This article seeks to contribute to recent theorizing around the concept of powerful knowledge. I begin with a discussion of the current use of the term in both academia and the wider institutional environment of schools. I then give a detailed account of its origins in social realism before exploring different iterations of the concept in recent…

This paper considers the 'hope' and 'disappointments' experienced over time about the results of rapid educational expansion, as well as the research agenda which aims to improve educational outcomes in the developing world and particularly in Africa. Our interest is in the development and nature of policy-oriented bodies of knowledge that address…

This paper critiques the emergence of micro-credentials in higher education. It argues that micro-credentials build on the discourse of employability skills and 21st century skills within human capital theory, and that they increase the potential of human capital theory to 'discipline' the HE curriculum to align it more closely with putative…

The literature depicting educators' role in scientific racism and eugenics during the early 20th century has tended to approach the topic in dichotomous terms, as an ideology that one was either for or against. In this historical study, the author adds some nuance to this literature by tracing leading educators' inconsistent and evolving thoughts…

The paper addresses the question of what we should make of Michael Young's recent work with respect to curriculum theory by considering the particular case of South African curriculum reform. The paper thus traces two trajectories: the evolution of Michael Young's ideas over time and South African curriculum reform in the post-apartheid period.…

In this paper, following some brief introductory remarks, I provide a context to this Symposium by presenting a brief autobiographical account explaining how I became involved in curriculum theory and the idea of a knowledge-led curriculum and how I was led to write the paper under discussion. I then make brief comments on each of the six papers…

Michael Young's recent paper in this journal is correct; there is a profound crisis in curriculum theory, and to be intellectually viable into the future the field must strive to "bring back" in empirical study of curriculum. Also by ignoring the empirical content of knowledge and access to it in mass education systems throughout the…

The documented social-subjects curricula for Scottish 5-16 year olds are analysed for representations of "self-in-society". Such representations are important in Scotland because it is expected that the new Education-for-Citizenship framework will in part be delivered through the social subjects. However, citizenship education is also…

Provides an essay review of "How Schools Work" (Barr and Dreeben, 1983). Maintains that the book is important because it focuses on the role of the curriculum and the multilevel nature of schooling, two important aspects of education which school effectiveness research has largely ignored. (JDH)

Current counter-culture threatens teachers and the school because they have lost the bargaining power with society. (VW)

This paper examines the relationship between English and Sociology if taught in a humanistic way. (JB)

Suggests that a phenomenological "model of man" can help secondary school teachers of geography emphasize the subjective nature of human experience and the importance of values. Phenomenology is examined and the relationship of phenomenology to geography is illustrated. (DB)

This paper examines curriculum differentiation (i.e. streaming or ability-grouping). After placing curriculum differentiation in an international perspective, it outlines the main conclusions from empirical research on differentiation over several decades. Against this empirical background, it describes and considers the three specific…

Examines the common assumption that teaching effectiveness is determined by the personal qualities of the teacher and his or her learned knowledge. Argues that teaching effectiveness results from social processes in which teachers interpret and adjust to the requirements of the job. Includes six suggestions for improving education based on this…