Reflection 1: What is the curriculum? According to Marsh (2010) curriculum is “A related set of plans and experiences that students complete under the guidance of the school or early childhood setting.” (p. 93). Curriculum is many things, it is a document containing a set of expected performance and content outcomes to guide teachers. Curriculum can also be the delivery of personal goals and experiences to accelerate student learning (A. Smith, personal communication, April 10, 2014). I personally found it difficult to separate curriculum from syllabus until I read chapters 6, 9, and 19 of Marsh (2010). . Curriculum is an established guideline for teachers and educators that recommends what they need to teach their students (Marsh, 2010). Which simply analyzes and outlines the subjects that need to be taught, along with methods to ensure that every student has learned the necessary materials. The curriculum can also inform teachers about how to measure the effectiveness of their teaching through standardized testing (McLachlan, Fleer, & Edward, 2010). Although the curriculum is developed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) so that teachers can be more aware of what they will be teaching throughout the year, many people can influence the curriculum. These include; entrepreneurs, government, higher education, such as universities, special interest groups, parents and guardians, teachers, child care professionals and students who modify it to suit their needs (ACARA, 2013). An example of this is some entrepreneurs' need for young apprentices with certain hospitality certificates and now, as a result of a greater vocational emphasis, longer years of schooling now meet the needs of these students... middle of the paper.. .. ..y of needs to reflect today's educational and managerial philosophies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 26(3). Killen, R. (2009). Effective teaching strategies (5th ed.). Melbourne: Cengage. Marsh, C. J. (2010). Becoming a teacher: Knowledge, skills, and issues (5th ed.). Frenchs Forrest, New South Wales: Pearson Australia.McKewan, E. K. (2010). Ten traits of highly effective teachers. Melbourne: Hawker Brownlow.McLachlan, C., Fleer, M., & Edward, S. (2010). Early childhood curriculum planning, evaluation, and implementation (1st ed.). Cambridge, Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. (2008). Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Retrieved from http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/national_declaration_on_the_educational_goals_for_young_australians.pdf.