Egan, in his article What is Curriculum, initially describes Curriculum as a limited amount of information to be taught, such as would be in a container. As time has progressed, however, the what aspect of curriculum has begun to include the how aspect as well. Egan states that by including both the how and the what together in what curriculum is, it becomes too broad. Rather, by focusing on that what alone, creates 

Although at face value, I agree that constricting curriculum to a focus on the ‘what’ aspects of learning makes sense. After further thought, however, I realize that by having the ‘what’ does not take into consideration the ways in which children learn. It is important to include the ‘how’ so that the ‘what’ is both engaging and relevant for students. For example, when a student is learning joinery – it is not enough to simply have them utilize rote memory by continually writing down the steps of the FEWTEL process. Indeed, it is vital to create a project that is meaningful, and immerse oneself in the FEWTEL process to fully engage and understand its intricacies. Therefore, it is not simply the ‘what’ that needs to be examined but equally the ‘how’ needs to be utilized to fully meet this aspect of the curriculum. 

Insofar as ambiguity is concerned, like all complex and multifaceted concepts, simple and concise definitions are not always feasible. Curriculum is neither simple, nor concise, and needs to be examined holistically for us to determine what is best for our students, and indeed, the future of learning. 

 

References

 

Egan, K. (1978). What is curriculum? Curriculum Inquiry, 8(1), 65. doi:10.2307/1179791