Designing the Classroom Curriculum Designing the Classroom Curriculum | Page 22

Designing the Classroom Curriculum
Chapter 2:
The Concept of Curriculum
In the Introduction and Chapter One we examined the challenging environment in which teaching occurs.
Our argument is that teaching --- its conceptualisation, organisation and practice ---, when compared to
rapid institutional and cultural change over recent years, lags behind. In this chapter we discuss the concept
of curriculum as foundation knowledge for subsequent chapters where we argue for a rethink on the what,
how and why of classroom curriculum development. To achieve this goal the chapter questions what the
term ‘curriculum’ means and how teachers use it to explain aspects of their work. We note factors that
influence the development of the classroom curriculum.
What Does the Term ‘Curriculum’ Mean?
The term curriculum essentially means a course of study in a school or college. The term
“curriculum” is as synonymous with teachers as timber is to carpenters. In Australia, like practically all
education systems in the world, the term curriculum is used to signal core work associated with schools and
teachers and what students are expected to learn. Interestingly, every education jurisdiction in the developed
world is undergoing or has undergone some kind of ‘curriculum reform’ in recent years. Changes in
international politics and the global economy, the Internet, population distribution and mix, contribute to
curriculum change and associated reform efforts. The emergence of the Knowledge Age for example and
particularly the pervasiveness of the Internet have transformed the availability of ‘knowledge’ which in
previous times was monopolised by teachers ‘covering’ knowledge content for students (see for example,
Florida, 2002, 2006; Graham, 2005; Nowotny et al., 2001). In today’s world there is a growing awareness
that such knowledge is important but that students also need enhanced critical thinking and interpersonal
skills and creativity to use it (Salhberg, 2005). The Internet provides unprecedented opportunities to do this.
Consider some examples:
“Recent decades have witnessed dynamic change in the working environment of 21st century
lawyers. While the practice of law has changed radically, it is not clear that legal education reform
has kept pace with the demands of modern practice. In an environment where the tertiary sector has
also been transformed by external drivers beyond its control, the QUT Law Faculty has undertaken
a major reconceptualisation of its undergraduate law programs. Encouraged by the Australian Law
Reform Commission’s 2000 exhortation to re-orientate legal education around “what lawyers need
to be able to do”, rather than remaining bound to the traditional focus of “what lawyers need to
know”, the Faculty embarked on curriculum renewal centred around the development and
implementation of a graduate capability framework” (Kift, 2003).
Similarly, Gruba, et al. (2004), discussing factors influencing decisions about curriculum change, identify the
following:
o Influential or outspoken individuals.
o Financial pressures, including resource availability.
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