The Four Types and the Explicit Curriculum
The Four Types and the Explicit Curriculum
The four types
- Explicit (overt, written): the planned, stated curriculum.
- Implicit (covert, hidden): values and norms absorbed informally.
- Null: what is left out of the curriculum.
- Co-curricular (extra-curricular): voluntary supplementary activities.
The explicit curriculum
- Defines the school’s mission, subjects, lessons, knowledge, and skills.
- Is obvious and apparent, expected to be acquired by learners.
- Shows measurable learning objectives, contact hours, lesson plans, conventional teaching, and assessment.
Ask to see a school’s curriculum and you will be handed a document. But that document is only one of four curricula running side by side. A school teaches through what it writes down, through how it behaves, through what it leaves out, and through what it offers beyond class. Knowing all four keeps a developer honest about how much a school really teaches.
| Type | Also called | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Explicit | Overt, written | The planned, stated curriculum |
| Implicit | Covert, hidden | Values and norms absorbed informally |
| Null | (the excluded) | What the school leaves out |
| Co-curricular | Extra-curricular | Voluntary activities beyond class |
The first and most visible type is the explicit curriculum, taken up next; the other three follow in turn.
The explicit curriculum
The explicit curriculum, also called the overt or written curriculum, is the one everyone means when they say “the curriculum.” It is the curriculum the school states on purpose and expects learners to acquire. Nothing about it is hidden; it is obvious and apparent, set out in plain view.
It possesses a set of clearly defined parts:
- The mission of the school.
- The subjects to be taught.
- The lessons to cover.
- The knowledge and skills learners are expected to gain.
Because it is planned and stated, the explicit curriculum can be pinned down in concrete, checkable terms. It exhibits measurable and observable learning objectives, contact hours, time set aside for activities, lesson plans, conventional teaching, and assessment. This is the curriculum that gets inspected, timetabled, and tested, the public face of what the school intends.
The planned, written curriculum a school states on purpose
It defines the mission, subjects, lessons, knowledge, and skills, and shows measurable objectives, contact hours, lesson plans, and assessment. It is obvious and meant to be acquired.
Explicit, implicit, null, and co-curricular
The explicit is written and planned; the implicit is hidden and absorbed; the null is what is left out; the co-curricular is the voluntary activity beyond class. All four run at once.
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