What is curriculum?

What is its purpose?

What is its nature?

There are many definitions of curriculum.

Because of this, the concept of curriculum is
sometimes characterized as fragmentary,
elusive and confusing. The definitions are
influenced by modes of thoughts, pedagogies,
political as well as cultural experiences.

In the early years of 20th century, the

traditional concepts held of the
curriculum is that it is a body of
subjects or subject matter prepared by
the teachers for the students to learn.
It was synonymous to the course of
study and syllabus

Robert M. Hutchins views curriculum as

permanent studies where the rule of grammar,
reading, rhetoric and logic and mathematics for
basic education Basic Education should emphasize
the 3 Rs and college education should be grounded
on liberal education. On the other hand, Arthur
Bestor as an essentialist, believe 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 also include mathematics,
science, history and foreign language are
emphasized.

 This definition leads us to the view of Joseph

Schwab that discipline is the sole source of

curriculum. Thus in our education system,
curriculum is divided into chunks of knowledge we
call subject areas in basic education such as
English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and
others. In college, discipline may includes
humanities, sciences, languages and many more.

On the other hand, to a progressivist, a listing of school,

subjects, syllabi, course of study, and list of courses or specific
discipline do not make a curriculum. These can only be called
curriculum if the written materials are actualized by the
learner. Broadly speaking, curriculum is defined as the total
learning experiences of the individual.
This definition is anchored on John Deweys definition of
experience and education. He believed that reflective thinking
is a means that unifies curricular elements. Thought is not
derived from action but

 Caswell and Campbell viewed curriculum as all experiences

children have under the guidance of teachers. This definition

is shared by Smith, Stanley and Shores when they defined
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 tested by application.
Marsh and Willis on the other hand view curriculum as all the
experiences in the classroom which are planned and enacted
by the teacher, and also learned by the students.

In summary, Tylers Model show that in

curriculum
development, the following consideration
should be made:
Purposes of the school
Educational experiences related to the
purposes
Organization of the experiences, and
Evaluation of the experiences

Ralph Tyler Model: Four Basic Principles.

1. What educational purposes should the school seek to
attain?
2. What educational experiences can be provided
that are likely to attain these purposes?
3. How can these educational experiences be
effectively organized?
4. How can we determine whether these
purposes are being attained or not?

On the other hand, Hilda Taba improved on

Tylers Rationale by making a linear model. She
believed that teachers who teach or implement the
curriculum should participate in developing it. Her
advocacy was commonly called the grassroots
approach. She presented seven major steps to her
model where teachers could have a major input

These steps are as follows:

Diagnosis of learners needs and expectations of

the larger society
Formulation of learning objectives
Selection of learning content
Organization of Learning content
Selection of learning experiences
Organization of learning activities
Determinations of what to evaluate and the
and the means of doing it.

From the various concepts given,

Allan Glatthorn (2000) describes seven types of
curriculum operating in the schools.
1) Recommended curriculum- proposed by

scholars and professional organizations.

2) Written curriculum- appears in school,
district, division or country documents.
3) Taught curriculum- what teachers implement
or deliver in the classrooms and schools

Let us now look into the major foundations

of a curriculum. Debates continue on what
curriculum is and its basic foundations. The
commonly accepted foundations include
philosophical, historical, psychological and
social.

Philosophy provides educators, teachers and

curriculum makers with framework for planning,
implementing and evaluating curriculum in schools. It
helps in answering what school are for, what subjects
are important, how students should learn and what
materials and methods should be used. In decision
making, philosophy provides the starting point and will
be used for the succeeding decision making.

Suggestions
from Subject
Specialists

Studies
of
Learners

Studies of
Contemporary

Life

School
Purposes

Use
of
Philosophy

Use of
Psychology
of
Learning

Tylers View of Philosophy in Relation to School Purposes

Curriculum is not an old field. Majority

of scholars would place its beginning
In 1918 with the publication of Franklin
Bobbits book The Curriculum.

Philippine education came about from

various foreign influences. Of all foreign
educational systems, the American
educational system has the greatest
influence on our educational system.

1. Franklin Bobbit (18761956) - he presented

curriculum as a science that emphasizes on
students need. Curriculum prepares students for
adult life. To Bobbit, objectives with corresponding
activities should be grouped and sequenced. This
can only be done if instructional objectives are
clarified.

2.

Werret Charters (1875-1952) to him,

curriculum is a science. It gives emphasis on
students needs. The listing of objectives and
matching these with corresponding activities
ensures that the content or subject matter is
related to objectives.
The subject matter and the activities are planned
by the teacher.

3. William Kilpatrick (1871-1965) Curricula are

purposeful activities which are child centered.
The purpose of curriculum is child development
and growth. He introduced the project method
where teacher and student plan the activities
4. Harold Rugg (1886-1960) to him, curriculum
should develop the whole child. It is childcentered and should produce outcomes. He also
emphasized social studies and the teacher plans
curriculum in advance.

5. Hollis Caswell (1901-1989) he sees curriculum

as organized around social functions of themes,
organized knowledge and learners interest. He
believes that curriculum is a set of experiences.
Subject matter is developed around social
functions and learners interests.

6. Ralph Tyler (1902-1994) he believes that

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

Psychology provides a basis for the

teaching and learning process.
1. Behaviorist Psychology
a. connectionism Edward Thorndike
(which influenced Tyler and Taba,
the well known curricularists)
b. classical conditioning Ivan Pavlov
c. operant conditioning B. F. Skinner
d. modeling and observation theory
(Bandura)
e. hierarchical learning Robert Gagne

To the behaviorists, learning should

be organized in order that students can
experience success in the process of
mastering the subject matter.

2. Cognitive Psychology
a. cognitive development stages Jean
Piaget
b. social constructivism Lev Vgotsky
c. multiple intelligences Howard
Gardner
d. learning styles Felder and
Silverman
e. emotional intelligences Daniel
Goleman

To the cognitive theorists, learning

- constitutes a logical method for
organizing and interpreting learning
- it is rooted in the tradition of subject
matter and is similar to the cognitive
development theory

3. Humanistic Psychology
Humanist psychologist are concerned with how
learners can
develop their human potential.
a. Gestalt theory
b. theory of human needs and for
self actualizing persons - Maslow
c. Carl Rogers non directive lives

Schools exist within the social context.

In considering the social foundations of
curriculum, we must recognize that
schools are the only one of the many
institutions that educate society. The
home, the family, community likewise
educate the people in the society. But
schools are formal institutions that
address more complex and interrelated
societies and the world.

The END