Module 2

The Teacher as Knower of Curriculum

Introduction

This module describes the school curriculum in terms of its definition, its nature and
scope which are needed by the teacher as a knower. It provides a wider perspective for the
teachers about the curriculum, in terms of curriculum approach, curriculum development
process, some curriculum models and the foundations upon which curriculum is anchored.

Module Contents

Module 2 has four (4) lessons as enumerated below:

1. The School Curriculum: Definition, Nature and Scope

2. Approaches to School Curriculum
3. Curriculum Development: Processes and Models
4. Foundations of Curriculum Development
The School Curriculum: Definition, Nature and Scope

Lesson Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. (C) Define curriculum from different perspectives
2. (A)
3. (P) Describe the nature and scope of curriculum

Motivation/Prompting Questions

Read the following headlines in newspaper:

1. “Philippines shifts to K to 12 Curriculum”

2. “Nature Deficit Syndrome On the Rise Among School Children”
3. “Teachers are Reluctant to Teach Beyond the Written Curriculum”
4. “Co-curricular Activities: Learning Opportunities or Distraction”
5. “Parents Get Involved in School Learning”

What can you say about the headlines presented? Do these reflect what are going on in
our schools? Should the public know and be involved in the schooling of their citizens? What
are the complications of each headline to the classroom curriculum?

Each member of society seems to view school curriculum differently, hence there are
varied demands on what schools should do and what curriculum should be taught. Some would
demand reducing content and shifting emphasis to development of lifelong skills. Others feel
that development has been placed at the back seat of some schools. More debates are emerging
on the use of languages in the classroom. Should it be mother tongue, the national language or
the global language?
 There seems to be confusion about what curriculum should really be. To have a common
understanding of what curriculum really is, this lesson will present some definitions as given by
various authors. Likewise, you will find in this lesson the description of the nature and scope of
curriculum from several points of view. This lesson will also explain how curriculum is being
approached. It further shows a development process as a concept and as a process as applied to
school curriculum.

Discussion

Whether curriculum is taken in its narrow view as a listing of courses to be taught in

schools or broadly as all learning experiences that individuals undergo while in school, we
cannot deny the fact that curriculum should be understood by teachers and other stakeholders for
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 sometime characterized as
fragmentary, elusive and confusing. However, the word originates from the Latin word
“curere” 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 regard it as all the teaching and 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 program 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 (3) 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 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 Schawab.

Robert M. Hutchins views curriculum as “permanent studies” where rules of

grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic and mathematics for basic education are emphasized. The
3R’s (reading, writing,’rithmetic) 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.

Collectively from the traditional view of theorists like Hutchins, Schwab, Bestor and
Phenix, curriculum can be defined as a field of study. Curriculum is highly academic and is
concerned with broad historical, philosophical and social issues. From a traditional view,
curriculum is mostly written documents such as syllabus, course of study, books and
references where knowledge is found but is used as a means to accomplish intended goals.

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.

The nature of curriculum has given rise to many interpretations depending on a

person’s philosophical beliefs. Let us put all these interpretations in a summary.

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, a set of performance objectives, everything
that goes within the school. It is what is taught inside and outside of school directed by the
teacher, everything planned by school, a series of experiences undergone by learners in school
or what individual learner experiences as a result of school. In short, curriculum is the total
learning experiences of the learner, under the guidance of the teacher.