“The Nature of Curriculum and Syllabus”

Curriculum and Syllabus Design

Lecture : Prof. Dr. Idham Kholid, M.Ag

Created by : Group 1

Name NPM
1. Alya Kayca 1611040276
2. Dewi Khoirunnisa 1611040326
3. Intan Reka Utami 1611040316
4. Vika Wulandari 1611040312

Major/Semester/Class : PBI/4/F

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY RADEN INTAN LAMPUNG

TARBIYAH AND TEACHER TRAINING FACULTY
ENGLISH EDUCATION PROGRAM
2018
 PREFACE

Thanks to Almighty God who has given us His blessing to finish this paper
entitled “The Nature of Curriculum and Syllabus”. And we would like to say
thank you to Mr. Prof. Dr. Idham Kholid, M.Ag as the lecturer who always
teaches us and give much knowledge about the curriculum and syllabus design.
We realized this paper is not perfect, but we hope it can be useful for us.
Critics and suggestion is needed here to make this paper better.Hopefully, this
paper can help the readers to expand their knowledge about the curriculum and
syllabus.

Bandar Lampung, 2018

Author

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

PREFACE ................................................................................................. i
TABLE OF CONTENT ........................................................................... ii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background .......................................................................................... 1
1.2 Main Issues .......................................................................................... 2
1.3 Goals .................................................................................................... 2

CHAPTER 2 DISCUSSION
2.1 Definition of Curruculum .................................................................... 3
2.2 Definition of Syllabus .......................................................................... 7
2.3 The Differences between Curriculum and Syllabus ............................ 9

CHAPTER 3 CONCLUSION
3.1 Closing................................................................................................ 10

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

A curriculum and syllabus has several functions in educational. Most people in the
world from the different countries and nations use curriculum and syllabus on
their education system. Also, many educational institution such as, school and
university needs it to know what they have to teach and what student learn.The
goverment design a curriculum with a purpose, the aims of curriculum are to
achive the goal of education, meanwhile the function of syllabus is to invite
students to your courseto inform them of the objectives of the course and to
provide a sense of what the course will be like. Another function of syllabus is to
provide a kind of contract between instructors and studentsto document
expectations for assignments and grade allocations. The main purpose of
curriculum and syllabus is to provide and facilitate education system, but before
learn more deeply about curriculum and syllabus, we have to know what is the
definition and the nature of curriculum syllabus.

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1.2 Main Issues
1. What is a curriculum?
2. What is a syllabus?
3. What is the difference between curriculum and syllabus?

1.3 Goals
1. To know what is a curriculum
2. To know what is a syllabus
3. To know what is the difference between curriculum and syllabus

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 CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION

2.1 Definition of Curriculum

The word "curriculum" began as a Latin word which means "a race" or "the
course of a race" (which in turn derives from the verb currere meaning "to run/to
proceed"). The first known use in an educational context is in the Professio Regia,
a work by University of Paris Professor Petrus Ramus published post humously in
1576.1 The term subsequently appears in University of Leiden records in 1582.
The word's origins appear closely linked to the Calvinist desire to bring greater
order to education.
By the seventeenth century, the University of Glasgow also referred to its
"course" of study as a "curriculum", producing the first known use of the term in
English in 1633. By the nineteenth century, European universities routinely
referred to their curriculum to describe both the complete course of study (as for a
degree in surgery) and particular courses and their content.
The curriculum is defined as the guideline of the chapters and academic
content covered by an educational system while undergoing a particular course or
program.In a theoretical sense, curriculum refers to what is offered by the school
or college. However, practically it has a wider scope which covers the knowledge,
attitude, behaviour, manner, performance and skills that are imparted or inculcated
in a student. It contains the teaching methods, lessons, assignments, physical and
mental exercises, activities, projects, study material, tutorials, presentations,
assessments, test series, learning objectives, and so on.
The curriculum is well planned, guided and designed by the government or
the educational institution. It is aimed at both physical and mental development of
a student. It is the overall learning experience that a student goes through during
the particular course of study.

1Hamilton, David (2014). Towards a Theory of Schooling. p. 55.

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Curriculum can be ordered into a procedure :2
Step 1: Diagnosis of needs.
Step 2: Formulation of objectives.
Step 3: Selection of content.
Step 4: Organization of content.
Step 5: Selection of learning experiences.
Step 6: Organization of learning experiences.
Step 7: Determination of what to evaluate and of the ways and means of doing it.

Under some definitions, curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more

general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to
what level to achieve a particular grade or standard. The word Syllabus originates
from Greek. The Greek meaning of the word basically means a "concise statement
or table of the heads of a discourse, the contents of a treatise, the subjects of series
of lectures.3
'Curriculum' has numerous definitions, which can be slightly confusing. In
its broadest sense a curriculum may refer to all courses offered at a school,
explicit. The intended curriculum, which the students learn through the culture of
the school, implicit.The curriculum that is specifically excluded, like racism. Plus,
the extracurricular activities like sports, and clubs. This is particularly true of
schools at the university level, where the diversity of a curriculum might be an
attractive point to a potential student.
A curriculum may also refer to a defined and prescribed course of studies,
which students must fulfill in order to pass a certain level of education. For
example, an elementary school might discuss how its curriculum, or its entire sum
of lessons and teachings, is designed to improve national testing scores or help
students learn the basics. An individual teacher might also refer to his or her
curriculum, meaning all the subjects that will be taught during a school year.

2Smith, M. K. (1996, 2000) ‘Curriculum theory and practice’ the encyclopedia of informal
education, www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm.
3Kelly, A. V. (2009). The curriculum: Theory and practice. p. 1–55

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 On the other hand, a high school might refer to a curriculum as the courses
required in order to receive one’s diploma. They might also refer to curriculum in
exactly the same way as the elementary school, and use curriculum to mean both
individual courses needed to pass, and the overall offering of courses, which help
prepare a student for life after high school.
In some cases, people see the curriculum entirely in terms of the subjects
that are taught, and as set out within the set of textbooks, and forget the wider
goals of competencies and personal development. This is why a curriculum
framework is important. It sets the subjects within this wider context, and shows
how learning experiences within the subjects need to contribute to the attainment
of the wider goals.4

2.1.1 Characteristic of curriculum

1. The curriculum is continuously evolving.
To be viable and effective, the curricular program must have continuous
evaluation and reappraisal. A program must adapt its educational activities and
services to meet the needs of a modern and dynamic community.
2. The curriculum is based on the needs of the people.
It is imperative in developing a program to begin with those that concern the
people themselves. Their years of experience can be a good source that can be
woven into the fabric of the classroom presentation.
3. The curriculum is democratically conceived.
The minds and energies of many people who are in intimate contact with the
interests, needs and resources of the community will create a more effective
product than the individual director could possibly provide by working alone.
4. The curriculum is the result of long-term effort.
Enthusiasm for a proposed curriculum activity often impels proponents to push
for immediate action. But a class or service that is begun hurriedly and folds
quickly may hurt the long-term continuance of the program.
5. The curriculum is a complex of details.

4Dewey, John (1902). The child and the curriculum.

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A friendly social meeting, good student-teacher relationships, effective guidance
opportunities, and favorable attitude on the part of individuals, groups, and
organizations within the community are necessary ingredients for a successful
6. The curriculum provides for the logical sequence of subject matter.
Classes and activities should be planned so as to achieve an orderly development
of subject matter and step-by-step progress of the learner.
7. The curriculum complements and cooperates with other programs in the
community.
The public school should not try to monopolize the education scene at the
community level. Its major concern should be to see that the jobs get done
regardless of who does it.
8. The curriculum has educational quality.
The curriculum must be made up of offerings that pass the test of good and sound
education. We speak of quality education but there has to be quality curriculum as
well.
9. The curriculum has administrative flexibility.
Flexibility is a good trait of good curriculum. A curriculum must be ready to
incorporate changes whenever necessary.

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2.2 Definition of Syllabus
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word syllabus derives
from modern Latin syllabus "list", in turn from a misreading of the Greek
σίττυβας sittybas "parchment label, table of contents", which first occurred in a
15th-century print of Cicero's letters to Atticus. Earlier Latin dictionaries such
as Lewis and Short contain the word syllabus, relating it to the non-existent Greek
word σύλλαβος, which appears to be a mistaken reading of syllaba "syllable"; the
newer Oxford Latin Dictionary does not contain this word. The apparent change
from sitty- to sylla- is explained as a hypercorrection by analogy to συλλαμβάνω
(syllambano "bring together, gather").5
The syllabus is defined as the documents that consist of topics or portion
covered in a particular subject. It is determined by the examination board and
created by the professors. The professors are responsible for the quality of the
course. It is made available to the students by the teachers, either in hard copy or
electronic form to bring their attention towards the subject and take their study
seriously.
A syllabus is considered as a guide to the in charge as well as to the
students. It helps the students to know about the subject in detail, why it is a part
of their course of study, what are the expectations from students, consequences of
failure, etc. It contains general rules, policies, instructions, topics covered,
assignments, projects, test dates, and so on.
There are seven essential components to an academic syllabus: Instructor
information, General course information, Course objectives, Course policies,
Grading and evaluation, Learning resources, and the Course Calendar.

The syllabus ensures a fair and impartial understanding between the

instructor and students such that there is minimal confusion on policies relating to
the course, setting clear expectations of material to be learned, behavior in the
classroom, and effort on student's behalf to be put into the course, providing a
roadmap of course organization/direction relaying the instructor's teaching
philosophy to the students, and providing a marketing angle of the course such

5https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/syllabus

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that students may choose early in the course whether the subject material is
attractive.

Many generalized items of a syllabus can be amplified in a specific

curriculum to maximize efficient learning by clarifying student understanding of
specified material such as grading policy, grading rubric, late work policy,
locations and times, other contact information for instructor and teaching assistant
such as phone or email, materials required and/or recommended such as
textbooks, assigned reading books, calculators (or other equipment), lab vouchers,
etc., outside resources for subject material assistance (extracurricular books, tutor
locations, resource centers, etc.), important dates in course such as exams and
paper due-dates, tips for succeeding in mastering course content such as study
habits and expected time allotment, suggested problems if applicable, necessary
pre-requisites or co-requisites to current course, safety rules if appropriate, and
objectives of the course.

A syllabus will often contain a reading list of relevant books and articles
that are compulsory or optional for students to read. As an indirect effect of this,
scholars can count how many online syllabi include their works as a way of
estimating their educational impact.

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2.3 The Difference Between Curriculum and Syllabus
The basic differences between syllabus and curriculum are explained in the point
given below:6

1. The syllabus is described as the summary of the topics covered or units to be

taught in the particular subject. Curriculum refers to the overall content, taught in
an educational system or a course.

2. Syllabus varies from teacher to teacher while the curriculum is same for all
teachers.

3. The term syllabus is a Greek origin, whereas the term curriculum is a Latin
origin.

4. The curriculum has a wider scope than the syllabus.

5. The syllabus is provided to the students by the teachers so that they can take an
interest in the subject. On the other hand, normally the curriculum is not made
available to the students unless specifically asked for.

6. Syllabus is descriptive in nature, but the curriculum is prescriptive.

7. Syllabus is set for a particular subject. Unlike curriculum, which covers a

particular course of study or a program.

8. Syllabus is prepared by teachers. Conversely, a curriculum is decided by the

government or the school or college administration.

9. The duration of a syllabus is for a year only, but curriculum lasts till the
completion of the course.

6https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-syllabus-and-curriculum.html

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 CHAPTER III
CLOSING

3.1 Conclusion
Curriculum and Syllabus are the terms of education, imparted to the
students by teachers. It means the knowledge, skills or qualifications that are
passed on from one generation to another. A subject syllabus is a unit of the
curriculum. The two terms differ in a sense that curriculum is a combination of
some factors which helps in the planning of an educational program, whereas a
syllabus covers the portion of what topics should be taught in a particular subject.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Dewey, John (1902). The child and the curriculum.Chicago,University of

Chicago Press
 Hamilton, David (1989). Towards a Theory of Schooling,Falmer
Press,Michigan University
 https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/syllabus
 https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-syllabus-and-
curriculum.html
 Kelly, A. V. (2009). The curriculum: Theory and practice,Sage,Goldsmiths
College, University of London.
 Smith,M. K. (1996, 2000) ‘Curriculum theory and practice’ the
encyclopedia ofinformal education, www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm.

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