Curriculum studies

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Curriculum studies or curriculum sciences is a concentration in the different types of curriculum and instruction concerned with understanding curricula as an active force influenced by human educational experiences.[1] Its proponents investigate the relationship between curriculum theory and educational practice in addition to the relationship between school programs, the contours of the society, and the culture in which schools are located.

There are key questions related to curriculum studies:

  • What should be taught in schools?[2]
  • Why should it be taught? To whom should it be taught?[3]
  • What does it mean to be an educated person?[3]

History

Curriculum studies was created in 1930 and known as the first subdivision of the American Educational Research Association. It was originally created to be able to manage "the transition of the American secondary school from an elite preparatory school to a mass terminal secondary school" until the 1950s when "a preparation for college" became a larger concern.[4] In 1970 the focus of curriculum studies shifted again due to the belief of young activist. These individuals wanted to begin incorporating social and cultural aspects. This shift from developing and evaluating curriculum to understanding curriculum became known as the "Reconceptualization" of the curriculum field.[5]

The different types of curriculum

Hidden curriculum

A type of curriculum that focuses on how society transmits culture from generation to generation has been tagged with the term "hidden curriculum"[6] For instance, one of the 19th century founders of the discipline of sociology, Émile Durkheim, observed that more is taught and learned in schools than specified in the established curriculum of textbooks and teacher manuals. This curriculum has "non-academic functions and effects"[7] In Moral Education Durkheim wrote:

In fact, there is a whole system of rules in the school that predetermine the child's conduct. He must come to class regularly; he must arrive at a specified time and with an appropriate bearing and attitude. He must not disrupt things in class. He must have learned his lessons, done his homework, and have done so reasonably well, etc. There are, therefore, a host of obligations that the child is required to shoulder. Together they constitute the discipline of the school. It is through the practice of school discipline that we can inculcate the spirit of discipline in the child. (1961 [1925]). Moral Education. New York, The Free Press. p . 148)

It teaches children life skills like learning to "wait quietly", exercising restraint, putting forth your best effort, completing work, keeping busy, cooperating, "showing allegiance to both teachers and peers", being neat and punctual, so on and so forth.[7]

Common core

Common core is a type of curriculum that heavily focuses on building "literacy skills and understandings required for college and career readiness in multiple disciplines" is the curriculum aligned to common core.[8] The main goal of Common core is to encourage critical thinking by utilizing the questioning strategy. Students gain a more advanced understanding of a topic as they have to elaborate on their thoughts. Memorization is no longer key. This type of curriculum requires instructors to ask the right kind of questions, depending on one's content area, for it to be effective.

To achieve Common core's primary goal of critical thinking, educators often utilize active learning methodologies. Active learning puts students into the role of active participate through collaborative problem-solving and hands-on learning. Research published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that these methods can reduce the achievement gap in STEM scores by 33% and narrow passing rate gaps by 45%.[9] PNAS also found active learning makes complex technical content more accessible to underrepresented groups.

Types of ELA and Social Studies question include:

  • Literal question- a question that children can easily find the answer to
  • Interpretative question- a question that requires children to dig deeper. Students are tasked with interpreting the text's meaning or content.
  • Evaluative question- a question that requires students to reflect on the text in an analytical manner.

Types of Science questions include:

  • Convergent question- a question that causes students to utilize basic knowledge. This the type of question lies within a three-tier question system. It should be used first.
  • Divergent question- a question that can invoke a variety of responses. This is the type of question lies within a three-tier question system. It should be used second.
  • Evaluative thinking- a question that can be used to gather ones opinion about the text. This is the type of question lies within a three-tier question system. It should be used third.

Types of Math questions include:

  • Procedural- questions that require simple problem solving.
  • Conceptual- questions that require abstract cognition and thinking regarding math concepts.[8]
  • Application- questions that require the use of math skills on real world problems.

Emergent curriculum

A type of curriculum that focuses on the implantation of children's interests is called emergent curriculum. Emergent curriculum has one main goal. That goal is to "create meaningful [learning opportunities] for children" based on those interests. This type of curriculum requires the instructor to consistently implicate certain task and skills for it to be used correctly. These tasks and skills are observations, documentation, creative brainstorming, flexibility, and patience.

  • Observations- How does the student react? What was the outcome of using that particular strategy?
  • Documentation- What do you see?
  • Creative brainstorming- How can your students explore their topic of interest further? What are some potential activities?
  • Flexibility and Patience- These aspects are needed because the curriculum is constantly undergoing change, growth, and development.

Similar to above, this curriculum also has non- academic benefits. Emergent curriculum is "meant to be culturally responsive and inclusive in nature, so that all children [can] work at their own pace". A teacher's role is to "[following] the children's lead, [expanding] on their interests, [providing] meaningful and developmentally appropriate materials, and [promoting] independent learning skills". Children's interests guides the curriculum.

A common application of emergent curriculum is Project-Based Learning (PBL). When paired with active learning, PBL integrates multiple subjects to solve real-world issues. This approach emphasizes co-creation where curriculum is developed with students rather than taught to them as passive participants. Studies have shown that this flexibility helps narrow achievement gaps for underrepresented groups.[10][11]

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP)

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy is a student-centered approach that empowers students through their cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and frames of references to make education more engaging. Developed from the work of Gloria Ladson-Billings, CRP moves away from the traditional "deficit model" of education toward an "asset-based model" where the student's background (language, home life, culture) is a strength.[12] The reason why CRP is effective is because it fosters a more relatable and engaging environment.[13] This has been found to broaden participation and improves student retention in tech-heavy fields. Other benefits include enhancing academic achievement and student engagement, a stronger sense of belonging and emotional well-being, and higher critical thinking skills.[14]

The three core principles of CRP are academic achievement, cultural competence, and sociopolitical consciousness. Through these core principles, CRP makes the classroom an environment where students can see their own communities reflected in the problems they solve.[15] For example, a student could use statistical analysis to question social justice issues in their own neighborhood.

For CRP to work, the role of the school and teacher is equally important. A study found three factors that schools and teachers can do before the classroom to make CRP successful.[16]

  1. Create school policies that encourage teachers to make their own decisions in professional development. When teachers felt they had agency in their learning, they were more committed to the practice.
  2. The school must also have supportive culture where they are equally involved. Miscommunication or lack of administrative awareness can become obstacles despite teacher intent.
  3. Teachers must examine their own implicit biases. This self-reflection is important so there isn't a disconnect between teacher and student identities.

Oakland International High School is an example of CRP by utilizing an asset-based model that treats the diverse student body of over 35+ native languages and diverse cultural backgrounds as foundational tools of learning. The school uses "community walks," where teachers visit students homes and gives the student and their family the ability to act as the expert and educator. They also utilize a project-based curriculum that allows students to compare their home countries and the U.S. to navigate a new environment. Oakland International High School also saw academic benefits that outperformed district and state averages (72% graduation rate and 49% in college readiness for English learners).[17]

In terms of higher education, the two primary bottlenecks preventing the growth of CRP in higher education is faculty resistance and institutional lack of support.[13]

Assessments

These are the two main types of assessments used to measure mastery of standards and expectations within a chosen curriculum.

Formative

A type of low stakes assessment that indirectly measures a student's understanding of the topic. These types of assessments are typically placed throughout a unit and presented in the form of an activity. Instructors use the results "as feedback to modify [future] teaching and [or] learning activities".[18] Examples of this type of assessment include:

  • Exit slips or any type of reflection work
  • Homework
  • In class discussions or any question-answer sessions
  • Any observations regarding student's body language

Summative

A type of high stakes assessment that directly measures students understanding of a topic. They are typically placed at the end of the unit and presented in formal or cumulative format. Instructors use it to assess "what a student has learned, or the quality of the learning, and judge performance against some standards".[18] Examples of this type of assessment include:

  • Projects
  • Unit Test
  • Formal writing prompt with a rubric
  • Porfolios

See also

  • Bias in curricula

References

  1. ↑ Garcia-Huidobro, Juan Cristobal (2018-01-02). "Addressing the crisis in curriculum studies: curriculum integration that bridges issues of identity and knowledge". The Curriculum Journal 29 (1): 25–42. doi:10.1080/09585176.2017.1369442. ISSN 0958-5176. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2017.1369442. 
  2. ↑ Holmes, Brian; Mclean, Martin (2018), "Curriculum theory", The Curriculum: pp. 1–24, doi:10.4324/9780429454332-1, ISBN 978-0-429-45433-2, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9780429454332-1/curriculum-theory-brian-holmes-martin-mclean, retrieved 2023-04-22 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kridel, Craig (2010), International Encyclopedia of Curriculum, Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc., pp. 492, https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/curriculumstudies/n266.xml, retrieved 2023-04-22 
  4. ↑ Ruzgar, M. Emir (2018-11-02). "On matters that matter in the curriculum studies: an interview with Ian Westbury". Journal of Curriculum Studies 50 (6): 670–684. doi:10.1080/00220272.2018.1537374. ISSN 0022-0272. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2018.1537374. 
  5. ↑ Pacheco, Jose, Augusto (2012). "Curriculum studies: What is the field today?". Journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies 8: 18. https://www.uwstout.edu/soe/jaaacs/upload/v8_What_Is_The_Field_Today.pdf. 
  6. ↑ Smith, Mark, K. "Curriculum theory and practice". The Encyclopaedia of Informal Education. http://infed.org/mobi/curriculum-theory-and-practice/. Retrieved 18 January 2015. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Orón Semper, José Víctor; Blasco, Maribel (2018-09-01). "Revealing the Hidden Curriculum in Higher Education". Studies in Philosophy and Education 37 (5): 481–498. doi:10.1007/s11217-018-9608-5. ISSN 1573-191X. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-018-9608-5. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Vicky Giouroukakis, PhD; Audrey Cohan, Ed D. (2014). "Common Core, Common Language: Reforming Instructional Questioning". The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin 80 (4). https://works.bepress.com/audrey-cohan/8/. 
  9. ↑ Theobald, Elli J.; Hill, Mariah J.; Tran, Elisa; Agrawal, Sweta; Arroyo, E. Nicole; Behling, Shawn; Chambwe, Nyasha; Cintrón, Dianne Laboy et al. (2020-03-24). "Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117 (12): 6476–6483. doi:10.1073/pnas.1916903117. PMID 32152114. Bibcode: 2020PNAS..117.6476T. 
  10. ↑ (in en) Sage Journals: Discover world-class research. doi:10.1177/2158244020938702. https://journals.sagepub.com/action/cookieAbsent. Retrieved 2026-04-26. 
  11. ↑ Naseer, Fawad; Tariq, Rasikh; Alshahrani, Haya Mesfer; Alruwais, Nuha; Al-Wesabi, Fahd N. (2025-07-10). "Project based learning framework integrating industry collaboration to enhance student future readiness in higher education". Scientific Reports 15 (1): 24985. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-10385-4. ISSN 2045-2322. PMID 40640511. Bibcode: 2025NatSR..1524985N. 
  12. ↑ Johnson, Angela; Elliott, Samantha (2020). "Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A Model To Guide Cultural Transformation in STEM Departments". Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education 21 (1): 21.1.35. doi:10.1128/jmbe.v21i1.2097. ISSN 1935-7877. PMID 32431767. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Wallace, Bryan; Uchidiuno, Judith (2025-07-14). "Extending the Benefits of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy from K-12 to Undergraduate CS". Proceedings of the 2025 Conference on Research on Equitable and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology. RESPECT 2025. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 130–137. doi:10.1145/3704637.3734734. ISBN 979-8-4007-1355-2. https://doi.org/10.1145/3704637.3734734. 
  14. ↑ . https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374586585. 
  15. ↑ Hugh-Pennie, Amoy K.; Hernandez, Mya; Uwayo, Margaret; Johnson, Gaige; Ross, Denise (December 2022). "Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Applied Behavior Analysis: Addressing Educational Disparities in PK-12 Schools". Behavior Analysis in Practice 15 (4): 1161–1169. doi:10.1007/s40617-021-00655-8. ISSN 1998-1929. PMID 34603633. 
  16. ↑ Pasternak, Donna L.; Harris, Sarah D.; Lewis, Calvin; Wolk, Molly A.; Wu, Xinzhi; Evans, Leanne M. (2023-02-01). "Engaging culturally responsive practice: Implications for continued learning and teacher empowerment". Teaching and Teacher Education 122. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2022.103976. ISSN 0742-051X. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X22003511. 
  17. ↑ Thompson, Charlie (September 2023) (in en). Oakland International High School: A Thriving Community School for Oakland's Newcomer Students (Report). Learning Policy Institute. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED642542. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Dixson, Dante D.; Worrell, Frank C. (2016-04-02). "Formative and Summative Assessment in the Classroom". Theory into Practice 55 (2): 153–159. doi:10.1080/00405841.2016.1148989. ISSN 0040-5841. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2016.1148989. 

Further reading

Important Curriculum Studies books: The Curriculum: Perspective, Paradigm, and Possibility by William Schubert in addition to Understanding Curriculum by William Pinar, et al. (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1995).



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