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

Type of Curriculum

Definition

1. Overt, explicit, planned or written 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. 

3. The hidden or covert curriculum

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 fromhttp://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 Curriculum. Boston: Little, Brown & Company. 1982.

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 fromhttp://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, June2015 from http://study.com/academy/lesson/hidden-curriculum-in-education-definitionexamples-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 processes…the “noise” by which the overt curriculum is transmitted “they are also learning and modifying attitudes, motives, and values in relationship to the

experiences…in 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 fromhttp://alaskacc.org/sites/alaskacc.org/files/Intro_to_EC-A_4.pdf