In 2020, Miriam Ben-Peretz, the Israel Scholar of 2006 and a member of the U.S. National Academy (in addition to being a recipient of Israel's EMET Prize for Research in Education and an American Educational Research Association Fellow) passed away. Ben-Peretz, whose life patterned Israel's contested history (including its wars), was equally well…

Discussions about the what, the when and the how of teaching and learning in schools deal in German-speaking countries with the term "Lehrplan", while English-speaking countries discuss similar topics with the term "curriculum". Yet, these two terms are not just exchangeable terms in two different languages, but imply also two…

In this article, I share a number of thoughts and concerns about the current and future status of a field in which I have been a participant for five decades. I know that many others share these worries as well. Speaking honestly, I am deeply concerned that too much of the field of curriculum has lost its way. Too much of it is characterized by a…

The articles in this special issue include different perspectives on comparative policy studies with an aim to understand transnational education policies in relation to the logic of national educational systems and to grasp the ongoing reframing of teacher identity and teaching as a result of the policy activities of 'new' and coordinated…

This paper introduces the questions and approaches of a five-nation cross-cultural study of state-based curriculum-making discussed in this issue of "JCS." The paper reviews the two decade-long interest of many nations in state-based curriculum-making and presents a framework for thinking about state-based curriculum-making as a tool of…

This paper frames the problem underlying the cross-cultural Organizing Curriculum Change (OCC) study of state-based curriculum-making. The paper discusses the increased use by states over the past two decades of the century-old instrument of the state-based curriculum and the tool of the curriculum commission. The paper contrasts the slender…

This article describes and reflects our experiences as researchers in a design-based research project on a curriculum innovation focused on meaningful, co-operative learning in vocational education in the Netherlands. The project was successful in gaining insights in possible practices for workplace learning but did only partly realize the…

Discusses and identifies reasons for the gap between those who research the curriculum and those who manage the curriculum. Reasons include the decentralized nature of educational decision making, the fact that practitioners are relatively impervious to the influence of contemporary theorists, and the fact that educational decision making is not…

Describes and analyzes Swedish curriculum theory and research over the last 20 years. Relates this to changes in the comprehensive school system and the decline of the welfare state. Recounts the break-up of the cooperative relationship among the research community, the National Board of Education, and the Ministry of Education. (MJP)

Maintains that previously held beliefs regarding subjects and pedagogy exert a strong influence on how national curriculum documents are interpreted and implemented. Discusses the conflict between various school cultures in England and National Curriculum geography curriculum reforms. Characterizes the various approaches and provides examples of…

Discusses the introduction of art and physical education into the curriculum of mass schooling. Explains why the two subjects diffused more slowly than others into educational systems outside the West. Attributes slow diffusion before World War II to the association of these subjects with colonialism. Concludes that relating the subjects to…