Curriculum Studies Course Content

1. Lecturer: Yee Bee Choo
IPGKTHO
Topic 1 TSL 3143

2. Forces that influence curriculum construction
Political, economic and social
Concerns of different of stakeholders
in the Malaysian context
Concerns and issues in curriculum
Definitions
Planned, enacted and
hidden curriculum
Relationships between
curriculum, syllabus,
course and programme

3. Definitions of Curriculum
Curriculum
Plan
Learner’s
Experiences
System
A Field of
Study
Subject
Matter/
Content

4. Definitions of Curriculum
Plan
• “a plan for achieving goals.” (Tyler, 1949)
• “a plan for learning.” (Taba, 1962)
• “a plan for providing sets of learning
opportunities for persons to be educated.”
(Saylor, 1981)
• “an organised set of formal education and/or
training intentions.” (Pratt, 1984)
• “a four-step plan involving purpose, design,
implementation and assessment.” (Wiles &
Bondi, 2011)
(cited in Ornstein & Hunkins, 2014)

5. Definitions of Curriculum
Learner’s experiences
• “all the experiences children have under the
guidance of teachers” (Dewey, 1938; Caswell
& Campbell, 1935).
• “ongoing experiences of children under the
guidance of the school” (William & Shepherd,
1971).
• “experiences in the classroom [that are]
planned and enacted” (Marsh & Willis, 2003).
(cited in Ornstein & Hunkins, 2014)

6. Definitions of Curriculum
System
• A system for dealing with people.
• It can be linear or nonlinear.
• A linear system plots out the means to a
desired end.
• A nonlinear system permits the curriculum
specialist to enter at various points of the
model, skip parts, reverse order, and work on
more than one component at a time.
(David, 2003; Ronald, 1996; Peter, 2009)

7. Definitions of Curriculum
A Field of Study
• It is a field of study with its own foundation,
knowledge domains, research, theory,
principles and specialist.
• It is more theoretical than practical.
(William, 1999)

8. Definitions of Curriculum
Subject Matter or Content
• Subject matter: Math, Science, English,
History, etc.
• Content: the way we organise and assimilate
information.
• Also refers to grade levels.
(Ornstein & Hunkins, 2014)

9. Types of Curriculum
Planned Curriculum
(Intended)
• Formal curriculum
focuses on goals,
objectives, subject
matter, and
organisation of
instruction.
Enacted Curriculum
(Unplanned)
• Informal
curriculum deals
with
sociophychological
interaction among
students and
teachers, especially
their feelings,
attitudes and
behaviours.
Hidden Curriculum
(Unintended)
• The part of the
curriculum that,
while not written,
will certainly be
learned by
students.
(Ornstein & Hunkins, 2014)

10. Types of Curriculum
• Intended curriculum is set forth in the content
standards for a particular subject and grade
level.
• Enacted curriculum is the content of
instruction delivered by classroom teachers
designates.
• Assessed curriculum is the content measured
by student assessments.
(Porter, 2004)

11. Types of Curriculum
• The enacted curriculum refers to all the teaching-
learning experiences that take place in the classroom
between the teacher and the students that involve
deliberate and explicit instructions of subject content
knowledge and practices of the content, skills and
values taught.
• The enacted curriculum is the content which is actually
delivered during instruction (i.e. instructional content)
as well as how it is taught (i.e. instructional practices).
Typically, the content targets are based on the
intended/planned curriculum. In other words, the
enacted curriculum is the content that students have
the chance to learn, as well as how teachers “deliver”
the content.

12. Types of Curriculum
• The hidden curriculum refers to outcomes of education
which are not explicitly stated.
• The examples of hidden curriculum can be found in any
activities, programmes, rules (rituals, protocols,
regulations, assemblies, arrangement for co-curricular
activities etc. ) of a school have positive impact on learning
in terms of:
– Inculcating positive values and attitudes:
– Love for school, nations
– Respect for teachers, elders
– Sense of justice, right and wrong
– Autonomy, democracy
– Inculcating good social behaviour:
– Cleanliness, tidiness, punctuality, obedience, discipline

13. Types of Curriculum
(Malaysia Education Blueprint, 2012, p.103)

14. Types of Curriculum
• The Ministry enlisted the help of UNESCO and Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia to assess different aspects of curriculum
development and implementation. The Malaysian curriculum was
analysed from three dimensions (Exhibit 4-1):
1. What is written in the curricula, or the “Written Curriculum”:
• the knowledge, skills, and values that form the content, outlining
what is to be taught by teachers;
2. What is taught in the classroom, or the “Taught curriculum”:
• the knowledge acquired, skills developed, and values inculcated in
students; and
3. What is examined, or the “Examined curriculum”:
• students’ knowledge, skills, and values that are tested, either in
summative national examinations such as the UPSR, PMR, and
SPM, or through formative and/or summative PBS that guide
teaching.
(Malaysia Education Blueprint, 2012, p.103)

15. Types of Curriculum
• The Written Curriculum should articulate a holistic
education of international standard. Both the Taught
and Examined Curricula should be closely aligned with
the Written Curriculum. In other words, the curriculum
that is taught in the class and examined at the national
level should match the intent of the written curriculum.
• The curricula currently in place are the KBSR and KBSM.
In 2011, the Ministry started rolling out the new KSSR
in stages, starting from Year 1. By 2016, the KSSR will be
in place for all primary school years. A comparable
standard-based reform of the KSSM will be ready to
rollout to Form 1 students in 2017. A revised version of
the KSSR will also be rolled out in 2017.
(Malaysia Education Blueprint, 2012, p.103)

16. Relationship Between Curriculum, Syllabus,
Course and Programme
Curriculum can be defined, as an educational
program which states:
a) “The educational purpose of the program (the
ends)
b) The content teaching procedures and learning
experience which will be necessary to achieve
this purpose (the means)
c) Some means for assessing whether or not the
educational ends have been achieved.”
(Richards, Platt & Platt, 1993,)

17. Relationship Between Curriculum, Syllabus,
Course and Programme
• A syllabus is essentially a statement of what
should be taught, year by year – through
language – syllabuses often also contain points
about the method of teaching and the time to be
taken” (Lee, 1980).
• “Syllabus is a more detailed and operational
statement of teaching and learning elements
which translates the philosophy of the curriculum
into a series of planned steps leading towards
more narrowly defined objectives at each level”
(Dubin & Olshtain, 1997).

18. Relationship Between Curriculum, Syllabus,
Course and Programme
Difference of Curriculum and Syllabus
Curriculum
a set of subjects or courses
including their content which
are being offered by the
school, college or university
to the students in different
programmes.
an aggregate of all the
courses which are to be
studied by the students in a
particular programme.
Syllabus
a description outline and
synopsis of topics in a course
which are meant to be
covered during an
educational programme in a
school, college, university or
any other institution.
a brief statement or an
outline of the main topics of
a course which the lecturer or
instructor will cover during all
his lectures.

19. Relationship Between Curriculum, Syllabus,
Course and Programme
• A course is “an integrated series of teaching-
learning experiences, whose ultimate aim is to
lead the learners to a particular state of
knowledge” (Hutchinson & Waters 1996).

20. Relationship Between Curriculum, Syllabus,
Course and Programme
• A programme consists of different degree or
diploma courses available in various streams
of study such as engineering, law, medicine,
and MBA etc.

21. Relationship Between Curriculum, Syllabus,
Course and Programme
• Programme
Program Pensiswazahan Guru (PPG)
• Curriculum
a teacher educational plan with the aim to
produce more primary school teachers with
degree
• Syllabus
contained in Table 3
• Course
Curriculum Studies (TSL3143)

22. Factors that Influence Curriculum Construction
Economical
Social
Political

23. Factors that Influence Curriculum Construction
Political Factor
• Politics determine and define the goals, content,
learning experiences and evaluation strategies in
education.
• Curricular materials and their interpretation are usually
heavily influenced by political considerations.
• Funding of education is greatly influenced by politics in
the hiring of personnel, building and maintaining
facilities and equipment.
• Entry into educational institutions and examination
systems are heavily influenced by politics.

24. Factors that Influence Curriculum Construction
Social Factor
• Social diversity including religion, culture and
social groupings affects curriculum development
because these characteristics influence the types
of topics and methods for teaching information.
• Developing relevant curriculum takes into
account society's expectations, accommodating
group traditions and promoting equality.

25. Factors that Influence Curriculum Construction
Economical Factor
• Curriculum developed for in-service teacher training in
schools helps teachers for promotion in future career.
• Nations financing education expect an economic return
from educated students contributing to the country's
economy with global competition abilities in technical
fields.
• Curriculum content influences learner goals, standards
for academic achievement with an underlying influence
of the nation's economy.

26. Concerns of Different Stakeholders in the
Malaysian Context
Stakeholders
• Stakeholders are any individual internal or
external to an organization that has a “stake” in
the success of the institution (i.e. students,
faculty (teacher), staff, system administrator,
college council, etc)
• They are those who have an interest in a
particular decision, either an individual or the
representative of group. This includes people who
influence a decision or can influence it, as well as
those affected by it.

27. Concerns of Different Stakeholders in the
Malaysian Context
Stakeholders in Malaysian Education Curriculum
Direct Stakeholders Indirect stakeholders
o The teacher
o The student
o The parents
o Administrators
o School staffs
o Government
o Community leaders
o Political leaders
o Society

28. Tutorial 1a (Individual Writing Task)
• In one/two sentences, define the term
‘curriculum’.
• Differentiate the types of curricula.
• Identify the core curriculum at your college.
• Explain the characteristics of each type of
curriculum.

29. Tutorial 1b
• Do you think that the syllabuses & textbooks
used in your country adequately reflect your
national ideology & the demands of your
society?

30. • There are many stakeholders who are
concerned with Malaysian education
curriculum.
• Discuss one stakeholder and his role in
curriculum implementation.
Tutorial 1c

31. References
Ornstein, A.C. & Hunkins, F.P. (2014). Curriculum:
Foundations, principles and issues. (6th. ed).
Essex: Pearson Edu. Ltd.
Ministry of Education, Malaysia. (2013). Malaysia
Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Preschool to
Post-Secondary Education). Kuala Lumpur: KPM.
Porter, A. C. (2004). Curriculum assessment
(Additional SCALE Research Publications and
Products: Goals 1, 2, and 4). Nashville, TN:
Vanderbilt University.