Course+Syllabus

=ED 870: Curriculum II: Perspectives, Paradigms and Praxis=

Instructor: Stephen Kemp Ph.D. Phone: 306.933.4618 (H); 306.260.4812 (M) e-mail: stephen.kemp@uregina.ca

Course Overview:
The organization of schooling has long been associated with the idea of a curriculum. The idea of curriculum is hardly new - but the way we understand and theorize it has altered over the years - and there remains considerable dispute as to its meaning. According to Hultgren (2006), in thinking about curriculum, a number of complex issues confront us about which we have to make decisions:

1. **Epistemological**. What should count as knowledge? As knowing?

2. **Political**. Who shall control the selection and distribution of knowledge? Through what institutions?

2. **Economic**. How is the control of knowledge linked to the existing and unequal distribution of power, goods, and services in society?

3. **Ideological**. What knowledge is of most worth? Whose knowledge is it?

4. **Technical**. How shall curricular knowledge be made accessible to students?

5. **Aesthetic**. How do we link curriculum knowledge to the biography and personal meanings of the student?

6. **Ethical**. How shall we treat others responsibly and justly in education? What ideas of moral conduct and community serve as the underpinnings of the ways students and teachers are treated?

7. **Historical**. What traditions in the field already exist to help us answer these questions? What other resources do we need to go further? (Beyer & Apple, 1988)

Curriculum, then, can be seen as a cultural construction (curriculum as lived) and not merely as an abstract concept outside human experience (curriculum as plan). This course will seek to connect your lived experience as teacher with the lived experience of curriculum. The central point and purpose of this course is to interrogate curriculum, to critically examine curriculum through the various lenses as described above with a view to addressing the two fundamental questions in curriculum studies: What (or who) determines content worth knowing and how should that content be taught?

Course Design
The course was designed and developed based upon an extensive review of the literature into instructional design. The course design emphasizes a three-leveled approach to teaching and learning.

Stage 1 - Acquire • Acquire new information, skills and concepts.

Stage 2 - Accommodate • Integrate the experience, concepts and skills you already have with the new concepts and skills set presented in the module.

Stage 3 - Apply • Do something with the knowledge.

Course Intentions:


 * 1) Examine personal values, biases and attitudes one holds and recognize how these values and attitudes influence the curriculum development process.
 * 2) Formulate a personal definition and understanding of curriculum.
 * 3) Develop an historical understanding of the development of curriculum and its relationships to educational research and practice.
 * 4) Develop an appreciation of the possibilities offered for understanding curriculum as theory and practice from diverse theoretical perspectives.
 * 5) Investigate the issues and challenges of each theoretical approach within the field of curriculum studies.
 * 6) Experience the meaning of pedagogy in its concrete enactment through curriculum as lived and the inextricable connections between curriculum, teaching, persons and community.
 * 7) Critically analyze the intellectual, social and political differences between curriculum as product and curriculum as praxis.
 * 8) Demonstrate an understanding of curriculum through the interrogation of a curriculum as lived experience in one’s own work.

Course Outline:
Friday, Saturday September 12/13 Location: Turtleford Community School

Module 1 Acquisition: What is curriculum?

A. What is curriculum? B. The seven lenses of viewing curriculum: Implications and issues C. Curriculum as a social construction D. Curriculum and the role of cultural values in a pluralistic society

Reflection Questions:

1. What is your own image of curriculum? What justification or rationale do you give for its usefulness or worth? Why do you consider certain knowledge to be of worth? 2. What are the cardinal principles of curriculum? 3. How do we link curriculum knowledge to the biography and personal meanings of the student? 4. If appropriate, reflect on your subarea of education (e.g. administration, supervision, coordination, consulting or evaluation) and how you facilitate the process of curriculum development and implementation. 5. What influence does the culture of your community play in your lived experience of curriculum?

Friday, Saturday September 26/27 Location: NWRC (Meadow Lake)

Module 2 Acquisition: Curriculum as the Tree of Knowledge

A. Roots: The historical development of curriculum theory and practice:

a. The Classical tradition b. The Christian contribution c. The Reformation d. The Renaissance and the Enlightenment e. The Twentieth Century f. Recent developments-divergence and convergence in current practices.

B. Branches: Paradigms of curriculum and their implications for understanding and practicing curriculum:

a. Ralph Tyler's Rationale b. Joseph Schwab's Commonplaces c. Paradigms of curriculum: i. Curriculum as Product: (Theoretic, Empirical-Analytical, Intellectual-Traditionalist) ii. Curriculum as Process: (Hermeneutic, Practical, Social Behaviourist) iii. Curriculum as Praxis: (Critical, Experientialist, Emancipatory) iv. Curriculum as Institutionalized Text: Reconceptualists

C. The environment: In and out of school contexts

a. In school contexts b. Out of school contexts

Reflection Questions:

1. Where do you now stand with regards to the four paradigms of curriculum? Defend your choice. 2. Critique Tyler's Rationale. 3. Respond to Schwab's concept of the commonplaces. 4. Which of the four bases for curriculum development identified by Dewey and others who followed him is most important: the learner, the teacher, the society or knowledge?

Friday, Saturday October 24/25 Location: NWRC (North Battleford)

Module 3: Accommodation: What does curriculum mean to me?

A. Curriculum as a lived experience B. Issues and challenges in curriculum from a personal perspective C. Deconstructing curriculum in a Saskatchewan context

Reflection Questions:

1. How does your philosophy of curriculum compare with that of the institution for which you work? 2. How does your practical experience influence your curriculum philosophy? 3. Characterize the political, value and economic situation that surrounds your educational situation. In what ways do these forces inhibit or facilitate good curriculum and teaching? 4. Discuss the roles and influences of the overt, hidden, null and or evaded curricula in your community? 5. Find examples of issues/social forces shaping curriculum. How do these forces impact or influence you in your community?

Friday, Saturday November 14/15 Location: NWRC (Meadow Lake)

Module 4 Application: The Praxis of Curriculum

A. Presentation of final projects

Course Assignments:
4.1 Personal Web Log/Student Portfolio (40%)

Students will each develop a personal blogfolio to document learning and provide reflection throughout course activities, interactions and readings. The blogfolio will play an important role in your personal learning for this course. Your blogfolio should show evidence of:

- personal reflection of course learning activities. - frequent reading and reflection of assigned readings, educational articles, blog posts, and research literature found from various sources. - interaction with other community members through commenting, and, - thoughtful, critical reflection of the use of technology in your personal, educational context. The blogfolio should also include personal anecdotes to identify you as the author.

4.2 Social Learning (20%)

Class participation and attendance (virtual or face-to-face) are important contributors to success in this course. Additionally, synchronous and asynchronous interactions with your peers and other educators will be an important aspect of this course. Blog comments, group participation, participation in discussions, etc., should be documented as indicators for this assessment. Your instructor may include other relevant mentorship opportunities within this assessment component.

4.3 Major Project: Interrogating Curriculum (40%)

Students will develop a major currciculum-based project with a focus on interrogating curriculum as a lived experience in connection with the lived experience of your teaching practice. This assignment is developmental, and thought should be given to this project early in the course.

Class Sessions
Class sessions will involve lectures, small and large group discussions of readings and journals, sharing of perspectives, and student presentations.

Course Text
Flinders, D, & Thornton, S. (2004) The Curriculum Studies Reader, 2nd. Edition. New York: Routledge.