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Chapter-1-Module-2-Lesson-1

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Chapter-1-Module-2-Lesson-1

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santillanmj8
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Chapter 1- Module 2 – The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum

Module 2 which consists of four lessons, 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 the teacher a wider perspective about the curriculum in terms of curriculum
approaches, curriculum development process, some curriculum models and the foundations
upon which the curriculum is anchored.

Lesson 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 activity: To be given later (online or face-to-face)

Content focus:

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


school or broadly as all learning experiences individuals undergo while in school, curriculum
should be understood by teachers and other stakeholders for curriculum affects almost
everybody.
Curriculum is one of the many concepts in education that seems to have no common
definition and for this reason, the concept is confusing. Its origin is the Latin word currere
referring to the oval track upon which Roman chariots raced so curriculum has come to be
defined as a course of study--a list of subjects/courses that are taught in a college or
university. Curriculum means different things to different people. Some educators would
equate curriculum with the syllabus and others regard it as all teaching-learning experiences
which a student encounters while in school. Numerous definitions indicate a diverse
interpretation of the term as influenced by modes of thoughts, pedagogies, philosophies,
political as well as cultural perspectives.
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 eperiences
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, 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 agenda to reform society
make up a curriculum.” (Schubert, 1987)
4. “It is a program of activities designed (by teachers and pupils so that pupils will attain
so far as possible certain educational and other schooling ends or objectives.” (Grundy, 1987)
5. “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 include all learning experiences received by students with the guidance of the school.”
(Goodland and Su, 1992)
6. “It provide answers to three 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. There are two prevailing points of view
about the curriculum: traditional and progressive

The traditional points of view were advanced by Robert Hutchins, Arthur Bestor, and
Joseph Schwab.
 Robert Hutchins views curriculum as permanent studies where the rules of grammar
reading, rhetoric, logic and mathematics for basic education are emphasized. The 3Rs
should be emphasized in basic education while liberal education should be emphasized
in college.
 Arthur Bestor is an essentialist and 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, 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 labeled 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 of knowledge which comes
entirely from various disciplines.

The concept common among the traditionalists is that curriculum is a course of study.
Their emphasis is highly academic, curriculum is mostly written documents such as syllabi,
course guides, books and references where knowledge is found.

Curriculum from the progressive point of view. The progressivists such as John Dewey
and others believe that a listing of subjects, syllabi, course guides and the like do not make a
curriculum. To them, curriculum is the total learning experiences of the individual. Here are
some definitions of curriculum from the progressivists’ view point:

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 eperiences children have
under the guidance of the teacher.
Othaniel Smith, William Stanley and 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.
Colin Marsh and George Wills 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 interpretation of what curriculum is may vary because of differences in people’s
philosophical beliefs. However we can make a synthesis of their ideas: 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 and outside
the school under the guidance of the teacher, everything planned by the school, or everything
that the individual learner experiences as a result of schooling. In short, curriculum is the total
learning experiences of the learner, under the guidance of the teacher.
End of Lesson Activity: 1) Short quiz

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