MEL – 520

The Field of Curriculum

Aspects of Curriculum

Dr. Vien Cao

vcao@esen.edu.sv
 Three Aspects of Curriculum

1. Formal

2. Informal

3. Hidden
 Formal Curriculum
• Actual, real, and found in the
framework/guidelines
• Intended and planned
• Given in the form of subjects or courses
• Details outlined in the form of syllabus
 Informal Curriculum
• Beyond formal curriculum
• Casual enactment of the real thing via non-
academic, co-curricular activities
• Causes actual and indirect learning via
participation
• Helps in developing the soft skills
• Helps in enhancing the content of formal
curriculum
 Hidden Curriculum
• Refers to unwritten and sometimes
unconscious values, rules, behaviors,
assumptions and expectations that comingle
with both formal and informal curriculum.
• This simply exists as a byproduct of the
education system and not because anyone
has deliberately hidden certain learning
experiences
 Useful Understanding
Aspects of curriculum occur not in isolation but
in combination.
• The hidden curricula are powerful
contributors to learning.
• They are not explicitly taught but have strong
influence on learners.
• Understanding them enables teachers to take
charge and avert undesirable consequences
of learning.
 Eliot Eisner’s category
1. Explicit: expressly communicated;
observable

2. Implicit: intended, extends to what happens

in a classroom; displayed & subtle
 Implicit Significance
The implicit curriculum is that
which the school teaches the
students because of the kind
of place it is, including the
physical characteristics,
furniture and classroom set-
up, the surrounding, and all of
the do-ups such as the wall
murals, pin-ups, fliers and so
on. (Elliot Eisner)
The implicit
curriculum does have
a powerful intuitive
influence on the
students especially
when it provides a
stable exposure over
a prolonged period of
time.
 From Policy to Practice
1. The recommended curriculum
2. The written curriculum
3. The taught curriculum
4. The supported curriculum
5. The assessed curriculum
6. The learned curriculum
7. The hidden curriculum
(Allan Glatthorn and Jerry Jailall)
 Curricular Integration
A primary responsibility of educators is
that they not only be aware of the general
principles of the shaping of actual
experience by environing conditions, but
that they also recognize in the concrete
what surroundings are conducive to
having experiences that lead to growth.
Above all, they should know how to utilize
the surroundings, physical and social, that
exists so as to extract from them all that
John Dewey
they have to contribute to building up
1938, p. 40
experiences that are worth while.
 Think – Group – Share
Consider the implicit, informal, and hidden
aspects of the curriculum and how you can plan
for these in your teaching activities?
Ask yourself:
• Should I plan for these in my teaching?
• What would that mean for me?
• What would that mean for my students?