What is meant by 'curriculum'?

One section of the reading that made me pause was Eisner’s analysis of the implicit curriculum regarding reward structures in early childhood education. Eisner cites research by Mark Lepper demonstrating that extrinsic motivators, such as star charts, smiling faces, and golden tickets, risk conditioning students to become "reward junkies". Over time, these external payoffs can dampen a child's intrinsic curiosity and replace self-directed initiative with passive compliance. As Eisner notes, students quickly adapt by "studying the teacher" to determine the bare minimum effort required to secure a specific grade, asking procedural questions like "How long does the term paper need to be?" rather than engaging deeply with the material.

However, reflecting on classroom practice, I see a necessary nuance here: extrinsic recognition and positive reinforcement can also serve as vital sources of encouragement, particularly for young learners building confidence. Rather than discarding rewards entirely, the responsibility falls on the teacher’s pedagogical judgment to strike a careful balance, using external encouragement to build momentum without allowing it to eclipse the intrinsic joy of learning.

The second major point that provoked deeper thought was how everyday school structures shape student behaviour and values. Eisner points out that normative grading curves and ability tracking foster a competitive environment, where one student's academic victory depends on another's shortfall.

Furthermore, Eisner highlights how scheduling reflects an implicit value hierarchy: core academic subjects are prioritized in the morning when students are fresh, while the Arts are relegated to Friday afternoons. Eisner critiques this for subtly teaching students that the arts are non-rigorous "play" or a mere break from "real work".

This critique presents a meaningful practical dilemma. From an institutional and parental perspective, prioritizing foundational academics aligns with the reality that strong quantitative, literacy, and analytical skills form the bedrock for most career pathways and future leadership roles. While artistic expression is valuable, relatively few students pursue sustainable careers exclusively in the arts. Therefore, schools face a pragmatic challenge: while we must avoid marginalizing creative disciplines as non-cognitive, schools and parents naturally seek an implicit and explicit curriculum that equips students with the broadly applicable skills required for long-term societal and economic success.

Finally, I see a clear attempt within the BC Provincial Curriculum to connect with Eisner's theoretical framework and address the limitations of traditional schooling. The Ministry of Education’s emphasis on foundational Core Competencies, Big Ideas, and the Know-Do-Understand model represents an intentional shift away from rote compliance and towards concept-based, deep-level learning. By explicitly framing learning around transferable skills and overarching concepts, the framework attempts to bring cognitive processes that were historically part of the "implicit" or "null" curriculum directly into the explicit curriculum.

However, a major gap remains between curricular intent and classroom reality. In my opinion, these provincial frameworks remain quite vague in practice. While the Ministry has established a progressive vision on paper, teachers and administrators across the province lack the systemic, sustained professional training required to translate these broad concepts into daily instructional strategies. Having an innovative curricular framework is a step forward, but without comprehensive training and professional development, implementation remains inconsistent and offers limited value to students in the classroom.