Monday, April 20, 2009
Curricular Viewpionts
The term “curriculum” can mean any number of things to educators, administrators, parents, students, and community members. Abeles, Hoffer, & Klotman (1995) broadly define curriculum as “a set of planned experiences” (p. 272). They further outline four specific curricular viewpoints: operational, ideal, formal, and instructional.
The operational curriculum is based on an administrative perspective. In this viewpoint, administrators or trained evaluators concern themselves with activities that are actually going on in the classroom rather than seeing curriculum as something written in stone. The classroom activities in this model should be based upon specific learning objectives.
The ideal curriculum is self-explanatory in that it represents what should be taught, not necessarily what is really offered. Often conceived under scholarly conditions, the ideal curriculum is theory-based and may or may not exist in practice.
In the formal curriculum viewpoint, the concerns of the state department of education, the local school board, parent groups, business partners, politicians, and others are taken into account. This may take the form of state or district standards that teachers are required to follow.
Finally, the instructional curriculum represents teachers’ perceptions of what is actually being taught. Teachers often must modify the formal curriculum to meet individual student needs but may be wary to do so because of pressure to follow the formal curriculum. Also relevant are parent, student, and societal perceptions, among others.
Regardless of the viewpoint, a curriculum will be influenced by various stakeholders’ attitudes and their relative position in affecting decisions. A curriculum will also, by its very nature, need to be modified according to school conditions and student needs.
Abeles, H. F., Hoffer, C. R., & Klotman, R. H. (1995). Foundations of music education (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomas Higher Education.
The operational curriculum is based on an administrative perspective. In this viewpoint, administrators or trained evaluators concern themselves with activities that are actually going on in the classroom rather than seeing curriculum as something written in stone. The classroom activities in this model should be based upon specific learning objectives.
The ideal curriculum is self-explanatory in that it represents what should be taught, not necessarily what is really offered. Often conceived under scholarly conditions, the ideal curriculum is theory-based and may or may not exist in practice.
In the formal curriculum viewpoint, the concerns of the state department of education, the local school board, parent groups, business partners, politicians, and others are taken into account. This may take the form of state or district standards that teachers are required to follow.
Finally, the instructional curriculum represents teachers’ perceptions of what is actually being taught. Teachers often must modify the formal curriculum to meet individual student needs but may be wary to do so because of pressure to follow the formal curriculum. Also relevant are parent, student, and societal perceptions, among others.
Regardless of the viewpoint, a curriculum will be influenced by various stakeholders’ attitudes and their relative position in affecting decisions. A curriculum will also, by its very nature, need to be modified according to school conditions and student needs.
Abeles, H. F., Hoffer, C. R., & Klotman, R. H. (1995). Foundations of music education (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomas Higher Education.
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