Curriculum

Three Versions of Curriculum

Subject CenteredTeacher CenteredStudent Centered

What is the nature of curriculum?

Curriculum is something determined by experts and authorities.

There is no right curriculum.Curriculum should reflect the real world, be

practical, of use.There are many curricula we can learn and

negotiate

Definitions of Curriculum

1. Curriculum is all of the experiences children have under the guidance of teachers.

2. Curriculum encompasses all learning opportunities provided by school.

3. Curriculum is a plan for all experiences which the learner encounters in school.

4. Curriculum is subject to perspectives, debate, change

Discipline, Discourse, & Theory

Discipline – an area of study, with its own particular rules and expectations.

Discourse – a system of statements that provide rules of information and sets of practices within a social milieu (Grant & Gillette, 2006).

Theory– an argument about how to think about a discipline or a discourse. Thinking about the nature of our thinking – “metacognition.”

Who owns the curriculum?

A teacher in a public school is an employee of the district, which is an educational entity of the state.

It is the state, the governor, the legislature (the state dept. of education or state board of education) which has ultimate responsibility over the curriculum.

Curriculum…Thomas Popkewitz

“I view curriculum as a particular, historically formed knowledge that inscribes rules and standards by which we ‘reason’ about the world and our ‘self’ as a productive member of that world.”

“Curriculum is a disciplining technology that directs how the individual is to act, feel, talk, and ‘see’ the world and the ‘self.’ As such, curriculum is a form of social regulation.”

Curriculum and Power Relationships

Expert knowledge shapes our thinking about much in our daily life.

We think of it as “natural” but it is not…it is built from expert systems of thinking.

We assume expert knowledge to be true.

The Overt Curriculum

The overt curriculum is the open, or public, dimension and includes current and historical interpretations, learning experiences, and learning outcomes.

Openly discussed, consciously planned, usually written down, presented through the instructional process

Textbooks, learning kits, lesson plans, school plays etc.

Overt Curriculum

Provides students with science, history, math, literature

Provides students with the knowledge society wants them to have…beyond the academics

Social Responsibility…the overt curriculum should be “society’s messenger” (Benjamin Franklin)

The Invisible (Hidden)Curriculum

The processes…the “noise” by which the overt curriculum is transmitted

“they are also learning and modifying attitudes, motives, and values in relationship to the experiences…in the classroom.”

The nonacademic outcomes of formal education are sometimes of greater consequence…than is learning the subject matter….

Results of the Hidden Curriculum

Notions of truth, ways of thinking, unstated implications

Appraisals of self-worthSocial RolesMiddle-Class PerspectivesAttitudes and Behavior Required for Work

Extra or Co-curricula

Beneficial to self-esteemImproved race relationsHigher SAT scores, gradesBetter health for females, gender stereotypes

underminedHigher career aspirations