Types of curriculum

MALAYSIAN EXAMPLES

Glatthorn, Boschee and Whitehead (2011) proposed that there

are seven types of curriculum, which are:
1. The recommended curriculum
2. The written curriculum
3. The supported curriculum
4. The taught curriculum
5. The tested curriculum
6. The learned curriculum
7. The hidden curriculum

Recommended
Curriculum
Curriculum recommended by scholars,
associations or commissions.
Government mandated curriculum policy
Emphasizes what ought to taught.
Proposes knowledge and skills to be learned
based on what is valued by the society and
government.
Formulated at higher level of generality.

Examples of Recommended
Curriculum
Syllabus: Aim, objectives, curriculum organization,
content
Curriculum specification: Aim, objectives,
curriculum organization, content areas, emphases
in teaching and learning, approaches in teaching
and learning, evaluation, learning objectives,
learning outcomes, suggested teaching and
learning activities.
Standards: Content Standards, Learning
Standards, Performance Standards

Written Curriculum
Should be authentic?
Should be generic and site specific?
Should mediate between the ideals of the
recommended curriculum and the realities of
classrooms.
Should standardize at district level?

Examples of Written
Curriculum
Yearly or Semester plans?
Weekly plans?
Daily lesson plans?

Supported Curriculum
It is the curriculum that is reflected in and shaped
by the resources allocated to support and deliver
the recommended curriculum.
Four types of resources: Time for each subject,
time for each content, personnel allocation,
instructional materials.

Examples of Supported
Curriculum
Textbooks
Activity books.
Teaching modules
Individualized Learning Modules

Taught Curriculum
It is the delivered curriculum as observed when a
teacher teach.

Examples of Taught
Curriculum
Teachers teachings
Students activities.

Tested Curriculum
What is assessed in teacher-made classroom
assessments, district developed tests, or
standardized public examination.

Examples of Tested
Curriculum
1. Lesson pre and post tests
2. Topical tests
3. Monthly tests
4. End of semester or year tests
5. Public examinations
6. Alternative assessment conducted summatively
or formatively.

Learned Curriculum
Changes in behavior and mental structures that
occur as a result of school experiences.
It can be the result of the intentional curriculum or
the hidden curriculum
The learned curriculum can also depend on the
student and the teacher.

Examples of Learned
Curriculum
The learned curriculum can be determined from the
analysis and interpretation of the evidence collected
through various techniques of assessment:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Lesson post tests

Topical tests
Monthly tests
End of semester or year tests
Public examinations
Alternative assessment conducted summatively or
formatively.
7. Classroom observations of students
8. Research such as TIMSS, PISA etc.

Hidden Curriculum
The experiences of schooling other than the
intentional curriculum that affect changes in
students behaviors and mental structures.

Goodlad et al. (1979) proposed that there are five types

of curriculum, which are:
1. The ideal curriculum
2. The formal curriculum
3. The instructional curriculum
4. The operational curriculum
5. The experiential curriculum

The ideal curriculum

The formal curriculum

The instructional
curriculum

The operational
curriculum

The experiential
curriculum