Curriculum Studies

Our Focus

Introductions

•getting reacquainted

•setting the scene

The Unit Outline

•getting to know the course

•setting expectations

Introductions

• Introducing ourselves– Dr Wayne McGowan– Hello Bingo

• Introducing the Unit– Outcomes– Structure– Assessment

Unit OutcomesAn understanding of the:

• context for and importance of curriculum studies in the educational process

• different perspectives of curriculum and how these views influence curriculum development

• historical, social and political context that underpins alternative perspectives of curriculum development

• central concepts and terms within the field of curriculum studies

Unit Structure• Curriculum Studies

• Curriculum Development– Product– Process– Situation

• Curriculum orientations– The academic rationalist curriculum– The cognitive processes curriculum– The self-actualisation curriculum– The social reconstructionist curriculum

• Curriculum trends

• Assignment presentations

Unit AssessmentWrite a 5000 word essaya. describing, analysing and evaluating curriculum materials of

your choice

b. discussing a curriculum in action in a school or other educational setting

c. on a curriculum topic to be negotiated

• Curriculum materials can refer to a variety of things:– A curriculum– A syllabus– A text book/s– A learning pack– A curriculum policy document– A teachers guide– And interactive teaching and learning program

CurriculumIn

action

Assessment Criteria• Extensive understanding of key knowledge

and concepts• A high level of discrimination in choosing

relevant work• A clearly articulated theme or position• A degree of creative flair and insight• A clear and logical essay structure• Clear and appropriate language• A consistent use of a standard referencing

procedure

The Essay• General framework

– Not required to follow this format– ‘Introduction’ and a ‘Conclusion’.– Standard approach to referencing

• within your text• at the end of your paper• consistency

– Scheme for the analysis of curriculum materials• Description• Analysis• Evaluation

– Assessment criteria – Concepts and theories from this unit

The Literature

• Encyclopaedias of education

• Handbooks of education

• Bibliographies – 010 to 109

• General encyclopaedias – 030 to 050

• Curriculum section – 375

• General books on curriculum

• Books on specific aspects of the curriculum

• Books which deal with other issues

In the library• The Dewey Decimal System subdivisions:

– Education– Generalities of Education– Elementary Education– Secondary Education– Adult Education– Curriculum– Education of Women– Schools and Religion– Higher Education– Education and the State

Journals on Curriculum• Subject specific journals

– The Journal of Mathematics Education • General interest journals

– The Journal of Curriculum Studies– Curriculum Enquiry– Curriculum Perspectives– Curriculum– The Curriculum Journal– Curriculum Studies

• Journals across the areas of education– History of Education– History of Education Quarterly– Comparative Education– Comparative Education Review– Compare– Prospects– The International Review of Education– The International Journal of Educational Development– and many others.

Theory into Practice

• Grounding Contemporary Curriculum Thought– Vol. 31, No. 3, Summer, 1992

Curriculum Studies

Our Focus

Curriculum and Instruction

The Language of curriculum studies:

•Discourse•Concepts•Definitions

Curriculum and Instruction

4 Models

Curriculum Instruction

Curriculum

Curriculum

Instruction

Instruction

Curriculum

CurriculumInstruction

Instruction Curriculum Instruction

Curriculum Labels

• Curriculum Design

• Curriculum Development

• Curriculum Implementation

• Curriculum Innovation

• Curriculum Evaluation

• The Hidden Curriculum

• The Curriculum as Experienced

• Syllabus

• Course of Study

• Co-curriculum

• Extra-curriculum

It’s really confusing. There is

so many things that get labeled ‘curriculum’!

Curriculum Concepts• ‘Curriculum Design’ or ‘Curriculum Development’

• “Development” describes the process of curriculum-making

• “Design” describes the end result, or the product of curriculum development

– No hard-and-fast definitions

– ‘Curriculum design’ as a concept as used by one person/group may be what another person/group means by ‘curriculum development’

– Need to always clarify the sense in which we are using the concepts in order to have meaningful discussions

– Pollard & Triggs (1997) – Concepts of Curriculum• The official curriculum• The observed curriculum• The curriculum-as-experienced• The hidden curriculum

The Official Curriculum• “A planned course of study”

• Explicitly stated programme of learning

• States intended curriculum content

• Structures sequence and progression, framing content and course activities

• Designed to challenge students and match learning needs

The Observed Curriculum• What can be seen as taking place

• May be different from intended official curriculum

Hidden Curriculum• All that is learnt during school/college activities that is not a

designated part of official curriculum• What is “picked up” about eg role of teacher/learner, status,

attitudes to learning• Implicit, embedded in taken-for-granted procedures and

materials• May be unrecognised and often unexamined• Can have profound effect on self image on students, and

attitudes to education/other social groups

Curriculum-as-Experienced• The parts of the curriculum (official and hidden) that actually

connect meaningfully with students

• Arguably only this aspect which has educational impact – rest is often forgotten!

Curriculum is...

• Write your response...

• Share responses by discussing with what you have written with a partner

• Share your responses by discussing them with others

• Explore the similarities/differences that exist between statements?

“Curriculum” as a metaphor• Metaphor

– a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance

• Some examples:

– Shower: He showered her with gifts. Giving is dropping from above– Fog: My memory is a little foggy. Memory is a visible object– Grill: The lawyer grilled the witness on the stand. Tough questions

create a damaging level of heat that makes physical contact– Boil: The boss was boiling mad. A lot of heat produces a lot of

activity– Aged: This joke is aging quickly. A joke is not fixed in time -

necessarily changing with the environment, or dying of old age– Dying: I'm dying to meet her. Desire equals (slow) death

“Curriculum” as a metaphor• Metaphor

– a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance

• Literally – an early Latin word meaning “to run a course”

• “To run a course” eg. marathon– To move along a course clearly marked by signposts in

order to get to the predetermined finish line.• “To run a course” eg. school curriculum

– To move along a course clearly marked by objectives in order to arrive at a predetermined destination

Concepts of Curriculum• Oliva (2009)

– Curriculum is:• That which is taught in schools• A set of subjects• Content• A program of studies• A set of materials• A sequence of courses• A set of performance objectives• A course of study• Everything that goes on in the school, including extra-class activities,

guidance and interpersonal relations• That which is taught both inside and outside of school directed by the

school• Everything that is planned by school personnel• A series of experiences undergone by learners in school• That which an individual learner experiences as a result of schooling

How do curriculum writers define curriculum?• Classifying understandings of curriculum.

Purpose

A statement about what ...

Strategy

A statement of means...

Context

A statement of belief...

Other

Tells teachers and schools what to

teach

To transmit our cultural heritage

A mechanism for arranging learning

activities

The way subject matter is organised

and presented

To teach children how to think

To transmit our cultural heritage through the

teaching of History and Art

Curriculum Studies

Our Focus

Pre-reading article:

Curriculum and its Discontents

Curriculum and its Discontents

• Moribund, terminal, wakes, fragmented, arrested...

• The Discontent: who are they and what are they discontented about?

• Shift Allegiances

• Shift in theory/practice relationship

• Pluses and minuses?

Curriculum Instruction Curriculum Instruction

Curriculum and its Discontents• What’s it all about...

• Emblem– a representation that functions as a

symbol• Symbolic representation

– something visible that by association or convention represents something else that is invisible; “the eagle is a symbol of the United States” – “a white feather is a symbol of cowardice”

• Representational process– any basic cognitive process in which

some entity comes to stand for or represent something else

An aesthetic device or a sign used to convey information visually, thus saving time and eliminating language

barriers.

Symbols are used in art, mathematics,

music, and literature; for practical use in

science and medicine; for road signs; and as

warnings – for example, a skull and

crossbones to indicate dangerous contents.

Curriculum Studies

Our Focus

Curriculum Studies –how is it organised as an academic field of study?

Curriculum an Educational Matter

• Why did curriculum theory and practice come into existence in the first place?

• Its purpose was to assist educators by providing them with a way of thinking about their work

– Before – During – After • A means by which teachers judge the

direction their educational strategies are taking in relation to their students’ learning

The Scope of Curriculum Studies

OrientationsWhat purpose does it serve?

DevelopmentHow is it designed?

OperationsWhat teaching methods are used?What skills/concepts are being taught?

OutcomesWhat have students been taught?What has resulted from individuals curricula experiences?

Evaluation

Intended CurriculaWhat is to be taught?What standards are to be achieved?

Congruence

Curriculum: A Field of Study• The study of education - about 100 years

• Beginning of the 1900s

The MonitorialSystem

Training CollegeSystem

Educationas a

Tradition

Educationas a

Science

Growing Professionally• Exposing student teachers to:

– History of education• Locating teaching in a great tradition

– Educational psychology• Locating teaching in a realm of science

• Adding to teacher training:– Progressive education movement– Child development– Early versions of:

• Philosophy of Education• Sociology of Education

Too much uncontrolled growth...

Late 1960s and Early 1970s

• What is the nature of education studies?

• What is the most appropriate program for teacher preparation and for the preparation of other educational personnel?

• What is the place of education studies within such a program?

• What are the sub-disciplines within education studies (including Curriculum Studies)?

Justifying a Professional Field of Study

• Broudy, et.al. (1967)– We can justify the existence of a professional field of

study if it:• has a set of special problems that direct and focus

enquiries• uses and organises facts and principles taken from

such diverse disciplines as chemistry, physics and psychology around the demands of its own problems

• uses practice to illuminate theory and uses theory as a guide to practice

Curriculum as a Discipline

• Oliva (2009)

Characteristicsof a

Discipline

Knowledge and Skills

Theory and Practice Principles

Has an organised set of theoretical

constructs or principles that

governs it

Encompasses a body of

knowledge and skills pertinent to

that discipline

Has its theoreticians and

practitioners

CurriculumSociology

Instruction

CommunicationTheory

Supervision

History

Philosophy

SubjectAreas

ManagementTheory

Organisational Theory

Psychology

Evaluation

Technology

SystemsTheory

Schema for Education StudiesAims and Policy

Curriculum Teaching/Learning

Management and 

Administration

TeacherEducation

(pre‐ and in‐service

Contributing areas of 

knowledge

Philosophy

History

Psychology

Sociology

Schema for Education StudiesContributing areas of 

knowledge Curriculum

PhilosophyErekson, T. (Spring 1992). Technology Education from the

Academic Rationalist Theoretical Perspective. Journal of Technology Education 3(2), 6-14

HistoryWraga, W.G., & Hlebowitsh, P.S. (2003). Towards a Renaissance

in Curriculum Theory and Development in the USA. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 35(4), 425-437

Psychology

SociologyFlores, M. A. (2005). Teachers’ Views on Recent Curriculum

Changes: Tensions and Challenges. The Curriculum Journal, 16(3), 401-413.

Curriculum QuestionsDescriptive/Prescriptive

• What is (should be) the range of objectives of the educational system and how are they (should they be) characterised?

• What are (should be) the values and beliefs underlying the educational system?

• Are (Should) all objectives (be) prescribed for all students, oronly for some?

• Is (Should) the curriculum (be) divided into a pattern of components? How should teachers and students be grouped in relation to this pattern?

• What methods are (should be) used to evaluate the success of the work? How should these methods be related to the objectives?

Answering Curriculum Questions• Reflecting on the Singapore experience

– How would you describe the objectives of Singapore’s education system?

– What do you think are the values and beliefs underlying this education system?

– How are students and teachers grouped– What methods are used to find out if the system has

been successful?

Why study curriculum?• Its direct application to teaching

– What happens to intended curricula as they are worked on in schools and classrooms?

• The importance of teachers/educationalists engaging in debate about the curriculum

• Without an understanding of the issues teachers remain at the mercy of:

– Events– Unnoticed assumptions– The prejudices of unexamined

tradition and practice

Restricted Professionality Extended Professionality

• Skills driven by experience • Skills derived from a mediation between experience and theory

• Classroom events perceived in isolation • Classroom events perceived in relation to school policies and goals

• Perspective limited to the immediate in time and space

• Perspectives embracing the broader social context of education

• Introspective in regard to methods • Methods compared with those of colleagues and with reports of practice

• Value placed on autonomy • Value placed on professional collaboration

• Limited involvement in non-teaching professional activities

• High involvement in non-teaching professional activities (especially teachers’centres, subject associations and research)

• Infrequent reading of professional literature • Regular reading of professional literature

• Involvement in in-service work limited and confined to practical courses

• Involvement in in-service work considerable and includes courses of a theoretical nature

• Teaching as an initiative activity • Teaching seen as a rational activity

Time to Reflect

Introductions

•getting reacquainted

•setting the scene

The Unit Outline

•getting to know the course

•setting expectations

Discourse

Concepts

Definitions

Pre-reading article:

Curriculum and its Discontents

Curriculum Studies –how is it organised as an academic field of study?