What constitutes a curriculum?

Published on 01/06/2015 by admin

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Last modified 01/06/2015

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10 What constitutes a curriculum?

The curriculum is more than just a syllabus or timetable. It embraces all of the learning opportunities both formal and informal.

The concept of a curriculum

The curriculum was equated in the past with the syllabus and the timetable. A curriculum document included a statement about content, the subjects covered and the courses that students should attend. This concept of a curriculum has been widened to include:

• the learning outcomes

• the teaching and learning methods

• the educational strategies

• the context for the learning

• the learning environment

• the assessment procedures.

Each of these aspects of a curriculum is explored in more detail in Chapter 11. A curriculum can be thought of as made up of all the experiences learners have that enable them to achieve the specified learning outcomes (Grant 2010).

Approaches to the curriculum

All of the above elements are important and need to be taken into consideration when a curriculum is planned. Particular attention is paid sometimes to one aspect:

• The architect approach. Just as in architecture, work starts here with a full specification of what is to be produced. The focus for curriculum planning is on a detailed statement of the aims of the medical school and the expected learning outcomes.

• The mechanic approach. The car mechanic is concerned with the type of engine rather than the direction in which the car has to travel. The focus for the curriculum planning is on the teaching approaches and the learning opportunities created.

• The cookbook approach. Just as in cookbook recipes with lists and quantities of the ingredients for the cakes and other dishes, a detailed list is made of all the contents that have to go in to the curriculum.

• The railway approach. The railway timetable comprises the routes and times when trains arrive and depart at different stations. In the railway approach the emphasis is on the students’ timetable and their activities and venues at each hour of the day.

• The religious approach. Just as in religion where there is a principle or system of tenets held with devotion, so those responsible for planning the curriculum hold some value or curriculum strategy, such as problem-based learning, to be of supreme importance.

• The detective approach.

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