The School Curriculum
in an Era of Standards

No exact definition
◦ Subject matter taught to students
◦ A course of study
◦ The planned educational experiences offered by
schools
◦ The process teachers go through in selecting &
organizing experiences for students
What is Curriculum?? Is it the
same as instruction?
Curriculum – everything that a teacher
teaches and students learn
 Instruction – strategies that teachers
use to help students reach their learning
goals in the curriculum

Curriculum & Instruction
Students – road map for learning (what
they will do in class, expectations)
 Parents – tells them what their child will
be learning
 Principal – a concise & succinct
description of what you will be doing in
your classroom
 Curriculum you create – states a lot about
you – educational philosophy

Curriculum

Are sports, clubs part of the curriculum??

Learning experiences that extend beyond
the classroom
◦ Clubs, sports, school plays, other activities that
do not earn school credit
Provide valuable learning experiences
 Research – well developed:

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Higher academic performances & attainment
Reduced drop out rates
Lower rates of substance abuse
Less sexual activity among girls
Reduced rates of delinquent behavior
Extracurriculum


Sports – provide students with alternative
outlets for healthy development
School leaders – look at extracurricular activities
to help students development in healthy ways
◦ Recruit students, especially those mentioned in earlier
slide

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Provide opportunities for professional growth
Sponsor/coach – extra salary & interact with
colleagues at personal level
◦ Working with students in this way – emotionally
rewarding
◦ Provide insights into students’ personalities & lives
Extracurriculum
The Teacher
 Standards & Accountability
 The Federal Government
 Textbooks

Forces the Influence the
Curriculum

Most power & important force
◦ You determine the learning experiences that
occur in the classroom
◦ Decision – priorities
◦ Educational Philosophy
The Teacher
2nd Major Factor
 Standards – statements that describe
what students should know or be able to
do at the end of a prescribed period of
study.
 Accountability – the process of requiring
students to demonstrate understanding of
the topics they study as measured by
high-stakes tests, standardized test
(promoted, graduates?)

Standards & Accountability

Standards – power influence
◦ What is tested – is what is taught
◦ May be the most powerful force influencing the
curriculum today

Districts/States – prescribed curriculumyou cannot deviate
◦ Highly controversial

Will be a part of your professional life!!
Standards & Accountability
Role – increased over time
 1950s – people viewed education as
important in accomplishing national goals

◦ IDEA, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Race to the
Top Program

Race to the Top
◦ Students’ test scores – important factor in
teachers’ evaluations
◦ Highly Controversial
 Reality – not to scare you
The Federal Government
Part of the teaching life!
 Districts – $5.5 Billion/year
 Some classes will encourage you to set
them aside – research suggest typically
teacher do not
 Choose textbooks carefully:

◦ Student Needs
◦ Scope
◦ Quality –
Textbooks

Sex Education
◦ Highly controversial
 Should it be taught in schools or is it the
responsibility of families or churches
◦ Stats that proponents contend with:
 By 19th Bday – 7 of 10 teenagers (both sexes) have had
sexual intercourse
 U.S. teen pregnancy rates continue to be one the highest
in the developed world
Controversial Issues in the
Curriculum

Moral Education
◦ Character education – suggest moral values &
positive character traits (honesty, tolerance,
fairness) should be taught, emphasized &
rewarded.
◦ Moral Education – emphasizing the development
of students’ moral reasoning
 Dilemmas & classroom discussions to teach problem
solving
◦ Service Learning – attempts to promote students’
moral development by combining service to the
community with content-learning objectives.
Controversial Issues in the
Curriculum

Censorship
◦ Practice of prohibiting objectionable materials
from being used in academic classes or
libraries
◦ Courts have generally opposed censorship of
books, ruling schools have a right to expose
students to different ideas and points of view
through literature
Controversial Issues in the
Curriculum