Module 1: Curriculum and Curriculum Development

Content Discussion:

A. Concepts, Nature and Purpose of Curriculum

One of the most often repeated definitions of a curriculum are that

curriculum is the total learning experience. This description implies that the crux
of a curriculum is the different planned and unplanned activities which have been
lived, acted upon or done by the learners with the guidance of the teacher.
Teaching as Process of Curriculum Good teaching is difficult to agree upon.
While it remains to be difficult to agree on what good teaching is, effective
teaching can be demonstrated. Effective teaching is one that will bring about the
intended learning outcomes.

B. Curriculum from Different Points of View:

TRADITIONAL POINT OF VIEW

How is curriculum defined from a traditional perspective? Who were the

advocates? And how can a school system work with this point of view?

If the word curriculum is defined as a written document or a plan of action

to accomplish goals; a body of subjects or a subject matter prepared by teachers
in order for the students to learn; a course of study; syllabus, lesson plan, or a
field of study – then these definitions come from the traditional point of view
(Bilbao et al., 2008).

The Advocates of Curriculum

The following theorists are the advocates of the curriculum concept. Their
perspectives helped shape current understanding of how curriculum is used in
meeting educational goals.

ROBERT M. HUTCHINS
Hutchins believes that college education must be grounded on liberal
education while basic education should emphasize the rules of grammar, reading,
rhetoric, logic and mathematics. For him, curriculum is viewed as permanent
studies which explain why some subjects are repeated from elementary to
college, such as grammar, reading, and mathematics.

ARTHUR BESTOR
Bestor is an essentialist who believes that the mission of the school is to
train the intellectual capacity of learners. Hence, subjects to be offered are
grammar, literature, writing, mathematics, science, history and foreign language.

JOSEPH SCHWAB
Schwab views that discipline is the sole source of curriculum, and so, the
curriculum is divided into chunks of knowledge which are called subject areas like
English, mathematics, social studies, science, humanities, languages, and others.
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As a leading curriculum theorist, Schwab used the term discipline as the ruling
doctrine for curriculum development. Therefore, curriculum is viewed as a field of
study and it should only consist of knowledge that comes from the disciplines; for
example, linguistics, economics, chemistry, among others.

PROGRESSIVE POINT OF VIEW

The progressivists disagree with the way curriculum is defined by the

traditionalists. For them, if the lesson plans or syllabi are not actualized or
learned by the students, it is not considered as a curriculum. So, curriculum is
defined as the total learning experiences of individuals which means that
students be given all the opportunities to apply what they learn.

The Advocates of Curriculum

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 JOHN DEWEY
John Dewey is a famous proponent of progressivism. He argues that
reflective thinking is important. It is a tool to unify all the curricular elements, such as
aims, goals, and objectives; subject matter/content; learning experiences; and
evaluation approaches. For him, it is important to test the knowledge or thought
through application, or the learning by doing, which became influential in education.
His famous philosophy is pragmatism.

HOLLIS CASWELL AND DOAK CAMPBELL

Hollis Caswell and Doak Campbell define curriculum as “all experiences
children have under the guidance of the teachers.” In this regard, curriculum should
contain all the experiences needed by the children to learn, and a teacher should
only act as a guide or facilitator.

B. OTHANEL SMITH, WILLIAM O. STANLEY, AND J. HARLAN SHORES

Smith, Stanley and Shores share the same view that the curriculum, as the
way Caswell & Campbell view it, as “a sequence of potential experiences set up in
the schools for the purpose of disciplining the children and the youth while doing
group activities.”

COLIN J. MARSH AND GEORGE WILLIS

Colin J. Marsh and George Willis define curriculum as the “experiences in the
classroom which are planned and enacted by the teacher, and also learned by the
students”. In this definition, the experiences are done in the classrooms.

In a nutshell, progressivism comes from the word progress, which means making
changes, reforms, or improvements toward better conditions. In the way curriculum
is defined and implemented from the progressivists’ perspective, the people
mentioned above have contributed much in educational reforms. They all believe
that teachers must provide sets of experiences that are planned and facilitated by
the teachers in order for the students to actualize what they have learned within or
outside the classrooms.

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