My Personal and Professional Definition of Curriculum

 

My Personal and Professional Definition of Curriculum

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

 

Abstract

There is no fixed definition of curriculum as different people define the term curriculum differently due to their varied notions about it. One thing is clear the designing process of the curriculum for any purpose has to undergo considerable debates and research with varied views and ideas in which different policymakers, curriculum designers, teachers, and people at large have to undergo revision of the previous curriculum so that they can suit the learns based on the current needs of the learners (IBE UNESCO, 2021). But, a question like who makes the curriculum, is it the teacher who makes the curriculum or the curriculum that makes the teacher is the area to ponder upon because it is determined by how it is implemented during the learning process (Ikhianosime, 2021). Regarding my concept of the curriculum, it isn’t the same that I had before in comparison to that of now, but I believe in what Dewey (1938) states about curriculum which should be very simple and pure. It is a matter of how we think and rethink to derive its definition for successful implementation.

My Definition of Curriculum

In my opinion, the definition of the curriculum is that “Curriculum is a kind of document that contains a set of courses that defines the contents and the delivery process, along with activities and assessments procedure for certain educational levels. In general, the curriculum consists of a particular subject with student tasks, which is given to the school with certain assessment procedures and certain goals to achieve.”

My Definition of Curriculum with Connections to My Milieu

The first time I encountered the term curriculum is a time when I was in the eighth standard. I quite often heard my subject teachers talking to us in the classroom about the new curriculum that was introduced, and I always thought that time that curriculum meant the subject itself and the topics that we were to cover in a year. Later, I realized that my understanding of the curriculum was wrong when I joined the teacher training college in 2001. My perception of curriculum changed to “Curriculum as the syllabus that we teach in the classroom,” which concludes with the textbooks that we are using in the classroom. It was only later, after the completion of my training and after joining the teaching services, that I realized that the curriculum was something different from what I conceptualized myself. However, in 2006, when I first attended the National Curriculum Framework Workshop, I felt that the definition of the curriculum was something broader than what I thought before, and I found that It not only covers the syllabus alone but something beyond that.  

Identification of the curriculum design, thus, should be professionally focused for implementation purposes in the school setting based on the level, sector, grade, school, etc., be it designed in the school or at the ministry level. In particular, it should focus on the curriculum blueprint, mapping the content in connection with the learning objectives with the development of the course outline (Wellesley College, 2021). The ultimate goal is to teach the students through proper examination based on the goals and objectives set.

My definition as mentioned above is based on my personal opinion made and shared during one of the curriculum framework workshops held in 2006 in which I was one of the participants. The definition of the curriculum may change over the period, but the change takes place based on the learning experiences gained through the change in time as it is a continuous process.

Pertaining to the interview question “What does the word curriculum mean to you?” the response I got was “It’s a set of content and the instructions that the students are supposed to learn and acquire skills in the schools or colleges.” I believe that I should go back to the person with whom I discussed, and discuss the assessment, activities, course, content, and the delivery process because he didn’t talk about it which I believe is essential. There need to be some negotiations between us in understanding the concept in a deeper sense because the success of the implementation of the curriculum can be measured by the type of assessment we conduct in the classroom so that we understand the main function of education. It is because assessment is the main process in which it determines what conceptual knowledge is gained by the learners (Shoemaker & Lewin, 1993).

In determining my definition of curriculum, the stakeholders involved are the officials from the Curriculum Development Office, Ministry of Education who during the process of formulating the curriculum asked the participants to define it. The teachers of about 26 numbers were involved during the process. Their roles are as defined by their position stated above, and the role of the teachers was to refine and validate the draft curriculum based on the practices in the field. They included the school teachers because it is the school that will ultimately implement it.

Reflecting on my learning journey, philosophers like Dewey, Paula, Slattery, Hayes Jacobs, and researchers of ResearchGate and UNESCO-IBE would contribute to my curriculum reforms because the ideas acquired from them are genuine and research-based which are still applicable even at present. And yes, their philosophies can be used to refine my definition of curriculum. Even through the discussion forum, I am able to acquire knowledge from different perspectives that would enable me to shape my definitions and perceptions.

 

 

Reference

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Touchstone Book, Simon and Schuster. Retrieved from http://ruby.fgcu.edu/Courses/ndemers/Colloquium/ ExperiencEducationDewey.pdf

IBE UNESCO. (2021). General Education System Quality Analysis/Diagnosis Framework (GEQAF). Retrieved November 30, 2021 from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/general-education-system-quality-analysisdiagnosis-framework-geqaf

Ikhianosime, F. (2021). Problems of Definition in the Curriculum. Retrieved December 6, 2021 from https://www.academia.edu/16840258/PROBLEMS_OF_DEFINITION_IN_ CURRICULUM

Shoemaker, B. J. E., & Lewin, L. (1993). Curriculum and Assessment: Two Sides of the Same Coin. Retrieved December 7, 2021 from https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/curriculum-and-assessment-two-sides-of-the-same-coin

Wellesley College. (2021). Curriculum Design. Retrieved December 7, 2021 from https://www.wellesley.edu/careereducation/resources/curriculum-design