The School Curriculum:

Definition, Nature and

Scope
The term curriculum has been
derived from the latin word 'Curere'
which means a 'race course' or a
runway on which one runs to reach
a goal. Accordingly, a curriculum is
the instructional and the educative
programme by following which the
pupils achieve their goals, ideals
and aspirations of life.
Daniel Tanner 1980
Curriculum is the planned and guided learning
experiences and intended learning outcomes,
formulated through the systematic reconstruction
of knowledge and experience, under the auspices
Curriculum is the planned of the
and guided school, for the
learning experiences learner's
and intended learning outcomes, formulated through the
systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experience, under the auspices of the school, for the learner's

Pratt
defines curriculum as a written document that
1980 systematically describes goals planned,
objectives, content, learning activities,
evaluation procedures and so forth.
 Schubert 1987
defines curriculum as the contents of a subject, concepts and
tasks to be acquired, planned activities, the desired learning
outcomes and experiences, product of culture and an agenda
to reform society.
Haas 1987
provided a broader definition, stating that 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 .
Grundy 1987
defines curriculum as a programme of activities (by
teachers and pupils) designed so that pupils will attain
so far as possible certain educational and other
schooling ends or objectives.
Goodland and Su 1992
define curriculum as a plan that consists of learning
opportunities for a specific time frame and place, a tool that
aims to bring about behaviour changes in students as a result of
planned activities and includes all learning experiences received
by students with the guidance of the school.
Cronbeth 1992
Curriculum is all about answering three questions
namely;

what knowledge, skills and values are most

worthwhile?

Why are they most worthwhile?

How should the students acquire them?

Nature and Scope of Curriculum

The traditional concept of

curriculum Was subject-centered
while the modern curriculum is
child and life -centered
Traditional points of
view
 Hutchins views curriculum as a permanent
studies where rules of grammar, reading,
rhetoric and logic and mathematics for basic
education are emphasize. It also emphasizes
the 3Rs and college education should be
grounded on liberal education.

Arthur Bestor, an essentialist, believes that the

mission of the school should be intellectual
training; -curriculum should focus on the
fundamental intellectual discipline of grammar,
literature and writing. It should also include
mathematics, science, history and foreign
language.
Joseph Schwab's view of curriculum is that
discipline is the sole source of curriculum. He
said that curriculum should consist only of
knowledge which comes from discipline which
is the sole source.

Phenix (1962): The curriculum should consist

entirely of knowledge which comes from the
disciplines... Education should be conceived
as a guided recapitulation of the process of
inquiry which gave rise to the fruitful bodies of
organized knowledge comprising the
established disciplines
Modern points of view
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.

Hollis Caswell and KennCampbell 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.
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 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.
WPS
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