CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONS AND INQUIRY

General Intent

Welcome to EDSEC 503/504. In 503/504 we will study the field of curriculum, pedagogy, educational practices and inquiry. Both traditional, current, and neoteric conceptions of curriculum will be explored with a view of their consequences for schools, teachers and students.

Rationale

It is assumed that every educator working at some level of education has a curriculum perspective and that every curriculum perspective is grounded in personal and cultural (practical and theoretical) knowledge and a wealth of experiences. In class we will constantly call upon your knowledge and experiences as a resource for reflection, dialogue, and further learning. The approach taken in EDSEC 503/504 values personal insight and meaningful interpretation over mere accumulation of academic theory. We take for granted that opposing and contradictory points of view are necessary for education to thrive. All participants of this class need not arrive at the same place as we work through the program of the course. Curriculum inquiry often tends to encourage us to identify and investigate the assumptions of the many things we take for granted in education. Your own experiences are not trivial or irrelevant but of critical importance in interpreting issues and addressing questions. It is hoped that the various readings and activities in which you will be involved will open up new ways of knowing, inquiring, valuing, and personally making sense of things.

Overview

EDSEC 503/504 is organized around a variety of themes and objectives. The following list of themes and objectives aims to provide an indication of the syllabic range of the course. Topics will not necessarily be treated in this order:

Language and curriculum

(1) What are designations of meaning of the terms "curriculum," "pedagogy," "teaching," "didactics"? What kinds of discourses can we distinguish?

· Understand relevance of concepts of language game, regions of meaning, etc.

- Recognize and appraise that there is a range of discursive practices and assumptions underlying these practices.

(2) What do curriculum arguments look like?

· Able to determine the structure of curriculum arguments using the notions of "starting point," "terms of argument," and "end in view."

(3) How may we analyze curriculum arguments?

· Able to detect and use dominant curriculum commonplaces and interpret the sigificance of these common places in curricular discourses: (1) learning or child, (2) content or subject matter, (3) teaching or teacher, (4) milieu or society.

Curriculum and change

(4) How has curriculum changed over the last several decades and how can we make sense of these changes in terms of (a) theries and models of change? and (b) societal, economic, ideological, and pedagogical factors?

· Know how curriculum arguments and perspectives have changed over time (structure of the disciplines, social relevancy, basics, computers and technology, moral dimensions, etc.) reflecting different interpretations and priorities of the curriculum commonplaces.

- Interpret and evaluate the adequacy of theories and models of change, innovation, and implementation.

(5) What kinds of changes are described by the conditions and discourses of modernity and postmodernity in education?

· Critically assess postmodern paradoxes in the contemporary context of social and educational change.

Curriculum development

(6) What values are implicit in alternative models of curriculum design and planning?

· Understand the nature, strength and the limitation of Ralph Tyler's concept of the "principles of curriculum and instruction." Develop a view how Tyler's rationale is a practical model and a way of understanding the complexity of curriculum development.

· Apply curriculum development concepts (intents, texts, experiences, policies, etc.) to programs.

(7) How rational is the traditional rationale of curriculum development?

· Understand Herbert Kliebard's analysis that curriculum decision making relies ultimately on one's philosophic and value perspective or screen.

(8) How may one bring clarity to the muddled concept of curriculum?

· Critically assess the heuristic nature of Mauritz Johnson's language analysis model of "curriculum as a structured series of intended learning outcomes."

· Know the practical limitation of attempting to legislate a systems-based, analytical definition of curriculum.

(9) What does curriculum expertise consist in?

- Understand differences between technical, theoretical, critical, and practical expertise models.

- Apply the concept of precedence to curriculum contestations and processes.

· Appraise the role of curriculum leadership in terms of Joseph Schwab's explications of the language of the practical and deliberation (phronesis).

Curriculum conceptualization

(9) What are the predominant (conflicting) conceptions of curriculum in the literature?

· Know, differentiate and apply Elliott Eisner's scheme of conflicting conceptions to curriculum. Interpret examples of each of Eisner/Vallance's five classical conflicting conceptions (cognitve processes, academic rationalism, social reconstructionism, self-actualization, teaching as technology) in writings by such authors as Bereiter, Schwab, Anyon, Hunt, etc.

(10) What are the tensions between presentation (subjectivity) and representation (objectivity) of curriculum and pedagogy in education?

· Assess the pedagogical significance of classificatory approaches to curriculum discourses.

· Understand limitation of classificatory schemes (focussing on differences) in the context of different discourse possibilities (polemical, classificatory, positional, strong/weak discourse practices); the idea of difference that makes a difference.

The idea of practices in education

(11) How is the concept of practice being used in education?

· Assess what issues inhere in theories of social practice. (a) technical relation: theory informs practice (informative); (b) interpretive relation: knowledge forms practice (formative of person); (c) critical relation: insight transforms practice (transformative praxis); (d) reflective relation: reflection preforms decision-in-action (preformative); (e) moral relation: ethical awareness reforms practice (reformative guide); (g) personal relation: personality expresses itself in practice (performative)

(12) How do teachers prepare for practice?

- Interpret teacher decision and selection practices in lesson and program planning: precedence, pragmatic, pedagogical, epistemological, ideological, personalistic considerations.

(13) What are general didactical and subject matter specific didactical distinctions in theories of practice?

- Understand general and specific didactical thought and decisions.

(14) What is the meaning and significance of teaching as a moral practice?

· Understand the significance of the recent interest in the moral dimensions of teaching; and of the concept of virtue for the pedagogical practice of teaching and for the narrative understanding of teaching.

(15) What could constitute a moral language for understanding teaching?

· Distinguish between moral practices, moral education, and pedagogical action.

Trends and developments

(16) What are dominant trends in the various subject areas?

- Able to determine what are the dominant trends in the various subject areas by using documentary analysis and curriculum concepts: intent, content, media, method, experience, evaluation--paying attention to special features, assumptions, sources, and consequences of the identifiable trend, change, or innovation in the selected school subject matter.

(17) Using documentary analysis, what are the national trends in a selected country with regards to curriculum policies and change?

- Able to assess developments at the national and international levels of schooling (curriculum and teaching) and the consequences for teaching, or learning, or teacher preparation, or professionalism, or school improvement, or public education, etc.

- Realize how the national background for educational policy and reform is rooted in historical, social, cultural, ethical, economic, and other developments.

Pedagogical reflection

(18) How may we understand the pedagogical tasks of schools and teaching?

· Distinguish alternative interpretations of the challenge of pedagogy.

(19) What is the nature of pedagogical practice?

· Understand the concept of pedagogy as actively distinguishing between what is appropriate and what is less appropriate in dealing with children in classrooms.

· Assess the significance of the personal, identity, and recognition in education.

· Understand the meaning and significance of the concept of the pedagogical relation and the pedagogical moment in teaching and life in classrooms.

(20) What makes the practice of teaching worthwhile? frustrating? challenging? difficult?

· Relate recent trends to conditions of school organization, teaching and learning.

Introductions to forms of inquiry

(21) What are some of the forms of inquiry that are currently practiced in curriculum and what is the significance of inquiry in the broad field of curriculum and pedagogy?

· Meaning of inquiry; practical method of inquiry; examples of inquiry; curricular and pedagogical significance of inquiry:

· (auto)biography

· narrative inquiry

· ethnography

· action research

· concept analysis

· case study

· gender studies

· hermeneutics

· interpretive phenomenology

· postmodern or deconstructionist inquiry

· ecological approach

· ethical inquiry

Issues in curriculum

(22) What are some current concerns (or crises) in curriculum and teaching? How may we approach, research, study, or deal with these concerns or crises? (for example, these problems may deal with evaluation, innovation, implementation, teacher work, student violence, home-school relations, accountability, government policy, charter schools, economics, etc.).

Approach

The above themes/objectives (as well as possible themes that may emerge from our seminar discussions) form the basis for personal readings, participation in discussions, involvements in activities, individual assignments, group presentations, and so forth. The 503/504 group tends to be quite heterogeniousÑpeople are following different programs (Diploma, M.Ed, PhD, EdD) and may have different ambitions (more practical versus more theoretical, more academic versus more school based, etc.). If you feel that the course becomes to skewed in a certain direction then please let me know or bring up the issue in class. You are certainly encouraged to pursue your own areas of interest. As well, it would be appreciated if you bring material that you think relevant to my or to our group’s attention.

While the course does not follow a mechanistic recipe for study, achievement and evaluation, it is hoped that the various involvements will encourage and help you to

(a) face and clarify your personal issues, beliefs and values,

(b) gain an understanding of contextual, political,and historical influences,

(c) extend your present knowledge base of the field of curriculum studies,

(d) understand perspectives and frameworks for approaching educational issues,

(e) raise new questions and open up new areas for reflection and inquiry,

(f) organize and integrate your emerging insights in a personal manner.

There will be many readings by such authors as Bruner, Eisner, Schwab, Tyler, Kliebard, Hargreaves, Jackson, Grumet, Johnston, Fullan, Giroux, Bereiter, Hansen, Clandinin, and so forth. They will be made available as the course progresses. Reading selections change from year to year depending on student interests and developments in the field.

Selected books will be assigned. These are available through the UofA Student Union bookstore and the education library.

If you are interested in emerging yourself further in curriculum literature then I would recommend: William Schubert (1986), Curriculum: perspective, paradigm, possibility; and the more recent William F. Pinar, William M. Reynolds, Patrick Slattery, and Peter M. Taubman (1995), Understanding Curriculum. New York: Peter Lang-1143 pages.

Assignments

(1) Ongoing course assignments and projects. Course assignments will involve readings, discussions, presentations, writing exercises, fieldwork, reports, group assignments, and related activities. These items will not be formally marked or separately graded.

(2) Reflection paper

Near the completion of 503/504 you are asked to submit one reflection on any concerns that are of relevance to you. The intent of this assignment is to prompt you to reflect, introspect, speculate on issues raised during the course that spoke to you. This issue may be prompted by what someone said in class, by any of the readings, or by any activity that you were engaged in and that seems to speak to some aspect of your educational life outside of the context of the course. There is no minimum or maximum number of pages required for this assignment. Past reflections have averaged 10 pages. Marking will not consist of evaluative comments of particular opinions expressed but of notice taken of level of reflectivity and quality of thought-in other words, emphasis will be on the "how" of your reflective thought. It is recommended that you keep notes or a log of your personal reflections through the course.

(3) Final project (to be decided)

Completion of a final assignment. This assignment could be a common focus project that emerges from the seminars, or it could consist of individually contracted projects such as (a) developing an inservice workshop for teachers or colleagues; (b) analyzing a curriculum project, a government policy, an educational program; (c) conducting a small research project such as studying the curriculum experiences of a single child; (d) doing a theoretical paper on some aspect of curriculum or pedagogy that we have dealt with in class.

In general, evaluation will be qualitative and in accordance with criteria appropriate to the subject matter. Upon the unanimous approval of the course participants a midterm test will be offered based on more objective criteria and testing for specific knowledge and skills.

Evaluation criteria (where possible and appropriate for classroom participation/projects and any of the above assignments) include:

(a) Evidence of knowledge of the course subject matter (references to readings, concepts, issues, etc.).

(b) Understanding of the range of meanings of the concept of curriculum (e.g., curriculum commonplaces; curriculum concepts; historical themes; curriculum arguments).

(c) Understanding issues of pedagogy and method.

(d) Knowledge of alternative forms of inquiry in curriculum (such as ethnography, phenomenology, hermeneutics, case study, narrative inquiry, action research, gender theory, autobiography, critical theory, deconstructionism, etc.)

(e) Competence in detecting assumptions and suppositions.

(f) Originality of argument, presentation.

EDSEC 503/504 will be treated as a single (full) course for the purpose of grading. The grade earned in EDSEC 503 will often be identical to the grade received in EDSEC 504, except when the overall grade falls on a midpoint. Final course grades will be submitted at the due date for EDSE 504.