum is taken in its narrow view as a listing of subjects to be taught in schools
or sometimes it is understood broadly as all learning experiences that individuals undergo while
in school. We cannot deny the fact that curriculum should be clarified by teachers and other
stakeholders. Curriculum affects all teachers, students, parents, politicians, businessmen,
professionals, government officials or even the common people.

Like many concepts in education, there seems to be no common definition of 'curriculum'.

Because of this, the concept of curriculum is sometimes characterized as fragmentary, elusive
and confusing. However, the word originates from the Latin word currere referring to the oval
track upon which Roman chariots raced. The New International Dictionary defines curriculum
as the whole body of a course in an educational institution or by a department while the Oxford
English Dictionary defines curriculum as courses taught in schools or universities. Curriculum
means different things to different people. Sometimes educators equate curriculum with the
syllabus while a few regards it as all the teaching-learning experiences which the student
encounters while in school. Numerous definitions indicate dynamism which connotes diverse
interpretations as influenced by modes of thoughts, pedagogies, philosophies, political as well as
cultural perspectives. Here are some of them.

Some Definitions of Curriculum

1. Curriculum is a planned and guided set of learning experiences and intended outcomes,
formulated through the systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experiences under
the auspices of the school, for the learners' continuous and willful growth in personal
social competence." (Daniel Tanner, 1980)
2. It is a written document that systematically describes goals planned, objectives, content,
learning activities, evaluation procedures and so forth. (Pratt, 1980)
3. The contents of a subject, concepts and tasks to be acquired, planned activities, the
desired learning outcomes and experiences, product of culture and an agenda to reform
society make up a curriculum. (Schubert, 1987)
 4. A curriculum includes "all of the experiences that individual learners have in a program
of education whose purpose is to achieve broad goals and related specific objectives,
which is planned in terms of a framework of theory and research or past and present
professional practice." (Hass, 1987)
5. It is a programme of activities (by teachers and pupils) designed so that pupils will attain
so far as possible certain educational and other schooling ends or objectives. (Grundy,
1987)
6. It is a plan that consists of learning opportunities for a specific time frame and place, a
tool that aims to bring about behavior changes in students as a result of planned activities
and includes all learning experiences received by students with the guidance of the
school. (Goodland and Su, 1992)
7. It provides answers to three questions: 1. What knowledge, skills and values are most
worthwhile? 2. Why are they most worthwhile? 3. How should the young acquire them?
(Cronbeth, 1992)

Some Points of View of Other Curricularists

Since the concept and meaning of curriculum are shaped by a person's point of view, this has
added to fragmentation, and some confusion. However when put together, the different
definitions from diverse points of view, would describe curriculum as dynamic and perhaps ever
changing.
Points of view about the curriculum can either be traditional or progressive according to the
person's philosophical, psychological and even psychological orientations. These views can also
define what a curriculum is all about.

Curriculum from Traditional Points of View

The traditional points of view of curriculum were advanced by Robert Hutchins, Arthur Bestor,
and Joseph Schwab.
 Robert M. Hutchins
views curriculum as "permanent studies" where rules of grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic
and mathematics for basic education are emphasized. The 3Rs k(Reading, Writing,
Arithmetic) should be emphasized in basic education while liberal education should be
the emphasis in college.
 Arthur Bestor
as an essentialist believes that the mission of the school should be intellectual training,
hence curriculum should focus on the fundamental intellectual disciplines of grammar,
literature and writing. It should include mathematics, science, history and foreign
language.
 Joseph Schwab
thinks that the sole source of curriculum is a discipline, thus the subject areas such as
Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, English and many more. In college, academic
disciplines are labelled as humanities, sciences, languages, mathematics among others.
He coined the word discipline as a ruling doctrine for curriculum development.
 Phillip Phenix
asserts that curriculum should consist entirely of knowledge which comes from various
disciplines.
Curriculum from Progressive Points of View
On the other hand, a listing of school subjects, syllabi, course of study, and specific discipline
does not make a curriculum. In its broadest terms, a progressive view of curriculum is the total
learning experiences of the individual. Let us look into how curriculum is defined from a
progressive point of view.
 John Dewey
believes that education is experiencing. Reflective thinking is a means that unifies
curricular elements that are tested by application.
 Holin Caswell and Kenn Campbell
viewed curriculum as all experiences children have under the guidance of teachers.
 Othaniel Smith, William Stanley and Harlan Shore
likewise defined curriculum as a sequence of potential experiences, set up in schools for
the purpose of disciplining children and youth in group ways of thinking and acting.
 Colin Marsh and George Willis
also viewed curriculum as all the experiences in the classroom which are planned and
enacted by the teacher and also learned by the students.

CURRICULUM is what is taught in school, a set of subjects, a content, a program of studies, a

set of materials, a sequence of courses, set of a program of studies everything that goes within
the teacher, it is what is taught inside and outside of school directed by everything planned by
school, a series of experiences undergone by learners in school or what individual learner
experiences as a result of school. In School, curriculum is the total learning experiences of the
learner under the guidance of the, teacher.

LESSON 2.2: APPROACHES TO THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM

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 practiced.
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,
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 sciences. Texts book tend to begin
biological science such are plants and animals; physical science with the physical
elements, force and motion; earth science with 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 to 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 models. 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 to 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

BASICS: 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
18) added an important element which is Scope, hence from BASIC 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 allocation.
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 no 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 wholistic 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 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 coin:
instruction, implementation, 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.
 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, or process that
gives action using the content, it has also been viewed as a product. In other words,
product is what the students desire to achieve as learning outcomes.
The product from the curriculum is a student equipped with the knowledge, skills
and values to function effectively and efficiently. The real purpose of education is to
bring about significant changes in students' pattern of behavior. It is important that any
statement of objectives or intended outcomes of the school should be a 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 products so that
content and teaching methods 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 content and processes in the curriculum. experiences in the curriculum. All of
these are result of planning content and processes in the curriculum.