The boundaries of the curriculum field are often confused with those of other fields in education. This paper proposes 10 recurring themes, called key concepts, that are unique to the curriculum field. The key concepts, identified from select curriculum textbooks, delineate the field's content, establish its boundaries, and permit a greater…

In this study, 484 dissertations written from 1976 to 1985 were reviewed to determine the content of curriculum dissertations and the methodology employed. "Dissertation Abstracts International" was the data source for dissertations. Sixteen categories emerged as appropriate for classifying the content foci of the studies. Descriptions and…

Curricular articles (N=785) pertaining to students with severe disabilities published from 1976 to 1995 in six special education periodicals were examined to identify trends. Curricular articles increased in number during the first decade but steadily declined in the second. Articles on functional life skills training have declined, whereas…

Five special educators (Michael F. Giangreco, Martha E. Snell, Carolyn Hughes, Asha Jitendra, and Sandra Alper) respond to a review in the same issue by John Nietupski and others entitled "A Review of Curricular Research in Severe Disabilities From 1976 to 1995 in Six Selected Journals." Each respondent raises additional aspects of curriculum for…

Six articles on the curriculum history in Scandinavian countries are presented. Topics discussed include the role of patriotism in Norwegian history textbooks, pedagogic text analysis, mathematical curriculum development, social influences on school subjects, and the history of English as a subject in Norwegian curricula. (TJH)

This document examines contextual variables and how they affect instructional processes and educational outcomes. One contextual variable which has not received enough attention is the curriculum-material package. Curriculum packages represent potential experimental treatments. Possible research questions are whether these materials and…

One of seven review/synthesis papers prepared to help frame the research program of the Center for the Learning and Teaching of Elementary Subjects, this paper describes historical developments and current issues in curriculum, instruction, and evaluation in elementary social studies, with emphasis on teaching for understanding and higher order…

The contribution of recent curriculum research to an analysis of the ways in which the school curriculum could promote lifelong learning is discussed in this literature review and analysis. The introductory chapter points up the focus on articulation between school learning and out-of-school learning and notes the limitation of the study to…

In this discussion of the use of achievement tests in evaluating Title I programs, matching content between test and curriculum is the main theme. The point is made that unless a test measures what is taught, it cannot be sensitive to whatever gains the instruction produces. Thus, if different instructional treatments have different objectives, it…