Prof.

Educ 5 - Teacher and the School Curriculum

The curriculum is the term that comes from the Latin root, “currere” which means “to run”.

In educational usage, the “course of the race”, with time, came to stand for the “course of
study.”

Development is a specific word that connotes change.

Change means any alternation or modification in the existing order of things.

However, change may not necessarily result in development. Only positive change
brings about development.

For change to be positive and result in development, it must have the following
characteristics:

1. Change must be PURPOSEFUL

2. Change must be PLANNED
3. Change must be PROGRESSIVE

Curriculum development is defined as the process of selecting, organizing, expecting, and

evaluating learning experiences on the basis of the needs, abilities, and interests of learners
and the nature of the society or community.

- it should be concerned with the drawing up of plans for teaching and learning
activities in classroom situations that will bring about positive changes in the lives of
learners.

- It is based on the school’s Mission and goals and identifies ways of translating
these into a coherent and coordinated program of meaningful experiences and
conditions eliciting responses that will lead to the transformation of the learners into
authentic warm and sensitive human beings.

Definitions of curriculum: provided by: Sylor (1981), Beauchamp (1982), Shubert (1986), Eiser
(1985), Pinar(1995), Posner( 1995), Marsh (2004), Oliva (2005), Glatthorn(2006), Reid(2006),
among others.

Curriculum as a list of subjects. This definition suggests that curriculum is a permanent or

traditional subject offered in the school curriculum such as Mathematics, Language, Science,
Music, Arts, and other subjects.

Curriculum as learning experiences. This definition includes students’ curricular and co-
curricular activities and the learning experiences they encounter inside and outside the school.

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Curriculum as intended learning outcomes. This definition includes a list of learning
competencies or standards that students should learn in school.

Curriculum as planned learning experiences. This includes documents specifying contents,

objectives, or general ideas of what students should know in schools or a special discipline.

Curriculum as a discipline. Curriculum as a discipline has its own principles, theories, and
practices.

Curriculum as content or subject matter. This definition views curriculum as a series of topics
under each subject area.

Different types of Curriculum

Several curriculum scholars (see Glatthorn, Boschee, and Whitehead, 2006p; Print,
1993; Tanner and Tanner, 2007 ) cited nine types of curriculum in their books, depending on
how the curriculum is used in various institutions.

1. Ideal or Recommended curriculum. This refers to what scholars propose as the most
appropriate curriculum for learners. For example, different professional organizations
may propose curriculum innovations or alternative content as a result of their research.

2. Intended, official, or written curriculum. This refers to the official curriculum embodied
in approved state curriculum guides (Glatthorn, Boschee, and Whitehead, 2006). This is
prescribed by government agencies: DepEd, CHED, and TESDA.
- Kindergarten Curriculum Standards
- The K-12 Curriculum
- CHED curriculum for General Education (Memo Order No. 20,2.2013)
- TESDA modules and competencies

3. Implemented curriculum. This type of curriculum refers to the actual implementation of

the curriculum or what the teachers in the school teach. Teachers can modify and
improve their curriculum based on the needs of the students.

4. Achieved curriculum or Learned Curriculum. This refers to the result of the

curriculum or what students actually learned in school (Print, 1993). It reveals whether
the students learned and whether the schools are successful in attaining their curriculum
goals and objectives.
5. Tested Curriculum. This set of learning that s assessed in teacher-made classroom
tests, curriculum-referenced tests, and standardized tests. (Glatthorn, Boschee, and
Whitehead, 2006)

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 6. Entitlement Curriculum. It refers to what the people or the general society believed the
learners should expect to learn in the educational system for them to become good
members of society.

7. Supported curriculum. This refers to the curriculum that is reflected on and shared by
the resources allocated to support or deliver the official curriculum. (Glatthorn, Boschee,
and Whitehead, 2006)

8. Null or censored curriculum. This refers to various curriculum contents or topics that
must not be taught to the students. (Tanner & Tanner, 2007).

9. Hidden curriculum. This refers to various skills, knowledge, and attitudes that students
learn in school as a result of their interaction with other students, staff, and faculty
members. Although it is not actually taught in formal classroom learning, it is also true
that the hidden curriculum can be a product of students’ schooling. it is very powerful in
developing the school culture. (Print, 1993)

Curriculum from Different Points of View

I. The traditional point of view of curriculum

1. Robert M. Hutchins - view curriculum as permanent studies where rules of

grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic and mathematics for basic education are
emphasized.
2. Arthur Bestor - essentialist believes that mission of the school should be
intellectual training, hence curriculum should focus on the fundamental
intellectual disciplines of grammar, literature and writing.
3. Joseph Schwab - thinks that the sole source of curriculum is a discipline such a
science, mathematics, social studies english and many more. In college,
academic discipline is labeled as humanities, sciences, language, etc.
4. Philip Phenix - asserts that curriculum should consist entirely of knowledge
which comes from various discipline.

II. The progressive point of view of curriculum

1. John Dewey - believed that education is experiencing.

Reflective thinking is a means that unifies curricular elements that are tested by
application.
2. Holin Caswell & Kenn Campbell - viewed curriculum as all experiences
children have under the guidance of teachers.

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 3. Othaniel Smith, William Stanley, & Harlan Shore - 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.
4. Colin Marsh & George Willis - viewed curriculum as all the experiences in the
classroom which are planned and enacted by the teacher and also learned by
the students.

Curriculum is:

 what is taught in school, a set of contents, a subject, etc.

 it is the total learning experiences of the elearner, under the guidance of the teachers.

FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM

1. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS

Educators, teacher, educational planners and policy makers must have a philosophy or strong
belief about education and schooling and the kind of curriculum in the teachers’ classrooms or
learning environment. Philosophy of the curriculum answers question like: What are
schools for? What subjects are important? How should students learn? What methods
should be used? What outcomes should be achieved? Why?

The various activities in school are influenced in one way or another by a philosophy. John
Dewey influenced the use of “learning by doing”, he being a pragmatist. Or to an essentialist,
the focus on the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic are essential subjects in
curriculum.

There are many philosophies in education but we will illustrate only those presented by
ornstein and hunkins in 2004.

A. Perennialism
▪ Aim: To educate the rational person; cultivate intellect

▪ Role: Teachers assist students to think with reason (critical thinking HOTS)

▪ Focus: Classical subjects, literary analysis. Curriculum is enduring

▪ Trends: Use of great books (Bible, Koran, Classics) and Liberal Arts.

B. Essentialism
▪ Aim: To promote intellectual growth of learners to become competent.

▪ Role: Teachers are sole authorities in the subject area

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 ▪ Focus: Essential skills of the 3Rs; essential subjects

▪ Trends: Back to basics, Excellence in education, cultural literacy

C. Progressivism
• Aim: Promote democratic social living
• Role: Teacher leads for growth and development of lifelong learners
• Focus: Interdisciplinary subjects. Learner-centered. Outcomes-based
• Trends: Equal opportunities for all, Contextualized curriculum, Humanistic
education
D. Reconstructionism
▪ Aim: To improve and reconstruct society. Education for change

▪ Role: Teacher acts as agent of change and reforms

▪ Focus: Present and future educational landscape

▪ Trends: School and curricular reform, Global education, Collaboration and

Convergence, Standards and Competencies

2. HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS

Where is curriculum development coming from? The historical foundations will show to us the
chronological development along a timeline. Reading materials would tell us that curriculum
development started with Franklin Bobbit (1876-1965) wrote the book “The Curriculum.” Let us
see how each one contributed to curriculum development during his own time. Here are eight
among the many, we consider to have great contributions.

 Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956)

̵ He started the curriculum development movement.
̵ Curriculum is a science that emphasizes students’ needs.
̵ Curriculum prepares learners for adult life.
̵ Objectives and activities should group together when tasks are clarified.

 Werret Charters (1875-1952)

̵ Like Bobbit, he posited that curriculum is science and emphasizes students’
needs.
̵ Objectives and activities should match. Subject matter or content relates to
objectives.

 William Kilpartrick (1875-1952)

̵ Curricula are purposeful activities which are child-centered.

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 ̵ The purpose of the curriculum is child development and growth. He introduced
this project method where teacher and student plan the activities.
̵ Curriculum develops social relationships and small group instruction.

 Harold Rugg (1886-1960)

̵ Curriculum should develop the whole child. It is child-centered.
̵ With the statement of objectives and related learning activities, curriculum should
produce outcomes.
̵ Emphasized social studies and suggested that the teacher plans curriculum in
advance.

 Hollis Caswell (1901-1989)

̵ Curriculum is organized around social functions of themes, organized knowledge
and learner’s interest.
̵ Curriculum, instruction, and learning are interrelated.
̵ Curriculum is a set of experiences. Subject matter is developed around social
functions and learner’s interest.

 Ralph Tyler (1902-1994)

̵ Curriculum is a science and an extension of school’s philosophy. It is based on
students’ needs and interest.
̵ Curriculum is always related to instruction. Subject matter is organized in terms
of knowledge, skills, and values.
̵ The process emphasizes problem solving. Curriculum aims to educate
generalists and not specialists.

 Hilda Taba (1902-1967)

̵ She contributed to the theoretical and pedagogical foundations of concepts
development and critical thinking in social studies curriculum
̵ She helped lay the foundation for diverse student population.

 Peter Oliva (1992-2012)

̵ He described how curriculum change is a cooperative endeavor.
̵ Teachers and curriculum specialist constitute the professional core of planners.
̵ Significant improvement is achieved through group activity.

3, PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

Psychology provides a basis to understand the teaching and learning process. It unifies
elements of the learning process. Questions which can be addressed by psychological
foundations of education are: How should curriculum be organized to enhance learning? What
is the optimal level of students’ participation in learning the various contents of the curriculum?

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In this module, we shall consider three groups of learning theories; cognitive-information
processing theories and humanistic theories (Ornstein and Hunkins, 2004).

3.1 Association and Behaviorism

 Ivan Pavlov
̵ He is the father of the Classical Conditioning Theory, the S-R Theory
̵ The key to learning is early years of life is to train them what you want them to
become.
̵ S-R Theory is a foundation of learning practice called indoctrination.

 Edward Thorndike
̵ He championed the Connectionism Theory.
̵ He proposed the three laws of learning: Law of readiness, Law of exercise, and
Law of effect
̵ Specific stimulus has specific response.

 Robert Gagne
̵ He proposed the Hierarchical Learning Theory. Learning follows a hierarchy
̵ Behavior is based on prerequisite conditions.
̵ He introduced tasking in the formulation of objectives.

3.2 Cognitive Information Processing Theory

 Jean Piaget
̵ Cognitive development has stages from birth to maturity:
Sensorimotor stage (0-2), preoperational stage (2-7), concrete operations
stage (7- 11) and formal operations (11 onwards)
Keys to Learning
̵ Assimilation (incorporation of new experience)
̵ Accommodation (learning modification and adaptation)
̵ Equilibration (balance between previous and later learning)

 Lev Vygotsky
̵ Cultural transmission and development:
Child could, as a result of their interaction with society, actually perform certain
cognitive actions prior to arriving at developmental stage
̵ Learning precedes development
̵ Sociocultural development theory
Keys to Learning

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 ̵ Pedagogy creates learning processes that lead to development
̵ The child is an active agent in his or her educational process.

 Howard Gardner
̵ Gardner’s multiple intelligences
̵ Humans have several different ways of processing information and these ways
are relatively independent of one another.
̵ There are eight intelligences, linguistic, logico-mathematical, musical, spatial,
bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic

 Daniel Goleman
̵ Emotion contains the power to affect action.
̵ He called this Emotional Quotient.

3.3 Humanistic Psychology

 Gestalt
̵ Gestalt Theory
̵ Learning is explained in terms of “wholeness” of the problem.
̵ Human Beings do not respond to isolated stimuli but to an organization or pattern
of stimuli.
Keys to Learning
̵ Learning is complex and abstract.
̵ Learners analyze the problem, discriminate between essential and nonessential
data, and perceive relationships.
̵ Learners will perceive something in relation to the whole. What/how they
perceive is related to their previous experiences.

 Abraham Maslow
̵ advanced the Self Actualization Theory and Classic Theory of Human
Needs.
̵ A child whose basic needs are not met will not be interested in acquiring
knowledge of the world.
̵ He put importance to human emotions, based on love and trust.
Key to learning
̵ Produce a healthy and happy learner who can accomplish, grow and actualize
his or her human self.

 Carl Rogers

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 ̵ Nondirective and Therapeutic Learning
̵ He established counselling procedures and methods for facilitating learning.
̵ Children’s perceptions, which are highly individualistic, influence their learning
and behavior in class.
Key to learning
̵ Curriculum is concerned with process, not product; personal needs, not subject
matter, psychological meaning, not cognitive scores.

4. SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS

Schools and Society:

⮚ Society as a source of change
⮚ Schools as agents of change
⮚ Knowledge as an agent of change

 John Dewey
̵ Considered two fundamental elements – schools and civil society – to be major
topics needing attention and reconstruction to encourage experimental
intelligence and plurality.

 Alvin Toffler
̵ Wrote the book Future Shock
̵ Believed that knowledge should prepare students for the future.
̵ Suggested that in the future, parents might have the resources to teach
prescribed curriculum from home as a result of technology, not in spite of it.
(Home Schooling)
̵ Foresaw schools and students worked creatively, collaboratively, and
independent of their age.