Study Notes

From Frazee and Rudnitski (1995)

1. Until the twentieth century,  curriculum was primarily viewed as content and evolving subject matter; the "what" of schooling. It really wasn't until the rise of the progressive and behaviorist movements in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that other factors, such as student diversity, societal needs, and even instructional strategies were included in the prevailing conception of  curriculum (Kliebard,1992).

   What education movement preceded the progressive and behaviorist movement? How does the the progressive movement in education (1) (2) relate to the progressive era?

2. Definitions of curriculum may be as simple as the terms we use to describe it, and may range from those based on the perspective of the society, to the locality, to the school, to the classroom, and to the individual.

3. Franklin Bobbitt (1918) defined curriculum as:

The entire range of experiences, both undirected and directed, concerned in unfolding the abilities of the individual; or

• it is the series of consciously directed training experiences that the schools use for completing and perfecting the unfoldment.
• Bobbitt's broad conception of the curriculum first cited was based in the perspective of fostering individual development through all experiences and through planned school experiences.

  Who was Franklin Bobbitt

4. John Dewey (1902) saw the curriculum as being derived primarily from the needs of society.

The scheme of a curriculum must take account of the adaptation of studies to the needs of existing community life; it must select with the intention of improving the life we live in common so that the future shall be better than the past" (p. 125).

Who was John Dewey? Was he a progressive or a social reconstructionist? Was the difference between progressivism in education and social reconstruction. Who was George Counts? What can wCognitive Processese learn from Progressive Education? From Social Reconstruction?

5. Ralph W. Tyler (1949) stated that the first step in the thorough study of curriculum and. instruction, whether on a global level or on the school or classroom level, is to ask the question, "What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?" (p. 1).

   Who was Ralph Tyler?

6. Each curriculum developer answers this question from a certain perspective based primarily on the needs of each of the levels of curriculum:
   • the society,
   • the subject matter,
   • the learner,
   • the skills to be taught, or
   • the curriculum itself.

   This perspective is reflected in every aspect of the curriculum: from the goals and objectives to the activities and instructional strategies to the evaluation plan.

   Do you have a particular perspective regarding these levels of the curriculum? What influenced that perspective?

7. Kliebard (1986) asserted that in the development of the American curriculum in this century there have been four interest groups, each with its own curriculum perspective.

   Who or what were those interest groups? (1) Do they still influence education today?

8. He concluded that the prevalent curriculum in America is actually a loose conglomeration of all of the perspectives, based on an unarticulated compromise between the four points of view. It is important to consider this point when developing one's own curriculum units.

   What are these four points of view?

9. Almost all curricula represent some form of compromise between the perspectives and is not a one-sided view, though one perspective may dominate.

10. Eisner and Vallance (1974) delineated "five orientations" in viewing curriculum, which serve as guides in our exploration of the topic: the development of cognitive processes, academic rationalism, personal relevance,social adaptation and social reconstruction, and curriculum as technology. See THE PROFESSOR'S STANCE: VALUES UNDERLYING EDUCATIONAL CHOICES

Cognitive Processes

11. Cognitive processes is the orientation which places cognitive skills at the center of importance. The purposes of the school implied in a cognitive process curriculum are

• to help children learn how to learn and
• to provide them with the opportunities to use and strengthen the variety of intellectual faculties they possess" (p. 62).

12. This curriculum perspective emphasizes process over content. The kinds of programs based on the cognitive processes perspective are creative problem- solving programs, thinking skills programs, or programs based on the actual modes of inquiry of a discipline.

    Who is Benjamin Bloom? What is Bloom's Taxonomy? What is Mastery Learning? (1)

13. Bloom's Taxonomy provides a guideline for this perspective and for the cognitive aspects of any curriculum. First published in the book, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1, The Cognitive Domain (1956), the taxonomy presents a hierarchy which moves from lower levels of cognitive functioning to higher, more complex processes. See Bloom's Taxonomy Cognitive Domain.

    Who is is David R. Krathwohl? What is Krathwohl's Taxonomy

14. It is important to note that Bloom's Taxonomy was part one of a two-part handbook. Krathwohl edited the second volume, which dealt with the affective domain. This is the domain which involves values, beliefs, and feelings. Since schools do not generally emphasize these aspects of individuals, Krathwohl's taxonomy has been largely ignored by curriculum developers. Though this is changing, we are far from fully integrating these issues into curriculum goals. The affective domain would almost certainly not be included by a cognitive processes curriculum developer.

Academic Rationalism

15. Academic rationalism is one of the oldest perspectives on the curriculum. It is epitomized by Mortimer Adler's Paideia Proposal (1983), a philosophical treatise on education advocating the same traditional, academic course of study with the same goals for all. It embodies what is essentially a classical education. See Paideia Proposal (1)

16. The academic rationalist views the curriculum as the means of transmitting the great ideas and the great works created by humankind.
    • A primary objective of an academic rationalist program is the development of rational thought through the study of the great products of Western civilization.
    • This kind of education was once reserved only for those in the upper-socioeconomic classes. Having the same goals for all insures that those who would normally not be eligible for such a program receive access to the same high level ofknowledge.
    • Thus, the rationale for this perspective, though it centers on the disciplines, is social democracy.

Personal Relevance

17. Personal relevance is the orientation that focuses on the perceived needs and interests of the individual student.

Without the direct input of the student, the curriculum seems to be an imposed plan based on someone else's conception of what is important. It is therefore irrelevant to the learner.

18. In a curriculum based on the personal relevance point of view:
    • The teacher and student relate in ways which bring forth the needs of the student to the teacher.
    • Once the student's needs have been identified, the teacher's role is to connect the student with the best materials in order to help the students actualize their potential.

19. This perspective has been criticized for its emphasis on "felt" student needs. How do young children know their needs?

    What is Summerhill? What is the Summerhill Philosophy? Report on Summerhill, 2000 Who is A.S. Neill?

20. In articulating this type of curriculum, the teacher, assessing the needs of the children through interaction, focuses on the present most of the time. This makes long-term planning very difficult and frequently leads to a fragmented curriculum. Schools ascribing to a personal relevance perspective are called "free schools." A. S. Neill's Summerhill (1960) was probably the most famous example of this type of school.

Social Adaptation Social Reconstruction

21. Social Adaptation. Social adaptation places the needs of society at the center of determining the purpose of the school. The first, social adaptation, views society as needing little change. The student must change and adapt to the norms and needs of the larger group. In this curriculum view, the school is a vehicle for reproducing the society and basically maintaining the status quo.

    Explain in your own words Social Adaption. Do you believe that "the student must change and adapt to the norms and needs of the larger group?"

22. The Social Reconstructionist. The social reconstructionist views the school as a vehicle for improving society. This implies a basic dissatisfaction with the dominant society. 'Peace'education programs and community service projects directly exemplify a social reconstructionist perspective The perspective, however, may be imbedded in what appears to be a traditional curriculum. The problems of society maybe addressed through the disciplines of the curriculum, which is used "as a tool for dealing with what is socially significant" (Eisner,1979,p. 78).

Curriculum as Technology.

23. Curriculum as technology is a view of curriculum that is quite widespread in practice. In this paradigm, the curriculum is developed to actualize predetermined ends: goals or outcomes and behavioral objectives.

• Behavioral objectives describe ways in which students' behavior will be changed through the learning experiences in the curriculum.
• Goals or outcomes, behaviors which will be exhibited by all students, are decided prior to writing the curriculum.
• What is decided upon is heavily couched in the writer's "conception" of the purpose of the school.
• The curriculum writer is usually a curriculum- or subject-area expert who is far removed from the actual classroom context in which the curriculum will be articulated, and not the teacher who is in it. This leads to standardization of the curriculum.

  How does curriculum as technlogy compare with Mark K, Smith's curriculum as product perspective.

24. According to Eisner, this is the predominant curriculum paradigm, and several of its proponents who have influenced curriculum theory have been cited here: Bobbitt, Tyler, Taba, Bloom.

    Where does the behaviorist paradigm fit into this discussion?

25. It is clear that one's perspective on the curriculum affects the nature of the content and the types of materials and instructional strategies the teacher uses.

26. It is therefore important that the teacher has a clear personal perspective on a curriculum in order to provide a varied, balanced program of curriculum and instruction. Choosing to follow one view, all or most of the time, would not be in the best interest of the diverse population of students.

26. How does a teacher determine personal perspective on the curriculum? The answer is that this is done through continuous, personal reflection on one's practice and feelings.