K-12

A. The Curriculum: Orientation

Meaning of Curriculum

The term “curriculum” has been defined in various ways. At one time it meant the subjects taught in school. Later it

was defined as subject matter. At another time it was used to refer to the

course of study, a teacher’s guide which contains suggestions for

instructional objectives, teaching and learning activities, instructional

materials, methods of evaluation, the time frame for finishing teaching units,

reference materials, and so forth.

The term has also been used in reference to the program of the study, an example of which is the “curriculum” for a given college degree program where the various subjects or courses to be

taken in the first and second semesters of the first curriculum year and those for succeeding curriculum years are listed.

Subsequently, the term was taken to mean the planned learning outcomes which the

teacher seeks to attain through instruction. Still another meaning used is that the

curriculum is a strategy, meaning that the curriculum is a calculation of the means and ends of the education. Here the ends are the

goals and objectives which education in general and the schools in particular intend

to accomplish. This means, on the other hand, pertains to the resources, both human

and physical, needed to accomplish goals and objectives.

Another view of curriculum is that it consists of two sets of elements. The substantive elements include the key concepts, concept clusters, themes, generalizations and along with the factual material needed to develop

them. The methodological elements include the modes, techniques, and

processes of inquiry that are useful in developing a curriculum.

Spalding (1958) views the curriculum as the strategy by which schools

attempt to fulfill the goals of education. He elaborates on this view

as follows:

The curriculum, as it exists, is a strategy to borrow a term from the language of the

military. This term, in its original and literary sense, means “the art of the general”. As it is now used, it means a sound calculation

and coordination of the ends and the means. A curriculum is a sound calculation of the

means and the ends of education.

A strategy is subordinate to the policy of the organized society in

war or in education. Decisions which relate solely to aims,

purposes, and ends are policy decisions and are never made by

the expert alone.

According to Spalding, a strategy requires calculation of resources to be used in attaining goals. Education is not yet science. Success in educational planning lies in the closeness of one’s approximation to the truth. This is

especially evident when we examine the resources to be used in an educational plan – teachers, pupils,

community, texts, school buildings, equipments and supplies. Educational planning must take account of

these resources, but it does so through artful bringing the ends nearer to the means, and by giving high value

to the means, extending the ends.

Spalding adds that a strategy anticipates specific situations in which means must be used to attain immediate objectives which must be achieved if ultimate ends are to be reached. In each such situation, choices must be made both as to the extent of the immediate goal and of the resources to be used to attain it.

Another definition views the curriculum as the learner’s engagements with various aspects of the environment which have been planned

under the direction of the school. According to this definition, experiences cannot be observed and to some extent controlled. The

term engagement is used to mean what the leaner meets face-to-face, what he attends to or there can be engagement with teachers,

classmates, or other with physical factors such as materials and facilities; and with subject matter, ideas, or symbols. The method or procedure of teaching followed may be patterned according to the

nature of engagement in numerous ways. Specific engagements may appear to be primarily intellectual, emotional, or manipulative.

(Socrates, 1977)

One of the most quoted definitions of the curriculum is that it is all of the planned experiences of the learners,

whether in school or out of school, for which the school is responsible. Under this definition, the

curriculum consists of all those activities (or experiences), curricular or co-curricular, inside or

outside of the classroom or school, which are under the jurisdiction and responsibility of the school and

are planned and directed or carried out for the purpose of promoting the growth and development of the

learner.

A more comprehensive definition is that given by Oliver (1969). This definition appears to be a more elaborate extension of the definition immediately preceding. To Oliver, the curriculum is, basically,

what happens to students as a result of what teachers do. The curriculum includes all of the

experiences of the learners for which the school should accept responsibility. It is the program

used by the school as a means of accomplishing its purposes.

Direct teaching in the classroom is a part of the curriculum since these presumably have been planned by the school to help achieve certain educational objectives. School services

– such as libraries, health services, guidance and counseling, etc. – are, in the like manner, parts of the

curriculum. Even the climate of interpersonal relationships prevailing in a school at a given time is a part of the

curriculum since it is an important conditioning factor in the learning and adjustment of the learners for which the school should accept responsibility. In short, the curriculum is the

total environment planned by the school (Oliver, 1969)

Definition of Curriculum

Planning

First, in the definition by Bernardino and Freszosa, “planning the experiences to

be utilized” is one of three kinds of activities involved in curriculum

development, the other two being “organizing them into a program” and

“evaluating the curriculum thus developed”. The definition by Agoncillo also includes planning as an aspect of curriculum development. Socrates and Michaelis et. al. likewise view planning as part of the curriculum development

process.

As regards curriculum improvement, Stratemayer et. al. look at it as a process

which suggests a continues study of programs with the end in view of improving such programs. Ragan

conceptualizes curriculum improvement in terms of activities which contribute to the attainment of an end – namely, the

improvement of living and learning in the classroom. To Oliver, curriculum

improvement is a process that involves, among other things, “the objective

identification and systematic study of problems,” and the ultimate beneficiary is

the learner.

Subsequently, the term was taken to mean the planned learning outcomes which the

teacher seeks to attain through instruction. Still another meaning used is that the

curriculum is a strategy, meaning that the curriculum is a calculation of the means and

ends of the curriculum. Here the ends are the goals and objectives which education in general and the schools in particular intend

to accomplish. This means, on the other hand, pertains to the resources, both human

and physical, needed to accomplish goals and objectives.

Frymier and Hawn view curriculum improvement as a “people problem” in that people intimately and extensively involved in it. To these two authors,

“improving curriculum” means developing and nurturing, broadening

and enriching, altering and adding, and uplifting and revitalizing the lives and

minds of those who implement curriculum and instructional decisions

everyday.

Let us now take a look at the conceptualization given by Michaelis and his associates. Interestingly,

in the first chapter of their book New Designs for Elementary Curriculum and Instruction (1975), the

authors state: “This chapter reviews the curriculum planning process presented in the

model outlined in Chapter 1. In the same chapter they state that planning of the total elementary

curriculum is done on several levels – district level, school/grade/subject area/cross-grade/ level, and

classroom level – and that all these levels, the following sequence of procedures “provides a means for effective curriculum development”.

1. Assessment of conditions in foundation areas as a basis for generating goals.

2. Formulation of broad goals and specific objectives.

3. Planning and organization of curriculum content, instructional strategies, and media; adaptation of “outside” programs and materials; provision for continuous evaluation of instructional outcomes;

4. Implementation of curriculum designs: teacher preparation, utilization of support services, utilization of facilities and equipment, carrying out instructional strategies; and

5. Evaluation, feedback, and modification of curriculum design.

In short the “curriculum planning process” that Michaelis and his associates speak of refers to none other than “curriculum development.”

Another point equally worth taking note of is the fact that, according to Reyes, “planning covers not only formulating ideas and plans but also getting them

done and seeing how well they are done.” (emphasis added).

On the basis of the foregoing considerations, the following definition of curriculum planning is proposed.

Curriculum planning is a continuous process which involves activities characterized by interrelationships among individuals and groups as they work together in studying, planning, developing, and improving the curriculum, which is the total environment planned by the school.

Essentially, curriculum planning includes the identification or formulation of broad goals and specific objectives based on an assessment of conditions in foundation areas; the planning of

content, strategies, and pupil evaluation to meet these goals and specific objectives based on an assessment of conditions in

foundation areas; the planning of content, strategies, and pupil evaluation to meet these goals and objectives, with attention given

to analysis and adaptation to curriculum plans or materials developed outside the school or school system; the implementation

of curriculum designs; and the evaluation and modification of curriculum designs.

In going through these basic processes, participants in curriculum planning get involved

in a variety of activities such as discussing common problems, making decisions,

developing a functional philosophy, studying learners and their environment, keeping up to

date with knowledge, studying ways to improve instruction , and carrying on research and

evaluation.

The fundamental purposes of curriculum planning are to meet

cultural demands, to solve instructional problems, to change

people’s ways of behaving in terms of knowing, valuing, and doing, and to improve students’ experiences.