What Is School Curriculum

The School Curriculum

Originally published in 1971. All education systems tend to be traditional and conservative. In times of rapid social change, the work of the schools becomes increasingly outdated by events. Continuous adaptation of the curriculum (which includes content, method and organization) can no longer be left to haphazard, piecemeal innovations-it must be managed. In a comparative study of the strategies adopted to date in the U.S.A., England, Scotland and France, this book points out that-although considerable reforms have been effected in these countries during the past ten to fifteen years-no adequate curriculum theory has yet been developed. The author also turns his attention to the phenomenon which he considered symptomatic of inherent failures in the education system: the drop-outs and hippies He concludes that notions about 'learning' must be revised and rather than a place in which formal instruction is given, the school of the future should be conceived as a resources-for-learning centre.

School Curriculum

Understanding the School Curriculum

At a time of rapid social change and numerous policy initiatives, there is a need to question the nature and function of school curricula and the purposes of formal public education. Comparing curriculum developments around the globe, Understanding the School Curriculum draws on a range of educational, philosophical and sociological theories to examine the question ‘What is a curriculum for?’ In considering different answers to this fundamental question, it explores a range of topical issues and debates, including: tensions and dynamics within curriculum policy The implications of uncertainty and rapid social change for curriculum development the positive and negative influence of free market ideologies on public education the impact of globalization and digital technologies arguments for and against common core curricula and state control It examines the possibility of a school curriculum that is not shaped and monitored by dominant interests but that has as its founding principles the promotion of responsibility, responsiveness, a love of learning, and a sense of wonder and respect for the natural and social world. Understanding the School Curriculum is for all students following undergraduate and Masters courses in curriculum, public policy and education-related subjects. It is also for all training and practising teachers who wish to combine a deeper understanding of major curriculum issues with a critical understanding of the ways in which ideologies impact on formal state education, and to consider ways of producing school curricula that are appropriate to the times we live in.