Curriculum Development; Factors Contributing for a Good Curriculum

The curriculum is a complex framework that is used in education and is firmly embedded in society (Brady & Kennedy, 2007). Within the curriculum there are key concepts which include the intended curriculum, enacted curriculum, null curriculum, negotiated curriculum, emergent curriculum, hidden curriculum and lived curriculum (Gobby, 2015). The intended curriculum as explained by Gobby (2015) is the plan or framework on a national, state, school and classroom level. The enacted curriculum is what is practiced and is translated into a learning experience (Gobby, 2015). The null curriculum according to Gobby (2015) refers to what is not taught or avoided by educators. The negotiated curriculum is more of a community and hands on part of the curriculum which is learning experiences decided by more than just the educator (Gobby, 2015). The emergent curriculum as described by Gobby (2015) is the exploration of interesting and personally meaning information to children. The hidden curriculum is things that children

Ah Sam and Ackland (2005) defined curriculum as “… an interrelated set of plans of experiences that a student undertakes under the guidance of the school”. (p.42) While these two definitions are applied in school context, Horn and Banerjee (2009) described curriculum as the guidance of the project for a group of people. Similarly, Makura and Makura (2012) adopted the definition by Gatawa (1990) as “the instrument through which complex societies transmit and maintain cherished bodies of knowledge values and skills” (Makura & Makura, 2012, p. 509). They suggested that curricula did not exist in vacuum but shaped by a larger cultural values, traditions and beliefs of

Curriculums are the roadmaps for schools which provide purpose and direction for administrators, educators, parents, and students. Curriculum typically refers to, “the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn, which includes the learning standards or learning objectives they are expected to meet; the units and lessons that teachers teach; the assignments and projects given to students; the books, materials, videos, presentations, and readings used in a course; and the tests, assessments, and other methods used to evaluate student learning.” (Curriculum, 2015, para. 1) Curriculums may come in many shapes and forms, whether they’re purchased as a package at the school or district level or they’re created or refined by educators and

Harry Wong defines curriculum as “the course of study and experiences that states what the students are to learn.” (Wong, 2009, p.232). Curriculum is the driving force of the content to be taught and the methods to be used. The most effective curriculum is designed by a committee made up of teachers, administrators, and curriculum specialists. This committee is tasked with unpacking standards as they are reviewed and integrated into the committee’s design. It also strives to propose curricular and instructional strategies that best convey the required content for each course of study.

Brady and Kennedy (2010) define the term curriculum as ‘the means by which young people and adults gain the essential knowledge, skills and attributes they need to be productive and informed citizens in a democratic society.’ However the term has many varied definitions, it can be described as being the subject matter, the overall plan for teaching or the outcome of what is taught (Wiles, 2005). Marsh and Willis (cited in Marsh, 2009, p. 3) break curriculum down into three individual areas of ‘planned curriculum’, the objectives and aims, ‘enacted curriculum’, how the objectives are

Volume 7, No. 2). Behaviorist theory of education has proven to be the most effective

1. What is the definition of the term curriculum? “The outline of what should be taught within an allotted amount of time.”

In formal education, a curriculum (; plural: curricula,) is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults.

An initial concept of the curriculum formed by Tenorio is that curriculum is not just the books and lessons but everything, the relationships, interactions and inspirations teachers have with students, students have with parents, schools have with the wider community (Churchill, 2011). This definition explains in broad terms how curriculum influences everyone’s lives in certain ways, however it does not explain what the curriculum does, how it is constructed or how it works in a school setting. The Australian Curriculum (AC) defines curriculum as used to develop successful learners. Who are confident, active and informed citizens and “is presented as a progression of learning from Foundation to year 10 that makes clear to teachers, parents,

Curriculum and implementation: Using educational policies and approaches that are based on evidence-based research. Material taught should be current and not antiquated.

The term ‘curriculum’ is used in a variety of ways when used in a teaching and schooling context (Churchill, 2013, pg. 186). Typically, the word curriculum refers to the knowledge and skills that a student needs to learn (Abbott, 2013). The Australian Curriculum is used in all Australian states and territories and it outlines the learning standards or objectives that the students are expected to meet. It includes the learning areas of the curriculum, the general capabilities that the students will need to learn the content of the curriculum and the cross-curriculum priorities that engage and support modern learning (Australiancurriculum.edu.au, 2015).

In the broadest sense curriculum refers to all courses offered at a school; however, this definition is ineffective without consideration beyond statements about the content or the

Curriculum is hardly new in fact it dates way back to ancient Greece and the famous Aristotle’s (384BC- 322BC) who was a Greek philosopher. A student of Plato came up with the categorisation of knowledge, which I will be discussing later on in the commentary. So curriculum has been around for years, but the way we understand

Curriculum is a term often highlighted during discourse about education and most commonly understood as a policy with overt leaning outcomes for teachers to apply and achieve. Ornstein and Hunkins (1998), as cited by Selvaraj (2010), defined curriculum based on two lenses; micro and macro, which identify the term as both policy towards certain goals and what students experience with consideration for relevant theories and principles central to its development and implementation. However, Wilson (n.d.) argued that curriculum is not restricted to certain individuals, subjects and environments, since teaching and learning can also occur beyond the scope of official curriculum (Ebert & Culyer, as cited in Marsh, Clarke & Pittaway, 2014). I believe this interpretation is the closest to the true nature of curriculum, or education, as there are more complex layers to curriculum than just a written guideline. For example, not one curriculum is similar to another because it is subjected to influences from continuum number of factors, such as politics and economy. Hence, it is wise to conclude that curriculum could not be defined based on a singular perspective due to its dependability on context.

According to Blaise and Nuttall (2011), to understand curriculum, we must first understand what is meant by the term curriculum. Within curriculum there are five key concepts, they are the intended curriculum The Intended curriculum is the curriculum that the teachers want the children to experience in order to develop particular knowledge, skills, and attitudes. (Blaise & Nuttall, 2011, p. 82). The enacted curriculum is what teachers want students to experience. important reason why the intended curriculum is enacted differently from teacher to teacher, from classroom to classroom, is that a key part of a teachers work is to interpret the official curriculum, taking into account a wide range of variables that are specific to their classroom and school setting.