The Scope of Curriculum
The Scope of Curriculum
What scope means
- How much of which knowledge the curriculum should cover.
- Which slice of all available knowledge to teach at a given grade.
Five approaches to organizing scope
- Separate subjects: each subject taught on its own.
- Broad fields: related subjects merged into one area.
- Projects: learners pursue a chosen purpose across subjects.
- Core: study built around a central problem or issue.
- Integration: two or more subjects taught together around a topic.
Human knowledge is far larger than any school year. No curriculum can teach all of it, so a choice has to be made about how much of which knowledge belongs at each grade level. That choice is the scope of the curriculum. Scope asks how wide the curriculum reaches and how deep it goes, and whether it is even possible to take a useful sample from each area of study.
Five approaches to organizing scope
There are five common approaches to setting scope. They differ in how much they keep subjects apart or bring them together.
The separate subjects approach teaches each subject on its own. A language, mathematics, science, and the rest each have their own slot and their own content. This is the familiar shape of most timetables, and scope is set subject by subject.
The broad fields approach merges related subjects into a single, wider area. Science and mathematics might join, or history and social studies might combine. To study a major historical event, for instance, a learner has to draw on history, social conditions, economics, and writing all at once, so teaching them as one broad field fits the way the knowledge actually connects.
The projects approach lets learners, in consultation with the teacher, define something they want to do and the educational purpose behind it. A project to study a historic market street might lead learners into architecture, design, local history, and writing, all driven by the project’s own questions. Scope is set by what the project needs.
The core approach builds study around a central problem or issue. A social issue such as pollution or a shortage of clean water becomes the centre, and the knowledge needed to understand it is pulled in around that core.
The integration approach teaches two or more subjects together around a shared topic. Geography can be taught alongside science: while studying the structure of the Earth, learners also look at its soil, its atmosphere, vegetation, and ecological problems. The subjects stay recognisable but are woven together around the topic.
| Approach | How subjects relate | What sets the scope |
|---|---|---|
| Separate subjects | Kept apart | Each subject on its own |
| Broad fields | Related subjects merged | One wide area of study |
| Projects | Crossed as needed | The project’s purpose |
| Core | Organized around an issue | A central problem |
| Integration | Woven together | A shared topic |
How much of which knowledge to teach, and at what level
Since no school can teach all knowledge, scope sets the slice the curriculum covers at each grade. Five approaches organize it: separate subjects, broad fields, projects, core, and integration.
By merging related subjects into one wider area
Subjects like science and mathematics, or history and social studies, are taught as a single field. This fits topics whose knowledge naturally spans several subjects at once.
They stay recognisable but are taught together around a topic
Geography taught alongside science while studying the Earth is one example. Unlike broad fields, the subjects do not merge into a new area; they cooperate around a shared topic.
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