Rethinking Curriculum Studies

This book reappraises the British and American experience in curriculum studies, the curious way in which it has been dominated by certain ideas and introduces the reader to alternative ways of perceiving, defining and approaching its problems. It provides a radical critique of the whole area, presenting both Marxist and phenomenological perspectives on the current dilemmas that teachers face. The book argues that in order to understand the problems teachers face in coping with the curriculum, we must look at the situation from the point of view of the individual rather than prescribing a norm for all teachers. The dynamic relationship between the individual and the collective and the teacher and the state is one of the fundamental issues in solving the present problems in curriculum studies. The book focuses on this central problem and suggests a variety of ways in which new solutions may be found.

This book reappraises the British and American experience in curriculum studies, the curious way in which it has been dominated by certain ideas and introduces the reader to alternative ways of perceiving, defining and approaching its problems. It provides a radical critique of the whole area, presenting both Marxist and phenomenological perspectives on the current dilemmas that teachers face. The book argues that in order to understand the problems teachers face in coping with the curriculum, we must look at the situation from the point of view of the individual rather than prescribing a norm for all teachers. The dynamic relationship between the individual and the collective and the teacher and the state is one of the fundamental issues in solving the present problems in curriculum studies. The book focuses on this central problem and suggests a variety of ways in which new solutions may be found.

Taking a collection of seminal articles from the Journal of Curriculum Studies, this book offers readers a vantage point for thinking about the worlds of schools and curricula, focusing in particular on the concept of seeing schools, curricula and teaching in new ways. Each of the chapters sheds fresh light on the ways of thinking the aforementioned. Themes include: classrooms and teaching pedagogy science and history education school and curriculum development students’ lives in schools. Written by an international group of distinguished scholars from Britain, North America, Sweden and Germany, the chapters draw on the perspectives offered by curriculum and pedagogical theory, history, ethnography, sociology, psychology and organisational studies and experiences in curriculum-making. Together they invite many questions about why teaching and curricula must be as they are. Rethinking Schooling provides new futures for education and alternative ways of seeing them.

This book is an inter-disciplinary endeavour. Encompassing education and basic research, it discusses the modular-curriculum embodied in The Epistle from educational, historical, sociolinguistic, anthropological, phenomenological, and non-sectarian perspectives. It shows the cross-boundary philosophical reasoning and pedagogic dimensions of St. Paul as a great teacher and thinker from the Jewish-and-Christian faith. In doing so, this book refocuses academia’s attention on the inevitable antimonic nature inherent in humans’ efforts to create systemic knowledge. Knowledge about the inner aesthetic and volitional-interpretative self – the immanent psychic “I” – and other philosophical aspects of the realm of the transcendental should be rescued from the deepening trends of secularity. Being strong, powerful, productive, and performative should not be taken as the indisputable and exclusive aim of education. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) do not constitute a sufficient basis for building a better humanity. Education via public curriculums ought to serve both the belly and the mind. Deliberative curricular recalibrations, with rationales for grace, are thus needed for a better future for humanity.... This book is relevant for anyone with a core fascination about truths, values, epistemologies, life, spirituality, and holistic human development. It can also be used as a textbook or a reference in a number of fields including counselling, psychology, translation, cultural studies, and theology.

This is an important and timely book, and should be read by all educationists and policy-makers concerned about the future of the curriculum.

This book reappraises the British and American experience in curriculum studies, the curious way in which it has been dominated by certain ideas and introduces the reader to alternative ways of perceiving, defining and approaching its problems. It provides a radical critique of the whole area, presenting both Marxist and phenomenological perspectives on the current dilemmas that teachers face. The book argues that in order to understand the problems teachers face in coping with the curriculum, we must look at the situation from the point of view of the individual rather than prescribing a norm for all teachers. The dynamic relationship between the individual and the collective and the teacher and the state is one of the fundamental issues in solving the present problems in curriculum studies. The book focuses on this central problem and suggests a variety of ways in which new solutions may be found.

In this volume teacher educators explicitly and implicitly share their visions for the purposes, experiences, and commitments necessary for social studies teacher preparation in the twenty-first century. It is divided into six sections where authors reconsider: 1) purposes, 2) course curricula, 3) collaboration with on-campus partners, 4) field experiences, 5) community connections, and 6) research and the political nature of social studies teacher education. The chapters within each section provide critical insights for social studies researchers, teacher educators, and teacher education programs. Whether readers begin to question what are we teaching social studies teachers for, who should we collaborate with to advance teacher learning, or how should we engage in the politics of teacher education, this volume leads us to consider what ideas, structures, and connections are most worthwhile for social studies teacher education in the twenty-first century to pursue.