Curriculum theory
Curriculum theory is an academic discipline devoted to examining and shaping educational curricula. There are many interpretations of CT, being as narrow as the dynamics of the learning process of one child in a classroom to the lifelong learning path an individual takes. CT can be approached from the educational, philosophical, psychological and sociological perspectives. James MacDonald states "one central concern of theorists is identifying the fundamental unit of curriculum with which to build conceptual systems. Whether this be rational decisions, action processes, language patterns, or any other potential unit has not been agreed upon by the theorists." Curriculum theory is fundamentally concerned with values, the historical analysis of curriculum, ways of viewing current educational curriculum and policy decisions, and theorizing about the curricula of the future.
Pinar defines the contemporary field of curriculum theory as "the effort to understand curriculum as a symbolic representation".
The first mention of the word "curriculum" in university records was in 1582, at the University of Leiden, Holland: "having completed the curriculum of his studies". However, curriculum theory as a field of study is thought to have been initiated with the publication of The Yale Report on the Defense of the Classics in 1828, which promoted the study of a classical curriculum, including Latin and Greek, by rote memorization.
Faculty psychology
The school of faculty psychology, dominating the field from 1860-1890 in the United States, believed that the brain was a muscle that could be improved by the exercise of memorization. This supports the classical theory, which previously emphasized a method of teaching school subjects using memorization and recitation as primary instructional tools. The theory itself claims three constituent faculties or power:- the presence of will or volition, which enables human beings to act;
- the emotions, which pertains to the affections and passions that enable human beings to experience pleasure, pain, love, and hate; and,
- the intellect or understanding, which is the foundation of human rationality that enables him to make judgments and comprehend meanings.
The Herbartians
Different schools of Curriculum Theory developed as a reaction to the classicism of faculty psychology, including the Herbartians, who organized the Herbart Club in 1892, and later the National Herbart Society. Their philosophy was based on the thoughts of Johann Friedrich Herbart, a German philosopher, psychologist and educator, who believed that "the mere memorizing of isolated facts, which had characterized school instruction for ages, had little value of either educational or moral ends".The social efficiency movement
The publication of John Bobbitt's The Curricula in 1918 took the prevalent industrial revolutionary concepts of experimental science and social efficiency and applied them to the classroom. He believed that "curriculum must directly and specifically prepare students for tasks in the adult world". He also believed that "human life...consists in the performance of specific activities. Education that prepares for life is one that prepares definitely and adequately for these specific activities." From this idea, he suggested that curriculum was a series of experiences that children have in order to meet "objectives," or abilities and habits that people need for particular activities.Other famous theorists of this movement included Edward L. Thorndyke, the father of experimental psychology in education, Frederick Winslow Taylor, with his theory of scientific management, David Snedden, an educational sociologist who promoted social efficiency and vocational education, and W.W. Charters, a teacher educator who felt that "curriculum was those methods by which objectives are determined". By using education as an efficiency tool, these theorists believed that society could be controlled. Students were scientifically evaluated by testing, and educated towards their predicted role in society. This involved the introduction of vocational and junior high schools to address the curriculum designed around specific life activities that correlated with each student's determined societal future. The socially efficient curriculum consisted of minute parts or tasks that together formed a bigger concept.
The progressive reform movement
The progressive reform movement began in the late 1870s with the work of Colonel Francis Parker, but is most identified with John Dewey, and also John Mayer Rice and Lester Frank Ward. Dewey's 1899 book The School and Society is often credited with starting the movement. These reformers felt that curriculum should be child driven and at the child's present capacity level. To aid in understanding the relationship of curriculum and child, Dewey described curriculum as, "a map, a summary, an arranged and orderly view of previous experiences, serves as a guide to future experience; it gives direction; it facilitates control; it economizes effort, preventing useless wandering, and pointing out the paths which lead most quickly and most certainly to a desired result". He envisioned "the child and the curriculum are simply two limits which define a single process".The Social Efficiency and Progressive Reform movements were rivals throughout the 1920s in the United States, with the 1930s belonging to the Progressives, or a curriculum combining aspects of both. Ralph W. Tyler's Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction swung the pendulum of curriculum theory away from child centeredness toward more generalized behaviors.
Tyler's theory was based on four fundamental questions which became known as the Tyler Rationale:
- What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
- What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?
- How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?
- How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?