PDF pending restoration
ERIC Number: ED281316
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1987-Mar-27
Pages: 14
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Curriculum Design: Historical Perspectives on the Art of the State.
Hamilton, David
Taking the premise that curriculum design embraces the historical introduction of "order" into schooling, this paper considers theories of curriculum order since the 16th century. Calvinist social discipline brought a curriculum of schooling to be followed and to be completed as well. Peter Ramus, a 16th century professor, reshaped "methodus" to mean sequential topics achieving desired knowledge transmission, welcomed by Calvinist educators. Amos Comenius (1592-1670) elaborated natural order by rationalization of time, subject, and method--rendering schools "free from failure." Rene Descartes (1596-1650) represented order, including that of schools, spatially. By the 19th century's close, progressives discovered natural order not in knowledge but instead in children's psychobiology. Freud and Piaget matched developmental curricula to child behavior, producing teacher training and educational psychologists. The 20th century's malaise over separation of concept from execution resulted from "progressivism," comprehensive secondary schooling, and organized teacher power. Curriculum challenges reflect new debates about professionalism, which includes teacher self-development within curriculum development. The lost connection between design and natural order prompts theorists to create nontechnocratic models, but the history of "curriculum" presents a logically impossible barrier. Commentators claim that educators live in a postpositivist intellectual climate. The question is raised whether educators are therefore also entering a postprogressive, postcurriculum epoch. Two reference pages are included. (CJH)
Descriptors: Child Development, Comparative Education, Critical Thinking, Curriculum Design, Curriculum Development, Educational Change, Educational History, Elementary Secondary Education, Epistemology, European History, Foundations of Education, Intellectual History, Learning Theories, Social History, Social Theories, Teacher Militancy, Theory Practice Relationship
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers; Historical Materials
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers; Administrators; Teachers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A