Understanding Curriculum: Definition, Aspects, and Designs

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CURRICULUM
Name of the student
Subject Name:
Date:

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Introduction
In the present learning community, curriculum is known to be more than the list of
various topics needed to be secured by the instructive plan. The phrase ‘curriculum’ in most
cases is understood by several education instructors to refer to different programs or courses of
investigation offered by education or learning institutions around the global society. Educational
program is an issue of initial advantage known to refer to strategy articulation concerning the bit
of training1. However, curriculum as educational program stands out to be the sign with regards
to different procedures in which the approach is concentrated to be acknowledged through the
plan of different activities. In instructive practices, educational plans, designs, or programs that
form curriculum stand out to be more than even plan of such operation. It is important to
consider curriculum in most learning institutions to be much wider in the education sector than in
other sectors. Therefore, in most instances, curriculum refers to the appropriate design or plan of
what is tended to be taught in various learning centers. It also consists of a range of topics that
are to be taught in several courses or topics being offered in primary, tertiary, high school,
middle-level colleges, and universities among other learning institutions2. Therefore, primary
target of this research paperwork is to explore different issues revolving within the description of
‘curriculum’ around learning institution around the entire global community. Such issues
comprise of definition of curriculum, its aspects, design of curriculum, and types of its designs,
its evaluation, and reform of curriculum.
Aspects of curriculum
1 M. Young, "What is a curriculum and what can it do?", The Curriculum Journal, vol. 25, no. 1,
pp. 7-13, 2014. Available: 10.1080/09585176.2014.902526.
2 G. Ditchburn, "TheAustralian Curriculum: History– the challenges of a thin curriculum?",
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 27-41, 2013.
Available: 10.1080/01596306.2013.829657.

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Designs of curriculum, its evaluation, together with its process of implementation in
different learning institutions remain to be the central to the process of education and teaching an
entire global community. The consideration of effective implementation and evaluation of
curriculum helps in improving effective and efficient functioning of system of education in
different learning centers3. Different targets of various educational centers are always reflected in
curriculum that they use. Hence, application of curriculum is also adapted to different needs as
well as requirements of different students, societies, places of work, and workers in general. In
all set of learning, curriculum always comprises of the statement of targets and specific
objectives within a given learning process. Furthermore, it indicates some sections and organized
content that specific course as to follow before its completion. Content within the curriculum for
a given course or subject can either be implying or manifested to particular techniques or style of
processes of teaching and learning, as educational content of every organization needs such
designs4. Consequently, curriculum always comprises of programs utilized to evaluate results of
learning alongside processes of teaching.
Definition of curriculum
The term curriculum for extended duration has been in application in different institutions
for learning and education. It always refers to different contents of lessons alongside academic
work, programs, or courses being taught within different learning sectors like schools. Oxford
dictionary defined curriculum to be any course offered by any learning instructor within learning
center. Depending on the use of curriculum, it stands out as an understanding and aptitude that
3 A. Allen, A. Poch and E. Lembke, "An Exploration of Alternative Scoring Methods Using
Curriculum-Based Measurement in Early Writing", Learning Disability Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 2,
pp. 85-99, 2017. Available: 10.1177/0731948717725490 [Accessed 2 June 2019].
4 M. Hill and J. Robertson, "Great expectations: Working in partnership to enhance learning and
strengthen teaching in diverse primary schools", Teachers and Curriculum, vol. 7, no. 1, 2017.
Available: 10.15663/tandc.v7i1.179.

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different students relied on so as to discover goals of learning that they are to meet at any given
time of their learning. Besides, curriculum refers to the units and lessons that each education
instructor intends to instructor present to learners5. Therefore, curriculum in general society stays
to be assets together with other techniques applicable for evaluation of how student is learning.
Curriculum for operation of individual tutor can always be specific standards, assignments,
lessons use for learning with major target of organizing and teaching particular program or
course.
Curriculum in most cases is broadly described to be the totality of experience of different
learners that occurs in process of acquisition of knowledge through education. Besides, the
phrase ‘curriculum’ always refers to majorly planned together with arranged sequence of
instruction or view of learner’s experience concerning instructional objectives of school or
educator. Other researchers like in the study conducted by Shawer, curriculum is defined to be
different sets of goals of learning that are always articulated across diverse grades that outline the
intended contents of arithmetic together with process goals at particular points in given duration
through the school course or program of Kindergarten6. In some instances, curriculum is
commonly separated into different categories that comprise of implicit, hidden, explicit, and
excluded, alongside extra-curricular. All these subdivisions make curriculum to receive tight
standardized or might comprise of high level of autonomy or instructor of learners. Different
countries within the global society have different curriculum in their primary and secondary
schools. Curriculum in such institutions remains to guide for learning planned and designed with
5 C. Winch, "Curriculum Design and Epistemic Ascent", Journal of Philosophy of Education,
vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 128-146, 2012. Available: 10.1111/1467-9752.12006 [Accessed 2 June 2019].
6 S. Shawer, "Teacher-driven curriculum development at the classroom level: Implications for
curriculum, pedagogy and teacher training", Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 63, pp. 296-
313, 2017. Available: 10.1016/j.tate.2016.12.017.