Here are multiple definitions of curriculum, from Oliva (1997)

Curriculum is:

That which is taught in schools

A set of subjects.

Content

A program of studies.

A set of materials

A sequence of courses.

A set of performance objectives

A course of study

Is everything that goes on within the school, including extra-class activities,

guidance, and interpersonal relationships.

Everything that is planned by school personnel.

A series of experiences undergone by learners in a school.

That which an individual learner experiences as a result of schooling. p 4

What are the different kinds of curriculum?

Obviously the answer to this question is subject to interpretation. Since curriculum reflects the
models of instructional delivery chosen and used, some might indicate that curriculum could be
categorized according to the common psychological classifications of the four families of
learning theories Social, Information Processing, Personalist, and Behavioral. Longstreet
and Shane have dubbed divisions in curricular orientations as: child-centered, society-centered,
knowledge-centered, or eclectic. Common philosophical orientations of curriculum parallel
those beliefs espoused by different philosophical orientations Idealism, Realism,
Perennialism, Essentialism, Experimentalism, Existentialism, Constructivism,
Reconstructivism and the like.
Whatever classification one gravitates to, the fact remains that at one time or another curriculum
in the United States has, at some level, been impacted by all of the above. In essence, American
curriculum is hard to pin down because it is multi-layered and highly eclectic.

My personal definition (Wilson, 1990) of curriculum is:

Anything and everything that teaches a lesson, planned or otherwise. Humans are born learning,
thus the learned curriculum actually encompasses a combination of all of the following the
hidden, null, written, political and societal etc.. Since students learn all the time through
exposure and modeled behaviors, this means that they learn important social and emotional
lessons from everyone who inhabits a school from the janitorial staff, the secretary, the
cafeteria workers, their peers, as well as from the deportment, conduct and attitudes expressed
and modeled by their teachers. Many educators are unaware of the strong lessons imparted to
youth by these everyday contacts.
The following represent the many different types of curricula used in schools today

Definition
Type of
Curriculum
1. Overt,
explicit,
planned or
written
curriculum

3. The
hidden or
covert
curriculum

Is simply that which is written as part of formal instruction of schooling

experiences. It may refer to a curriculum document, texts, films, and
supportive teaching materials that are overtly chosen to support
the intentional instructional agenda of a school. Thus, the overt curriculum
is usually confined to those written understandings and directions formally
designated and reviewed by administrators, curriculum directors and teachers,
often collectively.
That which is implied by the very structure and nature of schools, much of
what revolves around daily or established routines.
Longstreet and Shane (1993) offer a commonly accepted definition for this
term the hidden curriculum, which refers to the kinds of learnings
children derive from the very nature and organizational design of the public
school, as well as from the behaviors and attitudes of teachers and
administrators. 46
Examples of the hidden curriculum might include the messages and lessons
derived from the mere organization of schools the emphasis on: sequential
room arrangements; the cellular, timed segments of formal instruction; an
annual schedule that is still arranged to accommodate an agrarian age;
disciplined messages where concentration equates to student behaviors were
they are sitting up straight and are continually quiet; students getting in and
standing in line silently; students quietly raising their hands to be called on;
the endless competition for grades, and so on. The hidden curriculum may
include both positive or negative messages, depending on the models
provided and the perspectives of the learner or the observer.
In what I term floating quotes, popularized quotes that have no direct, cited

sources, David P. Gardner is reported to have said: We learn simply by the

exposure of living. Much that passes for education is not education at all but
ritual. The fact is that we are being educated when we know it least.

References:
Wilson, L., O. (1990). The second principle. Retrieved 22, June 2015 from
http://thesecondprinciple.com/instructional-design/types-of-curriculum/

Definitions of Curriculum
Originated from the Latin word currere referring to the oval track upon which Roman chariots
raced (means literally to run a course). A plan for achieving goals (Tyler and Taba). Tanner
(1980) defined curriculum as the planned and guided learning experiences and intended
outcomes, formulated through the systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experiences
under the auspices of the school, for the learners continuous and wilful growth in personal
social competence.

Tanner, D., and Tanner, L. (1995). Curriculum Development: Theory into Practice (3rd
ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill.
Schubert (1987) defines curriculum as the contents of a subject, concepts and tasks to be
acquired, planned activities, the desired learning outcomes and experiences, product of culture
and an agenda to reform society.
Pratt (1980) defines curriculum as a written document that systematically describes goals
planned, objectives, content, learning activities, evaluation procedures and so forth. Goodlad
and Su (1992) define curriculum as a plan that consists of learning opportunities for a specific
timeframe and place, a tool that aims to bring about behavioural changes in students as a result
of planned activities and includes all learning experiences received by students with the
guidance of the school.

Grundy (1987) defines curriculum as a programme of activities (by teachers and pupils)
designed so that pupils will attain so far as possible certain educational and other schooling
ends or objectives. Hass (1987) provides a broader definition, stating that a curriculum includes

all of the experiences that individual learners have in a program of education whose purpose is
to achieve broad goals and related specific objectives, which is planned in terms of a framework
of theory and research or past and present professional practice.

Curriculum is:

That which is taught in school;

A set of subjects;
Content;
A programme of studies;
A set of materials;
Sequence of courses;
A set of performance objectives;

A course of study;
Everything that goes on within a school;
Everything that is planned by school personnel;
That which is taught both inside and outside of school directed by the school;
A series of experiences undergone by learners in school; and
That which an individual learner experiences as a result of schooling.

Source: Peter F. Oliva, Developing the

Company. 1982.

Curriculum. Boston: Little, Brown &

Planned Curriculum
M. Shaun Murphy & Debbie Pushor
Planned curriculum refers to documents that shapethe content to be covered when teaching.
These documents arise out ofpolicy environments and reflect what is deemed required or
necessary forstudents to learn at specific levels of education or educationalsettings. Typically,
planned curriculum documents are created bygovernments, publishers of subject matter series,
publishers ofassessments, or boards of education. Planned curriculum can becategorized in two
ways: curriculum that is prescribed or curriculumthat is subscribed. Prescribed planned
curriculum expects teachers tofollow a defined set of objectives or outcomes, whereas a
subscribedplanned curriculum provides outcomes or objectives but allows for someteacher
selection. Typically, planned curriculum is mandated at somelevel for teachers to use in their
teaching and teachers are supervisedin some manner to ensure their use of the planned
curriculum.

References:

Murphy, M., S., & Pushor, D. (2010). Planned curriculum. Retrieved 22, June 2015 from
http://knowledge.sagepub.com/view/curriculumstudies/n355.xml

Hidden Curriculum in Education: Definition

& Examples
Definition
A hidden curriculum can be defined as the lessons that are taught informally, and usually
unintentionally, in a school system. These include behaviors, perspectives and attitudes that
students pick up while they're at school. This is contrasted with the formal curriculum, such as
the courses and activities students participate in.

Examples
The hidden curriculum begins early in children's education. Students learn to form opinions and
ideas about their environment and their classmates. For example, children learn 'appropriate'
ways to act at school - what's going to make them popular with teachers and students. They also
learn what is expected of them; for example, many students pick up on the fact that year-end test
scores are what really matter. These attitudes and ideas aren't taught in any formal way, but kids
absorb and internalize them through natural observation and participation in classroom and social
activities.
Areas of hidden curriculum in our schools that mold perspectives of students deal with issues
such as gender, morals, social class, stereotypes, cultural expectations, politics, and language.
Gender roles, for example, become very apparent in early grades when socializing becomes
divided into boys and girls. Many books at this young age support the ideas of gender separation,
which in turn encourages these norms in early years. The importance of boy's athletics used to be
a clear example of hidden curriculum, but since the passage of Title IX, many school districts
have strived for a greater balance for girls and boys teams.
Hidden curriculum is often found within the formal curriculum of a school; this may be partially
in what is not taught. For example, if an English class only assigns reading material with
Caucasian main characters or with stories set in the United States, this may teach students,
including English learners, that our school systems don't appreciate other cultures and languages.
The influence of this can lead to a negative self-image or a hatred for reading.

References:
Boutelier, S. (n.d.). Hidden curriculum in education: definition & examples. Retrieved 22, June
2015 from http://study.com/academy/lesson/hidden-curriculum-in-education-definition
examples-quiz.html

Planned, Enacted and Hidden Curriculum

Planned Curriculum (Overt/Explicit/Intended)

The overt curriculum is the open, or public, dimension and includes current and historical
interpretations, learning experiences, and learning outcomes.
The intended curriculum is captured most explicitly in state content standards.
Statements of what every student must know and be able to do by some specified point
in time. What students are supposed to learn.
Openly discussed, consciously planned, usually written down, presented through the
instructional process
Textbooks, learning kits, lesson plans, school plays etc.

Hidden Curriculum (Invisible/Covert)

A hidden curriculum is a side effect of an education, "[lessons] which are learned but not
openly intended such as the transmission of norms, values, and beliefs conveyed in the
classroom and the social environment. Any learning experience may teach unintended
lessons.
The processesthe noise by which the overt curriculum is transmitted
they are also learning and modifying attitudes, motives, and values in relationship to the
experiencesin the classroom.
The non-academic outcomes of formal education are sometimes of greater
consequence than is learning the subject matter.

Enacted Curriculum

The enacted curriculum refers to instruction (e.g. what happens in classrooms).

The content actually delivered during instruction (i.e., instructional content), as well as
how it is taught (i.e., instructional practices). Typically, the content targets are based on
the intended/planned curriculum.
In other words, the enacted curriculum is what students get the chance to learn, as well
as how teachers "deliver" the content.
The Enacted Curriculum reflects the daily curricular experience of a student within
instructional settings exemplified by assignments, instructional practices, and managed
content.

Jones, B. (2010). An introduction to the enacted curriculum. Retrieved 22, June 2015 from
http://alaskacc.org/sites/alaskacc.org/files/Intro_to_EC-A_4.pdf