The writings of Lester Frank Ward (1841-1913) on education over the last two decades of the 19th century were almost lost until they were brought to the attention of John Dewey (1859-1952). Ward had prophesied that the 20th century would require three universal curriculums to meet the American democratic prospect. Ward acknowledged that nobody…

This paper aims to identify the fundamental principles on which the post modernity theory is based and to notice this in the field of Education, since this theory deals with two basic rules on which the postmodernist orientation is based, one of them denies on the absolute truth on Ontology level (related to the existence nature), and the other…

As developmental education practitioners in the midst of North Carolina's Developmental Reading and English Redesign, we are interested in researching best practices for instructional design and application. We discovered that the principles of reflective practice pervade much of the literature on program planning and practice, so we began to…

The article provides a century-long sociocultural history as it relates to curriculum and educational leadership. Not every historical dialogue between the two fields has been productive: that is, in addition to holding this complicated conversation, there needs to be a focus on the meanings of the public good inside national contexts, in our…

"Character," "creativity," "real-world problem solving," "communication skills," "teaming," and "leadership" are some of the skills and values that will be expected of graduates. In the conversation about what constitutes a high-quality 21st century school, however, the more complex question is about the varied paths schools might take to achieve…

The purpose of this article is to identify some key areas of the Australian curriculum that remain sites of struggle and contestation. We propose that there remain a number of contentious points in relation to the national curriculum. These points relate variously to the content and form of the curricular documents; assumptions about knowledge,…

This paper explores the intersection of curriculum studies/curriculum history/curriculum theory through the study of systems of reason that order reflection and action. Words about "learning", "empowerment", "problem-solving", "self-realization", "community", and so on, are not merely there in order that educators should "grasp" some reality to…

This paper proposes that the ideas of political philosopher John Rawls could be adapted to offer a new starting point for a pedagogy of religious education (RE) in the non-denominational sector. It is argued that contemporary approaches to RE may infringe the liberal principle of freedom of belief by favouring certain methods of interpreting…

When environmental education manifests itself in schools, it is usually a simple matter of the insertion of an environment-related activity into the science, or perhaps social studies, curriculum. However, if one finds a teacher who has "the ethic," the entire school might be "green." The fact that this ethic is spreading…

As 3D digital game-based learning (3D-DGBL) for the teaching of literature and history gradually gains acceptance, important questions will need to be asked regarding its method of design, development, and deployment. This article offers a synthesis of contemporary pedagogical, instructional design, new media, and literary-historical theories to…

The question explored here is this: Is curriculum for the 21st century best organized around the traditional disciplines, or is there a more promising alternative? The answered offered is that our best option is to stretch the disciplines from within, push back the boundaries now separating them, and ask how each of the expanded subjects can be…

This article assaults the definition of the characteristics of a theory of education; the discussion covers the place of morals within such a theory, the Hirst-O'Connor controversy, and other views of theories of education. (KC)

One of the goals of Project Onderbouw in the Netherlands is to develop an educational concept and curricula to be used in primary education. The educational concept adopted for the project is termed "developmental education." Based on neo-Vygotskian principles and other theoretical approaches, "developmental education"…

This study examined which curricularists have been most influential in the formulation of curriculum theory in America since the beginning of this century. In addition the study sought to uncover the extent of theorists' reliance on the Cartesian-Newtonian model. Using a Delphi technique, the project mailed two successive questionnaires to 169…

Delineates the concepts of character, virtue, vice, and privation which undergird Joseph J. Schwab's 'informing vision,' as discussed in "The Practical 4: Something for Curriculum Professors to Do." States that in explicating the informing vision, the animating spirit needs to be retained. (LS)