CHAPTER 1

CURRICULUM ESSENTIALS
Module 1 - The Teacher and the School Curriculum
Lesson 1: The Curricula in School
Desired Learning Outcomes:
⮚ Discuss the different curricula that exist in the schools.
⮚ Analyze the significance of curriculum and curriculum development in the teacher’s classroom.
Different schools are established at different educational levels with corresponding recommended curricula in our current
Philippine educational system. The educational levels are:
TESDA take care of the technical-vocational education training
1. Basic Education
This level includes Kindergarten, Grade 1 to Grade 6 for elementary, and for secondary, Grade 7 to Grade 10, for the
Junior High School and Grade 11 and 12, and the Senior High School. Each of the levels has its specific recommended
curriculum. The new basic education levels are provided in the K to 12 Enhanced Curriculum of 2013 of the Department
of Education.
2. Technical Vocational Education
It is a post-secondary technical vocational education and training. The TechVoc track in SHS of Deped and TESDA work
in close coordination.
3. Higher Education
It includes the Baccalaureate or Bachelor Degrees and the Graduate Degrees (Masterate and Doctorate), which are
under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) regulation. Several curricula exist at different levels of schooling and
various learning environments. Let us find out how Allan Glatthorn (2000), as mentioned in Bilbao et (2008), classified
these:
Types of Curricula Simultaneously Operating in the Schools
Are you aware that there are several types of curricula in every classroom at the same time? Let us study each one.
1. Recommended Curriculum. For Basic Education, these are recommended by the Department of Education (DepED), for
Higher Education by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Vocational Technical Education by Technical
Education, Skills Development Authority (TESDA); these three government agencies oversee and regulate Philippine
education.
2. Written Curriculum. They come in the form of course of study, syllabi, modules, books, and instructional guides. A packet
of this written curriculum is the teacher's lesson plan. The most recent written curriculum is the K to 12 for Philippine Basic
Education.
3. Taught Curriculum. The curriculum has to be implemented or taught from what has been written or planned. The teacher's
skill to facilitate learning based on the written curriculum with the aid of instructional materials and facilities will be
necessary.
4. Supported Curriculum is described as support materials that the teacher needs to make learning and teaching meaningful.
These include print materials like books, charts, posters, worksheets, or non-print materials like PowerPoint
presentations, movies, slides, models, realias, mock-ups, and other electronic illustrations.
5. Assessed Curriculum. Taught and supported curricula have to be evaluated to find out if the teacher has succeeded or not
in facilitating learning. However, if it is to determine how much has been learned or mastered.
6. Learned Curriculum. The positive outcome of teaching is an indicator of learning. Tools measure these in assessment,
indicating the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor outcomes. A learned curriculum will also demonstrate higher-order
and critical thinking and lifelong skill.
7. Hidden/Implicit Curriculum. This curriculum is not deliberately planned but has a great impact on the learner's behavior.
Peer influence, school environment, media, parental pressures, societal changes, cultural practices, natural calamities
are some factors that create the hidden curriculum. Teachers should be sensitive and aware of this hidden curriculum.
Teachers must have good foresight to include these in the written curriculum to bring to the surface what is hidden.
Lesson 2: The Teacher As A Curricularist
Desired Learning Outcomes:
⮚ Enhance understanding of the role of the teacher as a curricularist in the classroom and school.
However, very seldom has a teacher been described as a curricularist.
Curricularists in the past are referred only to as those who developed curriculum theories. According to the study
conducted by Sandra Hayes (1991), the most influential curricularists in America include John Dewey, Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba, and
Franklin Bobbit. You will learn more about them in the latter part of the module.
In this lesson, we will start using the word curricular to describe a curriculum specialist professional (Hayes, 1991;
Ornstein & Hunkins, 2004; Hewitt, 2006). A person involved in curriculum knowing, writing, planning, implementing, evaluating,
innovating, and initiating may be designated as a curricularist. A TEACHER’S role is broader and inclusive of other functions, so a
teacher is curricular. So what does a TEACHER do to deserve the label curricularist? Let us look at the different roles of the teacher
in the classroom and the school. The classroom is the first place of curricular engagement. The first school experience sets the tone
to understand the meaning of schooling through the interactions of learners and teachers that will lead to learning. Hence, the
curriculum is at the heart of schooling.
Let us describe the teacher as a curricular.
The Teacher as a curricular...
1. Knows the curriculum. Learning begins with knowing. The teacher as a learner starts with knowing about the curriculum,
the subject matter, or the content. As a teacher, one must master what is included in the curriculum. It is acquiring
academic knowledge, both formal (disciplines, logic) or informal (derived from experiences, vicarious, and unintended).
It is the mastery of the subject matter. (Knower)
2. Writes the curriculum. A classroom teacher records knowledge concepts, subject matter, or content. These need to be
written or preserved. As a curriculum writer or reviewer, the teacher writes books, modules, laboratory manuals,
instructional guides, and reference materials in paper or electronic media. (Writer)
 3. Plans the curriculum. A good curriculum has to be planned. It is the role of the teacher to make a yearly, monthly, or
daily plan of the curriculum. It serves as a guide in the implementation of the curriculum. The teacher takes into
consideration several factors in planning a curriculum. These factors include the learners, the support material, time,
subject matter or content, the desired outcomes, the context of the learners, among others. By doing this, the teacher
becomes a curriculum planner. (Planner)
4. Initiates the curriculum. In cases where the curriculum is recommended to the schools from DepEd, CHED, TESDA,
UNESCO, UNICEF, or other educational agencies to improve quality education, the teacher is obliged to implement it.
Implementation of a new curriculum requires the open-mindedness of the teacher and the full belief that the curriculum
will enhance learning. There will be many constraints and difficulties in doing things first or leading. However, a
transformative teacher will never hesitate to try something novel and relevant. (Initiator)
5. Innovates the curriculum. Creativity and innovation are hallmarks of an excellent teacher. A curriculum is always
dynamic, hence keeps on changing. From the content, strategies, ways of doing, blocks of time, ways of evaluating,
kinds of students, and skills of teachers, one cannot find a single eternal curriculum that would perpetually fit.
Therefore, a good teacher innovates the curriculum and thus becomes a curriculum innovator. (Innovator)
6. Implements the curriculum. The curriculum that remains recommended or written will never serve its purpose.
Somebody has to implement it. As mentioned previously, at the heart of schooling is the curriculum. It is in this role that
the teacher becomes the curriculum implementor. An implementor gives life to the curriculum plan. The teacher is at the
height of an engagement with the learners, with support materials to achieve the desired outcome. It is where the
teacher's teaching, guiding, and facilitating skills are expected to the highest level. It is here were teaching as a science
and art will be observed. It is here where all the curriculum elements will come into play. The success of a
recommended, well-written, and planned curriculum depends on the implementation. (Implementor)
7. Evaluate 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? Should the curriculum be modified, terminated, or continued? These are
a few questions that need the help of a curriculum evaluator. That person is the teacher. (Evaluator)
The seven different roles are those which a responsible teacher does in the classroom every day! Doing this multi-faceted work
qualifies a teacher to be curricular.
To be a teacher is to be a curricular, even if a teacher may not equal the likes of John Dewey, Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba, or
Franklin Bobbit. However, as a curricular, a teacher will know, write, implement, innovate, initiate, and evaluate the curriculum in the
school and classrooms just like the role models and advocates in curriculum and curriculum development who have shown the way.
Module 2: The Teacher as a Knower of Curriculum
Lesson 1: The School Curriculum: Definition, Nature, and Scope
Desired Learning Outcomes:
⮚ Define curriculum from different perspectives.
⮚ Describe the nature and scope of the curriculum.
Some Definitions of Curriculum
1. A planned and guided set of learning experiences and intended outcomes, formulated through the systematic
reconstruction of knowledge and experiences under the auspices of the school, for the learners’ continuous and willful
growth in personal social competence" (Daniel Tanner, 1980).
2. A written document systematically describes goals planned, objectives, content, learning activities, evaluation procedures
(Pratt, 1980).
3. The contents of a subject, concepts, and tasks to be acquired, planned activities, the desired learning outcomes and
experiences, a product of culture, and an agenda to reform society make up a curriculum (Schubert,1987).
4. A curriculum includes "all of the experiences that individual learners have in a program of education whose purpose is to
achieve broad goals and related specific objectives, which is planned in terms of a framework of theory and research or
past and present professional practices" (Hass, 1987).
5. Program of activities (by teachers and pupils) is designed to attain possible educational, and other schooling ends or
objectives (Grundy, 1987).
6. A plan that consists of learning opportunities for a specific time frame and place, a tool that aims to bring about behavior
changes in students as a result of planned activities, and includes all learning experiences received by students with the
school's guidance (Goodland & Su, 1992).
7. As answers to three questions: 1. What knowledge, skills, and values are most worthwhile? 2. Why are the most
worthwhile? 3. How should the young acquire them? (Cronbeth, 1992)
Some Points of View of Other Curricularists
Since a person's point of view shapes the concept and meaning of curriculum, this has added to fragmentation and some
confusion. However, when put together, the different definitions from confusion. However, when put together, the different definitions
from diverse points of view would describe the curriculum as dynamic and perhaps ever-changing.
The point of view about the curriculum can either be traditional or progressive according to their philosophical, psychological,
and even psychological orientations. This view can also define what a curriculum is all about.
Curriculum from Traditional Points of View
The traditional points of view of the curriculum were advanced by Robert Hutchins, Arthur Bestor, and Joseph Schwab.
• Robert M. Hutchins views curriculum as "permanent studies" where rules of grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic, and
mathematics for basic education are emphasized. The 3Rs (Reading, Writing, 'rithmetic) should be emphasized in basic
education, while liberal education should be emphasized in college.
• As an essentialist, Arthur Bestor believes that the school's mission should be intellectual training. Hence curriculum should
focus on the fundamental intellectual disciplines of grammar, literature, and writing. It should include mathematics,
science, history, and foreign language.
• Joseph Schwab thinks that the sole source of the curriculum is a discipline, thus the subject areas such as Science,
Mathematics, Social Studies, English, and many more. In college, academic disciplines are labeled as humanities,
sciences, languages, and mathematics. He coined the word discipline as a ruling doctrine for curriculum development.
 • Phillip Phenix asserts that curriculum should consist entirely of knowledge from various disciplines.
From the traditional view of the theorists like Hutchins, Schwab, Bestor, and Phenix, the curriculum can be defined as a
field of study. The curriculum is highly academic and is concerned with broad historical, philosophical, psychological, and social
issues. From a traditional view, the curriculum is mostly written documents such as syllabus, course of study, books, and references
where knowledge is found but is used to accomplish intended goals.
Curriculum from Progressive Points of View
On the other hand, a listing of school subjects, syllabi, course of study, and a list of specific disciplines do not make a
curriculum. In its broadest terms, a progressive
view of the curriculum is the total learning experiences of the individual. Let us look into how the curriculum is defined from a
progressive point of view.
• John Dewey believes that education is experiencing. Reflective thinking is a means that unifies curricular elements that are
tested by application.
• Holin Caswell and Kenn Campbell viewed curriculum as all experiences children have under the guidance of teachers.
• Nathaniel Smith, William Stanley, and Harlan Shore likewise defined curriculum as a sequence of potential experiences set
up in schools to discipline children and youth in group ways of thinking and acting.
• Colin Marsh and George Willis also viewed curriculum as all the experiences in the classroom which are planned and
enacted by the teacher and learned by the students.
The nature of the Curriculum has given rise to many interpretations, depending on a person's philosophical beliefs. Let us
put all of these interpretations in summary.
CURRICULUM is what is taught in school, as a set of subjects, content, a program of studies, a set of materials, a
sequence of courses, a set of performance objectives, and everything within the school. It is what is taught inside and outside of
school directed by the teacher, everything planned by school, a series of experiences undergone by learners in school, or what
individual learner experiences as a result of school. In short, Curriculum is the total learning experiences of the learner under the
teacher's guidance.
Lesson 2: Approaches About School Curriculum
Desired Learning Outcomes:
⮚ Describe the different approaches to the school curriculum.
⮚ Explain by examples how the approaches clarify the definition of curriculum. ⮚ Reflect on how the three approaches
interrelate with each other.
Three Ways of Approaching a Curriculum
Curriculum can be approached or seen in three ways. It can be defined as content, a process, or an outcome. If you
examine the definitions of experts in the field, there are three ways of approaching a curriculum. The first is to approach it as content
or a body of knowledge to be transmitted. The second is to approach it as a product or
the learning outcomes desired by learners. The third is to approach it as a process or what happens when the curriculum is
practiced.
1. Curriculum as a Content or Body of Knowledge
It is quite common for traditionalists to equate a curriculum as a topic outline, subject matter, or concepts in the
syllabus or books. For example, a primary school mathematics curriculum consists of addition, multiplication, subtraction,
division, distance, weight, and many more. Another example is in secondary school science that involves the study of
biological science, physical science, environmental science, and earth science. Textbooks tend to begin with biological
science, and such are plants and animals, physical science with the physical elements, force, and motion, earth science with
the layers of the earth, and environmental science with the interaction of the biological and physical science and earth's
phenomena, climate, vegetation followed by economic activities such as agriculture, mining industries, urbanization.
If a curriculum is equated as content, then the focus will be the body of knowledge to be transmitted to students using
appropriate teaching methods. There can be a likelihood that teaching will be limited to acquiring facts, concepts, and
principles of the subject matter. 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. The fund of knowledge is the repository of accumulated
discoveries and inventions of man from the explorations of the earth and as a product of research. The curriculum is anchored
on a body of knowledge or discipline in most educational settings.
There are four ways of presenting the content in the curriculum. These are:
1. Topical approach, where much content is based on knowledge and experience are included;
2. Concept approach with fewer topics in clusters around major and sub concepts and their interaction, with
relatedness, emphasized;
3. A thematic approach is a combination of concepts that develops conceptual structures and
4. Modular approach that leads to complete units of instruction.
Criteria in the Selection of Content
There are some suggested criteria in the selection of knowledge or subject matter. (Scheffer, 1970 in Bilbao, et al 2009)
1. Significance - Content should contribute to ideas, concepts, principles, and generalizations that should attain the overall
purpose of the curriculum. It is significant if the content becomes the means of developing the learner's cognitive,
affective, or psychomotor skills. As education is a way of preserving culture, the content will be significant when this
addresses the learners' cultural context.
2. Validity - The authenticity of the subject matter forms is valid. Knowledge becomes obsolete with the fast-changing times.
Thus there is a need for validity check and verification at a regular interval because the 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. The utility can
be relative to time. It may have been useful in the past but may not be useful now or in the future. Questions like: Will I
use this in my future job? Will it add meaning to my life as a lifelong learner? Or will the subject matter be useful in
solving current concerns?
4. Learnability - The complexity of the content should be within the range of experience of the learners. It is based on the
psychological principles of learning. Appropriate organization of content standards and sequencing of contents are two
 basic principles that would influence learnability.
5. Feasibility- Can the subject content be learned within the time allowed, a resource available, the expertise of the teachers,
and the nature of the learners? Are there contents of learning which can be learned beyond the formal teaching-
learning engagement? Are there opportunities provided to learn these?
6. Interest - Will the learners take an interest in the content? Why? Are the contents meaningful? What value will the contents
have in the present and future life of the learners? Interest is one of the driving forces for students to learn better.
The selection of the subject matter or content, aside from the seven criteria mentioned earlier, may include the following
guidelines in selecting the CONTENT.
Guide in the Selection of the Content in the Curriculum
1. Content is commonly used in daily life.
2. Content is appropriate to the maturity levels and abilities of the learners 3. Content is valuable in meeting the needs and
competencies of the future career.
4. Content is related to other fields or disciplines for complementation and integration.
5. Content is important in the transfer of learning in other disciplines
BASICS: Fundamental Principles of Curriculum Contents
Palma 1952, proposed that the contents in the curriculum should be guided by Balance, Articulation, Sequence, Integration,
and Continuity. However, in designing a curriculum, contents added an important element: Scope. Hence from BASIC and BASICS
initials of Balance, Articulation, Sequence, Integration, and Continuity
(Hunkins &Ornstein, 2018)
Balance - Content should be fairly distributed in-depth and breadth. It will guarantee that significant contents should be
covered to avoid too much or too little of the contents needed in the time allocation.
Articulation - As the content complexity progresses with the educational levels, smooth connections or bridging should be
provided vertically or horizontally across the same discipline. It will assure no gaps or overlaps in the content. Seamlessness is
desired content and can be assured if there is articulation in the curriculum. Thus, there is a need for a team among writers and
implementers of the curriculum.
Sequence - The logical arrangement of the content refers to sequence or order. It can be done vertically to deepen the
content or horizontally to broaden the same content. In both ways, the pattern usually is from easy to complex, what is known to the
unknown, what is current to something in the future.
Integration - Content in the curriculum does not stand-alone or in isolation. It has some ways of relatedness or
connectedness to other contents. Contents should be infused in other disciplines whenever possible. It will provide a holistic or
unified view of the curriculum instead of segmentation. Contents integrated into other disciplines acquire a higher premium than
when isolated.
Continuity- Content should continuously flow as it was before, to where it is now and where it will be in the future. It should
be perennial. It endures time. Content may not be in the same form and substance as seen in the past since changes and
developments in curriculum occur. Constant repetition, reinforcement, and content enhancement are all elements of continuity.
Scope – The breadth and depth of the curriculum content are vital in a curriculum. The scope consists of all the contents,
topics, learning experiences comprising the curriculum. In layman's terms, scope refers to coverage. The scope shall consider the
cognitive level, affective domain, and psychomotor skills in identifying the contents. Other factors will be considered, but caution is
given to the overloading of contents. "More content is not always better.”
2. Curriculum as a Process
We have seen that the curriculum can be approached as content. On the other hand, it can also be approached as a process.
Here, a 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. As a process, curriculum happens in the classroom as the question asked by the teacher and the learning
activities engaged in by the students. It is an active process emphasizing the context in which the processes occur. Used in an
analogy of the recipe in a cookbook, a recipe is content while cooking is the process.
This section will not discuss the different teaching strategies from where learning experiences are derived. Rather, it will
describe how the process as a descriptor of the curriculum is understood. The content is the substance of the curriculum; how the
contents will be communicated and learned will be addressed by the process.
To teachers, the process is very critical. The other side of the coin is instruction, implementation, and teaching. These three
words connote the process in the curriculum. When do educators ask teachers: What curriculum are you using? Some of the
answers will be 1. Problem-based. 2. Hands-on, Mind On 3. Cooperative Learning 4. Blended Curriculum 5. On-line 6.Case-based
and many more. These responses approach curriculum as a Process. These are the ways of teaching, managing the content,
guiding learning, methods of teaching, and learning strategies of teaching or delivery modes. In all of these, there are activities and
actions that every teacher and learner do together, or the teacher guides learners. Some strategies are time-tested traditional
methods, while others are emerging delivery modes.
When curriculum is approached as a PROCESS, guiding principles are presented.
1. The curriculum process in teaching methods or strategies is meant to achieve the end.
2. There is no single best process or method. Its effectiveness will depend on the desired learning outcomes, the learners,
support materials, and the teacher. 3. The curriculum process should stimulate the learners' desire to develop each individual's
cognitive, affective, psychomotor domains.
4. In the choice of methods, learning and teaching styles should be considered. 5. Every method or process should result in
learning outcomes described as cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.
6. Flexibility in the use of the process or methods should be considered. An effective process will always result in learning
outcomes.
7. Both teaching and learning are two important processes in implementing the curriculum.
3. Curriculum as a Product
Besides viewing curriculum as content that is to be transmitted, or process that gives action using the content, it has also been
viewed as a product. In other words, the product is what the students desire to achieve as learning outcomes.
The product from the curriculum is a student equipped with the knowledge, skills, and values to function effectively and
efficiently Approach. The real purpose of education is to bring about significant changes in student's behavior patterns. Any
statement of objectives or intended outcomes of the school must be a statement of changes in the students. Central to the approach
is formulating behavioral objectives stated as intended learning outcomes or desired products so that content and teaching methods
may be organized and the results evaluated. A product of learning is
operationalized as knowledge, skills, and values.
Curriculum product is expressed in the form of outcomes referred to as the achieved learning outcomes. There may be several
desired learning outcomes, but no learning outcomes will be achieved if the process is not successful. These learned or achieved
learning outcomes are demonstrated by the person who has meaningful experiences in the curriculum. All of these result from
planning, content, and processes in the curriculum.
Lesson 3: Curriculum Development: Processes and Models
Desired Learning Outcomes:
⮚ Explain and summarize the curriculum development process and models.
Curriculum Development Process
Curriculum development is a dynamic process involving many different people and procedures. Development connotes
systematic changes. A change for the better means alteration, modification, or improvement of an existing condition. Development
should be purposeful, planned, and progressive to produce positive changes. Usually, it is linear and follows a logical step-by-step
fashion involving the following phases: curriculum planning, curriculum design, curriculum implementation, and curriculum
evaluation. Generally, most models involve four phases.
1. Curriculum planning considers the school's vision, mission, and goals. It also includes the philosophy or strong education
beliefs of the school. All of these will eventually be translated to classroom desired learning outcomes for the learners.
2. Curriculum designing is how the curriculum is conceptualized to include the selection and organization of content, the
selection and organization of learning experiences or activities, and the selection of the assessment procedure and tools
to measure achieved learning outcomes. A curriculum design will also include the resources to be utilized and the
statement of the intended learning outcomes.
3. Curriculum implementation in the classroom setting or the learning environment. The teacher, who is the facilitator of
learning, leads the plan into action, which is based on the curriculum design. Together with the learners, the curriculum
design guides what will transpire in the classroom to achieve the intended learning outcomes. Implementing the
curriculum is where the action takes place. It involves the activities in every teacher's classroom where learning becomes
an active process.
4. Curriculum evaluation determines the extent to which the desired outcomes have been achieved. This procedure is
ongoing to find out the progress of learning (formative) or the mastery of learning (summative). Along the way, the
evaluation will determine the factors that have hindered or supported the implementation. It will also pinpoint where
improvement can be made and corrective measures introduced. The evaluation result is very important for the decision-
making of curriculum planners and implementors.
Curriculum Development Process Models
1. Ralph Tyler Model: Four Basic Principles
The curriculum development model is, also known as Tyler's Rationale, emphasizes the planning phase. It is
presented in his book Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. He posited four fundamental principles, which are
illustrated as answers to the following questions:
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?
Tyler’s model shows that in the curriculum development, the following considerations should be made:
1. Purposes of the school
2. Educational experiences related to the purposes
3. Organization of the experiences
4. Evaluation of the experience
2. Hilda Taba Model: Grassroots Approach
Hilda Taba improved on Tyler's model. She believed that teachers should participate in developing a curriculum.
As a grassroots approach, Taba begins from the bottom rather than from the top, as Tyler proposed. She presented
seven major steps to her linear model, which are the following:
1. Diagnosis of learners’ needs and expectations of the larger society 2. Formulation of learning
objectives
3. Selection of learning contents
4. Organization of learning contents
5. Selection of learning experiences
6. Determination of what to evaluate and the means of doing it
3. Galen Saylor and William Alexander Curriculum Model
Galen Saylor and William Alexander (1974) viewed curriculum development as four steps. The curriculum is "a
plan for providing sets of learning opportunities to achieve broad educational goals and related specific objectives for an
identifiable population served by a single school center.”
1. Goals, Objectives, and Domains: Curriculum planners begin by specifying the major educational goals and
specific objectives they wish to accomplish. Each major goal represents a curriculum domain: personal
development, human relations, continued learning skills, and specialization. The goals, objectives, and
domains are identified and chosen based on research findings, accreditation standards, views of the different
stakeholders.
2. Curriculum Designing: The designing of a curriculum follows where appropriate learning opportunities are
determined and how each opportunity is provided. According to student needs and interests, will the
curriculum be designed along with academic disciplines or themes? These are some of the questions that
need to be answered at this stage of the development process.
 3. Curriculum Implementation: A designed curriculum is now ready for implementation. Teachers then prepare
instructional plans where instructional objectives are specified, and appropriate teaching methods
and strategies are utilized to achieve the desired learning outcomes among students.
4. Evaluation: The last step of the curriculum model is evaluation. A comprehensive evaluation using a variety of
evaluation techniques is recommended. It should involve the school's total educational program and the
curriculum plan, the effectiveness of instruction, and the achievement of students. Through the evaluation
process, the curriculum planner and developers can determine whether or not the goals of the school and
the objectives of instruction.
All the models utilized the processes of (1) curriculum planning, (2) curriculum designing, (3) curriculum
implementing, and (4) curriculum evaluating.
Lesson 4: Foundations of Curriculum
Desired Learning Outcomes:
⮚ Describe the foundations of curriculum development.
⮚ Explain how each foundation influences curriculum development.
Foundations of Curriculum
1. Philosophical Foundations
Educators, teachers, educational planners, and policymakers must have a philosophy or strong belief about education
and schooling and the kind of curriculum in the teachers' classrooms or learning environment. The philosophy of the
curriculum answers questions like What are Schools for? What subjects are important? How should a student learn? What
methods should be used? What outcomes should be achieved? Why?
The various activities in school are influenced in one way or another by a philosophy. John Dewey influenced "learning
by doing," he is a pragmatist. Alternatively, to an essentialist, the focus on the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic
are essential subjects in the curriculum.
There are many philosophies in education but will only have a few to illustrate, as presented by Ornstein and Hunkins in
2004.
A. Perennialism (Plato, Aristotle or Thomas Aquinas)
• Aim: To educate the rational person; cultivate intellect.
• Role: Teachers assist students to think with the reason (critical thinking: HOTS)
• Focus: Classical subject, literary analysis. The curriculum is enduring.
• Trends: Use of great books (Bible, Koran, Classics) Liberal Arts
B. Essentialism (William Bagley (1974-1946)
• Aim: To promote the intellectual growth of learners to become competent. • Role: Teachers are sole authorities in
the subject area.
• Focus: Essential skills of the 3Rs; Essential subjects
• Trends: Back to Basics. Excellence in Education. Cultural Literacy
C. Progressivism (John Dewey (1859-1952)
• Aim: Promote democratic social living.
• Role: Teacher leads for the growth and development of lifelong learners. • Focus: Interdisciplinary subjects.
Learner-centered.Outcome-based.
• Trends: Equal opportunities for all.Contextualized curriculum. Humanistic education.
D. Reconstructionism (Theodore Brameld (1904-1987)
• Aim: To improve and reconstruct society. Education for change
• Role: The teacher acts as an agent of change and reforms.
• Focus: Present and future educational landscape.
• Trends: School and curricular reform. Global education. Collaboration and Convergence. Standards and
Competencies.
2. Historical Foundations
Where is curriculum development coming from? The historical foundations will show us the chronological development
along a timeline. Reading materials would tell us that curriculum development started when Franklin Bobbit (1876-1956) wrote
"The Curriculum." Let us see how each one contributed to curriculum development during their own time. Here are eight
among the many we consider to have a great contribution.
Persons Contribution

Franklin Bobbit • Started the curriculum development movement.

(1876-1956) • Curriculum as a science that emphasizes students' needs. • The curriculum prepares
learners for adult life.
• Objectives and activities are grouped when tasks are clarified.

• Like Bobbit, the curriculum is science and emphasizes students' needs.

Werret Charters (1875- • Objectives and activities should match. Subject matter or content relates to objectives.
1952)
 William Kilpatrick (1875- • Curricula are purposeful activities that are child-centered.
1952) • The purpose of the curriculum is child development and growth. The project method was introduced by
Kilpatrick, where teacher and student plan the activities.

Harold Rugg (1886- • To Rugg, the curriculum should develop the whole child. It is child centered.
1960) • With objectives and related learning activities, the curriculum should produce outcomes.
• Harold Rugg emphasized social studies, and the teacher plans the curriculum in advance.

Hollis Caswell (1901- • Sees curriculum as organized around social functions of themes, organized knowledge, and learner's
1989) interest.
• Caswell believes that curriculum, instruction, and learning are interrelated. • A curriculum is a set of
experiences. The subject matter is developed around social functions and learners' interests.

Ralph Tyler • As one of the hallmarks of curriculum, Tyler believes that curriculum is a science and an extension of the
(1902-1994) school's philosophy. It is based on students' needs and interests.
• To Tyler, the curriculum is always related to instruction. The subject matter is organized in knowledge, skills,
and values.
• The process emphasizes problem-solving. The curriculum aims to educate generalists and not specialists.

Hilda Taba • Contributed to the theoretical and pedagogical foundations of concepts development and critical thinking in
(1902-1967) social studies curriculum. • Helped lay the foundation for a diverse student population.

Peter Oliva • Described how curriculum change is a cooperative endeavor. • Teachers and curriculum specialists constitute
(1992-2012) the professional core of planners.
• Significant improvement through group activity.

3. Psychological Foundation of Curriculum

Psychology provides a basis to understand the teaching and learning process. It unifies elements of the learning
process. Questions that psychological foundations of education can address are: How should curriculum be organized to
enhance learning? What is the optimal level of students' participation in learning the various contents of the curriculum? In this
module, we shall consider three learning theories:
behaviorism or association theories, cognitive-information processing theories, and humanistic theories (Ornstien&Hunkins,
2004).
Let us review some theories in learning related to these clusters of learning theories.
3.1 Association and Behaviorism
Persons Contribution

Ivan Pavlov (1849- • Father of the Classical Conditioning Theory, the S-R Theory. • The key to learning in the early
1936) years of life is to train them what you want them to become.
• S-R Theory is a foundation of learning practice called indoctrination.

Edward Thorndike • Championed the Connection Theory

(1874-1949) • Proposed the three laws of learning
- Law of readiness
- Law of exercise
- Law of effect
• The specific stimulus has a specific response.

Robert Gagne • Proposed the Hierarchical Learning Theory. Learning follows a hierarchy.
(1916-2002) • Behavior is based on prerequisite conditions.
• Introduced tasking in the formulation of objectives
3.2 Cognitive Information Processing Theory
Persons Contribution

Jean Piaget • Theories of Jean Piaget

(1896-1980) - Describes cognitive development in terms of stages from birth to maturity
- Sensorimotor stage (0-2), preoperational stage (2-7), concrete operation stage (7-11), and
formal operations (11 - onwards)
• Key to learning
 - Assimilation (incorporation of new experience)
- Accommodation (learning modification and adaptation) - Equilibration (balance between
previous and later learning)

Ley Vygotsky • Theory of Lev Vygotsky

(1896-1934) - Cultural transmission and development
- As a result of their interaction with society, children could perform certain cognitive actions
prior to arriving at the developmental stage.
- Learning precedes development
- Sociocultural development theory
• Key to learning
- Pedagogy creates learning processes that lead to the development
- The child is an active agent in his or her educational process.

Howard Gardner • Gardner’s multiple intelligences

- Humans have several different ways of processing information, and these ways are relatively
independent of one another.
- Eight bits of intelligence: linguistic, logic mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily/kinesthetic,
interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.

• Emotion contains the power to affect the action

Daniel Goleman - Emotional Quotient
3.3 Humanistic Psychology
Persons/Symbols Contribution

• Gestalt Theory
- Learning is explained in terms of the "wholeness" of the problem.
- Human beings do not respond to isolated stimuli but an organization or pattern of stimuli.
• Key to learning

Gestalt - Learning is complex and abstract.

- Learners analyze the problem, discriminate between essential and nonessential data, and
perceive relationships.
- Learners will perceive something about the whole what/how they perceive is related to
their previous experiences.

Abraham • Self-actualization Theory

Maslow (1908- 1970)
• The classic theory of human needs.
• A child whose basic needs are not met will not be interested in acquiring knowledge of the
world.
• Put importance on human emotions based on love and trust. • Key to learning
- Produce a healthy and happy learner who can accomplish, grow and actualize his or her
human self.

Carl Rogers • Nondirective and Therapeutic Learning

(1902-1987) - Established counseling procedures and methods for facilitating learning.
- Children's highly individualistic perceptions influence their learning and behavior in class.
• The key to learning is
- The curriculum is concerned with the process, not the product; personal needs, not subject
matter, psychological meaning, not the cognitive source.

4.0 Social Foundations of Curriculum

Persons/Symbols Contribution

Schools and • Society as a source of change

• Schools as agents of change

Society • Knowledge as an agent of change

Emile Durkheim • Influence of society and social context in education • Things that surround individuals can
(1858-1917) change, develop their behavior
 • Considered two fundamental elements, which are schools and civil society

Alvin Toffler • Wrote the book Future Shock

Other Theorists
Paolo Freire (1021- 1997)
• Believed that knowledge should prepare students for the future
• Suggested that in the future, parents might have the resources to teach prescribed curriculum
from home as a result of technology, not despite it. (Home Schooling)
• Foresaw schools and students worked creatively, collaboratively, and independently of their
age.
• Education is a means of shaping the person and society through critical reflections and
"conscientization."
• Teachers use questioning and problem-posing approaches to raise students' consciousness.
• Emphasis on questioning problem posing and critical thinking • Major book: Pedagogy of the
Oppressed, 1968

John Goodlad • Curriculum organized around needs and society and the students
(1920-2014) • Reduce student conformity in the classroom
• The constant need for school improvement
• Emphasis on active learning and critical thinking
• Involvement of students in planning curriculum content and instructional activities
• Need to align content with standards
• Major book: A Place Called Schools, 1984; What Are Schools For? 1989

William Pinar (1947 - ) • Broaden the conception of curriculum to enrich the practice • Understand the nature of
the educational experience • The curriculum involves multiple disciplines
• The curriculum should be studied from historical, racial, gendered, phenomenological,
postmodern, theological, and international perspectives.