CURRICULUM

DEVELOPMENT
(LECTURE 1: Concepts, Nature and Purpose
of Curriculum)
Mr. Andy M. Salvatiera
Lecturer
CURRICULUM
•Currere
“to Run”
“to Run a Course”
CURRICULUM
“a listing of subject to be taught in school”

“it refers to the total learning experiences

of individuals not only in schools but in
society as well.”
 Definitions of Curriculum
1. Curriculum as a list of subjects
2. Curriculum as learning experiences
3. Curriculum as intended learning outcomes
4. Curriculum as planned learning experiences
5. Curriculum as a discipline
6. Curriculum as content or subject matter
 CURRICULUM
TRADITIONAL
• A group of subjects arranged in
a certain sequence peculiar to
the subject field itself for the
purpose of instruction.
• Based on the assumption that
the role of education is to fit the
individual for his place in society.
MODERN
• Consists of all experiences for
learning which are planned and
organized by the school.
• Actual experiences and activities
of learners inside/outside the
classroom under the guidance of
the teacher.
Curriculum as defined by Ornstein
and Hunkins
1. Plan for achieving goals
2. Dealing with the learner’s experiences
3. A system for dealing with people
4. A field of study with its own foundations, knowledge, domains,
research, theory, principles, and specialists.
5. Subject matter
TRADITIONAL POINT OF VIEW OF CURRICULUM
• In the early 20th Century, described curriculum as “a body of
subjects or subject matter prepared by the teachers of the
students to learn.”
• Course of study
• Syllabus
a) Robert M. Hutchins – “permanent
studies” where the rule of grammar,
reading, rhetoric and logic and
mathematics for basic education are
emphasized.
a) Basic Ed emphasizes 3 Rs and Higher
Ed on Liberal Education
b. Arthur Bestor

“Intellectual training” – focuses on grammar, literature and

writing. Math, science, and foreign language.
c. Jason Schwab
“discipline is the sole source of curriculum”

thus, curriculum is divided into chunk of knowledge we call

subject areas in basic education.
 For Progressivists…

• It can only be called a curriculum if the written

materials are actualized by the learner.
• “THE TOTAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES OF THE
INDIVIDUAL”
John Dewey
-”LEARNING BY DOING”
- “reflective thinking” unifies curricular elements

Caswell and Campbell

-”all experiences children have under the guidance of teachers”
SMITH, STANLEY AND SHORES

“CURRICULUM as a sequence of
potential experiences set up in the schools
for the purpose of disciplining children and
youth in group ways of thinking and
acting”
MARSH AND WILLIS

“experiences in the classroom which are

planned and enacted by the teacher, and
also learned by the students.”
 From the various definitions and concepts
presented, it is clear that curriculum is a
dynamic process. Development connotes
changes which are systematic. A change for the
better means any alteration, modification or
improvement of existing condition. To produce
positive changes, development should be
purposeful, planned and progressive. This is
how curriculum evolves.
Its characteristics therefore…
• It concludes all the experiences of children for which the school is
responsible
• It has content
• It is a system for dealing with people
• It is planned
• It is a series of course to be taken by the students
 PRESCRIPTIVE vs. DESCRIPTIVE
PRESCRIPTIVE DESCRIPTIVE

• What is “ought” to happen • How things are in real

• A plan classrooms
• An intended program • Experience (curriculum in action)
Characteristics of a Good Curriculum
1. The curriculum is continuously
evolving
2. The curriculum is based on the
needs of the people
3. The curriculum is
democratically conceived
4. The curriculum is the result of
a long term effort
5. The curriculum is a complex of
details
6. The curriculum provides for
the logical sequence of subject
matter
7. The curriculum complements
and cooperates with other
programs of the community
8. The curriculum has
educational quality
9. The curriculum has
administrative flexibility
 The Teacher as a Curricularist
Exciting Evaluating Rewarding
Planning
Believing
Growing
Initiating
Innovating
showing

Broadening Facilitating
knowing
Building
Recommending
Curricularist
A person who is involved in curriculum knowing,
writing, planning, implementing, evaluating,
innovating, and initiating.
The teacher as a curricularist…
1. Knows the curriculum
2. Writes the curriculum
3. Plans the curriculum
4. Initiates the curriculum
5. Innovates the curriculum
6. Implements the curriculum
7. Evaluates the curriculum
1. Knows the curriculum
• knower
• learning begins with knowing.
• the teacher starts with knowing about the curriculum, the subject
matter or the content.
• mastery of the subject matter
2. Writes the curriculum
• Writer
• A classroom teacher takes record of knowledge concepts, subject
matter or content.
• The teacher writes books, modules, lab manuals, instructional guides,
and reference materials in paper or electronic media
3. Plans the curriculum
• Planner
• A good curriculum has to be planned
• Role of the teacher to make a yearly, monthly or daily plan of the
curriculum which considers the following factors:
the learners
the support materials
time
subject matter or content
desired outcomes
context of the learners
4. Initiates the curriculum
• Initiator
• The teachers is obliged to implement the curriculum recommended
to the schools from DepEd, CHED, TESDA, UNESCO, UNICEF or other
educational agencies for the improvement of quality education.
5. Innovates the curriculum
• Innovator
• Creativity and innovations are hallmarks of an excellent teacher.
• A curriculum is always dynamic, hence it keeps on changing.
6. Implements the curriculum
• The curriculum that remains recommended or written will never
serve its purpose.
• It is the role of to implement the curriculum; to give life to the
curriculum plan.
• The teacher is at the height of an engagement with the learners, with
support materials in order to achieve the desired outcome.
• Implementor
7. Evaluates the curriculum
• How can one determine if the desired learning outcomes have been
achieved?
• Is the curriculum working
• Does it bring the desired results?
• What do outcomes reveal?
• Are the learners achieving
• Are there some practices that should be modified
• Evaluator
Activity: SURVEY
- You will gather information direct form teachers to find out what
curriculum activities they are involved in.
Steps:
1. Form two groups. Group A will survey elementary teachers, and Group B
will survey secondary or high school teachers.
2. Each group will look for at least 30 teachers coming from one or different
schools and are currently teaching either in the private or public schools.
3. With the use of the Teacher Survey Tool below, conduct your survey. (see
Teacher Survey Tool in a separate word file)
4. Consolidate the data of 30 teachers in the Matrix (Table).
5. Report the result of your survey to the whole class.
Learning Papers
LEARNING PAPER 1
• What are the benefits and possible pitfalls of having an official curriculum
prescribed to all schools?
• Explain your personal definition of curriculum.
• Explain the importance of curriculum in school.

LEARNING PAPER 2
• Think of the formal curriculum offered at your school and list its characteristics.
• In your view as future educators, to what extent does the curriculum in your
institution take into account the needs and interests of learners? Given the
opportunity, what modifications would you recommend to curriculum planners
that would accommodate these learners?
 APPROACHES TO
SCHOOL CURRICULUM
1. Curriculum as a Content or Body of Knowledge
2. As a Product or the learning outcomes desired of learners.
3. As a Process or what actually happens in the classroom when the
curriculum is practiced.
1. Curriculum as a Content or Body of
Knowledge
• If curriculum is equated as content, then the focus will be the body of
knowledge to be transmitted to students using appropriate teaching
method.
• Teaching will be limited to the acquisition of facts, concepts and
principles of the subject matte; however, the content or subject
matter can also be taken as a means to an end.
• All curricula have content regardless of their design or models.
Curriculum is anchored on a body of knowledge or discipline.
4 ways of presenting the content in the
curriculum:
Topical approach – much content is based on knowledge, and
experiences are included;
Concept approach – with fewer topics in clusters around major and
sub-concepts and their interaction, with relatedness and emphasized;
Thematic approach – a combination of concepts that develop
conceptual structures;
Modular approach – leads to complete units of instruciton.
 Criteria in the Selection of Content
(Scheffer, 1970 in Bilbao, et al 2009)

1. Significance – it is significant if content becomes the means of developing cognitive,

affective or psychomotor skills of the learner. If it addresses the cultural context of the
learners.
2. Validity – the authenticity of the subject matter. Content which may be 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. Can be relative to time.
4. Learnability – the complexity of the content should be within the range of experiences
of the learners. Appropriate organization of content standards and sequencing of
contents.
5. Feasibility – can the subject content be learned within the time allowed, resources
available, expertise of the teachers and the nature of the learners?
6. Interest – will the learners take interest in the content? Are the contents meaningful?
What value will the contents have in the present and future life of the learners?
Guide in the selection of the content in the
curriculum
• Commonly used in the daily life.
• Appropriate to the maturity levels and abilities of the learners
• Valuable in meeting the needs and competencies of the future career
• Related to other subject fields or discipline for complementation and
integration
• Important in the transfer of learning to other disciplines
BASIC Principles of Curriculum Content
(Palma, 1952)

B – balance. Content should be fairly distributed in depth and

breadth.
A – articulation. Vertical and horizontal, across the same
discipline.
S – sequence. Logical arrangement of the content refers to
sequence/order
I – integration. Content does not stand alone or in isolation.
C – continuity. Continuously flow at it was before, to where it is
now, and where it will be in the future.
2. Curriculum as a Process

• Curriculum is not seen as a physical thing or a noun, but as a verb or

an action.
• It is the interaction among the teachers, students and content.
• Curriculum happens in the classroom as the questions asked by the
teacher and the learning activities engaged in by the students.
• With emphasis on the context in which the processes occur.
• A scheme about the practice of teaching.
• The process of teaching and learning becomes the central concern of
teachers to emphasize critical thinking, thinking meaning-making and
heads-on, hands-on doing, etc.
 Guiding principles when curriculum is
approached as a PROCESS
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. It depends 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.
7. Both teaching and learning are the two important processes in the
implementation of the curriculum
 3. Curriculum as a Product

• It 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.
• The formulation of behavioral objectives stated as intended
learning outcomes or desired products so that content and
teaching methods may be organized and the results.
• Products of learning are operationalized as knowledge, skills, and
values.
• The achieved learning outcomes.
Learning Paper 3
After learning from this lesson, how would you prepare yourself to
become a teacher using the three approaches to Curriculum?

Journal Critique / Learning Paper 4

Write your critique or insights about the article “The Various Concepts
of Curriculum and the Factors Involved in Curricula-making” by Shao-
Wen Su