Comprehensive Curriculum Study Reviewer: Professional Education & Foundations of Curriculum

A comprehensive vocabulary review of curriculum definitions, traditional viewpoints, operational curriculum types, and the essential roles of the teacher as a curricularist.

Latin Origin of Curriculum

Derived from the Latin word meaning "to run a course".

Marathon Metaphor of Curriculum

An analogy comparing curriculum to a marathon complete with direction markers, signposts, mile stations, officials, and coaches along the route.

Oliva's Perspectives on Curriculum (1997)

A series of definitions viewing curriculum variously as that which is taught, a set of subjects, content, a program of studies, a set of materials, a sequence of courses, a set of performance objectives, everything planned by school personnel, and the experiences undergone by learners.

Curriculum (Wilson, 1990)

Anything and everything that teaches a lesson, planned or otherwise.

Curriculum (Print, 1993)

All the planned learning opportunities offered by the organization to learners and the experiences learners encounter when the curriculum is implemented.

Curriculum (Tanner, 1980)

The planned and guided learning experiences and intended outcomes, formulated through the systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experiences under the auspices of the school, for the learners' continuous and willful growth in personal social competence.

Curriculum (Schubert, 1987)

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.

Curriculum (Pratt, 1980)

A written document that systematically describes goals planned, objectives, content, learning activities, evaluation procedures, and so forth.

Curriculum (Goodlad and Su, 1992)

A plan consisting of learning opportunities for a specific time frame and place, serving as a tool to bring about behavior changes in students through planned activities and guided school experiences.

Three Key Curriculum Questions (Cronbleth, 1992)

The foundational inquiries defining curriculum: 1. What knowledge, skills, and values are most worthwhile? 2. Why are they most worthwhile? 3. How should the young acquire them?

Curriculum (Grundy, 1987)

A programme of activities designed by teachers and pupils so that pupils will attain, so far as possible, certain educational and other schooling ends or objectives.

Curriculum (Hass, 1987)

All experiences individual learners have in an educational program planned in terms of theory, research, or professional practice to achieve broad goals and related specific objectives.

Robert M. Hutchins' View of Curriculum

A traditional perspective viewing curriculum as permanent studies emphasizing rules of grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic, and mathematics for basic education.

Permanent Studies

A curriculum concept advocated by Robert M. Hutchins emphasizing foundational rules of grammar, reading, rhetoric, logic, and mathematics.

Arthur Bestor's View of Curriculum

An essentialist perspective asserting that the school's mission is intellectual training focused on the fundamental disciplines of grammar, literature, and writing.

Joseph Schwab's View of Curriculum

A traditional point of view proposing that the sole source of curriculum is an academic discipline, resulting in subject areas such as Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, and English.

Philip Phenix's View of Curriculum

A curriculum perspective asserting that curriculum should consist entirely of knowledge derived from various academic disciplines.

Basic Education (Philippine Educational System)

The foundational schooling level that includes Kindergarten, Elementary (Grade 1 to Grade 6), Junior High School (Grade 7 to Grade 10), and Senior High School (Grades 11 & 12).

K to 12 Enhanced Curriculum of 2013

The framework provided by the Department of Education (DepEd) regulating recommended basic education curricula across elementary and secondary levels in the Philippines.

Department of Education (DepEd)

The governing agency responsible for basic education levels and implementing the K to 12 Enhanced Curriculum of 2013 in the Philippines.

Technical-Vocational Education (Philippine Educational System)

Post-secondary technical vocational training implemented in close coordination between DepEd and TESDA, particularly for the TechVoc track in Senior High School.

TESDA

The agency that coordinates closely with DepEd to deliver the Technical-Vocational education training and the TechVoc track in Senior High School.

Higher Education (Philippine Educational System)

Post-secondary academic programs including Baccalaureate or Bachelor Degrees and Graduate Degrees (Master's and Doctorate), regulated by CHED.

Commission on Higher Education (CHED)

The regulatory body that oversees higher education degree programs, including Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees in the Philippines.

Overt, Explicit, or Written Curriculum

That which is written as part of formal schooling instruction, comprising texts, films, curriculum guides, and materials officially designated by educators and administrators to support an intentional instructional agenda.

Societal Curriculum (Social Curricula)

The massive, ongoing, informal curriculum of family, peer groups, neighborhoods, churches, organizations, occupations, mass media, and social media that educates individuals throughout their lives.

Societal Curriculum (Cortes, 1981)

Defined as the ongoing, informal curriculum derived from socializing forces including families, peer networks, and media that educate people across the lifespan.

The Hidden or Covert Curriculum

Learnings implied by the organizational design, nature, daily established routines, and the behaviors and attitudes of school staff rather than formal written instruction.

Hidden Curriculum (Longstreet and Shane, 1993)

The learnings children derive from the organizational design and nature of the public school, as well as the behaviors and attitudes of teachers and administrators.

Agrarian Schedule

An example of the hidden curriculum where annual school schedules are historically structured around the agricultural calendar.

The Null Curriculum

Topics, processes, and subject areas that are intentionally excluded from teaching in schools, sending a message to students that these elements lack importance.

Null Curriculum Paradox (Eisner, 1985, 1994)

The concept articulated by Elliot Eisner emphasizing the critical paradox and role of studying what schools deliberately choose not to teach when examining educational consequences.

Phantom Curriculum

The enculturating messages and components transmitted through exposure to media that shape students' assimilation into meta-cultures or subcultures.

Concomitant Curriculum

Lessons taught or emphasized at home, within family experiences, or through family-sanctioned religious expression, values, ethics, and molded behaviors.

Rhetorical Curriculum

Curricular ideas, initiatives, and content updates offered by policymakers, school officials, administrators, or politicians via speeches, reports, and pedagogical critiques.

Curriculum-in-use

The actual, operational curriculum delivered and presented by each individual teacher in the classroom setting.

Received Curriculum

The concepts, content, and lessons that students actually understand, remember, and take away from the classroom experience.

The Internal Curriculum

The unique internal process where educational content and processes combine with the personal realities and prior experiences of the individual learner to generate new knowledge.

Assessments for the Internal Curriculum

Instructional tools such as exit slips, reflective exercises, or debriefing discussions used to gauge what learners truly understand and find personally meaningful.

The Electronic Curriculum (Wilson, 2004)

Lessons learned through searching the Internet or using electronic forms of communication for research or recreational purposes.

Educational Implications of Electronic Curriculum

The requirement for the overt curriculum to teach students how to be wise consumers by critically appraising accuracy, reliability, bias, and appropriateness of internet content.

Curricularist

A professional person who is actively involved in curriculum knowing, writing, planning, implementing, evaluating, innovating, and initiating.

The Curricularist as a Knower

The role where a teacher begins by mastering formal academic disciplines, logic, and informal experiential knowledge contained within the curriculum.

The Curricularist as a Writer

The role where a teacher records concepts and content by writing books, modules, laboratory manuals, instructional guides, and reference materials.

The Curricularist as a Planner

The role where a teacher formulates yearly, monthly, or daily guides for implementation, balancing learners, materials, time, subject matter, and desired outcomes.

The Curricularist as an Initiator

The role of introducing and championing recommended curricula from external agencies (e.g., DepEd, CHED, TESDA) with an open-minded belief in their ability to improve learning.

The Curricularist as an Innovator

The role where a teacher demonstrates creativity by modifying content, strategies, time blocks, and evaluation, recognizing that no single curriculum perpetually fits all.

The Curricularist as an Implementor

The role where a teacher brings the written curriculum to life through direct instruction, guidance, and classroom engagement where teaching operates as both a science and an art.

The Curricularist as an Evaluator

The role of assessing whether desired learning outcomes have been attained to determine if practices, lessons, and content should be modified, continued, or terminated.

Disciplined Messages (Hidden Curriculum Example)

Behavioral expectations taught via school structures, such as equating concentration with sitting upright, staying quiet, lining up silently, and competing for grades.