CURRICULUM STUDIES WORLDWIDE CURRICULUM IN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXTS Understanding Colonial, Ideological, and Neoliberal Influences Ashwani Kumar Curriculum Studies Worldwide Series Editors William F. Pinar Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada Janet L. Miller Teachers College New York, NY, USA This series supports the internationalization of curriculum studies worldwide. At this historical moment, curriculum inquiry occurs within national borders. Like the founders of the International Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies, we do not envision a world- wide feld of curriculum studies mirroring the standardization the larger phenomenon of globalization threatens. In establishing this series, our commitment is to provide support for complicated conversation within and across national and regional borders regarding the content, context, and process of education, the organizational and intellectual center of which is the curriculum. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14948 Ashwani Kumar Curriculum in International Contexts Understanding Colonial, Ideological, and Neoliberal Infuences Ashwani Kumar Mount Saint Vincent University Halifax, NS, Canada Curriculum Studies Worldwide ISBN 978-3-030-01982-2 ISBN 978-3-030-01983-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01983-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018957446 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations. Cover illustration: © imaginima/iStock/gettyimages Cover design: Oscar Spigolon This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland For Late Professor K. K. Mojumdar and Professor William F. Pinar ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I sincerely thank Professor William F. Pinar for including this book in the Curriculum Studies Worldwide Series. Professor Pinar has been the most infuential academic mentor for me over the past decade. I deeply appre- ciate him for his generosities, trust, care, and affection. I respectfully and gratefully dedicate this book to Professor Pinar along with late Professor K. K. Mojumdar who was my teacher and mentor in India. I would like to thank my research assistants: Adrian Downey, Mohamed Kharbach, Bonnie Petersen, Mehrdad Shahidi, and Deborah Wells-Hopey. Completing this book without their dedicated help would have been an insurmountable task. I thank Mount Saint Vincent University for providing funding to hire these research assistants. I also thank Milana Vernikova (Commissioning Editor) and Linda Braus (Editorial Assistant) of Palgrave for their support and considera- tion throughout the preparation of this manuscript. Last but not least, I thank my wife, Nayha Acharya. I appreciate her generosity in proofreading and editing this manuscript on short notice, but most of all, her loving care and understanding as I worked day and night on completing this project over the past several months. vii THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL IS REPRINTED BY PERMISSION An earlier version of Chapter 2 was frst published as [Kumar, Ashwani], [A synoptic view of curriculum studies in South Africa], [2010], [Journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies, 6(2)], reproduced with permission of the journal. Two earlier versions of Chapter 3 were published as [Kumar, Ashwani], [Curriculum studies in Brazil: An overview in W. F. Pinar [Ed.] Curriculum studies in Brazil: Intellectual histories, present circumstances (pp. 27–42)], [2011], [Palgrave Macmillan] reproduced with permission of Palgrave Macmillan. [Kumar, Ashwani], [Curriculum studies in Brazil: An overview], [2012], [Journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies, 8(1), 1–11] reproduced with permission of the journal. An earlier version of Chapter 4 was frst published as [Kumar, Ashwani], [Curriculum studies in Mexico: An overview in W. F. Pinar [Ed.] Curriculum studies in Mexico: Intellectual histories, present circumstances (pp. 29–48)], [2011], [Palgrave Macmillan], repro- duced with permission of Palgrave Macmillan. Parts of Chapter 5 are taken from [Kumar, Ashwani], [A review of the book Social education in Asia: Critical issues and multiple perspectives], [2008], [Education Review: A Journal of Book Reviews], reproduced with permission of the journal. ix x THE FOLLOWING MateRIAL IS REPRINTED BY PERMISSION An earlier version of Chapter 6 was frst published as [Kumar, Ashwani], [Indian social studies curriculum in transition: Effects of a paradigm shift in curriculum discourse], [2012], [Transnational Curriculum Inquiry, 9(1), 20–53], reproduced with permission of the journal. Parts of Chapter 7 are taken from [Kumar, Ashwani], [Social studies in the postmodern world: An essay review], [2009], [Education Review: A Journal of Book Reviews, 12(10), 1–21], reproduced with permission of the journal. Parts of Chapter 8 are taken from [Kumar, Ashwani], [A review essay of the book Neoliberalism and edu- cation reform], [2008], [The Journal of Critical Education Policy Studies, 6(2), 218–236], reproduced with permission of the journal. CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 2 Curriculum Studies in South Africa: Colonialism, Constructivism, and Outcomes-Based Education 21 3 Curriculum Studies in Brazil: Marxism, Postmodernism, and Multiculturalism 49 4 Curriculum Studies in Mexico: Technical Rationality, Curriculum Communities, and Neoliberal Globalization 79 5 Curriculum as a Process of Conditioning in Asia: Ideology, Politics, and Religion 113 6 Indian Social Studies Curriculum in Transition: Effects of a Paradigm Shift in Curriculum Discourse 151 7 Postmodern Turn in North American Social Studies Education: Considering Identities, Contexts, and Discourses 197 xi xii CONTENTS 8 The Menace of Neoliberal Education Reforms: Where Capitalism, Behaviourism, and Positivism Meet 235 Index 269 CHAPTER 1 Introduction THE JOURNEY OF BECOMING AN INTERNATIONAL EDUCATOR Curriculum in International Contexts: Understanding Colonial, Ideological, and Neoliberal Infuences has emerged from two decades of my engagement with various aspects of international themes and issues. My introduction to the notion of the “international” formally happened when I joined Kirori Mal College of the University of Delhi as an hon- ours student of the discipline of geography in 1996. Given the expansive and global character of geography, I learned to appreciate how physical, political, economic, and cultural processes operate locally, regionally, and globally, and how these are intimately connected. I also learned how the diverse, yet indivisible, world of nature has been divided among various nation states, how Earth’s harmonious and delicate balance has been dis- turbed by the ideas of growth-driven economic models, and how coloni- alism and neocolonialism have undermined thousands of years old cultural groups and their sacred and spiritual relationship to their geographical environment. Throughout those years, I often questioned why there were economic disparities among countries and whether it was possible to have a world full of diversities but free of antagonisms and divisions. I completed three degrees in geography1 and studied the discipline for about eight years. Within these degrees, three subjects that deeply informed my understanding of the world and later contributed to my work on international curriculum studies, were Geography of Development, Political Geography, and Geographical Thought. I studied political © The Author(s) 2019 1 A. Kumar, Curriculum in International Contexts, Curriculum Studies Worldwide, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01983-9_1 2 A. KUMAR geography and geographical thought with late Professor K. K. Mojumdar who was a great teacher and mentor to me for about ten years until I left to attend the doctoral programme at the University of British Columbia (UBC). His spontaneity, creativity, and playfulness in teaching, and his knowledge of geographical thought, politics, religion, philosophy, edu- cation, and psychology always amazed me. Geographical thought, which covers the history and philosophy of geography, was my frst introduc- tion to a philosophical subject matter. This subject was my favourite; it opened my mind to the world