10 Definitions of Curriculum by Various Authors and Differences between Hidden and Official Curriculum
INTRODUCTION
Having a consistent value of teaching is always important for a good education system. Therefore, curriculum can always be found in both the eastern and western education systems. However, with different interpretations of the term “curriculum”, attitudes and values towards the pedagogical approach may vary, which in turn affects how students learn in schools. The term “curriculum” is not a simple word that can be defined nor its depth appreciated. Further investigation into this topic reveals that the art and science of curriculum building is a complex field that many authors, scholars or academic writers each have a different definition describing what curriculum means to them. This paper will focus on the Australian Curriculum and will attempt to address issues such as various definitions of curriculum, its purpose or goal, how it is developed, its structure, how it is influenced by different learning theories, the processes of teaching, learning and assessing it and how it relates to 21st Century learners. Incorporating these factors and understanding this information will allow the reader to formulate his or her own educated definition of the curriculum whilst recognising the primary features that entail the development and structure of the Australian Curriculum.
THE CONCEPT OF CURRICULUM BY VARIOUS SCHOLARS
The curriculum word is of Latin language. It means ‘race course’. In education, it means ‘work field of students’ or race course of the students. It consists of two words-race and course. The word ‘course’ mean curriculum and race refers students’ experiences and activities. A teacher performs his teaching activities in view of the curriculum.
According to Marsh and Willis (2007, as cited in Marsh, 2010, p.93) define curriculum as “an interrelated set of plans and experiences which a student completes under the guidance of the school”. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, better known as ACARA (2010) describes the new Australian Curriculum as “a broad scope and sequence of core learning. Critical decisions about the total educational program and how it will be implemented and adapted to meet the needs and interests of students will be the responsibility of education authorities, schools, teachers, parents and students”.
According To B. Rudy and And H. Henry “Curriculum in its broadest sense, includes the complete school environment, involving all the courses, activities, reading have been provided here to understand the nature and characteristics of curriculum.” Cunninghous Has Defined Curriculum Operatinally “It (curriculum) is a tool in the hands of the artist (teacher) to mould his material (pupil) according to his ideal (objective) in his studio (school).” According To Froebel “Curriculum should be conceived as an epitome of the rounded whole of the knowledge and experience of the human race.”According To Munroe “Curriculum includes all those activities which are utilised by the school to attain the aims of education.”
10 Definitions of Curriculum by Various Authors and Differences between Hidden and Official Curriculum
According To Caswell “The curriculum is all that goes in the lives of children, their parents and teachers. The curriculum is made up of everything that surrounds the learner in all his working hours. In fact the curriculum has been described as the environment in motion.” The Secondary Education Commission “Curriculum does not mean the academic subject taught in the school but it includes total experience that a child receives at a school.” John F.Kerr Has Defined Curriculum “All the learning which is planned or guided by the school, whether it is carried on in groups or individually, inside or outside the school, is known as curriculum.”
According to Wortham (2006) that Curriculum is a planned set of course that is presented to teachers to arrange teaching and learning in a certain level of ages.
According to Nation & Macalister (2010) define Curriculum as a guide in designing courses that consits of outer cyrcle namely Priciples, Environment, and needs that involve practical and theoretical considerations that will have a major effect in guiding the actual process of course production. Inner circle that consists of goals and its center, contents and sequences, format and presentation, and monitoring and assessment.
According to Cattington (2010), curriculum (or curriculum standards) to refer to the standards, benchmarks, and outcomes that delineate the content to be taught and learned in science classrooms.
According to Slattery (2006) Curriculum should be developed time by times to the postmodern curriculum that is radically eclectic, determined in the context of relatedness, recursive in its complexity, autobiographically intuitive, aesthetically inter-subjective, embodied, phenomenological, experiential, simultaneously quantum and cosmic, hopeful in its constructive dimension, radical in its deconstructive movement, liberating in its post-structural intents, empowering in its spirituality, ironic in its kaleidoscopic sensibilities, and ultimately, a hermeneutic search for greater understanding that motivates and satisfies us on the journey.
In my own opinion, Curriculum is a set of rule that benefits students by providing them with practice in both content and social curriculum through the use of active learning, exploration of interests, civic responsibility, character building, and recognizing and helping the community.
THE CONCEPT OF HIDDEN CURRICULUM
A hidden curriculum is a side effect of education, “lessons which are learned but not openly intended” such as the transmission of norms, values, and beliefs conveyed in the classroom and the social environment. Any learning experience may teach unintended lessons. The “Hidden Curriculum” is a term to used to describe the unwritten social rules and expectations of behavior that we all seem to know, but were never taught (Bieber, 1994).
THE CONCEPT OF OFFICIAL CURRICULUM
The official curriculum can be simply defined by the way curriculum itself has been traditionally understood: as the course of study, body of courses, or program of training at a school or university. He defines the taught curriculum as the curriculum the teacher actually teaches in the classroom and the learned curriculum as the curriculum that students actually learn. The next type of curriculum he mentions is the assessed curriculum. This includes what is assessed in the tests prepared by teachers and the government. The supported curriculum includes the textbooks and other resources that support the curriculum. As the last type of curriculum, he mentions the hidden curriculum which is the non-intended curriculum that students learn from their environment, or the policies of the school.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OFFICIAL CURRICULUM AND HIDDEN CURRICULUM
Official Curriculum | Hidden Curriculum |
Mostly deals with young children and adolescents | Deals with people of all ages |
Confers certification to the learning achieved | May or may not award certification to the learning achieved |
Takes place within educational institutions | Can take place inside or outside educational institutions |
In general, classrooms have the same teachers and the same students every day. | Generally, the programs are usually drop-in. as a result attendance and leadership are not consistent. |
In most cases, classroom activities go on for a number of days. | In most cases the programs are required to bring to an end each day’s activity since a different group of participants could be in attendance the following day. |
It can be assumed teachers or instructors have undergone a specified level of training in classroom management, educational philosophy, effective teaching strategies, and content. | In contrast, informal curriculum providers have varying levels of experience and knowledge of teaching methods, group management, and expertise in content. |
Teachers and instructors are required to meet certain educational standards. In addition, they must follow a particular curriculum. As a result, it is difficult for them to slot in nontraditional content. | On the contrary, informal programs are more flexible as regards their content. |
It is predictable and can be controlled | One cannot predict or preemptively have power over this kind of curriculum. It is very idiosyncratic and unpredictable. |
CONCLUSION
In summary, the hidden curriculum cannot be used in isolation from the formal curriculum. Both complement each other and are essential for the academic, vocational and social development of learners. The formal approach stresses academics within prescribed hours while the hidden curriculum emphasize students forming social transient relationships and the acquisition of societal norms, values and beliefs which in turn affects one desire to participate in deviant acts.
REFERENCES
Bao, Dat. In Tomlinson, Brian. (2008) Ed. English Language Learning Material – A Critical Review. London: Continuum International Publishing Group
Cattington, Limon E. (2010) (Ed). Handbook of Curriculum Development. New York: Nova Science Publisher Inc.
Lake , Vickie E. & Winterbottom, Christian. (2010). In Kattington, Limon E. 2010 (Ed). Handbook of Curriculum Development. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Nation, I.S.P. & Macalister, J. (2010). Language Curriculum and Design. New York: Taylor and Francis Group
Nichols, Shidaker, Johnson, & Singer. (2006). MANAGING CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT – A Practitioner’s Guide. Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc.
Slattery, Patrick. (2006). Curriculum Development in the Postmodern Era. New York: Roudledge Taylor and Francis Group
Wortham, (2006). Early Childhood Curriculum – Developmental Bases for Learning and Teaching. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
10 Definitions of Curriculum by Various Authors and Differences between Hidden and Official Curriculum