THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM

MODULE 1: Curriculum Essentials

Lesson 1.1: Concept, Nature, Purpose and Types of Curricula

Module 1 Overview
Module 1 is all about school curricula and the teacher. This introductory module identifies
the different types of curricula that exist in the teacher’s classroom and school. Further, Module 1
describes the important roles of the teacher as a curricularist who engages on the different facets
of the curriculum development in any educational level.

Lesson 1.1 Desired Learning Outcomes:

a. Discuss the different types of curricula that exist in schools;
b. Analyze the significance of curriculum and curriculum development in the teacher’s
classroom.

INTRODUCTION

What is curriculum? What is its purpose? How does it affect students and teachers?

Like many concepts in education, there seems to be no common definition of curriculum.

Because of this, the concept of curriculum is sometimes characterized as fragmentary, elusive and
confusing. However, the word originates from the Latin word ‘currere’ which means “to run” or
“to run a course” referring to the oval track upon which Roman chariots raced. The New
International Dictionary defines curriculum as the whole body of a course in an educational
institution or by a department while the Oxford English Dictionary defines curriculum as courses
taught in schools or universities. Curriculum means different things to different people. The way
we view curriculum reflects our approach to it. According to Ornstein and Hunkins, we can specify
five basic definitions of curriculum

First, curriculum can be as a plan for achieving goals. This position, popularized by Tyler
and Taba, exemplifies a linear view of curriculum. The plan involves a sequence of steps. Today,
most behavioral and some managerial systems people agree with this definition. For example, J.
Galen Saylor defines curriculum as a plan for providing sets of learning opportunities for person
to be educated”. David Pratt writes, “curriculum is an organized set of formal education and/ or
training intentions.” Jon Wiles and Joseph Bondi view curriculum as “a four-step plan involving
purpose, design, implementation, and assessment." The curriculum worker wants the plan’s “intent”
to be realized as fully as possible.

Second, curriculum can be defined broadly, as dealing with the learner’s experiences.” By
this definition, almost anything planned in or outside of school is part of the curriculum. This
definition is rooted in Dewey’s definition of experience and education and in Hollis Caswell and
Doak Campbell’s view curriculum as “all the experiences children have under the guidance of
teachers”. Humanistic curricularists and elementary school curricularists subscribe to this
definition, which textbook writers have interpreted more broadly over the years. Gene Shepherd
and William Ragan state, “The curriculum consists of on-going experiences of children under the
guidance of the school.”. It represents a special. The Teacher and The School Curriculum

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environment… for helping children achieve self- realization through active participation within
the school.” Elliot Eisner describes the curriculum as “a program” that a school “offers to its
students a planned series of educational hurdles and an entire range of experiences in the classroom
that are planned and enacted.” However, they note a difference between what the school plans
and what the teacher enacts.

According to the third definition, less popular than the first two, curriculum is a system
for dealing with people. The system can be linear or nonlinear. A linear system plots out the means
to a desired end. In contrast, a nonlinear system permits the curriculum specialists to enter at
various points of the model, skip parts, reverse order, and work on more than one component at
a time. Many managerial and systems curricularists adapt this definition.

Fourth, curriculum can be defined as a field of study with its own foundations, knowledge,
domains, research, theory, principles, and specialists. Those who adapt this definition tend to
discuss curriculum in theoretical rather than practical terms. They are concerned with broad
historical, philosophical, or social issues. Academics often subscribe to this view of curriculum-
for example, William Reid, Schubert, and the Tanners. Finally, curriculum can be defined in terms
of subject matter (math, science English, history, and so on) or content (the way we organize and
assimilate information). We can also talk about subject matter or content in terms of grade levels.
People who adapt this definition emphasize the facts and concepts of particular subject areas.
From the given definition above, it is logical to conclude that a curriculum has the following
characteristics (1) it includes all the experiences of children for which the school is responsible, (2)
it has content, (3) it is a system for dealing with people, (4) it is planned, (5) it is a series of courses
to be taken by the students. This chapter explains various meanings of curriculum as presented by
experts. It attempts to let you see and think about the varying conceptions of the word “curriculum”
by different scholars. It allows you therefore to see that term “curriculum” is not difficult to define
but each scholar tends to look at the term from a certain angle. An attempt has been made to
present a holistic definition of curriculum at the end.

In our current Philippine educational system, different schools are established in different
educational levels which have corresponding recommended curricula. The educational levels are:
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 for
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. This is post-secondary technical vocational

educational and training taken care of by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA). For the Tech Voc track in SHS of DepEd, DepEd and TESDA works in close
coordination.

3. Higher Education. This includes the Baccalaureate or Bachelor Degrees and the
Graduate Degrees (Master's and Doctorate) which are under the regulation of the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED).

In whatever levels of schooling and in various types of learning environment, several

curricula exist. Let us find out how Allan Glatthorn (2000) as mentioned in Bilbao, et al (2008)
classified these:

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Types of Curricula in Schools
1. Recommended Curriculum. Almost all curricula found in our schools are
recommended. For Basic Education, these are recommended by the Department of Education
(DepEd), for Higher Education, by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and
vocational education by TESDA. These three government agencies oversee and regulate
Philippine education. The recommendations come in the form of memoranda or policies,
standards and guidelines. Other professional organizations or international bodies like UNESCO
also recommend curricula in schools.

• Proposed by scholars and professional organizations.

• DepEd, CHED, DOST, PAFTE, BIOTA.

2. Written Curriculum. This includes documents based on the recommended

curriculum. They come in the form of course of study, syllabi, modules, books or instructional
guides among others. 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.
• Course of study or syllabi.
• Made by curriculum experts with participation of teachers.
• Pilot-tested or tried out.
• Written lesson plan (with objectives and planned activities).

3. Taught Curriculum. From what has been written or planned, the curriculum has to
be implemented or taught. The teacher and the learners will put life to the written curriculum. The
skill of the teacher to facilitate learning based on the written curriculum with the aid of
instructional materials and facilities will be necessary. The taught curriculum will depend largely
on the teaching style of the teacher and the learning style of the learners.
• Activities are put into action in order to arrive at the objectives or purposes of
the written curriculum.
• Varies according to the learning styles of students and the teaching styles of
teachers.

4. Supported Curriculum. This 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 Power Point presentation, movies, slides, models, realias,
mock-ups and other electronic illustrations. Supported curriculum also includes facilities where
learning occurs outside or inside the four-walled building. These include the playground, science
laboratory, audio-visual rooms, zoo, museum, market or the plaza.
• Resources – textbooks, computers, audio-visual materials, lab equipment,
playground, zoos, and other facilities.

5. Assessed Curriculum. Taught and supported curricula have to be evaluated to find

out if the teacher has succeeded or not in facilitating learning. In the process of teaching and at
the end of every lesson or teaching episode, an assessment is made. It can either be assessment
for learning, assessment as learning or assessment of learning. If the process is to find the progress
of learning, then the assessed curriculum is for learning, but if it is to find out how much has been
learned or mastered, then it is an assessment of learning. Either way, such curriculum is the
assessed curriculum

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 • Series of evaluations (to determine the extent of teaching or to tell if the students
are progressing). Assessment tools (PPT, portfolios).

6. Learned Curriculum. How do we know if the student has learned? We always believe
that if a student changed behavior, he/she has learned. For example, from a non-reader to a reader
or from not knowing to knowing or from being disobedient to being obedient. The positive
outcome of teaching is an indicator of learning. These are measured by tools in assessment, which
can indicate the cognitive, affective and psychomotor outcomes. Learned curriculum will also
demonstrate higher order and critical thinking and lifelong skills.
• Learning outcomes (results of the tests and changes in behavior – Cognitive,
Affective, Or Psychomotor) achieved by the students.
7. Hidden/Implicit Curriculum. This curriculum is not deliberately planned, but has a
great impact on the behavior of the learner. 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, in order to bring to the surface
what are hidden.
• Not deliberately planned but may modify behavior or influence learning
outcomes.
• Peer influence, school environment, physical condition, teacher-learner
interaction, mood of the teachers.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD CURRICULUM

From the above discussions of the works of the curriculum experts, it can be derived that
the nature of curriculum includes its inherent characteristics and features which makes it relevant
and usable in the society that uses it. As such, the points below tell us the characteristics of a good
curriculum:

1. The curriculum is continuously evolving. It evolves from one period to another, to

the present. For a curriculum to be effective, it must have continuous monitoring and evaluation.
Curriculum must adapt its educational activities and services to meet the needs of a modern and
dynamic community.

2. The curriculum is based on the needs of the people. A good curriculum reflects the
needs of the individual and the society as a whole. The curriculum is in proper shape in order to
meet the challenges of the times and make education more responsive to the clientele it serves.
We plan the curriculum with people.
3. The curriculum is democratically conceived. A good curriculum is developed
through the efforts of a group of individuals from different sectors in the society who are
knowledgeable about the interests, needs and resources or the learner and the society as a whole.
It is the product of many minds and energies.

4. The curriculum is the result of a long-term effort. A good curriculum is a product

of long and tedious process. It takes a long period of time in the planning, management, evaluation
and development of a good curriculum.

5. The curriculum is a complex or details. A good curriculum provides the proper

instructional equipment and meeting places that are often most conducive to learning. It includes

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the student-teacher relationship, guidance and counseling program, health services, school and
community projects, library and laboratories, and other school related work experiences. The
Teacher and The School Curriculum

6. The curriculum provides for the logical sequence of subject matter. Learning is
developmental. Classes and activities should be planned. A good curriculum provides continuity
of experiences.

7. The curriculum complements and cooperates with other programs of the

community. The curriculum is responsive to the needs of the community. The school offers its
courses in the improvement and realization of ongoing programs of the community. There is
cooperative effort between the school and the community towards greater productivity.

8. The curriculum has educational quality. Quality education comes through the
situation of the individual's intellectual and creative capacities for social welfare and development.
It helps the learner to become the best that he can possibly be. Further, curriculum support system
is secured to augment existing sources for its efficient and effective implementation.

9. The curriculum has administrative flexibility. A good curriculum must be ready to

incorporate changes whenever necessary. The curriculum is open to revision and development to
meet the demands of globalization and the digital age.

Hence, the purpose of the curriculum is encapsulated in the four capacities to enable each
child or young person to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and
an effective contributor. The attributes and capabilities can be used by establishments as a guide
to check whether the curriculum for any individual child or young person sufficiently reflects the
purposes of the curriculum.

DISTINCTION BETWEEN CURRICULUM AND OTHER RELATED

TERMINOLOGIES

1. Curriculum and Syllabus. Most often, people tend to equate the word "syllabus" with
"curriculum". This should not be so. As can be understood from explanations already given,
curriculum is wider in scope than "syllabus". A syllabus is part of a curriculum but it is not the
curriculum. Syllabus is the content of the school subjects offered in the school, and it is a sub-set
of the curriculum. Such subject includes Mathematics, English Language, Biology, and so on. A
syllabus normally contains what students will learn in the various school subjects in a year or for a
longer period of schooling. The Teacher and The School Curriculum leading to certification. It is
a long-term plan of work for students and normally prepared by the classroom teachers.

2. Curriculum and Scheme of Work. Again, the curriculum of a school is not the scheme
of work. As the name implies, a scheme of work is a breakdown of the contents of what students
are expected to learn in a given period. In other words, a scheme of work is the systematic
arrangement of subject matter and activities within a given time period, such as a term or a semester.
Whatever the learners are expected to learn can are broken down into instructional units (which
include activities) and are normally prepared by the classroom teacher. It is usually a guide in
planning what is to be done per week over a term or semester and for the three terms or two
semesters in an academic year as the case may be.

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 3. Curriculum and Course of Study. A course of study is an educational program leading
to the award of a certificate at the end of the program for a particular set of learners. For example,
a Teacher Certificate in Education (TCE) is a course of study. Another example is a Bachelor of
Secondary Education (B.S.Ed.) program in Social Studies, in a Teacher Education program. A
course of study therefore refers mainly to a program of learning that are offered to students -with
various course contents-at the end of which they are awarded a certificate indicating the type of
course of study they had undergone.

4. Curriculum and Lesson Note. A lesson note (or note of lesson; or lesson plan) is a
guide for teachers to assist them in the orderly presentation of a lesson to the learners in order to
facilitate learning. Teachers draw the plant or teaching a particular lesson from the scheme of work.
That is, just as the scheme of work is a breakdown of the syllabus so the lesson note is a breakdown
of the scheme of work into daily lessons, which are planned by the teacher. In this plan, the teacher
explains the step-bystep procedure which he/she would follow in presenting the lesson to the
learners. It usually contains the activities expected of the students as well as the teachers during
the period of the lesson. The lesson note (or note of lesson, or lesson plan) is therefore not a
curriculum. The classroom is the implementation point of the program of learning, which is just
one of the three major components of the curriculum. Thus, the lesson note is an important aspect
of curriculum implementation, especially the program of learning component of the curriculum.

NATURE OF CURRICULUM IN SCHOOL

Ralph Tyler (1949) was among the first to suggest tour fundamental questions which must
be answered when talking about the nature of curriculum in schools: These are:
1. What educational purpose should the school seek to attain? (Objectives);
2. What educational experiences can be provided to attain these purposes? (1.e. the
activities, the subject-matter etc.);
3. How can these educational experiences be organized effectively to achieve these
purposes? (e.g. Teacher-centered or child-centered learning)
4. How can we determine whether or not the expected objectives have been achieved? (1e.
using tests, performance observations and other forms of evaluation).

These are the four fundamental questions from the core of the curriculum development
process. By its very nature therefore, curriculum cannot be said to have been presented until
objectives, contents evaluation procedures are clearly specified. This will further be elaborated in
the subsequent chapters.

IMPORTANCE OF CURRICULUM IN SCHOOLS

It is clear from what has been written so far as you can see, that curriculum is the very
heart of the school system. There can be no school if there is no curriculum. Curriculum is the
reason for existence of the school. Schools develop their own curriculum, sometimes, from
existing planned curriculum, in order to meet its own peculiar needs. For example, in school where
absenteeism is very common, the authorities of the school (which includes the Parents Teachers
Association) may design a package to attract students to school so as to stem the tide of
absenteeism. As the plan used by the school to implement its educational program, curriculum is
the very vital software without which building and other facilities, (as well as teachers too) will
have nothing to do in the school.

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 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM
MODULE 1: Curriculum Essentials
Lesson 1.2: The Teacher as a Curricularist

Module 1 Overview

Module 1 is all about school curricula and the teacher. This introductory module
identifies the different types of curricula that exist in the teacher’s classroom and school. Further,
Module 1 describes the important roles of the teacher as a curricularist who engages on the
different facets of the curriculum development in any educational level.

Lesson 1.2 Desired Learning Outcomes:

a. Enhance understanding of the role the rule of the teacher as a curricularist in the
classroom and school.

Are you aware that the teacher's role in school is very complex? Teachers do a series of
interrelated actions about curriculum, instruction, assessment, evaluation, teaching and learning.
A classroom teacher is involved with curriculum continuously all day. But very seldom has a
teacher been described as curricularist.
Curricularists in the past are referred only to those who developed curriculum theories.
According to the study conducted by Sandra Hayes (1991), the most influential curricularist in
America includes John Dewey, Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba and Franklin Bobbit.
In this lesson, we will start using the word curricularist to describe a professional who is
a curriculum specialist (Hayes, 1991; Ornstein & Hunkins, 2004; Hewitt, 2006). A person who
is involved in curriculum knowing, writing, planning, implementing, evaluating, innovating, and
initiating may be designated as curricularist. A TEACHER'S role is broader and inclusive of
other functions and so a teacher is a curricularist.
Let us describe the teacher as a curricularist.
The Teacher as a curricularist . . .
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 has to
master what are 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 takes record of knowledge concepts,

subject matter or content. These need to be written or preserved. The teacher writes books,
modules, laboratory manuals, instructional guides, and reference materials in paper or electronic
media as a curriculum writer or reviewer. (Writer)

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 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. This will serve 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 for
improvement of quality education, the teacher is obliged to implement. 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 it 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. A good teacher, therefore,
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 this role where the teacher becomes the curriculum
implementer. An implementer gives life to the curriculum plan. The teacher is at the height of an
engagement with the learners, with support materials in order to achieve the desired outcome. It
is where teaching, guiding, facilitating skills of the teacher is expected to the highest level. It is
here where teaching as a science and as an art will be observed. It is here, where all the elements
of the curriculum will come into play. The success of a recommended, well written and planned
curriculum depends on the implementation. (Implementer)

7. Evaluates 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 some few questions that
need the help of a curriculum evaluator. That person is the teacher.

The seven different roles are those which a responsible teacher does in the classroom
everyday! Doing this multi-faceted work qualifies a teacher to be a curricularist.

To be a teacher is to be a curricularist even if a teacher may not equal the likes of John
Dewey, Ralph Tyler, Hilda Taba, or Franklin Bobbit. As a curricularist a teacher will be knowing,
writing, implementing, innovating, initiating and evaluating the curriculum in the school and
classrooms just like the role models and advocates in curriculum and curriculum development
who have shown the way.

Reference:
Bilbao, Purita P, et.al. (2020). The Teacher and The School Curriculum. Quezon City, Metro Manila:
Lorimar Publisher, Inc.