The Teacher As A Knower of Curriculum: - Module Overview

Module 2 The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum
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Module Overview:
Module 2 describes the school curriculum in terms of its definition, its nature and scope,
which are needed by the teacher as a knower. This module 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.
Lesson 2.1.The School Curriculum: Definition, Nature and Scope
Desired Learning Outcomes

 Define curriculum from different perspectives
 Describe the nature and scope of curriculum
Take Off
TODAY'S HEADLINES
1. DepEd Reviews the K to 12 Curriculum
2. Suicide incidence in Schools Has Become Alarming
3 Teachers are Reluctant to Try New Things in the Curriculum
4. Co-curricular Activities: Learning Opportunities or Distractions?
5 The Use of ICT Gains Ground in the Public Schools
What can you say of these headlines? 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
implications 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 of character 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
authors. Likewise you will find in this lesson the description of the nature and scope or
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
Content Focus
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 regard 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 I 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) decision 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 behave 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: 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 JRS
(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 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, 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

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 of 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.

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Module 2 The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum

Lesson 2.1.The School Curriculum: Definition, Nature and Scope

Desired Learning Outcomes

Oftentimes curriculum is taken in its narrow view as a listing of subjects to be taught in

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

Some Definitions of Curriculum

Some Points of View of Other Curricularists

Curriculum from Traditional Points of View

 Robert M. Hutchins views curriculum as "permanent studies" where rules of grammar,

Curriculum from Progressive Points of View

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

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