Curriculum concepts

CURRICULUM CONCEPTS/NATURE &

PURPOSE

THE CONCEPT OF CURRICULUM

Curriculum is a Latin word, ‘Currere’ means ‘the race, the path, lap or course or runway’ which one takes to reach a goal applied to a course of study. If the teacher is the guide, the curriculum is the path.

The term curriculum has been used with quite

different meanings ever since the field took form. Curriculum, however, can be defined as prescriptive, descriptive, or both


Prescriptive [curriculum]definitions provide us with what “ought” to happen, and they more often than not take the form of a plan, an intended program, or some kind of expert opinion about what needs to take place in the course of study. (Ellis, 2004, p. 4)


Prescriptive Definitions of Curriculum

Author Definition

John Dewey Curriculum is a continuous reconstruction, moving from the child’s present experience out into that represented by the organized bodies of truth that we call studies . . . the various studies . . . are themselves experience— they are that of the race.

J. L. McBrien& R. Brandt

[Curriculum] refers to a written plan outlining what students will be taught (a course of study). Curriculum may refer to all the courses offered at a given school, or all the courses offered at a school in a particular area of study.

Indiana Department of Education

Curriculum means the planned interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources, and processes for evaluating the attainment of educational objectives.


The descriptive definitions of curriculum displayed in Table 1.2 go beyond the prescriptive terms as they force thought about the curriculum “not merely in terms of how things ought to be but how things are in real classrooms” (Ellis, 2004, p. 5). Another term that could be used to define the descriptive curriculum is experience. The experienced curriculum provides “glimpses” of the curriculum in action.


Descriptive Definitions of Curriculum

Author Definition

Thomas Hopkins

Those learnings each child selects, accepts, and incorporates into himself to act with, on, and upon, in subsequent experiences.

D. F. Brown All student school experiences relating to the improvement of skills and strategies in thinking critically and creatively, solving problems, working collaboratively with others, communicating well, writing more effectively, reading more analytically, and conducting research to solve problems.

E. Silva An emphasis on what students can do with knowledge, rather than what units of knowledge they have, is the essence of 21st-century skills.


The curriculum is the plans made for guiding learning in the schools, usually represented in retrievable documents of several levels of generality, and the actualization of those plans in the classroom, as experienced by the learners and as recorded by an observer; those experiences take place in a learning environment that also influences what is learned.

NATURE OF CURRICULUM

The nature of curriculum encompasses its inherent characteristics and features which makes it relevant and usable in the society that uses it. As such the points below, tell us the characteristics of a good curriculum.

NATURE OF CURRICULUM –CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD CURRICULUM

1. The Curriculum is continuously

evolving.

-It evolved from one period to another, to the present.

-For a curriculum to be effective, it must have continuous monitoring and evaluation.

-Curriculum must adapt its educational activities and services to meet the needs of

a modern and dynamic community.


2. The Curriculum is based on the needs

of the people.

-A good curriculum reflects the needs of the individual and the society as a

whole. -The curriculum is in proper shape in order to meet the challenges of times

and make education more responsive to the clientele it serves.


3.The Curriculum is democratically

conceived

-A good curriculum is developed through the efforts of a group of individuals from

different sectors in the society who are knowledgeable about the interests, needs

and resources of the learner and the society as a whole.

-The curriculum is the product of many minds and energies.


4. The Curriculum is the result of a long

term effort

-A good curriculum is a product of long and tedious process.

-It takes a long period of time in the planning, management,

evaluation and development of a good curriculum.


5. The Curriculum is a complex of details..

-A good curriculum provides the proper instructional equipment and meeting places that are often most conducive to learning.

-It includes the student teacher relationship, guidance and counselling program, health services, school and community projects, library and laboratories, and other school

related work experiences.


6. The Curriculum provides for the

logical sequence of subject matter.

-Learning is developmental.-Classes and activities

should be planned.-A good curriculum provides continuity of experiences.


7. The Curriculum complements and

cooperates with other programs of the

community

-The curriculum is responsive to the needs of the community.

-The school offers its assistance in the improvement and realization of ongoing

programs of the community.-There is cooperative effort between the

school and the community towards greater productivity.


8. The Curriculum has educational quality.

-Quality education comes through the situation of the individuals intellectual and creative

capacities for social welfare and development.-The curriculum helps the learner to become

the best that he can possibly be.-The curriculum support system is secured to augment existing sources for its efficient and

effective implementation.


9. The Curriculum has administrative

flexibility.

-A good curriculum must be ready to incorporate changes whenever

necessary.-The curriculum is open to revision

and development to meet the demands of globalization and the

digital age.

PURPOSE/S OF CURRICULUM

The purpose of the curriculum is encapsulated in the four capacities –

to enable each child or young person to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor.

The attributes and capabilities can be used by establishments as a guide to check whether the curriculum for any individual child or young person sufficiently reflects the purposes of the curriculum.

PURPOSE/S OF CURRICULUM

THE K TO 12 ENHANCED BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Concept

… every graduate of basic education shall be an empowered individual who has learned, through a program that is rooted on sound educational principles and geared towards excellence, the foundations for learning throughout life, the competence to engage in work and be productive, the ability to coexist in fruitful harmony with local and global communities, the capability to engage in autonomous, creative, and critical thinking, and the capacity and willingness to transform others and one’s self.

Nature

*The curriculum shall be learner-centered, inclusive and developmentally appropriate;*relevant, responsive and *research-based;*be culture-sensitive;*be contextualized and global;*shall use pedagogical approaches that are constructivist, inquiry-based, reflective, collaborative and integrative;*the principles and framework of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) *use the spiral progression approach to ensure mastery of knowledge and skills after each level; and*shall be flexible enough to enable and allow schools to localize, indigenize and enhance the same based on their respective educational and social contexts.

Purpose

*Sufficient Instructional Time*21st Century skills (IT, HOTS)*More Skilled and Competent Labor Force*Recognition as Professionals Abroad

Date post:	06-May-2015
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