The Shaping of the Curriculum

Abstract

Curriculum design might appear to be a project for a pure educational theory. An example of such a theory is Paul Hirst's deduction of distinct forms of knowledge’ upon which rests his advocacy of the liberal curriculum’. Hirst's theory, though immune to many of the attacks that have been directed at it, fails to consider how (if at all) the structure of knowledge maps on to the structure of our mental (learning) faculties. The partitioning of the manifold of knowledge may correspond not at all to the optimum curricular partitioning of the teaching manifold. Further, as a curriculum proposal, Hirst's account needs to be underwritten by an account of the purpose of education. Accounts of the latter sort normally invoke considerations of a political nature. Such considerations, together with the influence of other forces, tend to pull curricula in directions which many educationalists regard as undesirable. Can pure educational theory reassert itself as the controlling force behind curriculum planning? I argue that there is little prospect of its so doing.     

From Brown to Ayers v. Fordice: the changing shape of racial desegregation in US higher education

Racial desegregation in higher education is taking on a new direction as the twenty‐first century approaches. The Brown v. Board of Education decision brought down legal racial barriers to segregated education, and this landmark US Supreme Court ruling was implicitly intended to apply to higher education as well. The positive changes for African Americans in removing racial barriers contributed significantly to the civil rights movement and opening avenues of opportunity. Yet, there has always been a fundamental tension between the removal of the vestiges of racial segregation to create equal educational opportunity, and the activist stance of addressing historical and current discriminatory educational policies. This is evident in the recent higher education desegregation and affirmative cases as the Federal Courts advocate the colour‐blind interpretation of higher education desegregation law and educational policy, while African Americans argue in favour of the enhancement of the public Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the explicit use of race as a form of diversity. This article examines the salient positions and racial identity politics surrounding this tension. I also argue that broader issues of racial control and power need to be addressed by educational institutions, the courts and the larger society in the debate about race, social justice and the removal of the vestiges of segregation.