EDEA 780F

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EDEA 780F

• CURRICULUM
• ADMINISTRATION

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Reflective eclecticism

• There are no panaceas in education. While there
  may be approaches and strategies that are better
  than others, there is not a right and true way
  that will work for all students in all schools.
  As society and information changes, schools must
  adapt to meet new demands.

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Definitions of curriculum

• In general, definitions of curriculum tend to
  differ based on the idea of whether one views it
  as an end, or as a means to an end.

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Curriculum as an end

• Content
• Standards
• Objectives

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Curriculum as means to an end

• Instructional experiences
• Teaching strategies

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The debate

• Definitions of curriculum are important insofar
  as they reflect the political and philosophical
  perspectives of those doing the defining. Thus,
  leaders must be careful to conceptualize
  curriculum in terms of their beliefs about
  teaching and learning, and their constituents
  expectations.

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Common Definitions

• Scope and sequence
• Syllabus
• Content outline
• Standards
• Textbooks
• Course of study
• Planned experiences

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Scope and sequence

• This is the depiction of curriculum as a matrix
  of objectives assigned to successive grade levels
  (sequence) and grouped according to a common
  theme (scope).

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Syllabus

• A plan for an entire course, typically including
  rationale, topics, resources, and evaluation.

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Content outline

• This is a list of topics covered that is
  organized in outline form.

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Standards

• A list of knowledge and skills required by
  students at the completion of a program of study.

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Textbooks

• Instructional materials used by students to guide
  instruction.

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Course of study

• A series of courses students must complete (e.g.,
  a Masters degree program).

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Planned experiences

• All experiences students have that are planned by
  the school, whether academic, athletic,
  emotional, or social.

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Concurrent curricula

• Typically, education theorists posit that five
  curricula actually exist at any given time in a
  school. They are
• Official
• Operational
• Hidden
• Null
• Extra or co-curriculum

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Official curriculum

• This is the curriculum that is outlined in
  documents. It is what is written down as a
  guideline, and there is an expectation that it
  will be taught. Textbooks, scopes and sequence
  charts, standards lists, course syllabi, required
  reading lists, and curriculum maps are all
  examples.

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Operational curriculum

• This is the curriculum that actually gets taught
  and is tested. In other words, this is where the
  rubber meets the road. Teachers have tremendous
  power to influence the operational curriculum.
  Effective school leaders know what the
  relationship between the official and operational
  curricula is in their schools.

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Hidden curriculum

• This represents institutional norms and values
  not openly acknowledged by teachers or
  principals. It is hidden because it represents
  less than optimal aspects, such as gender bias,
  low expectations for poor or minority children,
  athletics over academics for some students, etc.

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Null curriculum

• This is subjects (or other experiences)
  intentionally omitted from the official and/or
  operational curriculum. It may exist due to lack
  of funding or resources, lack of student
  interest, the need to focus on other subjects, no
  available qualified teacher, etc.

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Extra curriculum

• This represents the planned experiences outside
  of the formal curriculum. Especially in high
  school, this is often the aspect of curriculum
  that holds the most appeal for students and keeps
  them engaged.

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Curriculum frameworks

• Curriculum frameworks provide us with categories
  useful for sorting curriculum documents,
  decisions, and assumptions. They help with
  curriculum analysis, but they are only a tool
  critical reflection must accompany their
  application if a vibrant, relevant, engaging,
  challenging curriculum is to be created.

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The Tyler Rationale

• The dominant curriculum framework for use in
  analysis since the mid 20th century has been the
  Tyler Rationale. It has been criticized by
  educators who think it is too behavioral, however
  it continues to dominate curriculum analysis.

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Tylers four questions

• 1. What educational purposes should the school
  seek to attain?
• 2. What educational experiences can be provided
  that are likely to attain these purposes?
• 3. How can these experiences be effectively
  organized?
• 4. How can we determine whether these purposes
  are being attained?

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Schooling as a production system

• In the Tyler Rationale, schooling is assumed to
  be a process whose main purpose is to promote or
  produce learning. Students are learners
  objectives are conceived in terms of desirable
  learning curriculum is defined in terms of
  intended learning outcomes. (p. 16, Posner
  text).

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Curriculum analysis

• See Table 1.5, pp. 20-22 for framework.
• Why do a curriculum analysis?
• Selection
• Adaptation

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Questions to explore

• Is the curriculum appropriate for our students in
  terms of its developmental progress and academic
  rigor?
• Is the curriculum engaging?
• Does the curriculum support teacher/student
  interaction?
• Does the curriculum reflect the values we want to
  impart to students?