Curriculum

 Latin Currere- oval track upon which Roman chariots races

 The whole body of course in an educational institution or by
department-The new international Dictionary
 Courses taught in schools or universities- Oxford English Dictionary
 Curriculum
Some Definitions of Curriculum
 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)
 A written document that systematically describes goals planned,
objectives, content, learning activities, evaluation procedures and so
forth. (Pratt, 1980)
 Curriculum
Some Definitions of Curriculum
 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)
 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)
 Curriculum
Some Definitions of Curriculum
 As 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)

Some point of view of other

Curricularist
Curriculum from Traditional Points of View
Robert M. Hutchins views curriculum as "permanent studies" where
rules of grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic and mathematics for basic
education are emphasized. The 3Rs 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.
Curriculum is highly academic and is concerned with broad
historical, philosophical, psychological and social issues.
From a traditional view, curriculum Is mostly written
documents such 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
 John Dewey believes that education 1s experiencing
Reflective thinking is a means that unifies curricular
elements that is 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
In a nutshell
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.
 CURRICULUM AS A CONTENT
OR BODY
OF KNOWLGED
Curriculum content refers to the total body of knowledge,
skills, attitudes and values that students are exposed to
through their learning experiences. These learning
experiences can take place both inside and outside of the
classroom, and involve interactions between students and
their environment.
Criteria in the Selection of Content
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 maybe 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.
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.
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
force for students to learn better
 BASIC Principles of Curriculum Content
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..
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.
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.
 Curriculum Approached as a Process

Is the interaction among the teachers, students and content.

As a process, curriculum happens in they classroom the
questions asked by the teacher and the learning activities
engaged in by the students. It Y uh active process with
emphasis on the context in which the processes occur.
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.
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 a learning outcomes. The product from the curriculum is a student
equipped with the knowledge, skills and values to function effectively
and efficiently. Approach. The real purpose of education is to bring
about significant changes in students pattern of behavior.