Understanding and Shaping Curriculum FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.Qxd 1/6/2006 12:32 PM Page Ii
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FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.qxd 1/6/2006 5:58 PM Page i Understanding and Shaping Curriculum FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.qxd 1/6/2006 12:32 PM Page ii To SDH, our family, and Miss Trivitt, who was in my lap until the end FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.qxd 1/6/2006 12:32 PM Page iii Understanding and Shaping Curriculum What We Teach and Why Thomas W. Hewitt University of South Alabama (Retired) FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.qxd 1/6/2006 12:32 PM Page iv Copyright © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information: Sage Publications, Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 E-mail: [email protected] Sage Publications Ltd. 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd. B-42, Panchsheel Enclave Post Box 4109 New Delhi 110 017 India Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hewitt, Thomas W. Understanding and shaping curriculum: What we teach and why / Thomas W. Hewitt. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7619-2868-5 (cloth) 1. Education—Curricula—Philosophy. 2. Curriculum planning. 3. Curriculum evaluation. I. Title. LB1570.H5 2006 375′.001—dc22 2005024322 This book is printed on acid-free paper. 0607080910987654321 Acquisitions Editor: Diane McDaniel Editorial Assistant: Erica Carroll Associate Editor: Margo Crouppen Production Editor: Denise Santoyo Copy Editor: Brenda Weight Permissions Editor: Karen Wiley Typesetter: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd. Indexer: Mary Mortensen Cover Designer: Michelle Lee Kenny FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.qxd 1/6/2006 12:32 PM Page v CONTENTS List of Figures xvii Preface xxi Acknowledgments xxv 1. Introduction 1 Society and Schooling 2 Schooling and Learning 2 Curriculum-Practitioner Connections 3 Curriculum as Frames of Reference 6 The Importance of the Critical Perspective 6 The Critical and Perspective 7 Qualities of a Critical Perspective 9 Applying a Critical Perspective 11 PERSPECTIVE INTO PRACTICE: Domains of Knowledge in a Social Studies Lesson 12 Key Ideas to Guide Study 13 Ideas About Curriculum and Schooling 13 Ideas About Curriculum Study 15 Summary and Conclusions 16 Critical Perspective 17 Resources for Curriculum Study 17 References 18 PART I. THE WORLD OF CURRICULUM 21 2. In Search of Curriculum 23 Historical Constructions of Curriculum 24 Science and Technology 24 Freedom and Progress 25 FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.qxd 1/6/2006 12:32 PM Page vi Curriculum and Instruction 26 The Applied and Academic Traditions 27 Classroom Teachers and Curriculum Scholars 28 Curriculum Inquiry and the Tyler Rationale 30 Competing Curriculum Ideas 30 Curriculum Inquiry and Tyler’s Work 30 Curriculum Reconceptualized and Redefined 32 Curriculum as Concept 33 Curriculum as Activity 33 Curriculum as Experience 34 A Curriculum, The Curriculum, Your Curriculum 35 Curriculum as History and Expectations 36 PERSPECTIVE INTO PRACTICE: Curriculum Reconceptualized and Redefined 38 Perceptions About Curriculum 38 Curriculum Is Dynamic 39 Curriculum Is Powerful 39 Curriculum Is Everywhere 40 Curriculum Serves Many Purposes 41 Envisioning Curriculum as a Field of Study 43 Studying Curriculum as Knowledge 44 Studying Curriculum as Practice 44 Summary and Conclusions 45 Critical Perspective 46 Resources for Curriculum Study 46 References 47 3. Curriculum Work and Professional Practice 49 Curriculum Workers 50 Teachers and Curricularists 50 Other Curriculum Roles 51 Curriculum Work 51 Knowledge Making 52 Policy Making 54 Planning 55 Development 55 Management 56 Monitoring 56 Settings for Curriculum Work 57 Academic Departments 58 Classrooms and Schools 58 FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.qxd 1/6/2006 12:32 PM Page vii Districts, Regions, and States 59 National and International Domains 60 Becoming a Professional Curriculum Practitioner 61 Building Knowledge 62 Building Perspectives 65 Personal Perspective 65 Ideology 65 Identity 66 Sociocultural Context 66 Professional Perspective 67 Scholarly Outlook 67 Being an Inquirer 68 Appreciator of Research 68 Building Expertise 69 On-the-Feet Learner 70 PERSPECTIVE INTO PRACTICE: Application of Personal and Professional Perspectives in an Elementary and Secondary Classroom 70 Doing Curriculum Work 72 Activating Curriculum 72 Communicating Curriculum 73 Envisioning Curriculum 73 Reflecting on Curriculum 74 Summary and Conclusions 74 Critical Perspective 75 Resources for Curriculum Study 76 References 77 4. Creating Curriculum 79 Origins of Curriculum Development as Curriculum Work 79 The Emergence of Curriculum Development 80 Curriculum and Instruction 81 Key Factors in Curriculum Development 82 The Participants 82 The Local Scene 83 The State Level 83 The Nation and Regions 84 Expanding the Conception of Curriculum Development 85 Curriculum Development as Process and Product 85 Identifying Other Curriculum Materials 86 Some Caveats 88 FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.qxd 1/6/2006 12:32 PM Page viii Essential Knowledge for Curriculum Development Work 88 Developing and Monitoring a Perspective 88 Understanding Commonplaces 89 Scope and Sequence 90 Continuity and Balance 90 Scale and Capacity 91 Alignment and Articulation 92 PERSPECTIVE INTO PRACTICE: How Selected Knowledge Essentials Apply to Elementary and Secondary Curriculum 93 Analyzing Curriculum Proposals 94 Selecting a Development Model 95 Documenting the Development 96 Summary and Conclusions 97 Critical Perspective 97 Resources for Curriculum Study 98 References 99 PART II. KNOWLEDGE BASES THAT SERVE CURRICULUM 101 5. Knowledge and Theories About Curriculum 103 The Curriculum Knowledge Base 104 Fields and Disciplines of Knowledge 105 Communities of Discourse 108 Discipline Dialectics 109 Discipline Structure 110 PERSPECTIVE INTO PRACTICE: Applying Discipline Knowledge in the Development of a Lesson in Geography 112 Discipline Perspectives 113 Discipline and Scholarly Perspectives 113 Education Perspectives 114 Curriculum Orientations and Interests 114 Humanism 116 Cognitive 116 Developmental 117 Postmodernist 117 Technological 118 Academic 118 Learning Theory and Curriculum 119 Behaviorism 119 Cognitivism 119 Humanism 120 Technology 120 FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.qxd 1/6/2006 12:32 PM Page ix Inquiry Traditions and Curriculum 121 Positivist, Interpretive, and Eclectic Traditions 121 Inquiry, Research, and Curriculum 124 Summary and Conclusions 126 Critical Perspective 126 Resources for Curriculum Study 127 References 128 6. Methods and Tools for Curriculum Work 131 Knowledge Tools and Curriculum Tools 132 Curriculum Theory 132 Theory Form and Substance 134 Judging and Using Curriculum Theory 135 Progressives 136 Adler 137 Phenix 137 Curriculum Models 138 Bobbitt’s Scientific Schooling 140 Tyler and Taba: Evaluation Is Key 140 Walker’s Deliberative Platform 142 Freire’s Liberation Model 142 Bruner’s Spiral Curriculum 143 PERSPECTIVE INTO PRACTICE: Curriculum Models in a Language Arts Lesson 144 Curriculum Critique 146 Issues of Theory Versus Practice 147 Schwab 147 Pinar 147 Wraga 148 Issues of Values, Culture, and Power 148 Kliebard 149 Ong 149 Apple 149 Summary and Conclusions 150 Critical Perspective 150 Resources for Curriculum Study 151 References 152 7. Historical Foundations of Curriculum 155 Roots of American Curriculum 156 Transatlantic Ideas 156 The First Curricularists 157 FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.qxd 1/6/2006 12:32 PM Page x 18th-Century Curriculum in America 159 Curriculum in the English Colonies 159 Mandates for Literacy 160 Schooling and Curriculum Prescriptives 161 The Academy Movement 162 19th-Century Curriculum in the United States 163 Curriculum for a New Nation 164 Democracy and Progress 165 Curriculum in the Common School 166 New Knowledge of Most Worth 166 Discipline Standards and Curriculum Principles 167 20th-Century Curriculum: The Progressive Movement and After 169 Progressivism in Education 169 The Common Good Versus Local Control 171 Problems of Progressivism 172 The Progressive Legacy 173 Defense Education 174 The Sputnik Era 175 Science and Mathematics 176 New Schoolbooks and Curriculum Workers 176 The Comprehensive High School 179 Into the 21st Century: New Policy Initiatives and the Curriculum 180 Curriculum for Equality 181 Curriculum for Diversity 181 Political Control of Schooling and Curriculum 182 Entitlements 183 Curriculum Wars 184 Standards and No Child Left Behind 184 PERSPECTIVE INTO PRACTICE: Examples From the History of Curriculum Change 185 Summary and Conclusions 186 Critical Perspective 187 Resources for Curriculum Study 187 References 188 8. Social, Cultural, and Intellectual Foundations of Curriculum 191 Curriculum and Episodes of Social and Cultural Change 193 Curriculum for Immigrants and the Poor 193 Curriculum for Teachers and Professionals 194 Curriculum for Diversity and Equality 195 FM(New)-Hewitt-4880.qxd 1/6/2006 12:32 PM Page xi Impact of the Social Sciences on Curriculum 197 Economics, Politics, and Curriculum 197 Geography and Curriculum 201 Educational Psychology 202 Faculty Psychology 203 Cognitive Psychology 203 Behavioral Psychology 204 Humanistic Psychology 204 Curriculum Content and the Humanities 205 Humanistic Ideals 206 Language and Curriculum 207 Literature and the Arts 207 Philosophy and Curriculum Knowledge 208 Philosophy of Science 209 Philosophy of Knowledge 209 Philosophy and Western Discourse Traditions 210 Modernist to Postmodernist 211 Ideology