Curriculum Foundations and Development | Notes | UGC NET Education

Concept and Principles of Curriculum

• The word curriculum is derived from the Latin word currere, meaning “to run”, “race course” or “course to be run.” The term originally referred to a course or path that had to be followed to reach a particular destination. In education, curriculum represents the planned course of learning through which learners move towards specified educational goals.
• Curriculum is broader than a syllabus. A syllabus generally presents the topics or subject matter to be covered in a particular course, whereas curriculum includes the totality of planned learning experiences provided by an educational institution. It covers objectives, content, teaching-learning experiences, activities, teaching methods, assessment and evaluation. It can also include curricular, co-curricular and extracurricular experiences that contribute to the overall development of learners.
• Curriculum is not simply a list of subjects. It represents an organised educational plan that connects educational aims, learner needs, content, pedagogy and assessment. It reflects what society expects education to achieve and what learners need to develop as individuals and members of society.

Nature and Characteristics of Curriculum

• Dynamic and Flexible: Curriculum is not static. It changes according to developments in society, technology, knowledge, culture, economy and educational thought. Changing learner needs and emerging challenges require regular curriculum revision.
• Learner-Oriented: Modern curriculum gives importance to learners' interests, abilities, experiences, developmental characteristics and individual differences. The learner is considered an active participant rather than merely a receiver of information.
• Continuous and Comprehensive: Curriculum covers learning across different stages of education and includes multiple dimensions of development. It addresses cognitive, affective, social, physical, moral and aesthetic development.
• Value-Based: Curriculum reflects the values and educational philosophy of a society. Ideas such as democracy, equality, justice, cooperation, secularism, social responsibility and respect for diversity may find expression through curriculum.
• Goal-Oriented: Curriculum is designed to achieve specified educational objectives. Content, learning activities and assessment are organised in relation to these objectives.
• Socially Relevant: Curriculum responds to the needs and expectations of society. Issues such as environmental sustainability, citizenship, digital literacy, gender equality, health and social responsibility may be incorporated into educational programmes.
• Integrated: Curriculum can connect different subjects and areas of learning. Integration helps learners understand relationships between knowledge rather than treating every subject as an isolated area.

Scope of Curriculum

The scope of curriculum is extensive and includes both what is formally planned and the wider experiences through which learning takes place. It may include:

• Formal education through structured classroom instruction and prescribed courses.

• Non-formal education through organised learning outside conventional school structures.

• Informal education through family, community, media, social interaction and everyday experiences.

• Learning objectives and expected outcomes.

• Selection and organisation of content.

• Teaching-learning methods and classroom experiences.

• Curricular and co-curricular activities.

• Assessment and evaluation.

• Guidance, counselling and other learner-support activities.

• Social, cultural, physical, moral and aesthetic experiences.

A broad understanding of curriculum recognises that students learn not only through textbooks and classroom teaching but also through interactions, institutional practices, activities and the wider school environment.

Types of Curriculum

Different types of curriculum help explain both the intended and unintended learning experiences provided by educational institutions.

The concept of the hidden curriculum is particularly important because learners may acquire lessons about discipline, authority, cooperation, competition, gender roles and social behaviour even when these are not explicitly mentioned in the formal curriculum.