UNIT 1: NATURE OF THE CURRICULUM

A. Definition
The idea of curriculum is constantly changing as society changes.
In a limited sense, curriculum is seen simply as a list of subjects taught in school.
However, in a wider sense, it refers to all the learning experiences individuals have,
not only in school but also in society.

I. Some Definitions of Curriculum

* Curriculum is a planned and directed set of learning experiences and desired
outcomes, created through the organized arrangement of knowledge and
experiences under the school’s guidance, aiming for the continuous and voluntary
growth of individuals in personal and social skills.
(Daniel Tanner, 1980)
* It is a written document that clearly outlines goals, objectives, content, learning
activities, evaluation methods, and other related aspects.
(Pratt, 1980)
* The content of a subject, concepts to be learned, planned activities, desired
outcomes, cultural products, and a plan for social reform together form a curriculum.
(Schubert, 1987)
* A curriculum includes all the experiences that individual learners have in an
educational program aimed at achieving broad goals and specific objectives,
planned using theoretical and research frameworks or based on professional
practice.
(Hass, 1987)
* It is a set of activities designed by teachers and students to help students achieve
certain educational and other educational goals as much as possible.
(Grundy, 1987)

II.
Points of View of Other Curricularists
* Curriculum from the Traditional Point of View
In the early 20th century, the traditional view saw curriculum as the body of subjects
or content prepared by teachers for students.
It was often referred to as the "course of study" or "syllabus".
a) Robert M. Hutchins viewed curriculum as "permanent studies," emphasizing
grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic, and mathematics for basic education.
 He believed basic education should focus on the 3 Rs, while college education
should be based on liberal education.
b) Arthur Bestor, an essentialist, believed the school's mission was intellectual
training, so the curriculum should focus on core intellectual disciplines such as
grammar, literature, and writing, along with mathematics, science, history, and
foreign languages.

c) Joseph Schwab thought the source of curriculum was the subject area, such as
English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.
In college, disciplines may include humanities, sciences, and languages. He used
the term "discipline" to mean a guiding principle for curriculum development.
d) Phillip Phenix argued that curriculum should be entirely based on knowledge from
various disciplines.

* Curriculum from the Progressive Point of View

Progressivists believe that simply listing subjects, syllabi, or course details does not
make a curriculum.
These can be called curriculum only if they are actually experienced by the learner.
Broadly, curriculum is defined as all the learning experiences an individual has.
a) John Dewey believed education was about experience.
He thought reflective thinking was a key element that connected different parts of
the curriculum. He believed thought was tested through application, not derived from
action.
b) Holin Caswell and Kenn Campbell viewed curriculum as all the experiences
children have under the guidance of teachers.

c) Othaniel Smith, William Stanley, and Harlan Shore defined curriculum as a

sequence of potential experiences planned in schools to help children and young
people think and act in group ways.

d) Colin Marsh and George Willis viewed curriculum as all the experiences in the
classroom planned and carried out by teachers and learned by students.

B. Major Conceptions (Types, Components, Purpose)

I. Types of Curriculum Operating in Schools
Allan Grathon (2000), as cited by Bilbao et al. (2008), identified seven types of
curriculum:
1) Recommended curriculum – proposed by scholars and professional organizations.

2) Written curriculum – appears in school, district, division, or country documents.

3) Taught curriculum – what teachers actually implement or deliver in classrooms

and schools.

4) Supported curriculum – resources such as textbooks, computers, and audio-visual

materials that support the implementation of the curriculum.

5) Assessed curriculum – what is tested and evaluated.

6) Learned curriculum – what students actually learn and what is measured.

7) Hidden curriculum – the unintended curriculum.

II.
Elements/Components of the Curriculum
The main components or elements of most curricula are:
1. Aims, goals, and objectives
2. Subject matter/content
3. Learning experiences
4. Evaluation approaches

When translated into questions, each component can be asked as follows:

1. What is to be done?
2. What subject matter is to be included?
3. What instructional strategies, resources, and activities will be used?
4. What methods and instruments will be used to assess the results of the
curriculum?

COMPONENT 1 – CURRICULUM AIMS, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

All schools should aim to:
1) Inculcate patriotism and nationalism
2) Foster love of humanity
3) Promote respect for human rights
4) Appreciate the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country
5) Teach the rights and duties of citizenship
6) Strengthen ethical and spiritual values
7) Develop moral character and personal discipline
8) Encourage critical and creative thinking
9) Broaden scientific and technological knowledge and promote vocational efficiency

Aims of Elementary Education

(Education Act of 1982)

At the elementary level, schools through their curricula should aim to:
- provide knowledge and develop skills, attitudes, and values that are important for
personal growth and needed for living in and contributing to a developing and
changing society;
- offer learning experiences that help a child understand and respond to changes in
society;
- promote and strengthen knowledge, identification with, and love for the nation and
the people to which the child belongs; and
- provide work-related experiences that help learners understand the world of work
and prepare them for honest and productive employment.

Aims of Secondary Education

In high school or secondary level, educational curricula aim to:

- continue to promote the goals of elementary education; and
- discover and develop the different talents and interests of students so that they can
acquire skills for productive work or be prepared for further education at the tertiary
level.

Aims of Tertiary Education

The different courses should aim to:

- provide general education programs that promote national identity, cultural
awareness, moral values, and spiritual strength;
- train the nation’s workforce with the skills needed for national development; and
- advance knowledge through research and apply new knowledge to improve the
quality of human life and respond effectively to changes in society.

The school’s vision

- is a clear idea of what the school hopes to become in the future
- serves as a central focus or unifying element that guides the school staff, faculty,
and students in their individual and collective work
- is the guiding direction for all educational efforts, including the curriculum

The school’s mission statement

- explains how the school intends to achieve its vision
- outlines the kind of people students will become after being educated over a certain
period of time

The school’s vision and mission are further developed into goals, which are broad
statements or intentions that need to be achieved.
The sources of these goals may include the learners, the society, and the body of
knowledge.

The school’s mission statement explains how it intends to carry out its vision.
The mission targets to produce the kind of people students will become after being
educated over a certain period of time.
The school’s vision and mission are further translated into goals, which are broad
statements or intentions to be achieved.
The sources of these goals may include learners, society, and the body of
knowledge.

In a curriculum, these goals are made simple and specific for each learner to
achieve.
These are called educational objectives. Benjamin Bloom and Robert Mager defined
educational objectives in two ways:
1.
an explicit description of how students are expected to change as a result of the
educational process
2.
a statement that communicates the intended change in learners

In other words, objectives:

- direct the change in behavior, which is the main goal of learning
- serve as the basis for choosing learning content and experiences
- also set the criteria for evaluating learning outcomes

Bloom and his associates classified three major domains of objectives.

These are:
1.
cognitive
2.
affective
3.
psychomotor

Cognitive Domain – domain of thought processes (Bloom et al., 1956)

1) Knowledge – recalling and remembering facts, concepts, theories, and principles.
It is the lowest level of cognitive learning.
2) Comprehension – the ability to understand the meaning of the material.
It represents the basic level of understanding.
3) Application – the ability to use learned material in new and practical situations.

4) Analysis – the ability to break down material into its parts to understand its
structure.

5) Synthesis – the ability to combine parts to form a new whole.

6) Evaluation – the ability to make judgments based on given criteria.

Affective Domain – domain of valuing, attitude, and appreciation (Krathwohl, 1964)

1) Receiving – students are willing to pay attention to a particular event, stimulus, or
classroom activity
2) Responding – students actively participate in the learning process
3) Valuing – students assign worth or value to a particular phenomenon, object, or
behavior
4) Organization – students organize different values into a coherent value system
5) Characterization by a value or value complex – students develop a lifestyle based
on their value system

Psychomotor Domain – domain of the use of psychomotor attributes (Simpson,

1972)
1) Perception – using the senses to guide motor activities
2) Set – the readiness to take a particular type of action
3) Guided response – the early stages of learning complex skills, involving imitation
and trial and error
4) Mechanism – responses have become routine.
Skills are performed with ease and confidence
5) Complex overt responses – skilled performance with complex movement patterns
6) Adaptation – skills are well developed, making it easy to modify them
7) Origination – creating new movement patterns to fit a situation.
Creativity is evident.

COMPONENT 2 – CURRICULUM CONTENT OR SUBJECT MATTER

No matter how a curriculum is designed or structured, it always includes content.
Content is:
 more than just the information taught in school
 another way to refer to knowledge

What should be the basis for selecting content?

The following are some criteria that can be used when choosing the subject matter
or knowledge to include in the curriculum:
1) Self-sufficiency – the most important factor in selecting content is helping the
learner become independent in learning in the most efficient way (Scheffler, 1970).
Efficiency means less teaching effort and educational resources, less effort from the
learners, but more effective results and better learning outcomes

2) Significance – content is considered significant if:

 it helps in developing basic ideas, concepts, principles and generalizations that
achieve the overall aim of the curriculum
 it helps develop the learners’ thinking, emotional and physical skills
 it takes into account cultural aspects

3) Validity – the authenticity of the subject matter.

The content should be regularly reviewed to ensure it remains accurate and
relevant.
4) Interest – this is the most important criterion for a learner-centered curriculum.
A learner will value the content if it is relevant and meaningful to them. Students’
interests should be considered, including their maturity level, past experiences, and
the educational and social value of their interests.
5) Utility – the usefulness of the content may depend on the learner’s needs.
It can be useful for the present or for the future.
6) Learnability – the content should fit within the learners’ experiences and level of
understanding.

7) Feasibility – the selection of content should be based on the current situation in

schools, society, and the government.
Other factors that may be considered when selecting learning content include:
a) frequently used in daily life
b) suitable for the maturity level and abilities of students
c) useful for meeting the needs and skills required for future careers
d) connected to other subject areas
e) important for the transfer of knowledge

When organizing various learning contents, the following suggestions are provided
(Palma, n.d.):
1. Balance
2. Articulation
3. Sequence
4. Integration
5.Continuity

COMPONENT 3 – CURRICULUM EXPERIENCES

Different teaching strategies provide the learning experiences.
These strategies and methods bring the curriculum goals and content to life in a way
that leads to meaningful outcomes.
Teaching strategies help turn the planned curriculum into actual learning
experiences.
Both teachers and learners take part in these activities, guided by planned
objectives, the subject matter being taught, and the support materials used. This
includes a variety of teaching methods and educational activities that support
learning. No matter what method a teacher uses to implement the curriculum, there
are guidelines to follow. These include:
1) Teaching methods are means to achieve specific goals. They are used to turn
objectives into action.
2) There is no single best teaching method.
3) Teaching methods should encourage learners to develop their thinking, physical,
social, and spiritual abilities.
4) When choosing teaching methods, students’ learning styles should be considered.
5) Every method should lead to the development of learning outcomes across all
three areas: thinking, feeling, and doing.
6) Flexibility should be a key consideration when using teaching methods.
COMPONENT 4 – CURRICULUM EVALUATION
All effective curricula must include evaluation (Worthen and Sanders, 1987).
Evaluation refers to the formal assessment of the quality, effectiveness, or value of
the curriculum’s program, process, or product. It involves checking whether the
curriculum meets its goals and how well it aligns with expected outcomes. Different
methods of evaluation can be used, such as diagnostic, placement, formative or
summative evaluation, or norm and criterion-referenced evaluation.
Regardless of the methods or materials used for evaluation, a suggested plan for the
evaluation process includes these steps:
1.Focus on one part of the curriculum
2. Collect information
3. Organize the information
4. Analyze the information
5. Report the findings
6. Use the feedback to make continuous improvements and adjustments

III.
Purpose
The goal of the curriculum is to help every child or young person become a
successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen, and an effective
contributor.
The curriculum aims to ensure that all children and young people in Scotland
develop the knowledge, skills, and qualities they need to succeed in life, learning,
and work, both now and in the future. It also helps them understand their role in the
world. The four capacities and their related qualities are outlined below: