04 HPGD1103 T1

Topic 1
What is Curriculum?
By the end of this topic, you should be able to do the following:

1. Define curriculum.
2. Compare the various definitions of curriculum proposed
by different scholars.
3. Explain what is hidden curriculum.
4. Differentiate between the three approaches to the curriculum.
5. Identify the foundations of the curriculum.
6. Discuss the connection between curriculum and instruction.
7. Describe the curriculum development process.
8. Argue whether the curriculum is a discipline.
Hak Cipta © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

2 TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM?
You would have probably come across these headlines in Malaysian newspapers
(refer to Figure 1.1).
Figure 1.1: Headlines in Malaysian Newspapers
These headlines indicate societyÊs concern with what is going on in schools,

particularly the curriculum. It should be remembered that a curriculum is a
contract between society and those in power stating how the next generation
of young people will be educated. Hence, the general public has the right to
question how schools prepare the next generation of citizens.

TOPIC 1 WHAT IS CURRICULUM? 3
As the society becomes more educated, more members are keen to express
their views on various issues regarding what schools do and what is taught
in schools. Sometimes it is tempting to ask whether society ever comes to
a consensus on what it wants schools to do.
Some population demand that schools teach mastery of a discipline in terms of

facts, concepts, and principles. In contrast, others call for reducing content and
instead emphasise on developing critical and creative thinking. Still, others feel
that schools are not paying enough attention towards developing studentsÊ
character. It appears that society is confused, not knowing what it wants of
its schools. However, what may be defined as confusion is dynamism in
reality because curriculum reflects our values, choices, and perspectives in
differing contexts. As society changes, so will the curriculum because it reflects
society at a particular time. For example, during colonial times, education in
Malaysia was confined to producing clerks and office assistants for the English
administrative system.
Whether we consider curriculum as a list of subjects taught in schools or all

learning experiences acquired in school, there is no denying that curriculum
affects everyone. The curriculum concerns everyone, whether teachers, academics,
students, parents, politicians, business people, professionals, government officials
or the person on the street.
ACTIVITY 1.1
1. Choose any three headlines listed earlier in Figure 1.1. Why are
the issues important?
2. Locate and report other concerns about the curriculum that

you have come across.
Discuss these questions with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE

online forum.

1.1
DEFINITIONS OF CURRICULUM
Like most things in education, there is no agreed-upon definition of „curriculum‰.

The word originates from the Latin word currere, referring to the lap or course
around the track where Roman chariot race was held (refer to Figure 1.2).
Figure 1.2: Rome Chariot Race
Source: https://bit.ly/3YHUaVM
The New International Dictionary defines curriculum as:
The whole body of a course in an educational institution or by a department.
In contrast, The Oxford English Dictionary defines curriculum as:
Courses taught in schools or universities.

Curriculum means different things to different people. Most people, including

educators, equate curriculum with the syllabus (Do you agree? ), while a few
regard curriculum as all the teaching-learning experiences a student encounters
in school. Since the early 20th century, when Franklin Bobbitt, dubbed the
Father of Curriculum, wrote his book The Curriculum in 1918, various
theoreticians and practitioners have proposed various definitions of curriculum
(refer to Table 1.1).
Table 1.1: Definitions of Curriculum
Theoretician Definition
Tanner „The planned and guided learning experiences and intended

(1980) outcomes, formulated through the systematic reconstruction of
knowledge and experiences under the auspices of the school,
for the learnersÊ continuous and wilful growth in personal social
competence.‰ (p. 13).
Schubert The contents of a subject, concepts, and tasks to be acquired,

(1987) planned activities, the desired learning outcomes and experiences,
the product of culture and an agenda to reform society.
Pratt A written document that systematically describes planned goals,

(1980) objectives, content, learning activities, evaluation procedures, etc.
Goodlad and Su A plan consisting of learning opportunities for a specific time

(1992) and place. This plan aims to bring about behaviour changes in
students as a result of planned activities and includes all learning
experiences received by students with the schoolÊs guidance.
Cronbleth Answering three questions: What knowledge, skills and values

(1992) are most worthwhile? Why are they most worthwhile? How
should the young acquire them?
Grundy A programme of activities (by teachers and pupils) designed,

(1987) so pupils attain certain educational and other schooling ends or
objectives as far as possible.
Ornstein „All of the experiences that individual learners have in a program

(1987) of education. The purpose of the curriculum is to achieve broad
goals and specific objectives. It is planned based on a framework
of theory and research or past and present professional practice‰
(p. 5).

Figure 1.3 shows a summary of various curriculum interpretations. LetÊs find out
together.
Figure 1.3: A Summary of Various Curriculum Interpretations
Source: Oliva & Gordon (2012)
Are you confused with the different curriculum interpretations? Well, donÊt be!
It is not necessarily a bad thing to have numerous definitions of curriculum.
The variety of definitions demonstrates the fieldÊs dynamism. This variety
exists because it reflects the philosophical beliefs, conceptions of human learning,
pedagogical strategies, political experiences and cultural and societal background
of the planned curriculum (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998). Though much time
may be spent on defining curriculum, it may be well spent because it encourages
exploring many possibilities. One should be aware that if a curriculum is
too narrowly defined, there is the tendency and likelihood to omit, ignore or
miss relevant factors related to teaching and learning because they are not part
of the written plan.

On the other hand, it would not be easy to implement if they are too broadly
defined because they may be open to different interpretations. These diverse
definitions will make evaluating the achievement of the goals and objectives
of the programme more difficult.
Despite varying definitions of curriculum, there seems to be a consensus that

it is a statement of:
• what students should know (knowledge or content);
• what students should be able to do (skills);
• how it is taught (instruction);
• how it is measured (assessment); and
• how the educational system is organised (context).
Thus, the curriculum is a structured plan of intended learning outcomes

involving knowledge, skills, behaviour, and associated learning experiences
organised as a sequence of events a student acquired through education and
training. How we conceive the curriculum is important because our conceptions
and ways of reasoning about curriculum reflect how we think, study, and act
on the education made available to students. In short, how we define the
curriculum reflects our assumptions about the world (Cornbleth, 1990).
SELF-CHECK 1.1
1. Identify the FIVE common features of a curriculum mentioned in

most of the definitions given by scholars in the field (excluding
Oliva & Gordon, 2012).
2. Select SIX interpretations of the curriculum summarised by Oliva

and Gordon (2012) which you think gives a comprehensive
definition of curriculum.

1.2
THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM
You may have heard of the phrase „hidden curriculum‰. What is it? The phrase
hidden curriculum was coined by the sociologist Philip Jackson in his book
Life in Classrooms, written in 1968. He drew attention to the idea that schools
did more than transmit knowledge from one generation to another. Students
learn things that are not taught in the formal curriculum. It could be viewed as
the entire range of educational experiences promoted by schools and teachers
through practices that are not necessarily written down.
Doll (1992) pointed out that „every school has a planned, formally acknowledged
curriculum, but there is also an unplanned informal and hidden one that
must be considered ‰ (p. 5). The planned, formal curriculum focuses on goals,
objectives, subject matter, and organisation of instruction. The unplanned,
informal curriculum deals with socio-psychological interaction among students,
teachers, and administrators, especially regarding their feelings, attitudes, and
behaviours.
Suppose we only consider the planned curriculum as the official curriculum

stated in a written document. In that case, we ignore the planned curriculumÊs
numerous positive and negative consequences. Often, we fail to realise the
power of the hidden curriculum, which may not be written but will certainly
be learned by students. For example, they learn even without being formally
taught:
• about „the rules of the game‰ in the school canteen, playground, corridors
of the school and so forth;
• the specific relationships between senior and junior students, between male
and female students, cliques of students;
• how an order is created and maintained in the classroom, the way individual
teachers interpret the behaviour of students; and
• the way teachers and principals or headteachers have different expectations

of students based on interpretations of behaviour in class.

The hidden curriculum involves learning. This curriculum includes how to

respond to and cope with authority. It also teaches students how to get on
with others, pass the time, deal with boredom, establish priorities, and conform
to teachersÊ and peersÊ expectations.
SELF-CHECK 1.2
1. What is the hidden curriculum?
2. Why is the hidden curriculum important in education?
ACTIVITY 1.2
Give examples of the hidden curriculum other than those stated in the
text.
Share your answer with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online

forum.

1.3
CURRICULUM APPROACHES
Suppose you examine the definitions provided by experts in the field. In that
case, there are three ways of approaching a curriculum (refer to Figure 1.4).
Figure 1.4: Approaches to Curriculum
The first is approaching it as content or a body of knowledge to be transmitted.

The second is approaching it as a product or the desired learning outcomes.
The third is approaching it as a process or what happens in the classroom
when the curriculum is practised.
1.3.1 Curriculum as Content

It is common for people to equate a curriculum with the syllabus, which is a
concise document listing the topics of a subject. You will be familiar with such
documents if you have experience preparing students for national examinations.
What do they contain? It is a list of topics, concepts to be mastered, and suggestions
on how the topics are taught. For example, a primary school mathematics
curriculum will consist of topics on addition, multiplication, subtraction, division,
distance, weight and so forth. A syllabus will not generally indicate the relative
importance of the topics or the order in which they are to be studied. But, there
is a tendency for teachers to follow the sequence prescribed in the syllabus.

In most cases, teachers follow the logical structure of selected textbooks because
the textbooks have been written to match the syllabus closely, for example,
in geography subjects in secondary school. The subjects involve the study of
countries or regions. The textbooks begin with physical geographies, such as relief,
climate and vegetation, followed by economic activities, such as agriculture,
mining, industries, urbanisation, etc.
Suppose one adopts the content approach to a curriculum. In that case, the focus
will be on the syllabus, and the body of knowledge to be transmitted or
„delivered‰ to students using appropriate teaching methods. When curriculum is
equated with content, there is the likelihood of limiting instruction to acquiring
facts, concepts, and principles of the subject matter transmitted.
SELF-CHECK 1.3
1. What do you mean when curriculum is approached as content ?
2. Why is it a common approach of viewing curriculum?
1.3.2 Curriculum as Product

Besides viewing curriculum as content to be transmitted, it has also been
viewed as a product. In other words, what is desired of students having been
taught using a curriculum? Bobbitt (2013), in his book The Curriculum, stated
that:
Human life, however varied, consists of the performance of specific activities.

Education that prepares for life prepares definitely and adequately for these
specific activities. However numerous and diverse they may be for any social
class, they can be discovered. This aim requires only one to go out into the
world of affairs and discover the particulars of their affairs. Further, it will show
the abilities, attitudes, habits, appreciations and forms of knowledge that men
need. These will be the objectives of the curriculum. They will be numerous,
definite and particularised. The curriculum will then be that series of
experiences that children and youth must have by way of obtaining those
objectives (p. 42).

According to Bobbitt (2013), education should prepare people for life with
detailed attention to what people need to know to work and live. Go out into
the world and see for yourselves what society needs „the abilities, attitudes,
habits, appreciations and forms of knowledge that men [women] need‰.
The curriculum should not result from armchair speculation but from a
systematic study of society. The product of the curriculum is a student equipped
with the knowledge, skills and values to function effectively and efficiently.
Ralph Tyler (1949) shares BobbittÊs approach to curriculum. He said that the
real purpose of education is to bring about significant changes in studentsÊ patterns
of behaviour. We will examine TylerÊs view in more detail in Topic 5. Any
statement of objectives of the school must be a statement of changes to take
place in the students. This way of approaching curriculum is attractive because
it is systematic and has considerable organising power. Central to the approach
is the formulation of behavioural objectives, which provide a clear notion
of outcomes or desired products so that content and teaching methods may be
organised and the results evaluated.
When learning, things have to be broken down into smaller and smaller units
„numerous, definite and particularise ⁄ series of experiences which children
and youth must have ‰ (Bobbitt, 2013). As many of you will have experienced,
the result can be long lists of often trivial skills or competencies. These skills
can lead you to focus on the parts rather than the whole. It focuses on the
trivial rather than the significant. It can lead to an approach to education and
assessment, which resembles a shopping list. When all the items are ticked,
the person has passed the course or has learned something. The role of overall
judgment is somehow sidelined.
SELF-CHECK 1.4
1. How is curriculum as a product different from the curriculum

as content?
2. According to Bobbitt (2013), what should be the overall purpose

of a curriculum?
3. How are these objectives to be derived?

ACTIVITY 1.3
Criticisms of the „Curriculum as Product‰ Approach
There are a number of disagreements with the curriculum as product

approach. The first is that the curriculum can become too technical
and sequential. The tendency is for the curriculum to exist prior to
and outside the learning experiences which takes much away from
learners and end up with little or no voice. They are told what
they must learn and how they will do it. The success or failure of a
curriculum is judged on the basis of whether pre-specified changes
occur in the behaviour of learners. If the curriculum is closely
followed it might limit creativity and turn educators into technicians.
Also, since the approach emphasises measurability, it implies that

behaviour can be objectively and mechanistically measured. There
are obvious dangers here; there always has to be some uncertainty
about what is being measured. It is often very difficult to judge
what the impact of particular experiences has been. Sometimes
years after the event, only then will we come to appreciate what
has happened.
Source: Smith, M. K. (1996, 2000).

Curriculum theory and practice, The Encyclopaedia of Informal
Education. www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm
(a) To what extent do you agree with the criticisms of the curriculum
as product approach?
(b) What are some advantages of this approach?

online forum.

1.3.3 Curriculum as Process

We have seen that the curriculum as content approach emphasises the content
to be transmitted. In contrast, the curriculum as a product approach focuses on
setting instructional or behavioural objectives. Another way of looking at
curriculum is via a process. Here, the curriculum is not seen as physical but
rather as the interaction of teachers, students, and knowledge. It is what
happens in the classroom, such as the questions asked by the teacher, the learning
activities students engage in and so forth. It is an active process emphasising
the context in which the processes occur. Stenhouse (1975) used the analogy
of a recipe in a cookbook which teachers translate into practice in the classroom.
Like a recipe, it can be varied according to taste; so can a curriculum.
According to the process, the approach curriculum is seen as a scheme for the
practice of teaching. It is not a package of materials or a content syllabus to be
covered. The classroom can be regarded as a laboratory, where the teacher is
like a „scientist‰ who tests the ideas stated in the curriculum. The teacher translates
an educational idea into a hypothesis tested in the classroom. It involves
critical testing rather than acceptance. The focus is on finding out those processes
which enhance (if it is successful) or hinder (if it goes wrong) a personÊs
learning. So, the curriculum is not a finished product but rather the proposed
educational ideas teachers must verify in the classroom. This approach differs
from the product approach. The desired pre-determined behaviours have been
fixed and applied to all learners. You may not know what you will get. It might
be different from the specified curriculum document.
Forrest Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re
Gump going to get.
A process approach to curriculum theory and practice, as argued by Grundy

(1987), tends towards making the learning process the teacherÊs central concern,
emphasising thinking and meaning-making. The process approach to curriculum
treats the learners as humans, not as objects. They have a say in what is going
on in the teaching-learning session. The focus is on interaction, and attention
shifts from teaching to learning. On the other hand, the product model, by having
a pre-specified plan or programme, tends to direct attention to teaching.

1.4 FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM
Debate is continuing as to the definition of curriculum. Imagine what would

have happened if we had to wait for an agreed-upon definition of curriculum.
Despite this lack of consensus, it has not hindered institutions, school districts,
states, and nations from continually developing and improving curriculum
in schools, colleges, universities, and training organisations. The design and
development of the curriculum is a team effort involving curriculum planners,
curriculum developers, teachers, academicians, education officers, administrators,
community members and many others. They decide the goals of the curriculum,
what content to include and how it should be organised. In addition to these,
they suggest how it should be taught and determine whether the efforts
have been successful. To help them make these decisions, they have turned to
philosophy, psychology, sociology, and history. These foundations have been
accepted as the basis of a curriculum. We shall discuss the influence of these
disciplines in detail in Topics 2, 3 and 4, respectively.
These disciplines have produced a vast amount of knowledge that provides

guidelines for people interested in developing curriculums. For example,
philosophy has evolved numerous beliefs about how people should be educated
and what knowledge is worthwhile. These beliefs have provided curriculum
developers with guidelines on how they should go about designing a curriculum.
From psychology, various perspectives on how humans learn have been proposed.
This knowledge is of great significance, whereby a curriculum is a plan that
helps individuals to learn. Research provides insight into how learning can
occur at different stages. The curriculum developers decide how a body of
content is taught. Courses such as sociology, economics, culture, and politics
provide knowledge for society.
A curriculum is a reflection of the societal values and beliefs it serves. It is usually

a response to what society wants and desires. The community plays an important
role in influencing what is taught in the classroom. Finally, many curriculum
plans have evolved from earlier times, and curriculum developers refer to
historical events to better understand the decisions made at different times.
Refer to the newspaper headlines at the topicÊs beginning. The headlines
provide a better understanding of curriculum development efforts. We will
examine the curriculum of early America and Japan in Topic 4 to understand
how and why curriculum changes with the evolution of society.

ACTIVITY 1.4
Problems with the „Curriculum as a Process Approach‰
• Teachers who want uniformity in what is taught will find this

approach problematic because the focus is on the learner. So,
there will be different content and delivery methods to cater to
individual needs.
• Examinations would be difficult to conduct because learners

would learn different things at different paces. It would not be
fair to have one examination as you might not be assessing the
real ability of a learner.
• Examinations do not pay attention to the context in which

learning takes place, so some students might be disadvantaged.
• Teachers implementing a curriculum using the process approach

must believe that learning is the making of meaning and the
construction of knowledge. If teachers are not convinced this
should be the aim of education, then the process approach will
not succeed.
(a) To what extent do you agree with the problems with the
„curriculum as a process approach‰?
(b) Do you think the curriculum as a process approach would be

easier to implement if there were no centralised or national
examinations? Why?
(c) What is the main difference between the curriculum as a product

and curriculum as a process approach?

online forum.

1.5 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Curriculum development is a process involving many different people and

procedures. Thus, it is usually linear and follows a logical step-by-step fashion
involving the following phases: curriculum planning, design, implementation,
and evaluation. We will discuss each phase in detail in Topics 5, 6, 7 and 8.
If you were to specialise in curriculum, each of these phases would be taught
as a separate course. The process phases provide us with guideposts and
structure to clarify our thinking. The phases can be graphically or pictorially
illustrated and are conceived in technical terms – assuming that one must
know the process to appreciate and understand it fully. DonÊt worry! By the
end of Topic 8, you will fully recognise the technical terms associated with
each of these phases of curriculum development.
Many curriculum development models have been proposed. Generally, most

models involve four phases (refer to Table 1.2).
Table 1.2: Phases in Curriculum Development Model
Phase Description
Curriculum It involves decisions about the philosophy of education and the

planning aims of education. After deciding on the philosophical beliefs,
curriculum goals and objectives are derived and later translated
into the classroom as desired learning outcomes for the students.
Curriculum It refers to the way curriculum is conceptualised and involves the

design selection and organisation of content and the selection and
organisation of learning experiences or activities. Among the issues
that must be resolved is deciding „what knowledge is of most
worth‰ and „how the content should be organised to maximise
learning.‰
Curriculum It happens in a classroom setting. It involves getting people to

implementation practise the ideas in the curriculum and providing them with
the necessary resources, training, and encouragement.
Curriculum Determining the extent to which the efforts in implementing

evaluation the ideas of the curriculum have been successful. It involves
identifying factors that have hindered implementation and
success stories; and, most importantly, whether students have
benefited from the programme.

1.6
CURRICULUM AS A DISCIPLINE
Can curriculum be considered a discipline like sociology, economics, biology or

political science? Graduate students have taken courses in curriculum planning,
evaluation, primary school curriculum, and so forth in various universities.
Many graduate schools offer doctoral curriculum and instruction specialisation,
better known as „C&I‰. To decide whether an area of study is a discipline,
one must first ask, „What are the characteristics of a discipline?‰ If we know
the characteristics of a discipline, then maybe we can decide if „curriculum‰
is a discipline. According to Oliva and Gordon (2012), a discipline has the
following characteristics:
• A discipline should have an organised set of theoretical principles.
• A discipline encompasses a body of knowledge and skills pertinent to that

discipline.
• A discipline has its theoreticians and its practitioners.
The field of curriculum has its own set of principles. For example, the term
„curriculum" itself describes very complex ideas. In curriculum planning,
principles include educational philosophy, curriculum goals, and learning
objectives. They are applied in developing school programmes, universities,
and training centres. In curriculum design, the principles of scope, sequence
and balance are used to organise the content taught.
The field of curriculum has also its own body of knowledge and skills. However,
much of it has been borrowed from several pure disciplines. For example,
in selecting content (What to teach?), the curriculum has relied on the principles,
knowledge, and skills from psychology, philosophy, and sociology. The
curriculum has drawn from management and organisational theory in content
organisation. In implementing the curriculum, various ideas from systems
theory, organisational behaviour, and communication theory have been used
to enhance its effectiveness. For example, research in organisational behaviour
has been used to bring about change among teachers, educational administrators,
and the community. Has the field of curriculum its own body of knowledge
and skills? Applying the ideas drawn from the different disciplines and
through experimentation has generated its own body of knowledge and skills,
or at least, new interpretations of principles as applied in the educational
setting.

Additionally, the field of curriculum has its list of theoreticians and practitioners.
They include curriculum planners, curriculum developers, and so forth, who
are termed, curriculum specialists. These specialists are well-versed in areas
relating to the curriculum. They include the history and origin of a curriculum
(to know of earlier successes or failures), curriculum planning and how a
particular curriculum is to be implemented in schools successfully. The specialist
is well-informed about how students learn, how teachers react to change
and obstacles to improvement. Perhaps, after completing this course, you
might be more convinced that the curriculum meets the requirement of a
discipline, or maybe not! The curriculum specialist generates new knowledge
by recombining existing programmes, adopting new approaches and constructing
a new curriculum.
SELF-CHECK 1.5
1. Why do curriculum developers rely on the knowledge and skills

of other disciplines?
2. How would you justify the field of curriculum to be a discipline?

1.7
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
Now that you have an idea of a curriculum, what is the relationship between
curriculum and instruction? Simply put, the curriculum is what is to be taught,
while instruction is how it is taught. Hence, in a way curriculum and instruction
can be viewed as a partnership. We may think of the curriculum as a plan
stipulating the content to be taught and the learning experiences to be included.
Instruction may be considered a methodology, the teaching act, and achievement
assessment. In other words, it is putting into practice what has been planned.

Oliva and Gordon (2012) described curriculum and instruction as two entities.
You could have a situation in which the two entities are apart, called the dualistic
model (refer to Figure 1.5).
Figure 1.5: Dualistic Model
What occurs in the classroom under the teacherÊs direction has little relationship
to what is stated in the curriculum plan. Planners ignore what teachers are
doing and vice versa. The curriculum or the instructional process may change
without affecting one another. This separation will cause serious harm to each
other.
On other occasions, curriculum and instruction are mutually interdependent,

as shown in the concentric model (refer to Figure 1.6).
Figure 1.6: Concentric Model
In this model, curriculum assumes the superordinate position while instruction

is subordinate; that is, instruction is a subsystem of a curriculum that is a
subsystem of the whole education system. This model implies a hierarchical
system, with curriculum dominating instruction. Instruction is not a separate
entity but a dependent portion of the curriculum.

In other situations, curriculum and instruction may be separate entities with a

continuing circular relationship, called the circular model (refer to Figure 1.7).
Figure 1.7: Circular Model
The curriculum makes a continuous impact on instruction, and similarly,

instruction impacts on curriculum. This model assumes that instructional
decisions are made after curriculum decisions are made. But, these curriculum
decisions are later modified when implemented and evaluated in the classroom.
This process is continuous, repeated, and never-ending.
Of all the models, the cyclical model seems the best alternative as it emphasises
the need for a close working relationship between implementers and planners.
Though curriculum and instruction may be different entities, they are
interdependent and cannot function in isolation. It is impossible to plan everything
that happens in the classroom in the curriculum document. It should be accepted
that what is planned on paper may not work in real-life because the numerous
factors operating in the classroom are impossible to pre-determine. The constant
feedback from the classroom as to what works and what does not work has to be
recycled to curriculum developers so necessary adjustments and modifications
can be made to the curriculum plan. This process may explain the need for
pilot testing a curriculum before it is widely implemented.

ACTIVITY 1.5
1. Write down your definition of curriculum.
(a) What does your definition of curriculum include? Does

it includes a process? A product? Materials for teaching?
An approach to education, and methods of instruction
that fosters certain values and attitudes?
(b) Compare your definition with the definitions given by

scholars in the field. How similar or different is it to yours?
2. „The curriculum on paper and the curriculum in action‰. What

do you understand by this statement?
3. „The curriculum is too examination-oriented, and children are

deprived of their childhood‰. Do you agree with this statement?
Justify.
4. „An over-loaded curriculum is a concern of many teachers.

Increasingly, teachers feel that there is not enough time to cover
all the traditional material being put into the curriculum‰.
(a) To what extent do you agree?
(b) Suggest solutions to overcome the problem.
Discuss these with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum.

• A curriculum is a statement of what students should know, and be able to do,

how it is taught, measured, and how the educational system is organised.
• Curriculum can be approached as content (knowledge, skills, and values),

product (desired learning outcomes) and process (interactions in the
classroom).
• Curriculum development is a process involving planning, designing,

implementation, and evaluation.
• Curriculum can be considered a discipline because it has an organised set of

theoretical principles, including a body of knowledge and skills, and has
theoreticians and practitioners.
• The relationship between curriculum and instruction is interdependent,

continuous, repeated, and never-ending.
Concentric model Cyclical model

Curriculum Dualistic model
Curriculum and instruction Hidden curriculum
Curriculum development

Bobbitt, F. (2013). Scientific method in curriculum-making. In: D. J. Flinders &

S. J. Thornton (Eds.), Curriculum Studies Reader (4th ed.), pp. 11–18.
RoutledgeFalmer.
Cornbleth, C. (1990). Curriculum in context. Falmer Press.
Grundy, S. (1987). Curriculum: Product or praxis? Falmer Press.
Jackson, P. W. (1968). Life in classrooms. Teachers College Press.
Oliva, P. F., & Gordon II, W. R. (2012). Developing the curriculum. Pearson
Higher Education.
Ornstein, A. C. (1987). The field of curriculum: What approach? What

definition? The High School Journal, 70(4), 208–216.
Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (1998). Curriculum: Foundation, principles,

and issues. Pearson Education.
Stenhouse, L. (1975). Defining the curriculum problem. Cambridge Journal of

Education, 5(2), 104–108.

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Topic 1

By the end of this topic, you should be able to do the following:

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Figure 1.1: Headlines in Malaysian Newspapers

These headlines indicate societyÊs concern with what is going on in schools,

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Some population demand that schools teach mastery of a discipline in terms of

Whether we consider curriculum as a list of subjects taught in schools or all

2. Locate and report other concerns about the curriculum that

Discuss these questions with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE

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Like most things in education, there is no agreed-upon definition of „curriculum‰.

Figure 1.2: Rome Chariot Race

The New International Dictionary defines curriculum as:

The whole body of a course in an educational institution or by a department.

In contrast, The Oxford English Dictionary defines curriculum as:

Courses taught in schools or universities.

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Curriculum means different things to different people. Most people, including

Table 1.1: Definitions of Curriculum

Tanner „The planned and guided learning experiences and intended

Schubert The contents of a subject, concepts, and tasks to be acquired,

Pratt A written document that systematically describes planned goals,

Goodlad and Su A plan consisting of learning opportunities for a specific time

Cronbleth Answering three questions: What knowledge, skills and values

Grundy A programme of activities (by teachers and pupils) designed,

Ornstein „All of the experiences that individual learners have in a program

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Figure 1.3: A Summary of Various Curriculum Interpretations

Source: Oliva & Gordon (2012)

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Despite varying definitions of curriculum, there seems to be a consensus that

• what students should know (knowledge or content);

• what students should be able to do (skills);

• how it is taught (instruction);

• how it is measured (assessment); and

• how the educational system is organised (context).

Thus, the curriculum is a structured plan of intended learning outcomes

1. Identify the FIVE common features of a curriculum mentioned in

2. Select SIX interpretations of the curriculum summarised by Oliva

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THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM

Suppose we only consider the planned curriculum as the official curriculum

• the way teachers and principals or headteachers have different expectations

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The hidden curriculum involves learning. This curriculum includes how to

1. What is the hidden curriculum?

2. Why is the hidden curriculum important in education?

Share your answer with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online

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Figure 1.4: Approaches to Curriculum

The first is approaching it as content or a body of knowledge to be transmitted.

1.3.1 Curriculum as Content

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1. What do you mean when curriculum is approached as content ?

2. Why is it a common approach of viewing curriculum?

1.3.2 Curriculum as Product

Human life, however varied, consists of the performance of specific activities.

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1. How is curriculum as a product different from the curriculum