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p. 29) which outlined that curriculum as a plan “presents teachers and learners with a plan of the ideal course of learning”. As a result, Tyler (2013b) defined curriculum as plan, intended objectives or a programme of study to be attained, and this was well articulated from a formal reflection, in his work on curriculum studies published in 1949 in a book titled “Basic principles of curriculum and instruction”. Further to this, Ayers (1992) conducted a study at schools in Chicago, USA, with an aim to find out if teachers understand the meaning behind the term curriculum. Observation was used to generate data. The study revealed that students were passive and even fell asleep while the teacher was actively delivering the set or planned curriculum.
Teachers became clerks or technicians, only delivering what is instructed or planned. While this practice may be good from the formal reflections that drill students with facts, it is limited if it is interpreted from the informal reflections where experiences of students are valued. As a result, this practice may not be in line with the use of Moodle which was introduced for informal reflections (Khoza & Mpungose, 2017). However, the conclusion of this was similar to other assertion from various studies (Barr & Tagg, 1995; Biggs, 1996; Myers, 2016; Richardson, 2011) because it was concluded that, “Curriculum is the product of someone else's thought, knowledge, experience, and imagination. It becomes the package developed somewhere out there. The teacher takes the package and hands it on to the students” (Ayers, 1992, p. 259). It is evident from the study that most teachers do not understand the word curriculum, and this may lead to the vulnerability of curriculum where concepts of curriculum (accessibility, content, time, goals, assessment, activities, roles, and location) may not be balanced (Khoza-, 2015d; Van den Akker* et al., 2009).
This suggests that there is a need for a study that advocates for the process of reflection (formal, informal, and personal) to be conducted in the field of curriculum studies in particular the use of technology.
Furthermore, curriculum is taken as a vehicle for change that presents knowledge, freedom, and future opportunities (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990; Freire, 2000). This suggests that curriculum is about content that brings knowledge and also involves lived experiences in order to shape future practise (Pinar, 2012). As a result, Marsh (2009), outlines that curriculum should provide a direction for students in order to shape their future. Moreover, the above-stated definitions from different authors requires lecturers undergo a formal reflection that enhances understanding of a
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planned curriculum. Further to this informal reflection may influence the delivery of such curriculum, and personal reflection may address the methods towards the achieving set goals of the such curriculum through the use of Moodle (learning management system).
The literature in the 21st century still outlines that there are many trending definitions of the word curriculum (Apple, 2004; Ayers, 2011; Freire, 2000; Kelly, 2009; Randolph, 2008; Van den Akker* et al., 2009). For instance, look at the study conducted by Marsh (2009, pp. 5-8) which indicates various definitions of the word curriculum as follows: 1. “Curriculum is the permanent subjects that embody essential knowledge”; 2. “Curriculum are those subjects that can be most useful for contemporary living”; 3. “Curriculum is a planned learning for which the school is responsible”; 4. “Curriculum is the totality of learning experiences so that students can attain general skills and knowledge at a variety of learning site”; 5. “Curriculum is what student construct from working with computer and its various networks”; and 6. “Curriculum is the questioning of authority and the searching of complex views of human situations”.
Moreover, the first definition seems to be driven by a formal reflection which address the subject or the module needs because curriculum is taken as permanent or prescribed subjects with a specific content that is selected to make the curriculum of that particular module or subject such as Mathematics, Physical Science, Life Sciences, and others (Hoadley & Jansen, 2013; Marsh, 2009). Those selected subjects consist of unique and formal knowledge of a particular discipline in such a way that teaching and learning processes are intended to fulfil that formal knowledge (Le Grange', 2014). This then suggests that the change of module knowledge or content may lead to the change of curriculum itself. Moving further to the second definition which indicates that curriculum should address the societal needs, so that teaching and learning process should be informed by informal reflection (Mpungose*, 2016). Thus, this definition takes curriculum as subjects that are selected in order to address societal needs (Khoza', 2016a). For instance, if there is a shortage of numeracy and literacy skills within the society, subject like Mathematics and English will be selected to form part of the curriculum in order to address those societal needs. In other words, this definition of curriculum seeks lecturers to be driven by informal reflection during
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teaching and learning process so that the societal needs can be addressed (Kehdinga, 2014; Kelly, 2009).
Furthermore, the third definition of taking curriculum as a planned learning seem to take the direction of a formal reflection because it addresses the subject need (Marsh, 2009). As a result, this definition requires the school to plan at a MESO level such that the learning and teaching process at a school should have the module outline indicating the whole content to be covered per term or per semester (Oliva & Gordon II, 2012; Van den Akker- et al., 2012). Thus, the module outline should clearly display all expected goals to be achieved of the module, and teachers are expected to prepare the lecturer in order to manage time to cover the specified content of that day (Bloom, 1956). In other words, the planned learning should even involve all planned assessment activities and their respective due dates where students will be expected to submit their tasks.
Moreover, the forth definition is informed by informal reflection because it caters for societal need.
According to Marsh (2009), the focus in this definition is on providing skills and relevant competencies that will assist students to compete with the world outside the school environment.
In other words, teaching and learning should fulfil the need of students from the society with some skills such as life skills, communication skills, and civic participation skills (Marsh, 2009;
Maxwell, 2013). This suggests that universities should provide a conducive teaching and learning environment where students may be encouraged to socialise and share their own experiences in order to construct their own ideas (Limongelli, Lombardi, Marani, Sciarrone, & Temperini, 2016).
In addition to the above, the fifth definition of curriculum advocates that the content learnt by students from LMPs (Moodle) is also termed to be a curriculum (Marsh, 2009). Note that, Moodle resources are driven by social constructivist learning (informal reflection) where students should socialise in order to construct their own learning from their experiences. In other words, the module content drives students to socialise during discussions initiated by the lecturers from the Moodle environment (Amory-, 2015). This suggests that, this definition is driven by both informal and formal reflections where societal needs and module needs are catered for. Thus, this definition enhances both informal e-IwR (synchronous e-learning) and formal e-IwR (asynchronous e- learning) so that teaching and learning can occur at any time and any place (Waghid- & Davids,
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2016; Wamba, 2017). Moving further to the last definition, this is the only definition among the five that advocates for personal reflections where lecturers should question their own personal authority and thinking towards their practise during teaching and learning (Marsh, 2009; Miheso- O’Connor Khakasa & Berger, 2016). In other words, this curriculum definition is advocating for a personal curriculum that will address the lecturers’ personal needs during the teaching and learning process (Khoza*, 2016b). As a result, this study seek to allude for a development of a personal curriculum which may be addressed by personal reflection during teaching and learning process. In other words, when lecturers question their authority (personal reflection) in their own modules, they may simply understand teaching and learning ideologies or methods for any particular module such as the Physical Science module. Moreover, According to Mgqwashu' (2017) and Pillay (2015), it is noted that if lecturers are taken as drivers of their modules from the formal reflection perspective, they should possess module’s teaching methods; on the contrary, from the personal reflection perspective, there is no curriculum that addresses their needs and this may lead to vulnerability of the curriculum. In most cases that is why teachers are referred to as technicians, employed only to implement and enact the curriculum, because their personal being (personal reflection) and development is not the main concern in curriculum (Msibi, 2012; Samuel, 2009). Thus, Ayers (1992) and Schubert (1996), outline that HEIs system and policies are influenced by the formal reflection because lecturers are taken as Clerks because they only teach modules according to the directives from the planned curriculum. As a result, this study argues for the existence of a personal reflection that will address lecturers’ personal needs. Therefore, in the context of this study curriculum may be taken as all personal, formal, and informal actions done by both student and lecturers/teachers during the teaching and learning process.
In addition to the above, defining curriculum as all the formal activities done during teaching and learning stipulates the voice of this study and it brings input into the body of literature in defining the word curriculum. That is why Hunkins and Ornstein (1998) outlines that the existence of variety in the definition of curriculum is not a crisis but it is an indication of various voices in the field of curriculum, and this brings diverse definitions of the term curriculum from curricularist (Le Grange* & Reddy, 2017). Thus, Tyler (2013b), and Taba and Spalding (1962), idea of defining curriculum as a plan of all actions or all strategies in the form of a written document with stated
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goals to be achieved, symbolises that curriculum consist of prescribed formal activities to be followed in order to fulfil the formal module/subject need. In other words, formal activities of curriculum consist of planned, linear, and sequenced activities of content to be covered in a particular module/subject, and those activities have a start and an end point (Le Grange* & Reddy, 2017). That is why Pratt (1994a, p. 32) defines “curriculum as an organised set of formal education or training intentions. This then suggests that, this is a basic definition of all other definitions of curriculum since it is advocating for curriculum as a formal plan for all formal teaching and learning activities in education. In other words it all starts with planning before any other steps follows, for instance there may be no teaching and learning without a formal plan in place (Behari- Leak, 2017). Note that, curriculum as a formal activity should be driven by a formal reflection which may enhance both student and lecturers to reflect based on planned content activities in order to address the module need (Peabody & Noyes, 2017).
Moreover, when curriculum is defined as an informal activity it involves both student and lecturers teaching and learning experiences (Downes, 2010; Van den Akker_, 2004). See studies by Dewey*
(1938) as well as Caswell and Campbell (1937) on experiences and curriculum. These studies outline that curriculum involves all the experiences students’ and lecturers’ bring into the teaching and learning space. In other words, all informal contextual issues based on socio-economic, political, historical, and cultural backgrounds are brought in by both students and lecturers which constitutes the informal activities of the curriculum (Hoadley & Jansen, 2013). This is evident when Eisner (1985, p. 36) defines curriculum as “a program the school offers to its students”, and it consists of a “preplanned series of educational hurdles and entire range of experiences that a child has within the school”. In other words, curriculum as informal activity seeks the school to cater for different kinds of experiences of students and lecturers so that teaching and learning may occur while their needs are acknowledged as well, and this indicates that experiences are attached to the curriculum (Pinar', 2010; Pinar, 2012). This then suggests that curriculum as an informal activity is informed by informal reflections where societal needs (student, academics, parents, administrators, and others) become the priority in order to enhance the informal activity of the curriculum by including the different societal experiences during the teaching and learning process.
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Furthermore, defining curriculum as a personal activity advocates for a personal development of lecturers or teachers through the process of personal reflection (Jesup et al., 2017). As a result, Hunkins and Ornstein (1998) define curriculum as a “field of study, comprising its own foundations and domains of knowledge, as well as its own research and theory, and its specialist to interpret this knowledge”. In other words, this definition seeks a personal activity of personal development for lecturers through engaging themselves in studies, research and others, and this requires a personal reflection which may address lecturers’ personal needs in education in order to master curriculum (Khoza*, 2016b; Mpungose-, 2016a). This then suggests that curriculum, as a personal activity, requires that lecturers read more so that they may have theoretical and scholarly knowledge of their modules or subjects, and this may bring confidence and expertise to implement curriculum.
Moreover, the definition of curriculum as personal activity (personal development), curriculum as informal activity (individual experiences), and curriculum as formal activity (module/subject) indicates that curriculum may be threefold. This is evident in the study done by Wragg (2002) which developed the notion of cubic curriculum, which explained that curriculum occurs in three major dimensions, namely: the subject being taught, cross-curricular issues, and the methods of teaching and learning. In other words, the first dimension of a subject being taught suggests the curriculum as a formal activity according this study, where attention is brought to all planned activities done in a particular module like Mathematics and Physical Science which are informed by formal reflections in order to address a module need (Schubert, 1996; Zembylas, 2017).
Secondly, the cross-curricular issue, as the second dimension, advocates curriculum as an informal activity where societal issues (politics, economy, culture, and others) have an impact on all curriculum activities, and this needs to consider informal reflection (Zeichner- & Liston, 1996).
The third, and the last dimension, seems to be driven by personal reflection since it emphasises the teaching and learning methods that are required to be mastered by lecturers. This then defines curriculum as a personal activity where each and every individual should be developed in terms of ideological-ware, such as, teacher-centredness or learner-centredness (personal reflection), problem-based (informal reflection), and content-centredness (formal reflection) (Heleta, 2016;
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Khoza-, 2016b). Moreover, the definition of curriculum is further defined in different positions such as curriculum-as-intended, curriculum-as-implemented, curriculum-as-achieved (Hoadley &
Jansen, 2013; Khoza', 2016a; Mpungose-, 2016a).