Curriculum: Alternative Approaches, Ongoing Issues by: Colin J. Marsh George Willis

I. The Character of Curriculum Defining Curriculum An Interrelated Set of Plans and Experiences that a Student undertakes under the Guidance of a School

The Term: Curriculum Truth: Everyone talks about it, and everyone has a slightly different meaning for it.

Important Questions to Ask What should count as knowledge? What knowledge is of the most worth (Spencer)? Who should control the selection of knowledge? Who should participate in the “experience of curriculum” (Dewey)?

Important Questions to Ask How do you best organize a curriculum? When and how should changes in a curriculum take place? How do schools evaluate that a curriculum is best? Who is responsible for the evaluation? What do you evaluate?

Defining Curriculum Currere (Latin) - to run the course (race)- the racecourse More than 120 definitions of the term (Portelli) Historically used to define the classics of Greek civilization (Plato and Aristotle)

Definition of Curriculum (Marsh & Willis) Curriculum: “an interrelated set of plans and experiences that a student undertakes under the guidance of the school”- the planned curriculum the enacted curriculum & and the experienced curriculum.

Varied but Important Definitions of Curriculum Curriculum is “permanent” subjects such as grammar, mathematics, etc. Curriculum is those subjects useful in contemporary life Curriculum is all “planned learnings” for which a school is responsible - a list of planned outcomes Curriculum is all the experiences learners have under the guidance of the school.

Varied but Important Definitions (con’t) Curriculum is all the experiences that learners have in the course of living.

Other ways the term curriculum is used (Posner) : Scope and Sequence - the range and order of learning experiences Syllabus - The plan for an entire, specific course Content Outline- an outline of the content to be covered Textbooks - Day- to day guide of the content to teachers and students Course of Study - a series of courses a student must go through

Other Useful Definitions of Curriculum (Posner) The Official Curriculum - the “written” curriculum in syllabi, courses of study, etc. The Operational Curriculum - what is actually taught (Give an example). The Hidden Curriculum - what is taught and/or learned on issues of gender, class, and race, authority, who can succeed at various tasks, what is “appropriate” behavior (Give an example).

Other Useful Definitions of Curriculum (Posner): Null Curriculum - subject matters not taught -law, parenting, etc. (Give an example). The Extra Curriculum - includes all those planned experiences outside of school subjects, sportsmanship, team play, etc. (Give an example).

Curriculum and/versus Instruction? Traditional definitions: Curriculum = what is to be learned ( versus ) Instruction = the process or how it is taught, i.e., the ends versus the means. (Marsh & Willis) - Hold a holistic, organic view of curriculum and instruction consistent with recent trends, i.e.,. school- based curriculum development (SBCD)- the direct involvement of teachers in both curriculum and teaching.