The document discusses John Dewey's ideas about disciplinary knowledge and curriculum. It states that Dewey rejected a curriculum-centered view of education and emphasized immediate aims over fixed goals. He believed education should be a process of living, not preparation for life. Dewey advocated for an experiential, hands-on approach to learning and saw schools as places to learn how to think and live cooperatively. He conceptualized the teacher's role as a facilitator and the curriculum as integrated and child-centered rather than fixed.

1. Course 5
UNDERSTANDING
DISCIPLINES AND
SUBJECTS
Unit I
Disciplines and Subjects
by
Mary Hilda V
Asst. Professor
Loyola College of Education, Chennai

2. Content
 Curriculum content – meaning, definitions and
importance
 John Dewey’s ideas on disciplinary
knowledge and curriculum
Course 5: Unit- 1

3. Curriculum content – meaning
 Latin word - “Currer”
meaning “run”. Curriculum -
course of studies – followed
by teacher and students
 Key element and basic part
of educational process.
 utilized by the school to
attain goal.
Course 5: Unit- 1

4. Content - Meaning
 United with goals and
objectives.
 Responded to learner
need.
 Use of integrated
approach.
 Integrates the cognitive,
skill, and affective
components

5. Curriculum definitions
 "It (curriculum) is a tool in the
hands of the artist(teacher) to
mould his material (pupil)
according to his ideal (objective)
in his studio (school)"
-Cunningam
 Curriculum is plan for action.
-Hilda Taba
 " Whatever the mode of
expression, the subject matter is
the sustantative hard core of the
curriculum"
–Beauchamp.

6. Curriculum importance
 Tool in the hands of the
teacher to plan and guide.
 whole human knowledge
concentrates.
 Attain the purpose of
education.
 Total learning experience.
 Activities to realize the
objectives

7. Selection of content- criteria
Self -
sufficiancy
Significance
Validity Interest
Utility Learnability
Feasiblity

8. Self-sufficiency
The content prescribed in the
curriculum should satisfy the present needs as
well as the future expectations of the students. It
should be limited but self-explanatory and be
helpful in learning with fewer and concise
topics.

9. Significance
 the content selected should help students
increase their knowledge, provide meaningful
experiences, and develop skills needed to
solve the problems faced in day to day life.

10. Validity
Validity of the curriculum refers to the
appropriateness of the contents selected for
pupils learning to achieve the stated objectives.
Curriculum contents should be factual, authentic
and conforming to the objectives.

11. Interest
Interests are always related to pupil’s
background knowledge, abilities and current
events. Subject matter of the curriculum should
connect the students’ interest with the new
learning experiences.

12. Utility
Presided content should be of practical use and
helpful to students for the present and also for
the future. It should pose a challenge to the
intellect of the student. Help in the development
of innate potentials and prepare him for facing
the problems of life.

13. Learnability
Students’ age and developments level should
be borne in mind while selecting the content. It
should neither be too easy nor too difficult for
that stage.

14. Feasibility
Curriculum content should not be ideal, but keep
in view the ground realities. Availability of
resources, time limit, expertise of the teaching
staff, prevailing social and political conditions and
the rules and regulations in force should be kept
in mind while carefully selecting the curriculum
content. If such care is not taken, the curriculum
will meet with failure.

16. John Dewey’s idea
“Education is not preparation for life;
education is life itself. Education,
therefore, is a process of living and not
a preparation for future living.”

17. John Dewey’s ideas on
disciplinary knowledge and
curriculum
 No fixed goals on education he emphasis on
immediate or proximate aims.
 Rejected Curriculum centered view of education
 ‘reinstate into experience’
 ‘psychologize the curriculum by constructing an
environment.

18. Experiential education
Dewey focused his concept of “instrumentalism” in
education on “learning by doing or hands-on
learning”, which means to learn not only by the
theory, but also by the practice. “Instrumentalism”
is a theory of knowledge created by Dewey in
which ideas are seen to exist primarily as
instruments for the solution of problems
encountered in the environment.

19. The school’s role
Dewey stressed the importance of education in
school not only as a place to gain content
knowledge, but also as a place to learn how to live.
The purpose of education should be the realization
of everybody’s full potential and the ability to use
any skills for the greater good.

20. The educational process’ role
Dewey advocated for an educational structure that
makes a balance between the child and the
curriculum, that is to say, delivering knowledge
while also taking into account the interests and
experiences of the student.

21. The teacher’s role
The teacher’s role should be that of facilitator and
guide since the teacher becomes a partner in the
learning process who leads students to
independently discover meaning within the subject
area.

22. Teaching and learning process
 Learning begins with stimulus – coordinating
involving sensory and motor actions.
 Past experience taken into account.
 Past experience – present situation – furture
moments.

23. Aims of Education
 Realization of ones’ full potential and ability.
 Schools- teach how to think.
 Learn to live and do work co operatively.

24. Dewey’s Concept Of
Curriculum
 No fixed curriculum
 Child Centred activities.
 Integrated Curriculum

25. scheme of education
 Play period from 4 to 8 years of age.
 Period of spontaneous attention from 8 to 12.
 Period of reflective attention from 12 on
wards.

26. Conclusion
 Dewey considered schools and civil society as two
fundamental elements and major topics that need
attention and reconstruction to encourage
experimental intelligence and plurality in order to
improve our life and environment.
 Dewey strongly believed that students must be
active learning perceivers and critical thinkers
rather than passive believers and receivers of
information.