Contemporary Curriculum Discourses

Perhaps not since Ralph Tyler's (1949) Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction has a book communicated the field as completely as Understanding Curriculum. From historical discourses to breaking developments in feminist, poststructuralist, and racial theory, including chapters on political theory, phenomenology, aesthetics, theology, international developments, and a lengthy chapter on institutional concerns, the American curriculum field is here. It will be an indispensable textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses alike.

JCT was the most important journal of curriculum studies during the field's paradigm shift in the 1970s. Its editors sponsored a yearly conference, which also supported the intellectual breakthrough that was the reconceptualization of American curriculum studies. This collection brings together the best of JCT articles, plus key documentary material of importance to scholars and students alike. Undergraduate and graduate students in curriculum, instruction, and foundations would find this book useful and insightful.

The 3rd edition of this introduction to and analysis of contemporary concepts of curriculum that emerged from the Reconceptualization of curriculum studies brings readers up to date on the major research themes within the historical development of the field.

Offering an accessible entry into curriculum theory, this book defines and contextualizes key concepts for novice and experienced students. Leading scholars in curriculum studies provide short anchor texts that introduce, define, and situate contemporary curriculum theory constructs. Each anchor text is followed by two concise, creative keyword responses that demonstrate varied perspectives and connections, allowing readers to reflect on and engage with the personal relevance of these fundamental concepts. Useful to instructors and scholars alike, this book explains keyword writing as a teaching and learning strategy and invites readers to enter the complicated conversations of contemporary curriculum theory through their own creative, personal responses. Featuring wide-ranging, nuanced, and varied commentary on major relevant themes, as well as discussion questions for students, this book is an essential text for doctoral and masters-level courses in curriculum studies.

Contemporary curriculum discourses include historical, political, and autobiographical understandings -- all important in the effort to read critically the educational act. The authors of this volume introduce the notion of "place" to the study of curriculum, focusing on the "southern place" to ground and illustrate this form of analysis. Curriculum that recognizes the significance of place, that situates itself geographically, extends the social psychoanalytic methodology and concretizes its emancipatory intent.

Contemporary Readings in Curriculum provides beginning teachers and educational leaders with a series of articles that can help them build their curriculum knowledge base. [This book] provides a historical context of the curriculum field, giving educators a solid foundation for curriculum knowledge; describes the political nature of curriculum and how we must be attentive to the increasingly diverse populations found in our schools; connects the readings to traditional course goals, providing practical applications of curriculum topics; covers cocurricular issues, which have become a major contemporary topic within school systems; enhances the articles with a strong pedagogical framework, including detailed Internet references, questions for each article, topic guides tying each article to course topics, and article abstracts for the instructor. --Publisher description.

This landmark text was one of the first to introduce and analyze contemporary concepts of curriculum that emerged from the Reconceptualization of curriculum studies in the 1970s and 1980s. This new edition brings readers up to date on the major research themes (postmodernism,ecological, hermeneutics, aesthetics and arts-based research, race, class, gender, sexuality, and classroom practices) within the historical development of the field from the 1950s to the present. Like the previous editions, it is unique in providing a comprehensive overview in a relatively short and highly accessible text. Provocative and powerful narratives (both biography and autoethnography) throughout invite readers to engage the complex theories in a personal conversation. School-based examples allow readers to make connections to schools and society, teacher education, and professional development of teachers. Changes in the Third Edition New Glossary - brief summaries in the text direct readers to the Companion Website to read the entire entries New analysis of the current accountability movement in schoolsincluding the charter school movement. More international references clearly connected to international contexts More narratives invite readers to engage the complex theories in a personal conversation Companion Website-new for this edition