Curriculum Overview

Curriculum Overvie w

When children are getting ready for their first day of school, they have no idea what is in store for them. Their mom’s and dad’s take them to get their first school supplies and new backpacks. What they don’t realize is that at the same time, their soon-to-be teachers are making the curriculums for the upcoming school year. When the word curriculum is used people have a general idea of what it means, but there has never been an agreed upon definition of the word. It has been said “Educational practitioners, theorists, and researchers have used the term curriculum in various ways, with no definitions universally accepted. Among the definitions currently used are the following: A course of study; derived from the Latin Currerere, meaning to run a course, Subject matter; the information or knowledge that students are to learn, Planned learning experiences, Intended learning outcomes; the results of instruction as distinguished from the means of instruction, All the experiences that students have while at school or in a non school educational program, and The experiences, both planned and unplanned, that enhance (and sometimes impede) the education and growth of students.”(Parkay and Hass, 2000 p. 2) All of those definitions are correct. A curriculum can have many differing definitions, but each definition has the common theme that a curriculum allows for some type of experience that expands intellect. The importance of Early Childhood Curriculums is a huge part in a child’s learning that can set the stage for their entire academic career.

The Importance of Early Childhood Curriculums

Children depend on the teacher to educate them and prepare them for the challenges and obstacles that lie ah...

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